The Art Of Star Wars The Mandalorian

Earlier this year my wife and I visited our son and daughter-in-law in Virginia.  While there, as Grandma gushed over our new granddaughter, I contented myself to watch some streaming shows via the Internet courtesy of Disney +.

I’d heard a lot of positive buzz about the new Star Wars The Mandalorian show and I thought I would check it out.

I’m glad I did-it was fantastic and some of the best Star Wars I’d even seen.

I binge watched the entire first season.  When I got home, although we do not have Disney +, I was able to watch a lot of clips and scenes from the second season.  The last episode of the season blew me away.  If you haven’t watched it--do!

As a former art teacher, artist and graphic designer I was blown away by the detail of the series when it came to costumes, character and set design, special visual and practical effects, the music score and the creature design.

I recognize how much work, blood, sweat and tears that went into making the series.

It takes months of pre-planning, physical construction, post-production and editing to make such a series.  Everything about it clicked.

Abrams Books and author Phil Szostak, with a foreword by Doug Chiang, present The Art Of Star Wars The Mandalorian, an oversize, slip covered, hardbound book that covers everything about the creation and final realization of the series‘ first season.

The slip cover shows illustrations of The Mandalorian on the cover with art of the chief bad guys on the back.

The book’s cover displays a panoramic landscape with a speeder bike wraparound piece of art.

Inside readers are privy to pitch illustrations, twin page panoramas of locations and sets, character designs, ship and technology concepts, costume refinements and so much more.

Filled to the brim with color illustrations, sketches and notes about the creation of each, the book is a visual account of how such a massive concept went from the drawing table and computer to the screen.

It’s a remarkable examination of the creative process and progress from sketches to completed designs, maquettes and physical props, sets, creatures and more.

More than just a book about Star Wars it is a veritable visual encyclopedia of film making magic.