See some designs by IainMcCaig that show what young Han Solo would have looked like in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Iain McCaig is an illustrator, storybhoard artist and conceptual designer. He was involved in the Star Wars film projects as well as John Carter of Mars.

Check them out after the jump and click on the images to enlarge.


Some concept art has been swirling around recently. It's not new or anything, but what makes it exciting is it ties into the news of Star Wars spin-off films.  It first appeared in the excellent concept art book Art of Star Wars III (Star Wars Episode III) from 2005.

The story goes that Lucas wrote early drafts of the script in which a 10-year-old Han Solo appears on Kashyyyk, Chewbacca's home planet, but the role was not cast or shot.

Here's the clip from the script:

HAN SOLO
I found part of a transmitter droid near the east bay… I think it’s still sending and receiving signals.

YODA
Good. Good. Track this we can back to the source. Find General Grievous, we might…

McCaig said, “It’s not in the script anymore, but we were told that Han Solo was on Kashyyyk and that he was being raised by Chewbacca. He’s such a persnickety guy later on – he always has to have the best of everything – so I thought it’d be great if when he was a kid, he was an absolute slob.”

Thankfully, it got cut. I can think of 100,000 things wrong with this idea, but the biggest one is implying that Chewbacca was Solo's surrogate father. It changes the whole relationship.

You can see more of Iain McCaig's work at www.iainmccaig.com and iainmccaig.blogspot.com and on my Filmsketchr Concept Art blog.

Wikipedia Description
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' chronology.

The film takes place three years after the onset of the Clone Wars. The Jedi Knights are spread out across the galaxy leading a massive clone army in the war against the Separatists. The Jedi Council dispatches Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to eliminate the evil General Grievous, leader of the Separatist Army. Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, separated from Kenobi, his former master, grows close to Palpatine, the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and, unknown to the public, a Sith Lord. Their deepening friendship proves dangerous for the Jedi Order, the Republic, and Anakin himself who inevitably succumbs to the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader, changing the fate of the galaxy forever.

Directed by George Lucas
Produced by Rick McCallum
Written by George Lucas
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz
Cinematography: David Tattersall
Production Design: Gavin Bocquet
Via /Film

@ Copyright [YEAR] [Studio], [Artist]. All rights reserved

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Jar Jar Binks. He's the most hated character in the Star Wars universe. This is a universe that includes child-killers like Anakin Skywalker, mass murderers like Gran Moff Tarkin and torturers like Emperor Palpatine.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Terryl Anne Whitlatch

But, the irony is that, when Lucas created the character, he thought he would be a huge hit. Designs by Iain McCaig and Terryl Anne Whitlatch (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Jumanji, Men in Black) show a kinder, friendlier, Jar Jar that might have won fans over.

Some of the images are from The Art of Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Sorry for the flash. I was still learning how to use it.

Click on the images to enlarge.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Iain McCaig

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Iain McCaig

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Iain McCaig

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Terryl Anne Whitlatch

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Terryl Anne Whitlatch

I'm glad they decided to put clothes on him.

See more great Star Wars concept art in the book The Art of Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace.



Learn more about the artists by clicking on the links below:
Iain McCaig http://iainmccaig.blogspot.com/
Terryl Anne Whitlatch http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926041/

What do you think of the illustrations? Would you have become a Jar Jar fan?

@ Copyright 1996 Lucas Film, Iain McCaig, Terryl Anne Whitlatch. All rights reserved

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Here are some of the artists that worked on the superhero film The Avengers (2012). As always, there are many talented artists involved in the production of a film. These are only some of them according to IMDb.

Official Synopsis:
Marvel Studios presents in association with Paramount Pictures “Marvel’s The Avengers”–the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when “Marvel’s The Avengers” assemble in summer 2012. In “Marvel’s The Avengers,” superheroes team up to pull the world back from the brink of disaster when an unexpected enemy threatens global security.

