I don't normally cover animated movies or television, but I broke that rule once before with Star Wars: The Clone Wars so I figure it's safe to do it again. This is mainly because the concept art for Clone Wars and Rebels are based on the art of the late concept illustrator master Ralph McQuarrie.


"For me I wanted to develop a style different from Clone Wars," said Star Wars Rebels Executive Producer Dave Filoni. "This show is going to be different from Clone Wars; it's intentionally going to look different. We're not proceeding with the same style. We wanted to give it its own look and feel. For me, that always goes back to Ralph McQuarrie, and that's a name you're going to hear over and over again. Star Wars owes so much to Ralph, and I'm very dedicated to the history of Star Wars and of Lucasfilm. We need to maintain and respect that history but also do what made it great it always leapt forward."

The show will be animated and is set in the 19-year gap between the Star Wars films Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith and the original 1977 film, Episode IV: A New Hope. It will air in autumn 2014 on the Disney channel before moving to a regular slot on Disney XD.


Find out more about the upcoming show and see more images after the jump (click to enlarge).


Lucasfilm described the show this way:

Star Wars Rebels Executive Producer Dave Filoni pulled back the curtain on Lucasfilm's highly anticipated animated series for Star Wars Celebration Europe attendees today, discussing the huge influence of original Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie on the look and feel of the show, and revealing the series' unique logo and select designs.

Filoni talked at length about the use of McQuarrie art as a springboard for the series, showcasing many works from the original trilogy, including landscapes and characters, and detailing how they inform the visual identity of Star Wars Rebels.

For Star Wars Rebels, fans were given their first look at the Ghost, which will be the main character's ship and play a big part in the series, as well as a computer rendering of a very McQuarrie-esque Stormtrooper, the interior of a Star Destroyer, and more. The show's logo, a minimalist yet powerful design, is notable for its orange and black color scheme, which recalls the flight suit colors of Rebel pilots in the original Star Wars trilogy.

While unable to attend in person, Executive Producers Simon Kinberg and Greg Weisman shared their excitement for the series in a video message recorded specifically for Celebration attendees.

The series is set between the events of Episode III and IV -- an era spanning almost two decades never-before explored on-screen. It takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape.

Star Wars Rebels will be produced by Lucasfilm Animation, featuring many of the key talents that made Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It is scheduled to premiere in fall 2014 as a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel, and will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world.

One of the key designs in the show is the Rebel ship called "The Ghost."

"It's actually a pretty big centerpiece for the show," said Filoni. "We all like the sense in the classic films that the Millennium Falcon that was a ship but it was also a place it was like a home. We wanted to give this new generation of kids a place they could go feel safe when they were running from the Empire. And I'm really excited about that. We're on the run again. The Empire is controlling the whole galaxy, so we needed a home and a ship."

The Star Wars Rebels CEII Pins revealed the Rebel Ship Schematics.

In case you can't read the Star Wars writing called Aurebesh, here's what it says according to TheForce.net:

Modified VCX-100 light freighter, Corellian Engineering Corporation,
Metrics: length: 43.9 meters, width: 34.2 meters, height: 14.5 meters,
1. nose turret's gunner position,
2. forward floodlights,
3. main cockpit,
4 crew quarters,
5 port docking ring,
6. starboard docking ring,
7. dorsal laser cannon turret,
8. main cargo hold,
9. engine assembly.

Here's some more concept art.

Finally, here's a description from StarWars.com

Production has begun on Star Wars Rebels, an exciting, all-new animated television series based on one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time. Scheduled to premiere in fall 2014 as a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel, it will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world.

Screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) is one of the executive producers on Star Wars Rebels and will write the premiere episode. He is joined by Dave Filoni as executive producer, who served as supervising director of the Emmy nominated Star Wars: The Clone Wars since 2008.

Executive producer Greg Weisman brings with him a wealth of animation experience with credits such as Young Justice, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Gargoyles.

Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide, said, "The entire team at Lucasfilm has provided extraordinary creativity and innovation for over three decades, and we're thrilled to be bringing the expansive and imaginative world of Star Wars to Disney XD's viewers."

"I couldn't be more excited to explore new corners of the Star Wars universe," said Kathleen Kennedy, president, Lucasfilm. "I think Star Wars Rebels will capture the look, feel and fun that both kids and their parents love about Star Wars."

The action-filled series is set between the events of Episode III and IV -- an era spanning almost two decades never-before explored on-screen. Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape. Details about the show are a closely guarded secret at this point.

Star Wars Rebels will be produced by Lucasfilm Animation, featuring many of the key talents that made Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Some of the artists that we know about are Andre Kirk (http://bunsenbrown.blogspot.com) and Amy Beth Christiansen (http://artbyabc.com/).

You can see more concept art by Ralph McQuarrie on my blog and see more of his work at RalphMcQuarrie.com. 

