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| Ralph McQuarrie's seminal art of Deak Starkiller and Darth Vader lightsaber duelling launches STAR WARS ART: CONCEPT. Images: LUCASFILM/ABRAMS BOOKS. |
STAR WARS ART: CONCEPT
Foreword
by Joe Johnston
Preface
by Ryan Church
Introduction
by Doug Chiang
Afterword
by Erik Tiemens
Published
by ABRAMS. Price £25.00
Reviewed by Scott Weller
It started with a
meeting between two remarkable men: youthful up and coming film director George
Lucas and commercial artist Ralph McQuarrie: quiet and unassuming individuals,
intelligent and likable with big ideas and incredible imaginations-
visionaries coming together in an almost symbiotic fusion sharing a passion to
create a believable yet inspiring universe in the best “feel good” factor
traditions of the old Flash Gordon/ Buck Rogers serials of the past, for a
project that would first become known as THE STAR WARS. McQuarrie’s first two
pieces for this adventure of story and film-making, a few little ships in outer
space chase and combat, followed by some audience winning conceptual art for “a
boy, a girl and a universe”, soon set the standard for a created fantasy
playground that, several years later, its blue touch paper having been lit, saw
STAR WARS explode into an incredible and enduring worldwide phenomenon,
spurring five further films and spin-offs galore, of every type, in the thirty
plus years ahead, as many great artists, young and old, savoured the dream and
following in McQuarrie’s immense footsteps, continuing the scope of romantic
adventures and science fiction/fantasy a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far
away...
The beautiful
ABRAMS books series dedicated to the incredible art of STAR WARS in all its
versatile and stunning forms continues apace with its latest release: CONCEPT, truly
a wonderful celebration of McQuarrie and beyond-an instant purchase and a
visually intoxicating treat for the eyes and soul.
Some of those now
legendary 1975 paintings from the original STAR WARS launch the book in classic
style, followed by spirited and stylish ILM co-designer Joe Johnston, bringing
his own unique and accessible pedigree, along with his Padawan learner/protege
Nilo Rodis-Jamero for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Then comes a mixture of Johnston
and a soon project departed McQuarrie’s rarely seen colour art for the Classic
Trilogy’s artistic piece de resistance,
RETURN OF THE JEDI during its early pre-production phase- a tantalizing glimpse
of worlds and situations not actually seen in the final film.
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| STAR WARS ART: CONCEPT. Iain McCaig: Padme Wedding Costume. Concept art for ATTACK OF THE CLONES. Pencil and Marker on paper. |
Into the saga’s
wilderness years, the STAR WARS juggernaut may seemingly slow down after such a
supernova start, but soon begins to build up fresh momentum a few years later, of
which it has now never looked back, starting off with a couple of lovely Nelvana
Studios concepts for the eighties DROIDS TV series showcase, plus some all too
cute EWOKS art. Then its onto the controversial but beautifully realized Prequels,
as George Lucas’s film-making ambitions for a whole new saga took digital flight
and captured the worlds attention from 1999 to 2005- notably the concoctions
and labour of love art from EPISODE I’s Doug Chiang- a worthy successor to the
retired McQuarrie- whose pen and ink style, merged with a fresh new eye, gave
such life and detail to an expansive Old Republic finally being seen for the
first time (the book also including several EPISODE II Chiang concept paintings
I’d never seen before), the legacy continued by Iain McCaig, whose evocative
character and costume ideas would have such intrinsic and iconic importance,
especially to the emerging role of gutsy Naboo Queen then Senator, Padme Amidala.
Erik Tiemens and
Ryan Church become a later but no less vital find for the last two Prequels-
the next generation of WARS imaginators, bringing gritty, earthy drama, clever
use of atmosphere colour and a sense of realism to their key represented
spreads-the desert world at war that is Geonosis and EPISODE III’s tumultuous
finale Clone Wars battles within world dense fantasy environments: from the misty
hills and jungle beached seas of the Wookiee world of Kashyyyk, to the hot and
dusty underground levels of the outer colony city of Utapau. With the middle of
the book firmly dedicated to the Prequel finale, and its important crossover
links, another core talent, Sangjun lee, makes many spirited contributions.
