By Carl Macek and James F. Steranko - March - 1978

RALPH McQUARRIE: MEDIASCENE INTERVIEWS THE STAR WARS ARTIST WHO OPENED THE DOOR TO SCIENCE FICTION FILM ART

Ralph McQuarrie's life can be clearly divided into two distinct sections: before Star Wars, he was an industrious, skilled, virtually unknown technical illustrator; after Star Wars, he became the most sought after Production Illustrator ever to work in films.

A primary reason for this change, of course, has to do with the film's unprecedented success. But, in a very real sense, Star Wars wouldn't have been the film it was without McQuarrie. His eyes and hands were the first lenses through which Star Wars was focused and captured for Lucas' inspection and refinement.

Because of the imagination and perception McQuarrie brought to his concept paintings, 21 of them were released as a Star Wars Portfolio, a publishing first, which quickly went through several printings, totaling 200,000 copies at $8 each. To a large extent, this proved to be McQuarrie's popular reward for his dedication, ingenuity and integrity, thrusting his name into public prominence.

Professionally, McQuarrie is rewarded with offers from the top science-fiction productions being put together, including Close Encounters, Star Trek, Galactica, Star Wars 2, and others. By investing the extra time, effort and care that typifies his work, McQuarrie has single-handedly raised himself and the credit of Production Illustrator from a gratuitous screen billing to a newly-discovered art form.

In person, he is a casually dressed, quiet, unmarried, 49 year-old professional who works in a small Los Angeles studio, slowly acclimating to the intense activity he has generated. A little less than six-feet tall, his hair a light grey, McQuarrie speaks softly and slowly, striving to accurately convey the thoughts flashing behind an intense pair of eyes which have seen the wonder of alien galaxies on a blank piece of paper. Complete relaxation with fame and success is not immediately evident because the entire Star Wars phenomena is less than a year old, but there is an air of pride and growing self-satisfaction in McQuarrie's responses and evaluations - 30 years of work are finally paying off. “I like getting up every morning; I like living more. I think that what I'm doing is better - every day seems like a new beginning to my life.”

MS: We're using a piece of art for our centerspread that almost nobody knows about, the Mothership from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It's a remarkable piece of work.

McQ: Well, it was the only piece I did for that film. I came in near the end of production and they were still a little apprehensive about the ending - it just didn't seem to have quite enough impact. Spielberg felt that It should have real flash to add more drama.

I think they had planned to show just the small part of the Mothership that held the loading ramp. Then, they added a large sphere above that, of which we saw only the bottom third, but it implied a very large ship.

MS: Close Encounters was a film that changed many times during production, like the flying aliens being eliminated and a different meeting between Truffaut's character and his interpreter. One of the strangest stories though, is about Spielberg getting his inspiration for the Mothership from an Indian oil refinery combined with the view while standing on his head and looking down on the San Fernando Valley. Did you get any instructions along those lines?

McQ: Yes. When Spielberg decided to show the entire ship coming over, he asked me to make some drawings, saying, “Keep the bottom of the sphere, and. atop that, make it look like an oil refinery with lots of tanks and lights.” I didn’t realize he wanted to show the ship upside down and then turn it over. I tried to give the refinery part some form, and added those long sprawling arms. The sketches and rendering were my contributions; the models followed them quite closely. The lights were given more importance than I gave them, which helped the general effect.

I was proud of it, because it looked terrific, and they built the model almost exactly like the drawing. The only changes were the big red lights on and inside of it, which helped visually, but they used most of what I put into the art.

MS: How long did it take you to do the full rendering?

McQ: I took a day, day-and-a-half, on the black and white sketches. You can see I was playing around with a pod extension for a while, but it was just an idea, a little progressive thinking to get my thoughts organized. Then it took about a whole day to do the painting. It got to where they wanted it fairly quickly.

When it was done, I handed it in to Trumbull's office - I think Spielberg was in India at the time. I really didn't know what they were going to do until I saw the model on film, and it really looked terrific. Steve was there then, and he was very happy with it. I felt good seeing my design come to life, especially when it was done that well. They really made it come off.