Director: Joss Whedon

Cinematography by Seamus McGarvey      http://www.seamusmcgarvey.com/
   
Production Design by James Chinlund    
   
Federico D'Alessandro (animatics supervisor)    thefilmartist.com
   
Illustrators   
Josh Nizzi (senior illustrator)    www.joshnizzi.com
Michael Meyers (concept artist)    http://www.vladsworld.com/
Raj Rihal (concept artist)    www.totalrihal.com
Phil Saunders (concept artist)    www.saunderscreative.com
Steve Jung (concept designer)    www.stevejung.net
Kurtis Richmond (concept designer)   
Cara Brower (concept illustrator)    http://carabrower.com
Rodney Fuentebella (concept illustrator)    rodneyf.blogspot.com
Fabian Lacey (concept illustrator)    http://www.fabianlacey.com
Andy Park (concept illustrator)    www.andyparkart.com
Jackson Sze (concept illustrator)   
Tony Bohorquez (concept model maker)   
Richard K. Buoen (conceptual designer)   
Jeff Frost (conceptual model maker)   
Tani Kunitake (illustrator)   
Christopher S. Ross (illustrator)    http://dezyn.com/
Nathan Schroeder (illustrator)    www.nathanschroeder.net
Rusty Gilligan (sketch artist)    http://rustygilligan.blogspot.com/
Adi Granov    http://www.adigranov.net/
Iain McCaig    http://iainmccaig.blogspot.com/
Paul Ozzimo http://www.paulozzimo.com
   
Storyboard Artists   
Richard Bennett (storyboard artist)    www.richardbennettart.com
Federico D'Alessandro (storyboard artist)    thefilmartist.com
Darrin Denlinger (storyboard artist)   
Jim Mitchell (storyboard artist)    http://jmitchellstudio.blogspot.com/
Ryan Jeremy Woodward (storyboard artist)    http://www.bottom-of-the-ninth.com/
Jane Wu (storyboard artist)   
Bryan Andrews
   
Visual Development   
Jacob Johnston (visual development)   
Ryan Meinerding (visual development supervisor)   
Charlie Wen (visual development supervisor)    charliewen.typepad.com


I'll update this list as I find out more. If you know of any artists that worked on this that are not listed please let me know.

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I is for Iain McCaig
Here's the story behind the design of Darth Maul by Iain McCaig (Star Wars)

McCaig had no idea he was designing one of the most popular Star Wars villains ever. "When I was working on Darth Maul, Drew Strudan, who does the posters, said, 'Do you realize you are making icons?' I said if I knew that, I could never do this!"

At first, when Ian was asked to design the new Sith Lord for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace he tried to design a mask or helmet. “Part skull. Part Nazi Helmet. I tried everything I could think of to better it before eventually throwing in the towel.”

Finally, George Lucas said, "Draw your worst nightmare." McCaig’s worst nightmare was a vision of the undead with red ribbons falling over its head. So, Lucas asked for his second worst nightmare and McCaig told him he was scared of clowns.

As part of his design process he grabbed anyone he could find to model and began laying patterns over their face.

Finally, he got David Dozoretz from the animatics group and superimposed a circuit board on his face. Lucas liked the idea and McCaig took it from there.

McCaig stated, "If you were to strip the flesh off your face right now...the muscles would form a Darth Maulish pattern."

"I was thinking about what might make someone a Sith Lord, and it seemed that pain would be a fine meditation. So in my drawing I had Maul bind his head with razorwire interspersed with black feathers, an excruciating ritualistic device to centre his Dark side energy."  The feathers became horns after looking at the silhouette.

McCaig wanted to balance the horror of Maul’s tattoos with an element of beauty and softness, to "lend an element of seduction to the dark side."