Visit the official Star Wars Blog for a full recap of this panel and other Star Wars Celebration Europe events!

More information about this developing project will be found on StarWars.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/starwarsrebels.

Thanks to Idle Hands for images

What do you think of the illustrations?
 
© Copyright 2014 Lucasfilm Animation. All rights reserved

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Ralph McQuarrie was the most influential concept artist ever. His work on the original Star Wars films were so iconic that they've been used in the prequel films and Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series.

Concept designs for the icy Hoth planet in Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) were used in The Clone Wars for the planet Orto Plutonia in the episode "Trespass"

Check out some of the illustrations of Hoth and a fascinating behind-the-scenes video by Dave Folini after the jump and click to enlarge.

Director Dave Filoni discusses the design origins of the planet Orto Plutonia, and how Ralph McQuarrie's original visions of Hoth are now finally realized.

Official Synopsis:
While investigating the disappearance of a clone security force, Anakin and Obi-Wan get caught in the middle of an escalating conflict between the furry territorial inhabitants of a desolate ice world and the greedy representatives of a nearby moon.

See more of Ralph McQuarrie's work at RalphMcQuarrie.com

What do you think of the illustrations?


Q is for McQuarrie
This post is part of the month long "A-Z Challenge." For 26 days, I'll be choosing a letter from the alphabet and featuring one favorite arts or properties. To read more of the posts in the series click here. To find out more about the challenge go here. Check the Facebook page and follow on Twitterusing the hashtag #AtoZChallenge.

Hosted by The Madlab Post (Nicole Ayers), Tossing it Out(Arlee Bird), Amlokiblogs (Damyanti Biswas), Alex J. Cavanaugh (Alex J. Cavanaugh), Life is Good (Tina Downey), Cruising Altitude 2.0 (DL Hammons), Retro-Zombie(Jeremy Hawkins), The Warrior Muse (Shannon Lawrence), The QQQE (Matthew MacNish), Leave it to Livia(Livia Peterson), No Thought 2 Small (Konstanz Silverbow), Breakthrough Blogs (Stephen Tremp) and Spunk on a Stick (L. Diane Wolfe)

@ Copyright LucasFilm. All rights reserved

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Check out unused storyboards for the pilot episode of Firefly called "Serenity" by Charles Ratteray.

Here's how Wikipedia describes the episode: "'Serenity' is the series pilot for the American science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. However, Fox executives were not satisfied with this as a pilot, and so instead, 'The Train Job' was created as a second pilot and was the first episode of the series aired. 'Serenity' was not aired until the end of the series' run. This episode shares its name with the feature film Serenity, which continues the series after the final episode."

Charles Ratteray currently is a Los Angeles based Storyboard Artist, Concept Designer and Illustrator who's worked on films like Wrath of the Titans (2012), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), 2012 (2009).

I contacted the artist, Ratteray, and he told me the history behind these dynamic storyboards.

After the jump check out the boards and read what he said about them. Click on the images to enlarge.


"[These] boards were the original boards used to pitch to Joss Whedon the idea for the sequence." Ratteray said, "The Visual FX Studio that was handling the lion share of their shots at the time was Zoic Studio.  The lead guy was Loni Peristere. The sequence was modified and it is as you see it now in the show.  But...those boards were the very first pass on it."

Now here's some first episode concept art...

Official Synopsis:

See more of Charles Ratteray's portfolio at charlesratteraydesign.com and Facebook

What do you think of the illustrations?
 
@ Copyright 2002 Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox Television, Charles Ratteray IMDB. All rights reserved

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Doctor Who (1963) Raymond Cusick

Sadly, last week Raymond Cusick, who helped design the legendary Doctor Who villains, the Daleks, passed away. His daughter, Claire Heawood, said he had been suffering from an illness and died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday. He leaves two daughters and seven grandchildren.

Raymond Cusick worked as a production designer on the BBC show Doctor Who from 1963 to 1966.

The Daleks were conceptualized by science-fiction writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.

Check after the jump to see his designs and click on the images to enlarge.

While the design went through many changes they finally settled on the look that has remained unchanged for almost 50 years and is the symbol of evil around the world.

Here's what they look like today.

Pretty much the same. Here's a video of Cusick visiting the modern set talking to Production Designer Edward Thomas and designer Peter McKinstry about the Dalek designs.



He will be missed.

Wikipedia Synopsis:
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a Time Lord—a time travelling, humanoid alien known as the Doctor. He explores the universe in his 'TARDIS', a sentient time-travelling space ship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, a common sight in Britain in 1963, when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, the Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilisations, help ordinary people, and right wrongs.

Images via Daily Mail, thedoctorwhosite.co.uk dalek6388.co.uk

What do you think of the illustrations? Do you have fond memories of the Daleks?

@ Copyright 2013 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
. All rights reserved

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