Question What’s the key to achieving the Star Wars design aesthetic?
Simon Newy, Australia
Answer
Tony replies
When creating anything for the Star Wars universe, there are a few thoughts to consider. For one thing, the visual aesthetic has changed somewhat over the years. The original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, and the video games (I’m mostly thinking about The Old Republic here) each have their own specific look, but there is a thread of Star Warsiness (that’s actually a technical term) that runs through them all. Here I’ve drawn a spread of bounty hunting equipment as an example of the shapes and textures of a galaxy far, far away.
When starting off, there are two main approaches I use. If the object has some kind of real-world counterpart, such as hand guns for blasters, or axes for vibroaxes), try mixing and matching parts with thumbnail drawings – much like the way a prop creator kit-bashes construction models of aeroplanes, cars and ships.
In the second image I’ve combined several pieces of real-world guns to create something that feels unique, a bit otherworldly, and yet still recognisable as a projectile weapon. Try adding a few futuristic shapes to your silhouettes and voilà! You’re on the road to Star Warsiness.
My second approach is for when you want to design something that looks unlike anything from our world. Take space ships, for example. Boba Fett’s Slave I and the Millennium Falcon are based on a radar dish and hamburger (with olive toothpicked to the side) respectively, which should give you some idea of how far you can take things. Use inspiration from the objects around you and then imagine how something with that particular silhouette would function as a vehicle.