The amazing art of Ralph McQuarrie - original Star Wars designs

[Hypaspist]

For anyone who hasn't had the benefit of seeing it, I present some of Ralph McQuarrie's great artwork for the original Star Wars.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/danieldalton/stunning-star-wars-concept-art-ralph-mcquarrie#44mz2pa

A lot of people wonder why it is that some of the newer Star Wars designs seem to be so different in their feel, or why the original was so iconic and functional in its appearance. Ralph McQuarrie was one of the great minds that helped make the original Star Wars as special as it was. Ralph wasn't just an imaginative artist - he was the artist that NASA hired to present its concept designs to the public for the Apollo program as well. I think that explains why a lot of the sets and props in Star Wars have such a realistic feel to them.
Ralph wasn't the only great conceptual artist who worked on the original films. A lot of the production designs were amazing in their own right - the original AT-ATs were twice the size of the movie ones and more articulate too. Still, his designs are the closest to what actually made it to screen. I think George Lucas said it best, as quoted on the site: <he> “Propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy.”

 

[arch101]

He certainly made an impression on this artistically inclined 8 year old in 1977 who went on to become an Architect.

 

[Admiral2]

Every time i see artwork like that I cry inwardly at my own shameful lack of talent...

 

[Enterprise1701]

Wow. I've seen bits of McQuarrie's original work before, but this is amazing.

The producers of Star Wars Rebels are wise to utilize his designs.

 

[Hypaspist]

Wow. I've seen bits of McQuarrie's original work before, but this is amazing.

The producers of Star Wars Rebels are wise to utilize his designs.

Hey I didn't know that. I am hesitant to really partake in the Star Wars franchise in any way after getting burned a few times.

I think that there was a lot of creativity in the 70's. There have just been so many trends since then. It seems like the dominant style takes over.

Everything in the 80's was super pointy or rounded off edges with tail-lights. Robocop and the Enterprise bridge both have a hardcore 80's vibe to them.

Everything in the 90's was just about having as many little tiny lights and switches on the screen as possible. Everybody who put on a helmet or something had a blue or amber light shining in his eye with like 7 different colors of lights behind his head.

 

[J.T.B.]

There were some fine tributes to Mr. McQuarrie here when he died, and it's hard to overstate his importance to the development of Star Wars. Those paintings were what Lucas used to sell the movie when his screenplay still had a long way to go. They have a very practical, real-world but at the same time exotic feel that is so distinctive and effective.

There is a page here that shows the original package of SW concept art, including the changes that were made to re-paint the Falcon to the now-classic "hamburger" design. Also shown is the painting that people now think of as Cloud City at Bespin, but was originally the Imperial prison fortress at a planet then called Alderaan, cut out of the first movie.

Back in the day, when Star Wars stopped showing in your local theater and you never knew when you might see it again, things like The Art of Star Wars, The Star Wars Sketchbook and The Star Wars Portfolio really went a long way to keeping a kid's imagination fired up. This kid's, anyway!

 

[BillJ]

Definitely an amazingly talented artist.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Just amazing. I had seen most of them, but they still leave me in awe.

 

[Toxteth O´Grady]

If there is any artist that could convince me to take up painting as a hobby, it's Ralph McQuarrie. Even before I became a fan of Star Wars I was enchanted by his artwork. The guy had a natural talent for creating a realistic looking sci-fi/fantasy universe.

I haven't sought out his non-Star Wars work, though. I probably should.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

There is a page here that shows the original package of SW concept art, including the changes that were made to re-paint the Falcon to the now-classic "hamburger" design.

That is a great page.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

Hasbro actually made some toys of his designs, both of the ships/speeders (in the 90s as part of the first "Expanded Universe" line) and more recently in 2007.

Link to one of the early sets:
http://www.rebelscum.com/potf2euairspeeder.asp

 

[Hypaspist]

Hasbro actually made some toys of his designs, both of the ships/speeders (in the 90s as part of the first "Expanded Universe" line) and more recently in 2007.

Link to one of the early sets:
http://www.rebelscum.com/potf2euairspeeder.asp

That is really cool. I like when alternate designs get their due. A lot of artists used to take liberties with the original films to reimagine the way things would look. The result was often pretty good.

I don't know the artists by name, but I had some cards that showed alternate paintings that included Luke losing his whole arm to Vader in a bulked up suit (this was before the prequels), really huge AT-STs on a Hoth with a very dark atmosphere, speculation as to what Boba Fett actually looked like, and so on.
I put this in a different category from the derivative spinoffs and post-prequel designs. They seem to miss too far to either side.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

I think initially the Boba Fett designs by Mcquarrie and Johnston were kind of based on him being a special Stormtrooper (which AOTC sort of derived some of it's Fett backstory)-hence the initial white look to his armor.


I liked Mcquarrie's look for the Snowtroopers as well, with the classic 'frown' mouthpiece although they went for a more simplified design for the final film.

 

[publiusr]

A century from now, when CGI gets even better--I can see these paintings move.

 

[Hypaspist]

I think initially the Boba Fett designs by Mcquarrie and Johnston were kind of based on him being a special Stormtrooper (which AOTC sort of derived some of it's Fett backstory)-hence the initial white look to his armor.

I think that artists own creations tell enough of a story on their own that they don't need a backstory. I go crazy when I actually have to be told what the backstory of every object is. It's the over-analytical aspect of Star Wars fandom that makes the EU such a monstrosity to me.
I look at Yoda and I don't ask why he has a cane. It was part of the character. Why did the Emperor look all disgusting? Because it is a part of his evil character...the face melting electricity scene was just an example of people not understanding designs being what they are.

Boba Fett is the most egregious. He has scraped up armor and tons of weapons because he's a bounty hunter...end of story! He is basically the Man in Black from A Few Dollars More in a sci fi setting. Somebody told me that cool little alien skull symbol is a Mandalorian symbol, which is something big in the EU apparently. I looked it up on wookiepedia and it made my head want to explode. Come on people some things are cool because the artist knew what he was doing when he designed it, not because it has a thousand pages of backstory behind it.