Renowned Star Wars Illustrator Greg Hildebrandt Regrettably Passes Away
Renowned fantasy and sci-fi illustrator Greg Hildebrandt departed this world at the age of 85 yesterday.
Hildebrandt's pop-culture contributions stretched far and wide, including the "style B" poster for the UK release of Star Wars, along with posters for films like Clash of the Titans, Barbarella, and Young Frankenstein. He collaborated extensively with his late twin brother and fellow artist, Tim Hildebrandt. Together they crafted artwork for trading cards in Magic: The Gathering, painted pieces for Dungeons & Dragons and the official Lord of the Rings calendars, and contributed to IDW's Star Wars comics, OMNI, Amazing Stories, and Heavy Metal magazine. They also designed the album artwork for Black Sabbath's Mob Rules and several Trans-Siberian Orchestra releases.
On the literary front, Hildebrandt illustrated his own book titled Greg Hildebrandt’s Favorite Fairy Tales, as well as works related to Dracula, Robin Hood, The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Peter Cottontail’s Surprise, The Wizard of Oz, and The Phantom of the Opera. He also brought his artistic touch to Edgar Allan Poe's stories.
After hearing the news of Hildebrandt's passing, renowned figures in the industry, such as Gail Simone, Paul Levitz, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jo Duffy, Pat Brosseau, CrissCross, Rob Liefeld, and Tony DiTerlizzi, took to social media to express their condolences. Many more tributes are bound to follow. Here's a small selection of Hildebrandt's works we find particularly noteworthy. May he rest in peace.
© Marvel
© Wizards of the Coast
© MGM
© Marvel
© Wizards of the Coast
© Lucasfilm
In the realm of future predictions and speculations, Io9, a popular science fiction and fantasy news site, often discusses the impact of artists like Greg Hildebrandt on the genre's visual storytelling. The technology of digital art and printing has allowed Hildebrandt's iconic works to reach new audiences and inspire generations to come.
