A galaxy far, far away...

Ralph McQuarrie was the main artist behind the scenes of my most favourite movie franchise, Star Wars. He was the mastermind behind many of the unique characters, weapons and equipment that make Star Wars so memorable.

What inspires me about him is not just his creativity and ingenuity, but also the fact that he went through several, if not a lot of designs and compositions, and put in a lot of effort in developing his ideas, making sure they were special and literally out of this world. Most of his ideas and sketches did not even make the final cut in the movies, but nevertheless displayed his thought and development processes that refine and improve a character to the one we know today. 

Star Wars was the first science fiction movie to be filmed in a long time back in the 1970s, when the first movie debuted in theaters. As such, producers had to make sure it was special enough to make a lasting impression. They needed extraordinary, mind-blowing designs and ideas that represented the yet-to-come, that had never been seen before. 

(PICTURE CREDITS FROM WOOKIEEPEDIA AND GOOGLE IMAGES)

Left: This was concept art he designed for the two robot sidekicks, C-3PO (the humanoid one) and R2-D2 (the short one in the background). 
Below: The final design.

This was concept art for Master Yoda. The variety in his designs remind me that as an artist, one must explore a wide variety of compositions and designs, and expect that some of them may not make the final cut.

Yoda eventually turned out like this in the film.


His artworks are not limited to just character design, but also scenery and composition.

He invented the famous lightsaber, basing it off of weapons from medieval swordplay and ancient Eastern saber arts, and gave it a science fiction touch by creating the idea of it being a handle with a "blade made of pure energy that can cut through anything" and that can be turned on and off.

Sadly, Ralph McQuarrie passed away last year at the ripe old age of 82. He will be remembered by directors and fans alike as one of the greatest Star Wars artists in history.