Ralph McQuarrie was born on June 13, 1929 in Gary, Indiana and was raised on a farm near Billings, Montana. McQuarrie moved to California in the 1960s studying at the Art Center School, then in downtown Los Angeles. Initially he worked for a dentistry firm, drawing teeth and equipment. He then went on to work as a technical illustrator for Boeing, as well as designing film posters and animating CBS News's coverage of the Apollo space program at the three man company Reel Three.
Impressed with his work, director George Lucas commissioned McQuarrie to illustrate several scenes from the script of the film, Star Wars. McQuarrie designed many of the film's characters, including Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO and drew many concepts for the film's sets. McQuarrie's concept paintings, including such scenes as R2-D2 and C-3PO arriving on Tatooine helped convince 20th Century Fox to fund Star Wars, which became a huge success upon release in 1977.
Ralph Mcquarrie’s concept paintings greatly appeal to me. They seem epic with stunning alien settings and imaginative character and costume designs. He is able to capture the tone of each scene he depicts perfectly through his excellent use of colour and layout. For instance the striking contrast of the orange clothing against the snow makes his painting seem bold and striking. It also defines the character as a protagonist. The positioning of the machine in the background moving towards the protagonist in the foreground adds to the exhilarating sense action in the scene.
Ralph uses soft delicate brush strokes and a wide variety of tones to give his paintings a realistic quality. He also uses non-naturalistic geometric shapes and lines to make objects or settings look metallic and futuristic. He includes sharp contrasts in colour with white streaks of paint in places to create a metallic gleam.
Ralph’s paintings are unmistakably defined as concept art. He has paid careful consideration to the framing and angle of each of his paintings giving them a cinematic feel. The camera angle is also key to creating the right mood. For instance his painting of Luke and Leia depicts the characters from a high angle making them look small and vulnerable and adding to the sense of danger that is crucial to the scene. It is important that he focuses on cinematic elements like this so that his ideas can be incorporated easily into the movie.
Ralph has clearly embraced the science fiction genre that the Star Wars films belongs to. Many of his settings are very metallic, giving them the futuristic look that the narrative requires. His designs of characters like C-3PO and R2-D2 and his spaceship creations adhere to the conventions of a science fiction film yet exhibit his individual creative flare. I am extremely inspired by Ralph Mcquarrie’s concept paintings. I hope to incorporate his attention to detail and his creation of different moods into my own concept art work. I will also try to give my paintings a cinematic feel like his work, through my choices of framing and camera angles.
Impressed with his work, director George Lucas commissioned McQuarrie to illustrate several scenes from the script of the film, Star Wars. McQuarrie designed many of the film's characters, including Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO and drew many concepts for the film's sets. McQuarrie's concept paintings, including such scenes as R2-D2 and C-3PO arriving on Tatooine helped convince 20th Century Fox to fund Star Wars, which became a huge success upon release in 1977.
Ralph Mcquarrie’s concept paintings greatly appeal to me. They seem epic with stunning alien settings and imaginative character and costume designs. He is able to capture the tone of each scene he depicts perfectly through his excellent use of colour and layout. For instance the striking contrast of the orange clothing against the snow makes his painting seem bold and striking. It also defines the character as a protagonist. The positioning of the machine in the background moving towards the protagonist in the foreground adds to the exhilarating sense action in the scene.
Ralph uses soft delicate brush strokes and a wide variety of tones to give his paintings a realistic quality. He also uses non-naturalistic geometric shapes and lines to make objects or settings look metallic and futuristic. He includes sharp contrasts in colour with white streaks of paint in places to create a metallic gleam.
Ralph’s paintings are unmistakably defined as concept art. He has paid careful consideration to the framing and angle of each of his paintings giving them a cinematic feel. The camera angle is also key to creating the right mood. For instance his painting of Luke and Leia depicts the characters from a high angle making them look small and vulnerable and adding to the sense of danger that is crucial to the scene. It is important that he focuses on cinematic elements like this so that his ideas can be incorporated easily into the movie.
Ralph has clearly embraced the science fiction genre that the Star Wars films belongs to. Many of his settings are very metallic, giving them the futuristic look that the narrative requires. His designs of characters like C-3PO and R2-D2 and his spaceship creations adhere to the conventions of a science fiction film yet exhibit his individual creative flare. I am extremely inspired by Ralph Mcquarrie’s concept paintings. I hope to incorporate his attention to detail and his creation of different moods into my own concept art work. I will also try to give my paintings a cinematic feel like his work, through my choices of framing and camera angles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_McQuarrie
