Saturday, Legendary concept artist and illustrator Ralph McQuarry passed away in his California home at the age of 82. McQuarry designed the look of the original Star Wars trilogy for George Lucas, creating the aesthetics of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO, among numerous other locations, ships, creatures and droids.
It could easily be said that had McQuarry not done conceptual designs for George Lucas back in 1975, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope may have never gotten made, as McQuarry’s stunning artwork was what Lucas used to help secure funding from 20th Century Fox to produce the film in the first place.
George Lucas posted a touching memorial to McQuarrie on StarWars.com over the weekend, which read in-part:
“Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars. His genial contribution, in the form of unequaled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy. When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and say, ‘Do it like this.’”
More about McQuarrie below but first, check out some of his amazing artwork.
Because no man (not even geek) can live on Star Wars alone, McQuarrie also worked on the 1978 TV series Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and he designed the alien ships for the Steven Spielberg films Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial, as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park. In addition, his work on director Ron Howard‘s film Cocoon scored him an Academy Award for Visual Effects in 1985.
A statement on McQuarrie’s official site read,
“There’s no doubt in our hearts that centuries from now amazing spaceships will soar, future cities will rise, and someone, somewhere will say… that looks like something Ralph McQuarrie painted.”
McQuarrie was a visionary artist whose images fueled my childhood imagination, and I am deeply saddened by his passing. On behalf of the writers and Mob of readers here at SciFiMafia, our hearts go out to Ralph McQuarrie’s family, friends and fans – his contribution to the world of Sci-Fi will be evident for generations to come.