MS: You have been fortunate in working with some of the hottest filmmakers around, and been connected with the most commercial project in movie history. Why you, in particular, and how did it start?

McQ: I have a background in aerodynamic illustration - I worked for Boeing until 1965. Then, I just felt like getting back into commercial art, but I didn't really know how to break in. As a consequence, I sat in my studio drawing a lot and selling a little, until CBS News wanted to animate the Apollo flights and needed a technical illustrator for the rockets. Someone from Boeing had recommended me, so I did this NASA-type work off and on for a few years, becoming more and more interested in movies.

Pretty soon I was borrowing friends' cameras, trying story-boards, the whole bit. Eventually, I met Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins, who were with Lucas on THX 1138. They were trying to sell a script called Star Dancing. It was a good script, and I was asked to do a number of production paintings of some machinery, aliens, a space-suited figure. . .

MS: Yes, we're reproducing those pieces, and they are very attractive. What's remarkable is the concept you had for the aliens, which comes very close to the Close Encounters creatures. And they have a system of light communication on their chests, another gimmick Spielberg used on the alien ships.

McQ: You know, that's interesting, but I hadn't really thought about it. You’re right, but I didn’t have anything to do with Close Encounters’ aliens, and I'm sure it's all just a coincidence. Yes, Star Dancing was an interesting project, and I did four paintings for it - that spaceman in the grass with the land vehicle was really nice, caught the stark loneliness of the scene pretty well. Barwood and Robbins liked the art and got good reactions, but just couldn't push the project over the edge and into production. I was surprised, because it was a very imaginative script, the aliens rippling color-talk was a nice visual touch, and I had a lot of good ideas I never got around to illustrating.

MS: Any chance of it making a comeback?

McQ: I think so. Doug Trumbull was interested at one point. See, it's very tricky, because in movies there are so many people to convince - producers, studios, distributors, endless meetings-it’s tough.

Anyway, Barwood and Robbins introduced me to Lucas, and he wanted to look at my slides because he had a science-fiction project in mind, no title, just an idea.

Nothing concrete happened. George went off to do American Graffiti. Then two years later, he approached me to do the science-fiction project again, still not called Star Wars, but with a comic book plot and large scale production. George had seen my Star Dancing work, and wanted the same thing, but on a grand scale.

I remember that he was careful to call the material science-fantasy, because many of his ideas were non-traditional, drawing subject matter from comic books and other sources. Once I got going, he'd drop by to check on the work. He liked what I was doing, but was very specific about the feeling and look of the film. He concentrated on little things, like oil streaks and dents, numbers and paraphernalia, everything had a lived-in look.

George and I were interested in creating strange juxtapositions for the movie, atmospheric situations you can't find anywhere else - but it was also important to keep things familiar-looking. Star Wars is full of things George has seen elsewhere and wanted to incorporate in his film. I mean he was looking through art books, comics, photos, toys, just to spot ideas that interested him. In order to reach people, he knew that the basic elements of science-fiction must embody inputs already present in the mind. He never wanted to go so far out that everyone became totally lost.

MS: That is one of the things that makes your work so appealing. Things have a comfortable design, and yet a futuristic feel. What's remarkable though, is that it all looks like it works - there is a technical fidelity that goes beyond most artists’ ability, and a feel that few technical artists can grasp. You mentioned Boeing and the CBS work, but what else has contributed to this particular affinity for creating a blend of science and fantasy?

McQ: Well, what can I say? Born in Indiana. My father was Canadian, and Immigration wouldn't let him into the States during WW II, so I went to a technical school in Vancouver, British Columbia. As a matter of fact, I was more interested in shop than art, and only really got interested in drawing during my last year in school, primarily because they had a very good commercial art teacher there.

MS: No Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers?

McQ: No, actually I was into building model planes, and that influenced my work to a certain degree. I know how things are constructed. Flash Gordon and the serials were there, but I was always split between going into engineering, machine work and art.

