Born in
Detroit, Michigan, Greg and Tim Hildebrandt studied at the
Meinzinger Art School, and began painting professionally in 1959 as the Brothers Hildebrandt. The brothers both held an ambition to work as animators for
Walt Disney, and although they never realized this dream, their work was heavily influenced by the illustration style of
Disney feature films such as
Snow White,
Pinocchio and
Fantasia. They were also influenced by the artwork in
comic books and
science fiction books, notably the work of
Norman Rockwell and
Maxfield Parrish. The brothers are best known for their popular
The Lord of the Rings calendar illustrations, and their
Magic: The Gathering and
Harry Potter illustrations for
Wizards of the Coast. In 1977 the brothers were approached by
20th Century Fox to produce poster art for the UK release of
Star Wars. A promotional poster had already been produced in the US by the artist
Tom Jung, but Fox executives considered this poster "too dark". The Brothers Hildebrandt had established a reputation working on the
Lord of the Rings calendar and a concept poster for
Young Frankenstein, and Fox commissioned them to rework the image. The twins had to work to a very tight deadline, and worked together in shifts to produce a finished product in 36 hours. Their version of the poster, referred to as
Style "B", was distributed to be used on British cinema
billboards for the UK release, and became possibly their best known work. Using the same layout as Jung's
Style "A" poster, it depicts the character of
Luke Skywalker standing in a heroic pose brandishing a shining
lightsaber above his head, with
Princess Leia standing below him, and a large, ghostly image of
Darth Vader's helmet looming behind them. The central figures are surrounded by smaller depictions of other characters and a montage of
starfighters in combat amid a sea of stars. Both Jung and the Hildebrandts had worked on their posters without reference to photographs of the actual cast, and Fox and
Lucasfilm later decided that they wanted to promote the new film with a less
stylized and more
realistic depiction of the lead characters. Producer
Gary Kurtz commissioned the film poster artist
Tom Chantrell to paint a new version from
film stills and
publicity photos.
Star Wars opened in British theatres on December 27, 1977, and the Hildebrandts' poster continued to be used until late January 1978, when it was replaced by Chantrell's
Style "C" poster. Despite their strong associations with the works of
J. R. R. Tolkien, the brothers were not given a role in the production of
Ralph Bakshi's animated version of
The Lord of the Rings (1978), which was a source of disappointment for them. In 1981, the Hildebrandts had another film poster commission, for the
Greek mythological heroic fantasy film
Clash of the Titans. Together, the brothers developed a concept for a fantasy movie,
Urshurak; although this never went into production, the Hildebrandts collaborated with author
Jerry Nichols to publish
Urshurak in the form of an illustrated fantasy novel in 1979. The lack of success with
Urshurak may have contributed to their decision to work independently of each other, and in 1981 the brothers began to pursue separate careers. Greg Hildebrandt Jr. also made major contributions to the production of a book entitled
Greg & Tim Hildebrandt: The Tolkien Years, which gave an overview of the Tolkien genre artworks produced by Greg and Tim in the 1970s. Brothers Hildebrandt artwork for
Lord of the Rings is featured in the
Magic: The Gathering collectible trading card game as borderless cards.
Greg's solo work and family Individually, Greg contributed to the art for the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra's albums and concert merchandise. He also provided the cover art for
Black Sabbath's 1981
Mob Rules album. He started his American Beauties
pinup art in 1999. In 2019, it was announced that Greg would provide cover art for a new series of
Star Trek comics,
Star Trek: Year Five, from
IDW Publishing. This was the first time that Greg had worked on the
Star Trek franchise. During the 1980s and 1990s Greg illustrated a number of classic books. These range from ''Greg Hildebrandt's Favorite Fairy Tales
, Alice in Wonderland
, Peter Cottontail's Surprise
, Peter Pan
and Robin Hood
to Dracula
, Poe: Stories and Poems
and The Phantom of the Opera
. During this time Greg also illustrated the holiday books Christmas Treasury
and Treasures of Chanukah''. In April 2022, Greg was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to
Operation USA's benefit anthology book
Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded by editor
Scott Dunbier whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the
February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Greg, who joined the project in its second week, explained his reasons for contributing thus: "Neither Jean nor I ever expected to live long enough to see Russia attack any country simply out of greed. The savagery we have witnessed in these past weeks is beyond anything we can fathom. Our hearts break for the people of Ukraine. The loss of life is stunning. The monstrously evil insanity of Putin's War is equal to the Turks attempt to exterminate the Armenians in WWI and Hitler's attempt to exterminate the Jews in WWII. Any project that I can lend my art to that will thwart Putin is a project I will join with all my heart, soul and mind." Diana assisted in his art projects and was the model for Princess Leia on the
Star Wars movie poster. They had two daughters and a son. Greg died on October 31, 2024, at the age of 85.
Tim's solo work and family Tim Hildebrandt illustrated children's books, two
Dungeons & Dragons calendars, and the poster for the 1982 film
The Secret of NIMH; his art was also used in advertising by
AT&T and
Levi's. filmed in Tim and Rita's Victorian home in Gladstone. Tim married Rita Murray, who went on to design and create the costumes for the
Lord of the Rings works. Together they had a son. Tim Hildebrandt died on June 11, 2006, at the age of 67, due to complications of diabetes. ==Awards==