Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie

This book is fantastic!! For me it’s the best Art Of book I own. I have been collecting this type of book for years now and this has to be the King. I was 10 years old when I saw the first Ralph McQuarrie painting in Readers Digest (my mums) in 1977. This was way before the movie was released here in the UK. I guess I was a fan from that point onwards... I don’t want to repeat in detail what has been said before about quality of the product as everyone is pretty much spot on. It’s first class. However I could like to say a bit about layout and content. First of all I had no idea that there was so much art and illustration by the artist. I lot of this I have not seen before. There is a common sense approach to the layout of work here. Each final production painting is accompanied by the loose sketches, thumbnails and colour marker renderings that led to the final painting. I think we can safely call this the design process and it is done in a way that makes us appreciate the thought process that went into building the Star Wars universe. It’s not just a layout choice by the book designer, it is as close as we can get to the order of how the artist most likely organised his workflow. I gave the The Art of The Force Awakens a pretty negative review. Myself and one other at the time of writing this. We are clearly in the minority, however I feel that this book was laid out in a mess with a large proportion of final art that does not show this process. Indeed there are sketches but the majority of the work feels polished and complete. No arguments on the final work, It looks great but I feel Art Of books have lost their edge a bit over the years. I also appreciate that this is one book about one artist who has a lot of content but that design process seemed to be covered to an extent in earlier Star Wars books. The Art of The Phantom Menace is a fantastic book. Pity about the movie ;-) Ok, rant over! So, If you are a big Star Wars fan and an artist then I strongly urge that you get a hold of this. I can’t imagine that there was a big print run so go get it. Many moons ago I had a chance of getting Kronoteko, by Syd Mead. I never took that chance and have always regretted it. A quality set of books on a limited run that can fetch around £600 now. We may be looking at a similar product here. Yes, it’s pricey and others got theirs for £80 odd quid but don’t let that put you off. I think it’s worth the full price. This is a truly inspiring collection of work that should not be overlooked. Enjoy :-)

Do you like Ralph McQuarrie's art work? If the answer is yes then just buy the book. Save the money if necessary as it is entirely worth it and I don't imagine there will be an opportunity to see this work presented this well. I've looked through the first book for the first time for nearly an hour this evening and got to page 60. I've loved every page so far, from the main text to the quotes to the little image annotations and facts. The prospect of another 740 pages like this is very exciting... It has all the makings of a being a classic publication and oozes the term 'definitive'. Size-wise it's pretty hulking. It's very heavy and you need to balance half the book on your lap and the other on something else as you're reading. From what I've seen so far the image reproduction is absolutely fantastic, bright and brilliant. If I was going to be a real stickler I'd have liked the gold blocking on the spine to have been neater and a bit more polished, same with a little bit of the cloth finishing on the slipcase on my copy. This is relatively minor stuff though and the books themselves (which is the important bit) from what I've looked at so far are great. The artwork is incredible, seeing the early sketches in large sizes really shows how amazing his technical skills were and the paintings are gorgeous. So glad I pre-ordered this and give it a huge recommendation.

Kicking myself for not pre -ordering when this was first announced back at the end of 2015!! Talked the wife into getting me this for my birthday. Boy is it worth every penny. Arrives very well packaged in a big sturdy white box (as all high end Star Wars books do) and this book is not light!! there is some hefty weight to it (so you would need a strong coffee table!!). Amazing quality for both volumes of this book. The full visualisation of both GL and RM effectively designing and setting out the entire galaxy and the force is fantastic. Turn after turn of every page reveals more and more fantastic images and ideas and its nice to see how these developed from the original concept into the finished items. If your a fan of the franchise and love this kind of book then you must have a copy of this. Get it while you can.....pretty sure this will become a collectors item...

As you would expect given the price, these books are huge and extremely heavy coffee table books! Absolutely stunning and worth the premium price tag. Just make sure you know where you’re going to store them!

I love art books that explore the behind the scene details and effort that go into bringing a movie to life and with a film like star wars there is a lot of amazing content in this huge 2 volume art book. I collect a lot of these types of books and I pre-ordered this months ago at £83 and I must say this is the best art book I own. If you are a fan or student of how movies are brought to life from concept sketches and costume design this is fantastic and a real treat. While I may have got mine at a barging price I still think it is well worth the RRP listed.

This is a deluxe compilation of the Star Wars concept work of McQuarrie. I find it to be both enthralling and educational, as an artist myself. The artwork is beautiful, and the print quality and large format presentation, does it justice. You can really see how so many of the characters and props in the first released Star Wars movies were developed and refined, to become those iconic ones we know today. McQuarrie was a brilliant concept artist, and the images in these sumptuous volumes show why.