MS: Part of what makes your work so powerful is the dramatic use of space, color, composition and perspective - these are elements that few technical artists ever master. It gives your work enormous impact, and is so consistently apparent that it must have some firm philosophy or schooling behind it.

McQ: Well, I try to concentrate on what I think would be appropriate to any given scene. Part of this approach comes from my years as a student at the Art Center of Design in Los
Angeles, where I studied between '53 and '55. It was a commercial art school where they taught the essentials, like quick, poster imagery and color effects. I learned the lessons well enough that I can approach a job methodically at first, and embellish it with my own ideas as I go along.

MS: And what came after the schooling?

McQ: A lot of jobs, but I think it was mostly because I didn't have a direction. I was always saying, “Well, I don't have the experience to do this job, but I'll try.” I never really decided whether I would become an advertising designer or book illustrator. I worked for Litton Industries, Kaiser Graphics, even a dental firm - drawing teeth and tools. I got interested in all this work, but only for a while.

Even now, I'm interested in movies, photography, design, posters and tight painting, but rather than mastering any one project, I dabble at them all and find myself not very far ahead on any of them. I'm very glad to be working in films, yet the professional part of me still regards them as just another job. I guess I'll work in movies as long as people give me assignments. But if I didn't have anything to do, I guess I'd just relax.

MS: How do you classify your art then; is there a particular style you prefer?

McQ: I've never particularly been interested in style myself, except when it comes to looking at what other people are producing. I let the decorative aspect go in favor of providing a realistic atmosphere and mood to whatever I'm trying to paint.

MS: Were there any major influences on your technique, such as Ed Valigursky or Robert McCall?

McQ: No, not really. There were people I liked, but I don't know how much they influenced me, because they were beyond my ability to imitate. Maybe Robert Fawcett showed me composition and design; I like Norman Rockwell - I mean he's got exactly the right character for whatever he's doing. He gets tremendous humanity, yet also retains technical precision - you can tell that his lighting and costumes and props are absolutely accurate.

MS: But Rockwell paints people, where you work primarily with machines and design. Is there a connection? Do you have a preference?

McQ: Yeah, I enjoy painting and drawing almost anything, but I like to draw machinery more because I've done more. I find inanimate objects easier - people are more difficult, mostly because I haven't done much work with them.

I've been doing more figure work lately. Star Wars opened the door for the Ballantine paperback covers. I seem to be getting better and more excited, but I'm really torn between being an illustrator and a creative designer. I don't think my book covers are terribly well done yet, but they're on the way.

The films are the same, exciting, especially while I'm learning. But I kind of see the future with me as a sketch artist. I don't want to be a Production Designer, because from what I've seen so far it's an administrative job - hiring and firing, approving, budgeting, looking at other people's work.

As a conceptual person, I'll be working for others, but the work will be mine - I guess it’s some kind of ego trip to think that way. But it is satisfying to control something, even one drawing, from concept to finished art.

MS: Is there any work you are particularly proud of?

McQ: I suppose the drawings for Star Wars - I feel they're the best I've done so far. They were not drawn with the idea that they were to be reproduced or sold. I was very relaxed and happy while working on them.

MS: Would they have turned out differently if you had approached them as portfolio paintings?

McQ: I probably would not have done them as well, to be totally honest. I was just having a lot of fun. They were done so that those working on the film could see what kind of effect could be had for a particular scene.

I think that some of my paperback work gets a little uptight. It's the Idea that I'm supposed to be producing finished art. I prefer to paint the individual piece, and ignore the commercial side-effects.

MS: That's an unusual approach in your field, but then your method of working is a little surprising. We've heard your ideas come to you when you're sleeping?

McQ: In a way. I used to try squeezing work out, but it's like toothpaste in a tube that will only come out so fast. The ideas don't just come to me - I do spend time thinking about them, but I won't force it if the time's not right.

I feel that the state of mind in which good work comes out is when I'm totally relaxed, without pressure. There's no point pounding my brain - the best thing I can do Is collect my thoughts as soon as I'm told what's needed. Then I lie down and let it gel unconsciously. I sort of semi-sleep, and somewhere along the way of going to sleep or coming out of it, I get exactly what I need—it's just there, rising like the bubbles In champagne from somewhere inside.

