When Jim Mehsling won a city-wide Omaha art contest as a fourth-grader, he used his prize money to buy a “Star Wars” model.

Today, the 34-year-old is combining his love for the movie with his immense artistic talent.

If all goes well, he may win another prize.

Mehsling, an animator and illustrator at Lincoln advertising firm Snitily Carr, is one of 19 finalists in AtomFilms’ “Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge.”

The online video service’s Internet site is in its sixth year with the contest. This is Mehsling’s third straight year as a finalist.

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas will pick his favorite. The contest also features an audience choice award, with voting continuing through Monday at www.atomfilms.com.

Winners will be announced in Los Angeles on May 27 at the “Star Wars Celebration,” which Mehsling plans to attend. AtomFilms promises to show award winners on Spike TV.

Winners also get a statue of “Star Wars” characters R2D2 and C3PO.

“I really want the statue,” Mehsling said, pointing to a spot on his desk for it.

The artist teamed with childhood friend Scott Beehner and co-worker Ron Ruff to create his animated entry, “Bounty Hunter: The Interview.”

Beehner, an Omaha actor/comedian now living in L.A., wrote the script and voices the characters. Ruff handled the three-dimensional sequence at the film’s beginning.

The 2-minute, 47-second short tells a humorous story of Boba Fett arriving at the Death Star to interview for a bounty hunter position.

“It’s kind of like ‘Office Space’ applied to the ‘Star Wars’ universe,” Mehsling said, referencing a popular workplace movie.   

Mehsling used Flash, an animation software, to create his cartoon.

“It allows a single filmmaker to do the animation,” he said, noting such Cartoon Network shows as “Foster Home for Imaginary Friends” and “Camp Lazlo” use Flash. “It puts out a pretty decent product.”

Mehsling has been drawing cartoons since he was kid, when superheroes and “Star Wars” captured his imagination.

Both still do.

His office has a Batman lamp.  His computer screensaver features Batman and Superman. A miniature Spider-Man sits atop his supplies next to his drawing table.

Mehsling majored in drawing and painting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he worked as a Daily Nebraskan cartoonist for four years.

He ignited controversy while at the college newspaper with editorial cartoons about former Nebraska football players Riley Washington and Lawrence Phillips.

After graduating from UNL, he spent a year at the Vancouver Film School studying classical animation.

“I’ve always enjoyed cartooning and storytelling at the same time,” he said.

He’s been at Snitily Carr for five years. His latest project is animating Homer, the Lincoln Saltdogs mascot. The cartoons will debut at Tuesday’s game on the big screen.

 “He really enjoys what he does,” his supervisor Nicole Swanson said. “He’s doing it when he’s not here. On his day off he tells us he goes to the zoo to draw. It’s kind of stuck in his blood.”

Mehsling estimated he spent 80 hours creating “Bounty Hunter.” He designed the characters and sent them to Beehner, who came up with the script and voices. He recruited Ruff to provide the “dramatic opening.”

As of Friday, Mehsling’s short had drawn more than 10,000 views and several favorable comments. Exposure is the biggest reason he entered the contest, he said.

“How else do you get your artwork out to that many people that quickly?” he said.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.