Star Wars Conceptual Artist Ralph McQuarrie Dies at 82

First time accepted submitter puddingebola writes "Ralph McQuarrie, the conceptual designer that created the look of characters such as Darth Vader, Chewbacca and R2-D2, and helped design sets and scenes for George Lucas has passed away at 82. From the article: 'The success of his Star Wars paintings launched a late feature film career for McQuarrie that included helping design such classics as Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial, Back to the Future, Cocoon, Total Recall, and the original TV series Battlestar Galactica.'"

Comments

Here's to you!

[Nyder]

I dedicate this bowl of weed to the great designs you drew and kept me entertained for so many years!

Here's to you!

Re:Here's to you!

[causality]

And a stoner who models their life after "Cheech & Chong" is mature? I'm sorry, but if you need mind altering substances to bring value to your life, then you must have a pretty horrid life.

I don't believe it is proper to model one's life after any stereotype or Hollywood image. I'd rather be an individual and so would anyone else who truly understands what this means. That this model in particular bothers you is irrelevant to me. To me, they are all equally abhorrent and phony when viewed as anything more than entertainment.

The hinge of your statement is "need". Mind altering substances can also be appreciated. I would say that if you need to use a Web site to bring value to your life, that's also a horrid life. Yet, someone can use and enjoy a Web site without making it the center of one's existence. You could say that about hobbies, movies, relationships, anything really; for all of those things there is an unhealthy way of being too attached to them and giving them undue importance. We call the the unhealthy ones fanboys, zealots, and codependents. We call the healthy ones people who enjoy their free time.

To treat drugs as anything unusual or special is your particular hang-up. The inability to recognize it as such that prompts you to blame others for not living as you do is a character flaw and an area in which you are emotionally immature. It is the difference between someone who simply does not belong to a religion but honors the freedom of those who do, versus someone who hates all religious people and would love to shut down every church. You merely found a form of bigotry that is less likely to be challenged than hating people of faith, people of color, people of a particular gender, etc.

Why God why!?

[WiiVault]

Couldn't it have been George. Cruel I know, but so is what he does seemingly for a living now- destroying my childhood and that of millions of other fans in the search for his ego. Queue the karma bonfire.

A hand I would love to have shaken...

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

I do visual work for a living. We have a whole library of art we look at for inspiration and Mr. McQuarrie's right at the top of the list. His work not only affected my visual development as a youngin, I mean who at my age didn't see Star Wars, but for the rest of my life his paintings will be studied and, even if indirectly, they'll continue to serve to entertain the world.

I'm exhausted right now. I really wish I had the ability to speak more eloquently about this man. I'm just at a loss for words. I hear this man's name at least once a week and it seems like I'd just have a lot more to say. But I'm tired. I'm just going to leave it at this: I really wish I could have shaken his hand, both for personal and for professional reasons.

Farewell, Mr. McQuarrie. You were fantastic.