Of course, I don't always do that. Sometimes I'm feeling real good, wide awake, and I decide to just sit down and start drawing - doodling squares, circles, shapes, ideas that will get me going. I draw small, because they go faster and aren't as important if, they go wrong - the good ones get refined.

Normally, when I approach a job that way, I'll do quite a few roughs before I hit the target. If I go to sleep, it seems as if the drawing develops itself. Then, I just get up and paint.

MS: You work very tightly on some of your production paintings, making them easily translated into portfolio material.

McQ: Actually, I haven't seen many pre-production paintings, and the ones I have seen were very roughly rendered. I feel I am a very good renderer, so it's a matter of professional habits. Most film production paintings are not tightly done because they are primarily used to provide Information, the placement of objects, sizes, shapes - not as art. Creating an atmosphere is the goal. Star Wars is a good example because we were trying to present elements that were new to films, like the costumes, creatures, spaceships. Any artistry was a bonus that could help sell the package.

MS: But your work had a great effect on the total look of Star Wars.

McQ: I agree to a certain extent. I think there's a lot of influence apparent in the production designs by John Barry. He sets the stage well, to a degree I don't think I have the good feeling for. But down in the corners of my paintings and drawings were things that he blew up Into major elements - panels and fastners and junk like that - which was what George Lucas intended.

Even the model-makers got involved, although I don't know what they went through because I haven't had contact with them yet. There, my work filtered through a lot of hands - draftsmen, technicians, designers - even though I tried to be functional, which is part of my motivation. They were working with their own problems and requirements, so they changed a lot of things I did.

In general though, everyone tried to use the paintings that caught what George wanted. Anything that came later, like Joe Johnston's refinements, was based on the earlier preliminary work.





MS: You also did a lot of sketches and studies for Star Wars. Not as polished or well-known as the paintings, but just as important to the finished film.

McQ: That's right, for a while it looked as If I was going to do something for every part of the picture, and I think George would have been happy to let me. I was usually given specific assignments, but never discouraged from trying additional scenes. Although not all of my work was used, most of it influenced John Barry when he came on the project.

I was hired to give George Lucas a chance to get as close as he could to the ideal look for things he had been dreaming about getting into this film. Then, when he was actually working with his crew of expensive film technicians, he wouldn’t be starting from scratch. He would say, “This is how I'd like it to look.” My design contributions ceased at the time this crew started, and I went on to do matte paintings for the picture.

MS: Exactly what kind of material did you and Lucas work on that was changed, or was relatively lost in the lightning pace of the film?

McQ: Well, one thing In particular was Darth Vader's mask, which was redesigned somewhat drastically. I don't really like the way they increased the bulk and made it look like a removable mask instead of a black armor faceshield. George wanted Vader in an airtight garment with wrappings and black bands and great folds of cloth, “kind of sneaky, yet big and impressive.” I think my original design was nicely curved and sinister, with a downthrust brow and jawline.

MS: What other kinds of exchanges went on between you and Lucas, and who came up with what?

McQ: Oh, we had a lot of conversations, and ideas always changed viewpoints to fit the latest script. Luke Skywalker was to be a girl, to satisfy Fox's desire for a romantic interest in the film. Han Solo was to be an Errol Flynn type hero, and things would go in a rather classic film framework. Then, somewhere along the way, George decided to make Luke a boy to bolster the student/teacher aspect with Ben Kenobi, but brought in a Princess to set up a romantic triangle.

From a design point of view, I would make my own changes, like the C-3PO robot. George was specifically after a Metropolis type figure, but I wanted it to be very elegant, and distinctly male. I remember doing a lot of sketches to get to the design we finally used, and then, the costume people had to make modifications to enlarge the joints. Even so, they managed to retain the nice lines that gave the robot a streamlined look.

MS: And the Wookiee?

McQ: When we started out, George was looking for crafty, lemur eyes, little rubber teeth - a frightening visage. I think he was considering an army of villainous Wookiees at some point, but eventually changed his mind until he got to the character on the screen, which was better looking and sympathetic - almost cute.





