See What Rey Almost Looked Like in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Concept Art by Iain McCaig

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Check out Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) concept art by Iain McCaig



The film Star Wars Episode VII has amazing visuals and I'm happy to share more from the artists that worked on the film. This time, they're by Iain McCaig. The art book The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes images and information.

McCaig is a professional concept artist, writer and director of such big-budget projects as The Avengers (2012), Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Rey


Some early costume designs by McCaig show a different look for her. The costume designer Michael Kaplan spoke with Clothes on Film about his designs for Rey.

“My job is to delineate characters based on information in the script," Kaplan said, "I took all the clues of her character (she is poor, she works as a scavenger, her work requires agility, climbing, she lives in a hot and bright desert climate, where the nights are probably cool, there are possibly sand storms, she rides a speeder). I took this information and from it I created elements of wardrobe appropriate to her character.

“It was important to me that everything on her body was there for a reason and not adornment. Her arms are wrapped for protection whilst climbing in wreckages, the long gauze crosspiece she wears can be used for climbing or wrapped around her face during dust storms, her head wrap is actually a jumper with long sleeves wrapped around her head; it keeps the sand out of her hair and is useful on chilly desert nights. The light colours are appropriate for the desert heat. The homemade goggles (made from old, scavenged Stormtrooper ‘eyes’) protect her eyes from dust, sand and sunlight on her speeder rides.

“I created two definite colour palate and fabric-type divisions which I think clearly clarifies. The New Order colours are cold; black, shades of grey, teal blue and of course, white. The fabrics are polished wools, nylon and synthetics. The silhouettes are extremely heroic and hard-edged; think 1980s Theirry Mugler. The Rebel colour palate is earth tones; olive drab, rust, tan, ochre and shades of brown. The fabrics are natural; cotton, boiled wool, linen. The uniforms are rumpled and broken down.”

General Organa



Another costume design by Iain McCaig gave Princess Leia (now General Organa) a jacket inspired by the wardrobe of the actress Sarah Bernhardt. “It’s such an attractive choice because it really sculpts the face,” says McCaig.

While the book is great there's a misquote. The quote by McCaig says "I love that quote from A WIZARD of Earthseas, the fantasy novel by Ursala K. Le Guin: "When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow.' That inspired me to propose, for the first time, that Anakin's ghost could come back." Iain pointed out to me that the real quote is "To light a candle is to cast a shadow". The caption had the correct quote, but his quote does not. A minor point in a wonderful book, but worth noting.

By the way, normally I do Flashback Fridays. But since I've been neglecting my blog in favor of my Superman site I'll just apologize for the lack of updates. I'm working to get everything back on schedule soon!

See more of his incredible portfolio at http://iainmccaig.blogspot.com and his artbook Shadowline: The Art of Iain McCaig.

Click on the links if you want to see more Iain McCaig or Star Wars: The Force Awakens artwork on my blog.

Some images via Flavorwire

What do you think of the concept art? If you've seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens what do you think of the artwork?

Official Star Wars VII Summary
Star Wars: Episode VII will be directed by J.J. Abrams (Super 8, Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek) and is being scripted by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi). Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, with Tommy Harper (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Jack Ryan, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds) serving as executive producers. John Williams is returning to score Star Wars: Episode VII..
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Cinematography by Daniel Mindel
Production Design by Rick Carter and Darren Gilford
Starring: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Lupita Nyong'o, and Gwendoline Christie, with Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker
Release Dates: December 18, 2015 (USA)
Official Site: http://www.starwars.com/theforceawakens
© Copyright 2015 Lucasfilm, Bad Robot. All rights reserved


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