He said Maul’s whole body was designed "based [on] the idea of peeled flesh and muscle patterns...he’s covered from head-to-toe. Every inch of him." Lots of people gave him designs for Maul's tattoos. "Especially women - who were suggesting different patterns, especially red spots on his butt." At one lecture he showed the Sith Lord from the waist down with a big red dot on each butt cheek.  

You can see more of Ian McCaig's work at his (infrequently updated) blog at  http://iainmccaig.blogspot.com/. Also check out his book below.


What do you think of the illustrations? Did anything surprise you about his origin?




This post is part of the month long "A-Z Challenge." For 27 days, I'll be choosing a letter from the alphabet and crafting a post around it. To read more of the posts in the series click here. To find out more about the challenge go here.

Hosts: Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report, Matthew McNish at The QQQE, Tina Downey atLife is Good, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Elizabeth Mueller, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain, and Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small. Check the Facebook page and the Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge.

Related Posts 

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• Interview: Artist Benton Jew Tells Use What It's Like To Work On 'Star Wars,' 'Pirates 4' And 'Unemployed Man' 
• Want To See Concept Art from 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars?' Check Out the Prequels 
• Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) Blu-ray is Chock Full of Concept Art But Still Lacking

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Here are some of the artists that worked on the science-fiction film John Carter (2011). As always, there are many talented artists involved in the production of a film. These are only some of them according to IMDb.

Synopsis: From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes "John Carter"--a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars).

"John Carter" is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins).

In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands

Directed by Andrew Stanton
Production Design by Nathan Crowley

Concept Design Supervisor Iain McCaig http://iainmccaig.blogspot.com/
Scott Patton - character designer http://www.scottpattondesign.com/store.html
Simon Webber - character designer

Wayne D. Barlowe - concept artist http://waynebarlowe.wordpress.com/
Tim Browning - concept artist
Seth Engstrom - concept artist
David Krentz - concept artist http://www.davidkrentz.com
Mishi McCaig - concept artist
Ryan Meinerding - concept artist http://boyrobot.com
Maury Ruiz - concept artist
Phil Saunders - concept artist
Mark Wagner - concept artist
Dan Walker - concept artist http://www.danwalkerconcept.co.uk/
Ross Dearsley - concept artist: Cinesite
Christian Huband - concept illustrator http://www.christianhuband.com/index.php
Vance Kovacs - concept illustrator http://www.vancekovacs.com/
Justin Sweet - concept illustrator http://www.justinsweet.com/
Ryan Church - concept illustrator http://www.ryanchurch.com/
Michael Kutsche - concept illustrator http://michaelkutsche.blogspot.com/
David Krentz - storyboard artist http://www.davidkrentz.com

I'll update this list as I find out more. If you know of any artists that worked on this that are not listed please let me know.

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There were many, many attempts to bring the "John Carter of Mars" series to screen. We've already seen concept art for the Disney movie John Carter coming out this year. Plus, we've seen concept art from the film when Robert Rodriguez was supposed to direct.

Looking Glass Films has a video by Kerry Conrad, the creator of the visually stunning Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It was found by the massive John Carter fan site Barsoomia.com. The production predates the 2012 version by several years.

The promo reel is gorgeous and expertly put together. The concept art really captures the feel of a moving and emotional action film while the voice-overs help to explain the images without being obvious.

Update: A YouTube commenter identified the artists as Ian McCaig and Ryan Church. I see one more style in there, but don't know who.
Some (unfortunately low-resolution) screencaps are below. I have no idea who the concept artist is, but the colors and style is exceptionally well-done. There are shades of Avatar with the six-legged horses and other designs, but Cameron stole the ideas from John Carter first. Check it out after the jump...

The video also has test reels including CGI battle scenes and an awesome fight between Carter and a six-armed Barsoomian.



With all the budget trouble their having with the new film we have to wonder what the budget of this film would have been.

See some of McCaig's work at http://iainmccaig.blogspot.com/ and Ryan Church's at  http://www.ryanchurch.com/

What do you think of the concept art?

Via /Film

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