star wars sketch book

8/6/2019 Star Wars Sketch Book

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B I IJ O E J O H N S T O N

BALLANTINE BOOKS NEW YORK


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N Y R D U C T I D NJoe Johnston, who is responsible for these sketches of STAR WARS spacecraft models,was in itia lly h ired as a storyboard artis t in August 1975. In preparing sto ryboards of thec lim actic space battle above the Death S tar, Johnston drew and re-drew the X-w ingfighlers, TI E fighters and other spacecraft which were the primary visuals for thatsequence. He was then asked to do thesketches wh ich would serve as a guide to them o de l b uild ers .Earlier, Colin Cantwell, who did much of the model work on 2001, had been hired to builda series of prototype models, The Cantwell models were beautifully done and served asa good foundation for several of the ships, As the script was altered, director GeorgeLucas decided that new spacecraft were necessary . Johnston, a fter d iscussions w ithLucas and Special Photographic Effects Supervisor John Dykstra, produced thesketches lor the Corellian pirateship and the Life Pod,Johnston based his rendition of Ihe Sandcrawler, which is the only landbound vehicle inth is co llec tio n, O n o ne created by Ralph McOuarrie 10 r a series o f p ro du ctio n p ain tin gs.Johnston then elaborated on all 01 the vehicles, adding delailing which brought a certainreality 10them,Steve G aw ley w as g iven the task 01 transla ting Johnston 's sketches in to w orkab ledrattmqs Irom which the model shop, under the dlreclion 01Grant McCune, would buildthe requ ired total seventy-f ive models required lor Ihe film,As the film went into production and fhe ships began 10 lake solid form, all 01 the designsunderwent changes. John Dykstra m igh t insist, fo r example, that an antenna was tootnln 10photoqraph properly or a wing support had to be thickened to prevent Vibration,AI! of these considerations would be reflected in the f inal designs,As soon as models were completed and approved, they were photographed from allangles, These photographs were sent to John Barry, the set designer, who supervisedthe ir fu ll-sca le construction at the EM l Stud ios in London .Parallels can be found between STAR WARS and Lucas' earlier fil m, American Grafflli,


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in the c lose re la tionsh ips o f characters to the ir vehicles, "A bit o f that com es through inSTAR WARS:' comments Johnston, "especially in Han Solo's Ship, The Corellianpirateship is a highly modified freighter, George wanted it to look like it was souped-upand the body was stripped down 10make it faster, It was a big smuggler's hot-rodspace-trsiqhter," As Johnston might add, quoting Han Solo, "and I made a fewmodifications mysel f . "

CAROL WIKAASKADIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONSSTAR WARS

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III ER IA S AROE VThe Star Destroyer is the Empire's top-of-the-line in mobile fighting ships. Heavilyarmored and bristling with guns, the Star Destroyer is a floating fortress. This isessentially Colin Cantwell's concept, but the scale of the final version is several timesthe size of the prototype. The Star Destroyer is the most minutely detailed of all theships. It is covered in tiny plates, many no iargerthan 1/16" square and .020"inthickness. The Star Destroyer was built largely from one sketch. time prohibiting anyworking drawings.


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R E B E L B L O C K A D E R U N N E R(The Princess' 5 tarsh ip )The Rebel Blockade Runner was originally the pirateship or Millennium Fa/con, until itwas decided that a more unique shape should be used for the-ship featured as HanSolo's vehicle. The Blockade Runner is a truly antiquated craft. Multiple fuel-burningengines, Nemo-esque fins and a hammerhead cockpit suggest an era. when spaceshipswere commissioned and handcrafted. The Blockade Runner was the first ship to becompleted but was later stripped of paint and reworked for more detail.


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L I EPA recognizable "space capsule" appearance best suited our needs for the Life Pod. Thepod was actually held suspended in a bay and dropped by electro-mechanical fingersinto a net 20 fee! below, while being photographed at 85 frames per second. Theserequirements dictated a smooth outer surface with no obstructions behind the centralwaist for the claws to hang upon. The back end of the pod was hollowed out and thefront weighted to keep it nose-heavy and falling straig ht.Page 17; Life Pod jettisoned from tJlBHebclBroceace Bunner.


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S K V H D P P E RWe get a brief glimpse of the Skyhopper in Luke's garage, Since it is partially obscuredby a wall, this sketch is the first time many will see the total design. (Those who are veryobservant may have noted the model of the plane Luke toyed with in this scene.) It wasintended to be a low-orbital spacecraft used by Luke to chase womp rats on his homeplanet, Tatooine. Full usage of this vehicle was made impossible by the mounting costsof the film.If such a plane were sitting in Luke's garage, why didn't he use it, instead of thelandspeeder, when searching for his missing 'droid, R2-D2? Because it was in thegarage being overhauled at the time.


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T H E 5 A N D C R A W L E RThe Sandcrawler is based on Ralph McQuarrie's design. Feeling the Jawa transportshould be high and awkward, lacking any form of beauty, grace or speed, in accordancewith the Jawa image, we adjusted the shapes accordingly, The tread portion wasdesigned in England and constructed full size in Junlsia. The miniatures matched thefinished product pertectly. Abundant rust and the remnants of an ancient paint jobcompleted the surface embellishment.Page 24: TIle 18rgedoor in front and sleerable treadsWCle ultimately droppedPages 25-7: The Sandcrawler miniature duphcdtesthe lower third from the full-SIZe model on th e set InTUniSia. It utilized four stepprnq motors and radiocontrol.


