Paul Shipper Discusses The New Shoe Palace x E.T. Collection

Paul Shipper is one of the most successful and in demand poster artists in the business today. He is one of the few artists who is still creating hand drawn artwork for his film posters. His throwback style, that many have compared to the great Drew Struzan, has allowed him to work on huge film properties. Shipper has worked on Steven Spielberg films, Star Wars, and the Marvel Cinematic Franchise.

Shoe Palace asked Shipper to create a piece of art for its new collaboration with E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. The Shoe Palace x E.T. collection releases this Black Friday, November 26, exclusively at Shoe Palace retail locations and on shoepalace.com.

You can follow Paul Shipper on Twitter and Instagram. You can preview the Shoe Palace x E.T. collection here.

What was your first experience with E.T. the Extra Terrestrial?

I remember my dad bringing it home on VHS. He just came back from a trip to the United States. He had some of the E.T. toys also. I don’t think the toys were out in England yet, because I don’t think I had seen them until he got them for me. I watched it for the first time on that VHS tape. I wasn’t old enough to see it in theaters when it opened. Video was the first time I saw it.

Did it make an impact on you right from the start?

It was one of the earliest Spielberg films I saw. I didn’t know who he was then, but it had an impact on me. The spectacle and the adventure really impacted me. I think I saw E.T. before I saw Star Wars.

When you create a piece of art like you did for Shoe Palace and its E.T. collection – how much does your nostalgia for a property factor in? Obviously E.T. was a big part of your childhood, how did that influence the art you created for the Shoe Palace collection?

Everything goes back to that moment of my dad bringing home that E.T. tape and toys. I used to try and draw E.T. all the time as a kid. When I started he looked pretty bad (laughing). A lot of what inspires me comes from the movies of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and filmmakers like that. I really relate to the fantasy and adventure films of the 1980s. They have had a lot of influence on my work.

What was your creative process for the Shoe Palace x E.T. piece?

When Shoe Palace asked me if I was interested in doing this, I said of course, it’s E.T. I had a vision of this piece before I started it. I wanted to capture E.T. and his personality and to do something I hadn’t seen before. Something different with E.T. It was about the character for me. He’s loveable and caring and I wanted that to come across. The ending of E.T. makes me cry when he says goodbye and he leaves behind the rainbow. I always wanted to include that rainbow in an E.T. piece. I never had a chance to do it until this project.

I also wanted to make E.T. look the best he had ever looked. He is hard to get right. There isn’t a ton of reference material of him when it comes to his full body. I really labored over this piece to make it as good as it can be. I am proud of it, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it. I hope it makes people watch the movie again because it is such a classic. The John Williams score pulls at my heart strings every time. I am honored to be a part of this project.

The Shoe Palace x E.T. collection releases exclusively at Shoe Palace locations and on shoepalace.com this Black Friday, November 26. Preview it here.