BILLINGS - The hard thing is trying to get the expression on Harrison Ford's face just right. Especially when all you've got to go on for your "Indiana Jones" series is this description: "A serious look with slight undertones of happiness."

Not a problem for Billings artist Russell Walks, who is doing promotional artwork for the upcoming Indy flick for Dr. Pepper, Kellogg's and "a couple of other companies that I can't mention yet," he said.

Suffice it to say, this spring, any time you see art from the fourth film in the "Indiana Jones" franchise, it'll probably be Walks' work.

Walks, a graphic design teacher at the Career Center in Billings, has previously done art for LucasFilm Ltd., including posters for the 30th anniversary of the first "Star Wars" film. It was this background that led to the contract with Dr. Pepper and Kellogg's.

"When the licensing was discussed, my name must have come up," he said.

His work for the film includes a life-sized cardboard standee of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones - yes, the one featuring an expression with "slight undertones of happiness." Using promotional shots provided by LucasFilm and poses from members of his fan base, Walks created the piece after a little bit of struggle. Mostly with those slight undertones.

He did 10 or 15 sketches until he was finally satisfied with the expression. From there he did a value drawing, with a full range of tonal values in black and white. Walks usually prefers to handpaint his artwork, but because of the tight deadlines on the "Indiana Jones" project, he did most of the color in Adobe Photoshop, then added brushstrokes and "the twinkle in (Ford's) eye."

After that, the project was sent off to LucasFilm.

"Thank goodness for scanners and e-mail," he said. "Once I have the printing finished with the paint splatters and the spontaneity, I rescan it and send it to them."

Walks grew up with the "Star Wars," "Star Trek" and "Indiana Jones" movies. His classroom pays homage to his pop culture leanings, with models of Elvis Presley and Homer Simpson nestled among his students' projects.

A father to three girls - Jessi, Juli and Jenni - and teenage son Matt, Walks' first priority is family, including his wife, Tracy. When it comes to work, though, his job as a teacher beats out his occasional projects.

"The Career Center is my number one priority, career-wise," Walks said.

His dedication to his work makes him a favorite with his students. His teacher's aide, Brett Goldade, refers to him as "Walks" - not "Mr. Walks" - when she talks about him, and she credits him with helping her make her career decision.

"I plan on going into marketing," she said. "I'm going to be one of the people who comes up with the idea for Walks."

Goldade, a senior, knew she had an interest in graphic design as early as eighth grade. But she wasn't sure where her proclivity would take her.

"I was unsure about what I wanted to do when I came into his class last year, but he taught me a lot," she said. "I'm going into marketing because of him."

Walks welcomes input from students when he's in the midst of a project. Goldade would give him suggestions - nothing big, but an idea on the tilt of the head or the angle of the whip.

"He said, 'Wow, I would never have thought of that. You should be one of the guys who comes up with ideas,' " Goldade said. "I'm good at graphic design, but I'm an idea maker."

The lesson Walks hopes to impart to his students is that professionalism counts.

"Everybody can hand in a piece of artwork that doesn't have fingerprints on it, that is the right size, that is on time," he said. "Once professionalism is second nature, it frees you up to be creative."

He also tells his students that they must be persistent. It took Walks three years of buying a table at the San Diego Comic-Con and showing his portfolio before he was first offered a job.

"I want to show them persistence is as important as talent," he said. "I would say that the two most important things to keep in mind are persistence and professionalism. If you're doing what you love, then these two things aren't work."

After a moment's consideration, he changed his mind: "I guess they are work, but it's easier than if you hate it."

Doing the art for "Indiana Jones" is definitely work he loves.

"Being a huge Indiana Jones fan and action movie fan, it's fun to work on a project like this," Walks said. He's supposed to keep close-mouthed about plot points, and even keep his artwork under wraps until closer to the release date, but that's part of the fun of the job. "One of the fun things is being privy to the inside information and stuff like that."

One thing Walks can share with other Indiana Jones fans is this: Harrison Ford has aged well.

"He looks really remarkable," Walks said. "There's no way it looks like 18 years have passed since the last Indiana Jones movie."

The "Indiana Jones" project is Walks' big project for the spring. He's not saying what he has lined up after that, but it will be something he enjoys, whatever it is.

"I'm doing right now what I always wanted to do since I was a little boy," he said. "I feel extremely lucky that I have a teaching degree and get to share my enthusiasm with students."