Concept artist and designer Ivan Manzella was kind enough to share some of the concept art and designs he created for ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’.

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Rogue One” is a stand-alone movie set between George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge Of The Sith” and “Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope,”. And unlike the “Force Awakens,” “Rogue One” isn’t somewhat of a rehash of another of George Lucas’ plots (A New Hope). Instead, it rehashes the plots of numerous World War II and/Western films in which a brave squadron, a Magnificent 7, prepares to sacrifice itself in the name of a greater cause. A squadron of rebels of various sexes, races and species.

Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso is an excellent addition to the “Star Wars” tradition of tough-minded, quick-thinking heroines. Jyn Erso is the daughter of Galen Erso, played by perfectly cast Mads Mikkelsen. Another high note is the reprogrammed and extremely supercilious Imperial droid called K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudy.

Director Gareth Edwards does his best to keep the story on track, as he clearly aims for more realism and grit than we’re used to in this series. Practical effects are an important aspect of making the film feel more ‘tangible’. Sure, the chronology of the Star Wars films does not directly correlate with the technology used within them. Naturally, the original trilogy movies used a lot of practical effects. With the prequels being the most CG-heavy of all Star Wars films. Rogue One instead, offered an opportunity to populate the world of the film with a bounty of practical creatures. This trend continues on as J.J. Abrams brought back a swell focus on practical effects in The Force Awakens and Rian Johnson did as well for The Last Jedi.

Key to the process of using practical effects instead of CGI are the concept artists. One of those artists were Ivan Manzella who has allowed us to share with you some of the creature and character designs that he created for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Check out the amazing concept art that Ivan created for ‘Rogue One’ below, and you can see more of Ivan ‘s work here . Also, be sure to check out more of Rogue One concept art and illustrations featured in the art book, The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story .

All images used with permission by the artist.