Carol Titelman's first volume, originally entitled
The Art of Star Wars, was published in 1979 amid a popular trend for behind-the-scenes, "
making-of" media products (such as
The Making of Star Wars documentary). The book presents a range of pre-production
concept art,
storyboards, and publicity shots alongside Lucas's screenplay. It has been noted as a rich record of the
previsualization behind the 1977 movie that gives the reader an insight into the "possibilities that might have been" in the final
production design, and that challenges the "authorial singularity and originality" that normally surrounds the works of a Hollywood
auteur. The first volume has been called the definitive work on the development of the cinematographic art of Star Wars, a body of creative works that heavily influenced later films. The first book presents some of the earliest concept sketches of a number of now-familiar characters of the
Star Wars universe, including early impressions of the helmet of
Darth Vader, the droids
C-3PO and
R2-D2,
Imperial stormtroopers, and the alien clientele of the
Mos Eisley Cantina on the planet
Tatooine. The concept sketches and
matte paintings of
Ralph McQuarrie feature heavily, alongside sketches by
Joe Johnston,
set design drawings by
John Barry,
costume design sketches by
John Mollo, storyboards by
Alex Tavoularis and photographs by
Bob Seidemann and
John Jay. McQuarrie's work was considered highly influential in the production of the first three Star Wars movies; Journalist
Jonathan Jones wrote of McQuarrie:
"Looking at his [McQuarrie's]
paintings, you can recognise that the appeal of this art is similar to that of 19th century Orientalist paintings of harems and sandy vistas." Section one of the book, accompanied by illustrations, features "the script" and is introduced by the title page text: "
Star Wars↵ Episode↵
IV↵
A New Hope↵
from the↵
Journal of the Whills↵ by↵ George Lucas↵ Revised Fourth Draft↵ January 15, 1976↵ Lucasfilm Ltd." Later book sections, from pages 138 to 175, feature the artwork of
film posters by
Tom Jung,
Dan Goozee,
Drew Struzan,
John Berkey,
Tom Chantrell, the
Hildebrandt Brothers,
Howard Chaykin,
Wojtek Siudmak and Ralph McQuarrie; and the art of spin-off products such as the
Marvel Comics series,
Star Wars-themed cartoons such as ''
Berry's World and Stan Mack's Real Life Funnies''; and fan art. Two volumes were subsequently published to accompany the sequel films;
The Art of the Empire Strikes Back, edited by Deborah Call, was published in 1980; and
The Art of Return of the Jedi was published in 1983. In 2000, the
Star Wars prequel trilogy began with the release of
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and corresponding books in
The Art of Star Wars series were published. As in previous volumes, these books contain paintings, sketches, mock-ups, models and photos of scenes, buildings, costumes, characters, spacecraft and creatures, along with digitally mastered pictures. The books chart the progress of production from original gouache drawings to the three-dimensional models of spaceships. McQuarrie had retired by this stage, and the production artwork of
Doug Chiang features heavily in these books. Extracts from the
Episode I book were published in a 48-page booklet accompanying a US "collectors' edition"
videotape of
The Phantom Menace in 2000.
The Art of Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, published in 2005, features a foreword by director George Lucas, and presents the early concept art for significant scenes in
Episode III, in particular the final
lightsaber duel of
Obi-Wan Kenobi and
Anakin Skywalker on the hellish lava planet of
Mustafar, and the medical chamber where
Darth Vader is dressed in his trademark armour. Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by
The Walt Disney Company in 2012, a sequel trilogy went into production.
The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, published in 2015, features the work of concept artists
Iain McCaig and
Craig Alzmann, production designer
Rick Carter and Doug Chiang. The book contains early concept art tracing the early development of the character of
Kylo Ren, and also reveals preliminary sketches that illustrate a proposed appearance of Anakin Skywalker as a malevolent "
Force ghost". ==Reprints==