As a kid, brown bagging your lunch was always a gamble. Would you get an apple or a Twinkie? PB&J on Wonderbread or weird salami sandwich on rye? CapriSun or milk box? But one thing’s for sure, if my dad drew awesome cartoons on my bag I’d be pretty excited.

Derek the dad does just that. Plus he blogs all his lunch bag art that his kids get to see every day. Recently, he drew portraits of a battle droid, a clone trooper and Yoda himself. Starwars.com chats with Derek about his art and why battle droids make decent lunch companions.

What made you decide to decorate lunch bags for your kids?

The markers and crayons were there, and I’d just put their names on the bags. I just got fancier as time passed.

What prompted you to do one of battle droids?

My son thinks the battle droids are funny. I have many questions about them myself. What are their lives like? Do they grieve for fallen friends? Do they know fear? Who builds them? Do they ever feel remorse for the evil they do, or is that an upgrade? Can a battle droid finish a tour of duty and become a different kind of droid? I like to think that R2-D2 was a particularly smart battle droid who earned a new body after he left the military.

What is your favorite bag so far?

I do like the battle droid a lot. Reproducing someone else’s character design is interesting. You appreciate that the droid is goofy, but he’s also a little scary.

I watch The Clone Wars series with my kids. There are strong female characters, which my daughter likes. There’s a lot of mayhem, which my son likes. And I keep wondering, what will become of Ahsoka when Order 66 is given?

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Check out Derek’s art here:
Lunch Bag Art Blog

(Art and photo by Paul Loughridge)

When artist Paul Loughridge (AKA “Lockwasher”) looks at metal scraps, soda cans and abandoned electronics, he sees potential creatures and droids just waiting to come to life. He’s made whimsical robots, insects, people and other metal beings from junk we normally throw away. Most recently, he’s created Beer2-D3, a distant cousin of R2-D2 made from a mini-keg.

Starwars.com chats with Paul about his art.

Why did you decide to give R2-D2 a friend?

While rummaging around in my laboratory (garage) for parts I accidentally knocked a tractor headlight directly on top of the beer keg. The diameters of the two match perfectly. That’s when I realized the Force was strong with this one and fabrication commenced. Plus I was exhibiting at a large toy/collectibles show and wanted to have something special for all the Star Wars fans.

What is Beer2-D3 made from?

Beer2’s technical specs:
Head – 1945 chrome BLC utility light shell.
Eye - vintage movie camera lens w/adjustable spring-loaded aluminum casing.
Body – 4.7 liter “adult soda” mini-keg.
Legs – propane tank valve handles, brass spacers, drilled-out washers, pair of aluminum Lady Josephine shoe butler (wall-mounted shoe shine holders).
Feet/base – 3 mini bread loaf pans, lamp hardware and a 1/2″ precision drilled aluminum base plate.
+assorted nuts, bolts, screws and, of course – lockwashers!

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