Ralph McQuarrie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ralph McQuarrie
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McQuarrie visiting ILM in 2008
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| Born | June 13, 1929 Gary, Indiana, U.S.
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| Died | March 3, 2012 (aged 82) Berkeley, California, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Art Center College of Design |
| Occupation | Illustrator, designer |
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Notable work
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| Spouse(s) |
Joan Benjamin
(m. 1983) |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (1985) |
Ralph McQuarrie (born June 13, 1929 – died March 3, 2012) was an American artist and designer. He was famous for creating the look of many characters and worlds in movies like the original Star Wars films. He also worked on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Cocoon, for which he won an Academy Award.
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Early Life and Art School
Ralph McQuarrie was born in Gary, Indiana, on June 13, 1929. He grew up on a farm in Billings, Montana. During the Korean War, he served in the United States Army. After the war, Ralph moved to California in the 1960s. He studied art at the Art Center School in Los Angeles.
Beginning His Career
Ralph McQuarrie started his career by drawing teeth and dental equipment for a company. Later, he worked for the Boeing Company. There, he drew diagrams for the manual on how to build the 747 Jumbo Jet. He also designed movie posters. He even helped animate CBS News' coverage of the Apollo space program.
While working at a small company called Reel Three, Ralph was asked to create some drawings for a film project. This led him to meet a young filmmaker named George Lucas.
Creating the Look of Star Wars
George Lucas was very impressed by Ralph McQuarrie's art. In 1975, Lucas asked Ralph to draw scenes from his new space-fantasy movie script, The Star Wars. Lucas needed these drawings to show to film studios. He wanted to help them imagine what his movie would look like.
Ralph's amazing paintings were key to getting 20th Century Fox to fund the movie. With his vivid art, Lucas convinced the studio to take a chance on Star Wars. When the movie came out in 1977, it was a huge success!
Ralph designed many famous Star Wars characters. These included Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO. He also drew many ideas for the movie's sets. His painting of R2-D2 and C-3PO in the desert on Tatooine was the very first one he finished.
Designing Darth Vader
George Lucas wanted Darth Vader to be a tall, dark, and spooky figure. Ralph McQuarrie suggested that Vader should wear a space suit because he would travel between spaceships. Ralph combined a full-face breathing mask with a samurai helmet. This created one of the most iconic designs in movie history!
Ralph's early drawing of Darth Vader fighting a character (who later became Luke Skywalker) looked very much like the final costume. This shows how successful his first ideas were. The costume designer, John Mollo, and sculptor, Brian Muir, used Ralph's designs to create Vader's famous look.
- McQuarrie's ''Star Wars'' designs
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McQuarrie's design for Vader was inspired by samurai helmets.
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The final design of Darth Vader's helmet.
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The robot from Metropolis (1927) that inspired McQuarrie's C-3PO.
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Imperial stormtroopers.
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The final design of the robot C-3PO.
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R2-D2.
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Ralph also created the cover art for the first Star Wars book. This book was also very popular. Ralph continued to create art for many other Star Wars books.
Working on Star Trek
Around the time he finished Star Wars, Ralph also worked on a movie idea for Star Trek. The movie was called Star Trek: Planet of the Titans. Ralph designed a new USS Enterprise spaceship. His triangular design looked a bit like the Star Destroyers from Star Wars. This Star Trek movie was never made. However, his design was later used for the ship in Star Trek: Discovery in 2017.
Designing for Star Wars Sequels
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When George Lucas started working on the next Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Ralph was asked to help again. His drawings helped create the look of things like the giant AT-AT Walkers on the ice planet Hoth. He also designed the wise creature Yoda.
Ralph even had a small, uncredited role in The Empire Strikes Back. He appeared as General Pharl McQuarrie in the Rebel base on Hoth. In 2007, an action figure was made of him as "General McQuarrie." Action figures were also made based on his early concept art for characters like the Imperial Stormtrooper, Chewbacca, and Boba Fett.
By the time of the third Star Wars movie, Return of the Jedi (1983), Ralph felt less excited. He said it became harder to keep his enthusiasm. Because of this, fewer of his ideas were used in the final movie.
Other Film and TV Projects
Ralph McQuarrie also designed alien ships for Steven Spielberg's movies. These included Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). His work on the 1985 movie Cocoon earned him an Academy Award for Visual Effects. He also worked on the 1978 TV series Battlestar Galactica and other films like Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Retirement and Legacy
Ralph McQuarrie was asked to design for the Star Wars prequel movies, but he said no. He felt he had "run out of steam." He retired, and his Star Wars concept paintings were shown in art exhibitions.
Many of Ralph's unused designs from the original Star Wars movies were later used in animated TV shows. These include Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. For example, the character Zeb Orrelios was based on Ralph's early ideas for Chewbacca.
Personal Life
Ralph McQuarrie married Joan Benjamin in 1983. They were married until he passed away at age 82 on March 3, 2012. He died at his home in Berkeley, California, due to complications from Parkinson's disease.
Why His Work Was Important
Many people have praised Ralph McQuarrie's work. He helped create the "used future" look of Star Wars. This meant imagining a galaxy that felt old, dirty, and lived-in, not shiny and new. His style was unique, using strong shapes and soft colors.
George Lucas himself said that Ralph's amazing paintings "propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy." He added that when his own words couldn't explain his ideas, he could always point to one of Ralph's drawings and say, "do it like this."
Today, the people who create new Star Wars stories still use Ralph's original, unused concept art. This shows how important his vision was and still is.
Filmography
- Star Wars (1977) (production illustrator)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (Mother Ship designer)
- Battlestar Galactica (1978) (production and concept illustrator)
- Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) (illustrator)
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (design consultant and conceptual artist)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) (ILM illustrator)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) (scenic artist/spaceship design)
- Return of the Jedi (1983) (conceptual artist)
- Cocoon (1985) (conceptual artist)
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) (visual consultant)
- *batteries not included (1987) (conceptual artist)
- Nightbreed (1990) (conceptual artist)
- Back to the Future: The Ride (1991) (conceptual artist) (uncredited)
Actor
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980)—General McQuarrie (uncredited)
See also
In Spanish: Ralph McQuarrie para niños
- List of Star Wars artists
