Ralph McQuarrie, the innovative artist who conceptualized the most iconic characters in the "Star Wars" franchise, has died at age 82. The Indiana native was the Force behind the design of Darth Vader, C-3P0, R2-D2 and Chewbacca, among others. He earned an unbilled role in "The Empire Strikes Back" and his own action figure. "When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph's fabulous illustrations and say, 'Do it like this,'" remembers George Lucas on StarWars.com.
Fans on Twitter are mourning, but no one more so than @DepressedDarth, who comments, "RIP Ralph McQuarrie, thanks for making me such a badass."
McQuarrie worked on designs for Star Wars and also created designs for the never filmed Star Trek movie Planet of Titans for which he created a new U.S.S. Enterprise.
He worked as a consultant and concept artist for Star Trek IV The Voyage Home.
