In a few days we’re going to discover the magic behind the special effects that helped make Star Wars: The Force Awakens one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. With the release of the Blu-ray on April 5th, fans will be able to see what went into the making of the film that returned Star Wars to its glory days. Many fans wanted a return of the look and feel of the original trilogy and that’s exactly what they got. Something must have been gone right in the early days of the effects industry to have fans want the feel of the visuals and effects of old to return.

Although, the techniques in effects have changed over the years the original Star Wars trilogy still stands the test of time and holds up to many modern special effect films. Some of these stunning effects, visuals and imagery were created using matte paintings and can be seen in many of the most iconic and most memorable scenes in the films.

What makes some of the original effects shown in the original trilogy hold up against what was seen in The Force Awakens? To find out, lets take a look at some of the pioneers and masterful artists that are legends of the industry.

Most fans of Star Wars films have heard of Ralph McQuarrie, the man most responsible for the look and feel of the Star Wars universe. McQuarrie not only created special paintings and sketches for the Star Wars movies but also used Matte Paintings to create the magical worlds imagined by George Lucas. In fact, several of his original concept arts served as the inspiration for the JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Other legendary artists like Chris Evans, Michael Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw also had a hand bringing Star Wars to life on screen.

Many blockbuster films in the pre-CGI era utilized the matte painting with a combination of complex in-camera trickery. Film footage would be shot with areas of the film left unexposed, and later the matte artist would paint in the missing areas of the shot by hand. This pioneering special effects technique can be seen in many films released before the mid-1990s.

In 1985, a BBC’s Horizon documentary gave us an inside look at ILM and its pioneering special effects. This important documentary focuses on subjects such like optical printing, matte painting and even rotoscoping.

A portion of this documentary that deals with the Matte Painting master artistry can be seen here:







ILM was the master of oil matte painting in that time, making audiences believe that some of the sets in the original Star Wars were real when they weren’t.

From the Death Star, Slave 1, Cloud City, the Endor moon and even Jabba’s Palace, these artists created environments that looked so real that even the naked eye couldn’t tell the difference on a cinema screen.

Let us never forget the legendary artists like Chris Evans, Michael Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw who along with McQuarrie helped make Star Wars become what it is today.

You can see more of this amazing masterful work in pictures Here.

May the Force be with you….

Thanks to Sploid’s Jesus Diaz for some details in the writing of this article.