Ralph McQuarrie

Ralph McQuarrie was a conceptual designer and futurist responsible for many of the designs and aesthetics featured in the original trilogy. He also provided concept illustrations for Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and the illustration of the Ark of the Covenant seen in a Bible near the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark. He often went by the initials "RMQ," which he used as his signature. McQuarrie was tuckerized via a cameo in The Empire Strikes Back as General Pharl McQuarrie.
Most of his concept art is featured in The Illustrated Star Wars Universe and The Art of Ralph McQuarrie. It was also featured in the 2014 title The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight, authored by Tony DiTerlizzi. In the 30th Anniversary toy series, McQuarrie's concept art is turned into actual action figures. Such figures include a concept Chewbacca, a concept Han Solo, a concept Darth Vader, a concept Starkiller hero (the precursor to Luke Skywalker), two separate releases of the concept stormtrooper and a concept snowtrooper.
==Biography==
===Films===
Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie, a collection of McQuarrie's Star Wars artworks, was released on September 27, 2016. The set had a foreword by George Lucas and featured over 2,000 illustrations rescanned and rephotographed from conceptual paintings, costume designs, storyboards, book covers, and Lucasfilm holiday cards.
File:Hoth trenches.jpg|Live-action still from the filming of The Empire Strikes Back
File:Rebels.jpg|Production art of the same scene of the film
File:MCQ-illustrate.jpg|RMQ working on a matte painting for The Empire Strikes Back
===Influence on Star Wars Rebels===
McQuarrie's work has influenced the TV series Star Wars Rebels in multiple ways.
*The art style of Rebels is very similar to that of McQuarrie's concept art.
*The design of Lothal was based on some of McQuarrie's concept art.
*The design of Zeb and his species, the Lasat, were based on early Chewbacca art done by McQuarrie.
*A man based on an early McQuarrie design of "General Skywalker" can be seen seated behind Sabine Wren in the episode "Droids in Distress."
*The design of Azmorigan was based on early Jabba the Hutt art done by McQuarrie.
*The character Quarrie, introduced in the episode "Wings of the Master," is named after McQuarrie.
*The Moyn are based on a rough sketch for an alien bounty hunter in The Empire Strikes Back.
*The stylized version of Darth Vader is a reference to McQuarrie's one, also used on the cover of the first edition of the novelization of A New Hope.
*The E-XD infiltrator droids' standard forms resemble C-3PO's original concept art.
===Influence on Star Wars: The Bad Batch===
*The TK stormtrooper armor was based on McQuarrie's early Stormtrooper armor designs.
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:Card game artists
Category:Comic book cover artists
Category:Concept artists
Category:Cover artists
Category:Deceased actors
Category:Reference work artists
Category:Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back actors