Ideas were really a lot of give and take. George wanted Empire troopers blasting through ship hulls in outer space, and because of the vacuum, we had to come up with life support devices. I made them look something like snorkles with breathing vents and a practical, functioning design that looked ornate. George called them “breath masks,” which were eventually discarded. George needed a lot of ideas visualized, and a technical outlook for some of them.

Actually, he could have drawn any or all of the conceptual sketches himself, because he draws quite well. The way he worked, George concentrated on the ideas, and let me get them into shape, because I had the greater facility at drawing and painting.

MS: You worked with Joe Johnston quite a bit on Star Wars and Galactica. Was that an easy collaboration? Your style seems to compliment his rather well.

McQ: Yes, I enjoy working with Joe very much. I wish I were as good a hardware designer as Joe is, but he fills that niche in production very nicely. Joe is still a young guy, and doesn't have that much experience because he spent his time majoring in industrial design at Long Beach.

We're almost at the point now where George can look at our work and see some concept in it that isn't quite right, and he will ask us to switch assignments. It's not all that competitive, just complimentary.

MS: You said that the Close Encounters assignment took a few days to complete. That's very quick. How do you do it?

McQ: I guess everyone has their own approach. I've made paintings that took as long as ten days to complete, but they were posters with many layers of paint on them. The average time on, say the Star Wars pieces, was one or two days, depending on the complexity of the subject matter.

MS: Then, technically, what is your approach?

McQ: After deciding on the idea I want to present, I like to complete a drawing on tissue paper. Sometimes I'll have two or three tissues, slightly altering the composition, perspective and organization of elements. Then I make small thumbnail sketches, 2 to 3 inches by one inch, which establish general color value patterns.

Next, I take a wash of waterproof cel vinyl paint over the whole board, tracing over that wash, starting with objects in the extreme background of the painting, and work forward as fast as the paint dries. I use cel wash and designer's colors because they can be painted over without smearing, and the wash has a generally transparent look to it. I get some nice visual effects sometimes by letting the wash show through in certain areas, making the rest of the piece very opaque and solid. At times, I will use an airbrush for graduated tones, color changes, or modifying color values in specific areas.

MS: Color is a very important factor in your work.

McQ: Yes, I love color. I remember colors from my childhood before anything else; my mother told me that I could name colors as a baby.

I try to use flat patterns and shapes with subtle color schemes. I combine colors to get rich effects without being splashy, but often get a little shy and lean towards neutral, grey tones at times.

To me, color goes beyond the spectrum, and has a lot to do with lighting sources and angles. I will never do a painting at high noon, but rather when the sun is low and casts raking shadows - or the moon is rising, and the entire piece has a warmth that unifies all the elements. Recently, I was trying to work up something for George on Star Wars 2, and found a nice shot of Mount Everest that had a snow-covered valley and the sun peeking through the clouds in a really beautiful lighting pattern. I used these values and textures to help me key my finished painting.

MS: Do you use photos often?

McQ: I guess I look through photos if I'm not exactly sure what shape something should be, you know, a springboard for an idea. I was working on spacecraft for the Star Trek film and Ken Adam (the Production Designer from the James Bond films) showed me a picture of a jewel and said it might make an interesting space station. I tried it, and it appears to be the only design they will use in the film.

MS: So much of Star Wars was comic book-like. Were they influential on your work?

McQ: I never really thought about it that much, but I am looking at comics more often - Joe Johnston and George and I have been getting books like Heavy Metal. And I've been more interested in them as a side-effect.

MS: Have films had much influence on your work, in terms of staging, lighting, imagery?

McQ: No, I'm not too film oriented, although I like movies - Fellini, Welles. And I've dabbled on the fringes of filmmaking for years, so it was really a big deal to work on Star Wars.

You see, Star Wars was important for different reasons than just giving me a chance to work on a film. It was fun and a challenge, but I didn't really appreciate how big a project movies were until the film became such a huge success. Now I'm enjoying a lot of recognition, which I never had before. Just about everybody with a science-fiction project has called, and I think it's great to be at the center of It all.