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D E A TThe Death Star is essentially a man-made planet the size of a small moon. The conceptof a ball in space is simple, but its components- the trench, the low allitude surfaces,the towers. the horizon pieces, the exhaust port-collectively required the most designinput. There were more than ten different scales employed in all the various forms ofDeath Star miniatures and backgrounds. The bulk of Death Star models were derivedfrom six modular but very different two-foot-square miniature panels that were molded inhigh-density foam. These pieces could be cut apart and rearranged to form endlessvariations of surface. The reproduction of these modules in two smaller sizes providedadditional shots. seemingly from higher altitudes.Pages 30-3: Deeth Star lev....cl-rude conceptsPages 34-7: \jery early very rougtlsketcncs for theD ealh S tar trench . T t\ese ",vere done befo re themodular mold system was conceived.Pages 38-40: Or ginally, as developed if! thissequence of drawrngs, the trench was to have gottendenser and more detailed toward the poles.

Pages 41-5: FNe of' the uruts from wuch 01"tile DeathS tnr lrenuh anc surface m odels '!,'9 (B uUlILPage 46: Death Star exhaust oonPage 47: Death Sla r laser cannonPages 48-9: D ea th S ta r to we r


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M I L L E N N I U M F A L C O NThe Falcon is a ship that has undergone severe modifications. It may have begun life asa stock light utility freighter, but through a bit of chopping and channeling and addition ofa factory-unauthorized powerplant al the hands of Han Solo, it has become adependable, ultralight-speed craft, perfectly suited to a smuggler's needs. Thetraditional saucer shape broke away from the even more familiar long and skinny look.T o give it direction, large angular mandibles and freight-loading arms were added to thefront. Protruding corridor tubes were covered with three-sided structures. The rear deckand underside became a mass of pipes and dueting, feeding the oversized engines. Anoffset cockpit and radar dish provided an asymmetric balance. The Falcon wascreatively detailed in miniature and full size.Pages 52-3: Various ang les ct the MillenniumFalcon.Page 54; Full-Size boarding ramp (MillenniumFalcon)Pages 55-8: Boarding ramp and door rrccnantsmson the origmal piralesnipPage 59: Landing-gear detail fo r fu ll -s ize MillenniumFalconP ag es 60 -1: vanous angles of the MIllennium Falcon

Pages 62-3: S cale draw fngs fo r correla tion of m odes10 lu ll S118 s et in E ng la nd ,Pages 64-5: Sketches tor full-Size and miniaturecockpit. Minialu{e was equipped with tiber opticdashlights, screens and readouts.Page 66: Sketch fo r gunporVmoun!.ing area onminiature M il le nn iu m F al co n,Pages 67~11: Sketches fOf lull-size and miniatureversions of gunport and laser guns {MillenniumFalcon).


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THE X-WINGThe Rebel forces are not financially well off. The ships were conceivably acquireddecades earlier at a discount, and have been made to last through prudent, butaffectionate maintenance. Engines and body panels are scavenged from derelict craft.Paint and polish being unaffordable luxuries, appearance is unimportant. The onegraphic consistency in the X-wing squadron is a large red horizontal stripe on the flankof each ship. In addition to-attairinq the used-car look, the X-wing fighters (oak on a kindof tough, no-nonsense quality through production changes. Engines were beefed up,wings thickened. A lot of hardware is allowed (0 show on the surface, where itcomplements the carefully finished body shapes, creating a feeling of styledfunctionalism.Pages 74~9: Early X~lNingliqbler concepts fromditlerent armlcs. In the final version. upper and lowersplit-circle engines became fully Circular toaccommodate thicker wings. and a segmentedcanopy replaced the "bubble" canopy 10eliminatereflection problems.Pages 80-1: Full-size version of cockpit targetingdevice.


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T H E V - W I N G F I G H T E RThe V-wing fighters make up the other half of the Rebel armada. It is almost anexaggeration of the idea of combining styling and function and IS one of the most visuallyexciting ships in the film. The smooth "Grand Prix Car" shapes of the protruding pilotpod end abruptly in a mechanic's nightmare of engine and wing assembly. Conceptually,the slick body shell once covered the length of the craft until Rebel mechanics, tired offrequent breakdowns, simply left the "hood" off. The V-wing has been hot-rodded andstripped down to fighting weight. IPages 84-9: Ea rly sketches (J! Y -w 1ng fiq hte rs . F romfirst prototype through desiqn and rc-desiuu to final versionthe V-wing chnnged very' little, aside from a scaeocw-irorn two-man to one-man


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nE (Twin Ion Engined) F IGHTERThe Imperial fighters needed, above all, a very sinister look, Having technologicallyadvanced forms of propulsion, almost any basic shape was feasi ble. The idea ofcombining large geometric shapes works quite well to lend an alien look, Joining theseshapes are angular, sharp-edged support structures, steel buttresses reaching out andgripping tubes, The overall effect is one of gothic evil, as if the Empire fully intended thisto be a ternfying psychological weapon, Hitler's Stuka Dive Bomber used an artificiallycreated banshee wail to strike terror into its victims, The fighter achieves the same effectwith a coldly sinister appearance, Vader's personal ship is a variation of the basic TIEtheme. It is, in essence, "next year's model" -faster, sleeker, and almost bat-like with itsangled-in wings.Page 93: Concept skeluh tor a boarrffng emitwhlctl was wriUen The wingccnfiquration wac;tater used in shipPages 94~5: Fronl and rear views - TIE fightp.r.This was the only sbip 1tla1 was bun exactly assketchedPage 96: Darth Vader's TI E fighter


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star wars sketch book

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