FIRST LOOK: Juan Ortiz Animated Series Art Prints, #1-4

Juan Ortiz, having created the 80 Star Trek: The Original Series Art Prints that are currently being released at a pace of four a month, will now turn his attention to Star Trek: The Animated Series. Ortiz has crafted 22 art prints based on The Animated Series, with the prints set to be available in the near future.

StarTrek.com will unveil several of the TAS Art Prints each day all this week, starting… today. Check out the posters for “Beyond the Farthest Star,” “Yesteryear,” “One of Our Planets Is Missing,” and “The Lorelei Signal.”

And to further whet your appetite for the prints, StarTrek.com spoke briefly to Ortiz. Here’s what he had to say about his latest pieces of Star Trek art.

How/when did the opportunity to do prints for The Animated Series come up?

ORTIZ: It was around the spring of 2013 when I created these. I had the idea in my mind after finishing the TOS prints, but never really felt inspired to act on them. I even brought the DVD set to look at. It sat in my drawer for almost a year. When I finally looked into it, I was disappointed that there were only 22 episodes. I was hoping for a long project. It was still a challenge to create something different yet seemingly the same.

Can you expound on that? How similar or different did you want them to be from your TOS prints?ORTIZ: I wanted to move away from the TOS prints a bit. I knew that I wanted more color in these and not necessarily have them be retro-looking. I call it my Star Trek into Brightness set. I just felt it was natural to go in that direction. Maybe someday I'll attempt the motion picture series and complete the bridge.

Did you go back and watch all the animated episodes again for reference and inspiration? If so, what struck you most about the series and in what ways did set you off on doing the poster art?

ORTIZ: I had memories of several of them, but I did go back and look at all of them to refresh myself. I was struck how some of them were written as sequels to TOS. The Animated Series may seem weird at times, but they are certainly canon to the TOS universe. I even had images of the actors in several of these, before CBS set me straight. I was still clinging on to TOS.

We’re revealing the first four art prints today. Which one of the four are you most satisfied with – and why?

ORTIZ: “Yesteryear” is a classic episode. I wanted something with emotion on this one. Originally, I just had Spock in a very stoic pose, but the image of young Spock and his pet sehlat makes more sense. The overlapping circles represent the passing of time as we focus on one particular moment.

What do you most hope that fans will take away from your Animated Series prints?

ORTIZ: I would just want fans to revisit the series, and maybe what they didn't appreciate as a kid they can now as adults. The series may seem slow and heavy on dialogue at times, but they are more steeped in sci-fi than most sci-fi shows. Getting past the limited animation is the only challenge. We clearly could use a new animated series today with the TOS crew.

Keep an eye on StarTrek.com for additional details about the TAS Art Prints. In the meantime, click HERE to purchase The Art of Juan Ortiz, which gathers together his TOS Art Prints.