Ralph McQuarrie
| Ralph McQuarrie | |
|---|---|
 McQuarrie visiting ILM in 2008 |
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| Born | June 13, 1929 Gary, Indiana, United States |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Illustrator and designer |
Ralph McQuarrie (born June 13, 1929) is a conceptual designer and illustrator who designed Star Wars (all of the original trilogy), the original Battlestar Galactica (TV), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Cocoon, for which he won an Academy Award.
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[edit] Career
Born in Gary, Indiana, McQuarrie moved to California in the 1960s.[1] Initially he worked as a technical illustrator for Boeing, as well designing film posters and animating CBS News's coverage of the Apollo space program at the three-man company Reel Three.[1][2] While there, McQuarrie was asked by Hal Barwood to produce some illustrations for a film project he and Matthew Robbins were starting.
Impressed with his work, director George Lucas met with him to discuss his plans for a space-fantasy film. Several years later, in 1975, Lucas commissioned McQuarrie to illustrate several scenes from the script of the film, Star Wars. McQuarrie designed many of the characters, including Darth Vader and Chewbacca[3] and drew many concepts for the film's sets.[1] McQuarrie's concept paintings, including such scenes as R2-D2 and C3PO arriving on Tatooine, helped convince 20th Century Fox to fund Star Wars which became a huge success upon release in 1977.[1][2] Neil Kendricks of The San Diego Union-Tribune stated McQuarrie "holds a unique position when it comes to defining much of the look of the "Star Wars" universe."[2] McQuarrie noted "I thought I had the best job that an artist ever had on a film, and I had never worked on a feature film before. [...] I still get fan mail — people wondering if I worked on Episode I or just wanting to have my autograph."[2]
McQuarrie went on to work as the conceptual designer on the film's two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.[2]
McQuarrie also designed the alien ships in Steven Spielberg's films Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982),[2] while his work as the conceptual artist on the 1985 film Cocoon earned him the Academy Award for Visual Effects.[4]
Rick McCallum offered McQuarrie a role as designer for the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but he rejected the offer, noting he had "run out of steam" and Industrial Light & Magic animator Doug Chiang was appointed instead. He is now retired and his Star Wars concept paintings have subsequently been displayed in art exhibitions, including the 1999 Star Wars: The Magic of Myth.[2]
"I just did my best to depict what I thought the film should look like, I really liked the idea. I didn't think the film would ever get made. My impression was it was too expensive. There wouldn't be enough of an audience. It's just too complicated. But George knew a lot of things that I didn't know."[2]
McQuarrie played the uncredited role of General McQuarrie in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. A Star Wars action figure in his likeness as "General McQuarrie" was produced. Action figures based on McQuarrie's concept art, including conceptual versions of the Imperial Stormtrooper, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and other characters have also been made.[5]
[edit] Filmography
- Star Wars (1977) (production illustrator)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (Mother Ship designer)
- The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) (illustrator)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (design consultant and conceptual artist)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) (ILM illustrator)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) (scenic artist/spaceship design)
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) (conceptual artist)
- Cocoon (1985) (conceptual artist)
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) (visual consultant)
- *batteries not included (1987) (conceptual artist)
- Back to the Future: The Ride (1991) (conceptual artist) (uncredited)
- Jurassic Park (1993) (conceptual artist)
[edit] Similar artists
[edit] References
- Footnotes
- ^ a b c d Ron Magid (2004-09-28). "Ralph McQuarrie on Designing Star Wars". Star Wars Insider #76 reprinted at Star Wars.com. http://www.starwars.com/hyperspace/member/insideronline/78/indexp4.html.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Neil Kendricks (1999-09-23). "Behind The Force 'Star Wars: The Magic of Myth' showcases the work of artists who collaborated with the head Jedi, a.k.a. George Lucas". San Diego Union-Tribune: p. NIGHT & DAY-32.
- ^ Michael Heilemann: George Lucas Stole Chewbacca, But It’s Okay, binarybonsai.com,18. September 2010, Sep 18, '10
- ^ "The real, incredibly mundane reason Darth Vader wears a mask". Sci Fi Wire. 2009-11-24. http://scifiwire.com/2009/11/the-real-incredibly-munda.php.
- ^ Joseph Szadkowski (2007-08-04). "Star Wars' concept art turned into action figures". The Washington Times: p. C09. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/aug/04/star-wars-concept-art-turned-into-action-figures/.
- Bibliography
- Rinzler, J. W. (2007). The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-192499-7.
[edit] External links
- Ralph McQuarrie at the Internet Movie Database
- http://www.ralphmcquarrie.com/ Official website
- The Art of Ralph McQuarrie
- Ralph McQuarrie Concept Sketches and Concept Paintings for Battlestar Galactica (1978)
- General McQuarrie action figure at Rebelscum.com
- McQuarrie Signature Series Concept "Starkiller" Hero (female) action figure