Excelente libro del creador visual del universo de Star Wars.

What a great book, it arrived in pristine condition and is very intriguing, though can be very dust prone due to the felt.

Consegna puntuale. Regali per il mio nipote. È rimasto felice

Imprescindible!!!

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." ...in the later months of 1977, Ballantine Books published a special product: the Star Wars Portfolio , a collection of 21 production paintings created to inspire the craftsmen and women who helped realize the vision of filmmaker George Lucas in his epic motion picture, "Star Wars." This unique piece of early "Star Wars" merchandise was followed by similar portfolio editions of the succeeding movies in the "Star Wars" Original Trilogy, the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Portfolio (24 Art Prints in Cardstock Envelope) and the Return of the Jedi Portfolio . The man behind these paintings would soon become a legendary figure in the history of the beloved "Star Wars" Saga, Ralph McQuarrie. "Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie" is a massive 2 volume tribute to this talented illustrator and in this "Star Wars" fan's opinion, one of the most definitive books on the Saga ever published. The 2 books that comprise this collection are hardcover tomes with black cloth covers, each adorned with a black and white reproduction of sketches drawn by Mr. McQuarrie: both are contained within a similarly designed slipcase which features a full color reprinting of a production painting of early versions of the droid duo C-3PO and R2-D2. Weighing approximately 20 pounds (I couldn't resist putting it on a scale!), this is a serious and stunning set of art books! It should be understood by the reader and collector that much of the material in these volumes has been published before in the many different books and other publications released about the Saga since "The Star Wars Portfolio," such as: The Art of Star Wars, Episode IV - A New Hope book by Carol Titelman, first published in 1979 and revised for the "Star Wars Special Edition" in 1997, along with its Original Trilogy sequel volumes, The Art of Star Wars, Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back by Vic Bulluck and Valerie Hoffman, and The Art of Star Wars, Episode VI - Return of the Jedi ; and The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (Star Wars) by Mr. McQuarrie and Kevin Anderson, first released in 1997. Many additional pieces of previously unreleased production art were displayed in the limited edition treasure The Art of Ralph McQuarrie by John David Scoleri and Stan Stice, published in 2007 by Dream and Visions Press. The books in this collection add to those previous tomes with an even greater wealth of never before released art by Mr. McQuarrie. The true achievement of this very special edition is that it compiles all of Mr. McQuarrie's colossal creative contribution to the "Star Wars" phenomenon in one published work. For fans of the Saga, these books reveal the immense, imaginative vision of this gifted artist and also showcase the lasting influence Mr. McQuarrie still has on the ongoing "Star Wars" mythology that is cherished around the world. As the reader immerses him or herself into this collection, they will find themselves taken to the very beginning of the "Star Wars" Saga as George Lucas and Mr. McQuarrie collaborate in bringing to life "a galaxy far, far away." From Mr. Lucas' sparse pencil sketches of his initial toughts on the designs of the X-Wing and Tie Fighter craft, Mr. McQuarrie's fully painted production illustrations of the distinctive space ships soaring into battle to the evolving realizations of the vast and various characters and worlds in the "Star Wars" universe, this multi-volume set can be considered the ultimate book of Genesis in understanding the birth and ever growing saga that is "Star Wars." A highlight of this tome are the expanded reproductions of many of Mr. McQuarrie's famous conceptual paintings. These "detail" images give the reader the opportunity to more closely examine the technique of the artist. As someone who has been fortunate enough to have actually seen some of Mr. McQuarrie's original production paintings at a "Star Wars Celebration" convention, this reviewer was very grateful to have the chance to more fully gaze at these remarkable renderings. The original works of concept art are surprisingly modest in their true dimensions but the power and sense of scope they invoke have always been awe-inspiring. Paging through these volumes, the reader will discover that sense of grandeur again and again. Another highlight of this collection is the accompanying text, researched and compiled from the Lucasfilm archives and edited by Brandon Alinger, David Mandel, and Wade Lageose. Interspersed throughout the 2 volumes this enlightening companion to the wide variety of artwork provides contextual history and rewarding remembrances from Mr. McQuarrie and other artisans in the creation of these cherished works of space fantasy art. An example of these recollections is the following quote from Craig Barron, a matte photographer and longtime friend to the artist: "Star Wars is an entire world created by George's imagination, realized by Ralph's illustrations. It's a timeless universe with its distinct technology and history. It exists whenever you're watching it. It has magic to it." How true. Magnificent in its size, weight and collected contents, "Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie" is quite simply one of the greatest books ever published on the "Star Wars" Saga. It is a volume I happily give my very highest recommendation. May the Force be with you, always!