After 2005, the
film saga may have then been declared “complete” by its creator, but the
remaining huge scope and life span of the Prequels and their lead-in to the
original films was ripe for exploration, and would continue to make a mark through
the five ambitious years that would be the animated run of THE CLONE WARS (this
book dips in and out of several seasons material, of which Kilian Plunkett catches
STAR WARS lightning in a bottle- another worthy find to the roster, but also
intriguingly shows some so far unseen concept art for so far unseen season six
episodes: notably the planned return of the Sandpeople of Tatooine), and the
varied excitements of many video game spin-offs, all bringing evergreen new
worlds, ships and technology to the continuing palette .
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| STAR WARS ART: CONCEPT. Richard Lim: Rebel Troopers Concept Art for STAR WARS: FIRST ASSAULT proposed video game. Digital. |
Sadly, proving one
spin-off too far, the two preview pieces of art for Lucas’ on hold animated comedy
series DETOURS fails to capture my imagination, though its presence in the book
will be greatly enjoyed by today’s many younger fans. The renderings concept
art of Jabba the Hutt in his palace and Darth Vader in his meditation chamber
capture the feel and continuity of the films in this less than serious effort,
but, nonetheless, I consider it a pointless endeavour. Thankfully, more iconic
pre-production art from some of the classic LUCASARTS videogames take us back
to worthier pursuits, especially the brilliant sabers clashing, spacecraft
destroying warfare for THE FORCE UNLEASHED (C’mon, who doesn’t like seeing Amy
Beth Christenson’s crashing Star Destroyer, or her stylish imaginings of Vader
charging into battle against Wookiees!), as well as in the thick of it ground
conflict scenarios from FIRST ASSAULT, and the re-teaming of Jedi heroes Anakin
Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, facing monster mania within JEDI ALLIANCE.
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| STAR WARS ART: CONCEPT. Ryan Church: Coruscant Underworld Entertainment Corridor. Concept art for STAR WARS: 1313 proposed video game. Digital. |
The book rounds
itself off nicely with a look at the put on the shelf intrigue and shady
characters of the underground 1313 domain, with the notable return of Ryan
Church and Erik Tiemens, bringing a mixture of light and darkness in the
striking and story potential packed deep lairs of Coruscant- some of it akin to
the kind of modern hell landscapes seen in Ridley Scott’s eighties classic
sci-fi urban nightmare, BLADE RUNNER. Perhaps many of these unused ideas might
make their way into the likely equally gritty, post RETURN OF THE JEDI universe
realms of JJ Abrams upcoming, world-anticipated EPISODE VII? We can but hope.
Back to the
future, Joe Johnston’s foreword reflects on that unique time of his life
working on the classic films, the way that Lucas gave him so much artistic
freedom and helped generate a sense of team spirit: where anything conceptualized
or storyboarded was possible, followed by Ryan Church’s preface on how the
design aesthetic of the original films captured his heart and mind-set from an
early age, making him want to be an artist, as their influence continued to
play such a large part in his life and career. Doug Chiang’s introduction takes
us back to the nineties and how he found and channelled his inner child to
design a new universe, creating art without fear.
Finally, LUCASFILM
Executive Editor J.W. Rinzler, the modern day behind the scenes chronicler of
the STAR WARS movies, sits down with Erik Tiemens for a fun interview about his
work on EPISODEs II and III: the early ideas, the influence of Lucas, the
creation of conceptual art and the fluidic, evolving process such work
undergoes in making its final appearance on celluloid.
AFICIONADO
RATING: Dreams given form. Some of the greatest collected conceptual pieces
ever to be assembled for a STAR WARS book, and another wonderful celebration of
past, present and future from LUCASFILM/ABRAMS. 4 out of 5
Get hold of STAR WARS ART: CONCEPT here: Star Wars Art: Concept (Star Wars Art Series): Amazon.co.uk: Joe Johnston, Lucasfilm Ltd, Ryan Church: Books
