as "strongly geometric subjects rendered in muted colors against a flat, purposefully compressed backdrop. A McQuarrie Star Wars design looks like what would have resulted if Salvador Dalí had sketched concepts for Universal’s 1936 Flash Gordon serial by way of Sergio Leone’s Old West." Neil Kendricks of The San Diego Union-Tribune emphasised McQuarrie's importance to the Star Wars franchise, saying that the artist "holds a unique position when it comes to defining much of the look of the "Star Wars" universe." After McQuarrie's death, George Lucas said: "His genial contribution, in the form of unequalled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy. When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph's fabulous illustrations and say, 'do it like this'." Legacy The current Lucasfilm creative team is employing parts of McQuarrie's original unused concept art from the seventies and eighties in the development of new Star Wars-related media. Filmography Star Wars (1977) (production illustrator) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (Mother Ship designer) Battlestar Galactica (1978) (production and concept illustrator) Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) (illustrator) The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (design consultant and conceptual artist) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) (ILM illustrator) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) (scenic artist/spaceship design) Return of the Jedi (1983) (conceptual artist) Cocoon (1985) (conceptual artist) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) (visual consultant) *batteries not included (1987) (conceptual artist) Nightbreed (1990) (conceptual artist) Back to the Future: The Ride (1991) (conceptual artist) (uncredited) Actor The Empire Strikes Back (1980)—General McQuarrie (uncredited) Bibliography McQuarrie's previsualization artwork, production sketches and paintings, and matte paintings feature prominently in the first three volumes of The Art of Star Wars book series. Reprinted 1994 Reprinted 1994 Reprinted 1995 See also List of Star Wars artists References Citations General and cited references External links Ralph McQuarrie Concept Sketches and Concept Paintings for Battlestar Galactica (1978) "Ralph McQuarrie obituary: Conceptual artist who brought Star Wars to life" (Guardian article) 1929 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American artists American illustrators American poster artists Artists from Indiana Deaths from Parkinson's disease Film poster artists Neurological disease deaths in California People from Gary, Indiana Role-playing game artists Science fiction artists