You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
You may have heard of a little franchise named ‘Star Wars’, well, if not, once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away, a man named George Lucas decided to create a film titled Star Wars: A New Hope. A New Hope went on to make 775.8 million dollars at the box offices across the globe as well as creating an endless stream of profit from merchandise, collectibles, and brand deals. It seems that the little indie film titled Star Wars was quite the money maker from the visionary George Lucas.
Star Wars wasn't always seen as the global phenomenon or the huge money-making franchise that it is now. When the film first broke onto the scene, many believed the film would flop due to its ‘small budget’, out of the world aesthetic, and overall concept. Due to the rather disappointing expectation surrounding the film, George Lucas, and the rest of the Star Wars collaborators, had to think outside the box to create the sets, characters, animation, backdrops, costumes, and the overall aesthetics of the movie. Little did they know that the original film was revolutionary for its time, has aged like a fine wine and become one of the pivotal moments in cinema history and more importantly, popular culture.
Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art
We may have Ralph McQuarrie to thank for all things Star Wars. Without McQuarries’s concepts, Star Wars would have never made it past the idea stage. Yes, George Lucas was the man who created Star Wars, the man who created the story, and the man who directed the first film, but, a big factor in the appeal and the overall aesthetic of Star Wars was created by Ralph McQuarrie. Without McQuarrie, we never would have had the Darth Vader, the R2-D2, or the C3PO we have today. All the iconic character designs, costumes, colours, and most importantly, personality came from the paintbrush of Ralph McQuarrie.
It is not only the characters that helped bring Star Wars to life but also the overall world design and breath taking landscapes that allowed all audiences to switch their brains off and step into a brand new world, a brand new galaxy. From the sunny sands of the Tatooine desert filmed in Tunisia, to the swamps of Dagobah,created in a film backlot in London. Every set, every design, every concept and every final look was inspired by the world-building and concept artwork of Ralph McQuarrie.
Ralph McQuarrie’s concepts are what drew everyone in, it's what intrigued the film's investors, and finally, what the design teams used to create some of the most iconic costumes and film sets the world has ever seen.
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic has been one of the most wonderful things to come from the creation of Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic also known as ILM is a motion picture special effects company that was founded by George Lucas in 1975. The company was founded as George Lucas wanted films to reach new heights. He wanted to create visual effects that had never been seen in the world of cinema ever before. With the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the story telling capability of the Flash Gordon television series as reference points, Lucas set out to create a company that could not just mimic the visual effects of some of his favourite Science Fiction movies, but take visual effects to a brand new level and even in the year 2022, ILM is still reaching new heights and breaking the set moulds for visual effects in both cinema and television.
Without Industrial Light & Magic the revolutionary visual effects which include the physical creation of models, puppets and sets that we see within all the original Star Wars films wouldn't have been possible. Due to ILM, Star Wars was able to showcase a high level of realism through a series of animatronics, models and practical effects. This is something that had, at the time, never been done successfully within the film industry. For example, the character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet controlled and voiced by Frank Oz, while the Death Star explosion was created using cardboard and titanium. Many animations were created through Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s stop motion techniques and even the trench run was created with a camera tracking a model in the carpark of ILM.
George Lucas was smart enough to surround himself with some of the most talented visual artists in the world which allowed him to create a company that became a central hub for visual effect creativity. This allowed the various and unique techniques that were used to create Star Wars: A New Hope to grow and grow to the point where George Lucas’ ideas could become a reality.
Phil Tippet and Jon Berg’s Stop Motion
In 1975 a young George Lucas hired Phil Tippet and Jon Berg to join the Industrial Light & Magic team. The two artists were hired to create a variety of stop motion scenes and characters within Star Wars: A New Hope such as a variety of alien species within the cantina scene in Mos Eisley, but more importantly, the two were hired to create the iconic stop motion chess scene in the Millennium Falcon played between Chewbacca and C3PO.
Not only did Phil Tippet assist in a variety of stop motion scenes within the Star Wars franchise, but the artist also created his own variation of stop motion animation, an animation technique called ‘Go-motion’. Go motion was revolutionary for the stop motion field as it allowed motion blur to be incorporated into each frame involving motion, allowing for every movement within the scene to create a real sense of realism.
Matte Paintings
We now live in a world where anything can be created on a computer screen. Need some extra people in the background? Need the street widened? Need a giant 20-foot monster? This can easily be created as technology has progressed and computer-generated imagery has become a thing. In the year 1977, CGI was not invented yet, so the LucasArts and ILM team had to think outside of the box to be able to set the tone of the film and essentially create the world that is Star Wars. Thanks to the work of Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie, the team behind the matte paintings, we were able to see the gritty, used and futuristic world George Lucas envisioned.
Made out of plexiglass and oil paint, the matte paintings were used to fool the audience. The matte paintings combined with a live-action performance and the trickery of perspective, created the perfect scene that managed to fool the world and allowed audiences across the globe to believe the actors were in outer space or a variety of unfamiliar planets. Some of the matte paintings were created as backdrops, some were to complete scenes that were too complicated to build sets for or completely out of this world, and not physically possible to create. Whereas, other matte paintings were created as new windows in a completely new galaxy or a whole scene.
Character Creation
We are first introduced to the marvellous world of creatures and characters as we step into the Mos Eisley cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, the area within the Star Wars universe where “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy” as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker. To create all the creatures and aliens within the scene, a very DIY approach was taken with a mixture of makeup, camera, special effects, puppetry, and animatronic methods used to push the boundaries of character creation.
The character of Chewbacca is a clear example of the excellent outside-of-the-box thinking for character design. The Chewbacca bodysuit was constructed by artist Stuart Freeborn’s wife Kay Freeborn. The bodysuit was made out of mohair and yak hair that was knitted together to create the hairy bear-like aesthetic that we have grown to love over the years. Stuart Freeborn was also the British make-up artist who designed and fabricated one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, Yoda. Although not introduced to the franchise until the film after A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda was another great example of character design being built and moulded to be voiced and controlled by legendary actor and filmmaker Frank Oz. A character who would and has been recreated using CGI within the prequel Star Wars movies in the current age of cinema.
Another great example of makeshift thinking and character designs within Star Wars: A New Hope is the design and overall execution of the Bantha creatures. The creature was played by a trained 8,500-pound animal elephant named Mardji. Mardji was put in a head mask constructed from chicken wire and foam, horns made from flexible ventilation tubing, and a beautiful shaggy overcoat of palm fronds.
Star Wars: A New Hope was a film that started it all for the franchise. With its unique and out-of-the-box creation methods, a team of excellent creatives, and the overall world-building and storytelling skills from George Lucas, we were able to get a piece of art that has stood the tests of time and has only gotten better and better as time has passed.
