Last Updated on 05/02/2017 by Chris Gampat
All images by Manu Cabanero. Used with permission.
Photographer Manu Cabanero has been working on the Splash Wars series for a really long time now. Inspired by the fantastic work of Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz, Manu combined his love of the Star Wars franchise to create milky portraits of many iconic characters in the series.
About the project, Manu tells the Phoblographer via email:
The stormtrooper is one of the most iconic characters in Star Wars, so I was practically forced to do it. I wanted the character to have a more melancholic tone and avoid that humor that has always been attributed to the stormtrooper. Like the Iden Versio story from the incoming Battlefront II video game. For that reason the character holds the helmet and opts for a less haughty pose.
Boba Fett is probably the most difficult character I’ve ever done in Splash Wars. Adapting the character and creating a plausible outfit has been a challenge. The original costume has many layers and the final photo tries to simulate all of them.
I like the idea of thinking that all the strong characters and protagonists of the saga are women. Splash Wars is a project about sensuality, but it’s also a project about heroines. 🙂
STORMTROOPER
Model: Noemí Chacón
We’ve featured Manu a number of times as Splash Wars has progressed. A little while back, he unveiled the first photo as part of the ongoing series. He also told us about how he did it. And when he first talked to us, he told us:
“This was a challenge for me, but not impossible! The technical conditions should not cut your wings.
My gear is quite modest. I have a Canon 7D, the Tamron 24-70mm, some Speedlite flashes, a lot of AA batteries, and some light diffusers.
The post production may be the hardest part. Not always everything goes as planned, so once you have the photos, it’s important to have good organization inside the psd file, like renaming layers and adding notes. But the most important thing is to be patient and positive.”
BOBA FETT
Model: Karma Cereza
MUA: Cami Sallent
What you’re all most likely wondering though is how he did it. Manu goes in depth about one particular image right here. Here’s a snippet:
“To create the costume of Darth Vader I had to cover the body with milk. For this, I took photos on every splash, covering part by part all of her body. Then I created the cape. The cape was a succession of trial and error to finally get the shape I wanted.”
You can see Splash Wars II on his Behance page. More of the photos from Splash Wars are below.
Lead photo
MARA JADE
Model: Alba Sala
