Ralph McQuarrie 1929 - 2012
Ralph McQuarrie was an American conceptual designer and illustrator, creating the visual design for films such as Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and most famously - Star Wars.
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Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars. His genial contribution, in the form of unequalled 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.’ - George Lucas 4
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“I believe without the artistry of Ralph McQuarrie, I might not have ever been involved in the Star Wars phenomenon. My admiration for him and his abilities is sincere. With his craftmanship, his art and his spirit, he created an image of a figure that really did arc between man and machine. As the man inside, I am very grateful to him.� - Anthony Daniels
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Ralph McQuarrie was born on June 13, 1929 in Gary, Indiana. Even at a very early age, he was immersed in the world of art. His first influences came in the form of his parents. Both of them were artists. He landed his first major job with Kaiser Graphics. Not too long after that, his employment shifted to the Boeing Company. Here, his abilities in mechanical drawing where a major asset as he illustrated the latest concepts in air and spacecraft. With his graphic illustration used for the televised coverage of NASA’s Apollo lunar missions, which was viewed by millions of Americans, he succeeded in putting himself on the map.
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In 1965, he made a rather large career move as he decided to pack up and relocate to California. There, he set up his business in Venice Beach where he started free-lancing in the film industry. This consisted of painting backgrounds for animation and creating artwork for movie posters.
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“George had described Vader as having flowing black robes. In the script, Vader had to jump from one ship to another and, in order to survive the vacuum of space, I felt he needed some sort of breathing mask. George said, ‘OK,’ suggested adding a samurai helmet, and Darth Vader was born. Simple as that.” - Ralph McQuarrie 12
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In 1975 he became acquainted with George Lucas who was trying to convince Fox to finance an epic science fiction fantasy, called “Star Wars�. McQuarrie collaborated with Lucas and came up with the look of the film. His conceptual sketches and paintings were as original as they were otherworldly. The project was a surprising blockbuster. This led McQuarrie to contribute to the trilogy. It is he who gave the iconic looks to Darth Vader, R2-D2, Sandcrawlers and Stormtrooper armour.
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McQuarrie went on to create concept designs for the original Battlestar Galactica television series and theatrical blockbusters Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. The Extraterrestrial. In 1985, he won an Academy Award for for visual effects in the film Cocoon.
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“Beyond the movies, his artwork has inspired at least two generations of younger artists — all of whom learned through Ralph that movies are designed.” - George Lucas 17
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