MS: If you had total freedom to pursue any idea you wanted, would it be the kind of films you're doing now?

McQ: I don't know because I'm not a writer. I'm a reactive person, I get turned on by what I'm doing. I've thought about making little mood films for myself, but they would be unlike Star Wars - nothing like any feature material.

Actually, Doug Trumbull talked to me a few weeks ago about an interesting project involving a character and his spiritual development. Just an ordinary man, ordinary life, until this point where he flashes into a tremendous change. I feel that this is close to what's happened in my life; I could contribute to such a project. The transition was a dream sequence dealing with all kinds of visual matter-photographic, abstract, textures.

MS: Doug has signed to do the special effects for the new Star Trek movie, and we've heard that you've been contacted to join the production again, so you may work together on a complete feature yet.





McQ: It's possible, but more likely I'll be tied up with Star Wars beyond the time a designer's really needed. You see, George originally intended that I work more or less exclusively for the Star Wars Corporation during production. I haven't signed any contract, but I probably would under the right conditions. Anyway, I am involved in the Star Wars 2 production right now.

As for Star Trek, the work I did on it was not connected to the film they're shooting now. It was done after my commitment to Star Wars was finished, and Paramount was trying to get ahead on the production. We had a producer, director, the studio approval, and went to work for a month-and-a-half, when they killed it. I don't know why. I have a feeling that the script, which wasn't even finished, was a problem. It had a good beginning, but they couldn't figure out an ending. Gene Roddenberry didn't like it. The new production crew called on me to contribute, but I'm tied up with Star Wars 2.

MS: You've worked on the top science fiction projects around, so you must have some perspective on the field.

McQ: Science-fiction lets me create realities never seen before, which is the primary challenge each job presents. Everyone has different requirements though.

MS: Such as?

McQ:   Star Wars had very demanding Instructions from George Lucas - much of it was conceptually designed around his specific suggestions and ideas.

Close Encounters was a pretty unrestricted assignment, but with very high standards and expectations.

The Galactica project was a little more pressed for time. Joe Johnston worked with me, and we were both throwing in drawings and ideas. John Dykstra helped by telling us what would not work on the models, and we made changes. The paintings I did were pretty much key elements from the script, but only my first impressions, almost right off the tip of the brush. We had a tight deadline, so the detail was a little more vague and casual. I could see in the test footage that there had been changes and modifications in my original ideas and designs - mostly for the better. Not that what I did was bad, just rushed.

MS: What exactly are you doing on Star Wars 2? And can you tell us anything about it?

McQ: I'm afraid that most of the information is on a proprietary level right now - George doesn't want anyone rushing out a TV version. I have done a number of paintings already though, and the material would be very difficult for anyone to steal.


MS: Well, is the sequel more complex or far-out?

McQ: Not necessarily more far-out, but it certainly Is different. There isn't quite as much emphasis on space travel and galactic adventure. Much of the action takes place on solid ground. There is still star-hopping from planet to planet, so it is a Star Wars picture - but with a different feel.





MS: Will you be as involved and influential on the project as you were on the original Star Wars?

McQ: No, because Joe Johnston is taking over some of my duties - I believe I will be credited as Production Illustrator again, along with Joe. George is breaking things down more because he wants everyone involved to get a screen credit, especially the English designers - after all, we're making the film over there.

MS: You're also working at painting paperback covers now, and a half dozen other projects. Where do you find the time? And is all the work really satisfying?

McQ: As a matter of fact, I'd like to do more. But Star Wars and the Ballantine paperback covers take up most of my time. Both outfits give me the freedom to paint what I want - things I can make up.

I've done a lot of dreaming in my life, and now I'm getting a chance to put it to work. The biggest problem comes when my work seems to spill over into the weekend, with Sunday as my only day off. After two-and-a-half years of constant work, I sometimes look forward to taking a break. It's nice to know that people appreciate my work, particularly after 30 years, but success can be tiring.

TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd.

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