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After I spent all my allowance on model kits to bash, Plaster of Paris to make landscapes, and countless bottles of modelling glue and paint, and then filled cannisters of 8mm film on my little special effects and stop-motion animated shenanigans, I found myself out of money. This is when I discovered, as many art departments before me, that pen-and-paper is much cheaper than Building Stuff Willy Nilly. (Side note: if your last name is NILLY and you are looking for names for your soon-to-arrive son, think twice about William.)This is when the other book found its way into my hands: The Star Wars Sketchbook, featuring the pre-production drawings of Joe Johnston. The designs this guy came up with set the look and feel for pretty much every sci-fi production for the next 20 or so years. But his line quality is to die for! It is at the same time precise and effortless.I love the attention to detail. All those Greebles on the ships, senseless visual noise, while at the same time suggesting utility and scale. The main thing that impressed me is that Johnston’s designs actually look like things humans would build. They’re not all round and smooth and shiny and bright. They look like artifacts from a used, lived-in universe, which is what George Lucas wanted.
It is safe to say that Joe Johnston taught me how to draw vehicles. I began by tracing the drawings in that book, and then I graduated to copying them by eye. Finally, I let go of that comfortable artistic embrace and wobbled out into the deep water on my own, but I don’t think I ever truly let go. Johnston’s influence shows in my work today, although I never did truly get his line work down. Here are some examples of his fine, fine work.
Joe’s gone on to become a director, where he’s achieved notable success with films such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, October Sky, and Hidalgo. But it’s fun to think that his drawings as a lowly designer on a small film in the mid-seventies inspired me way back when.
But he also taught me a bit about managing production. More on that tomorrow…
This entry was posted on Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 11:21 am and is filed under Ogden's SOAPBOX.
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May 1st, 2007 at 9:54 pm e
Do people still draw like Joe? What is the Star Wars of this generation? Who are the artists and story tellers of today that will thrill, bewilder, and inspire modern 7 to 11 year olds to imagine and create?
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:11 am e
Well, that’s a really good question. Most of us are still being inspired by the new talents that have come into the profession. Doug Chiang, who was Joe Johnston’s successor on the Star Wars prequels, had a loose, color-washed style that many a visual designer has adopted. And if you look at the army of visual designers on the Lord of the Rings movies, you’ll see even more drool-worthy stuff.
The net has made it easy to find a host of great artists, and believe it or not, there is still a lot of drawing being done, not only in visual design for movies, but also for computer games, and there’s currently a resurgence in comic books and graphic novels. Sure, there’s a lot of computer stuff, and a lot of bad, cheap, and amateurish 3D being done, but those who can draw, and draw well, are a great find. And these communities wear their 2D skills like a badge of honor. And so they should!
Finally, I suppose, the short answer to your question is: us. We who work in computer games, TV, film, comic books. We are the artists that the youth of today will look toward. Sorta makes ya approach your drawing board with a little glance over the shoulder, doesn’t it?