I
wanted to try something different and do a quick review of a new book I just
picked up, it was so cool I wanted to let others know about it.
Ralph
Mcquarrie, Star Wars Art is a book
that compiles over a decade of artwork that shaped the look of the Star wars franchise. Not only does
the book cover Macquarie’s vast portfolio of concept art and paintings, but it
also walk’s through his work process, thoughts on creativity, and materials.
Above Right: Evolution
of Chewbacca
Right:
The
making of Boba Fett
I
own quite a few art books and I have to say that this is one of the most
gorgeous jam-packed with art I have seen. It helps too that it’s actually a
dual set of books each 400 pages, so it takes a while to go through it all. Some
pages contain storyboards, and character and ship concept art evolution and
others are panoramic spreads of massive matte paintings used in production. Its
really great to see in detail how almost every
visual aspect of Star Wars was
brought
to life by the vision of Mcquarrie.
This
is easily one of the favorite books I own, up there with the complete works of
John Singer Sergeant, The Portraits of Rembrandt and the sketchbook of Frank Lloyd Wrght. The only downsides
are that its heavy, around 20lbs and its super expensive it goes for around
$170. I would imagine though if this ever goes out of print it could become a
collectors item.
