The following is an excerpt from an article in issue #116 of Star Wars Insider, on sale now. To subscribe to Star Wars Insider magazine visit titanmagazines.com/starwars.
Sculpting the Sith: An interview with Brian Muir, the artist responsible for sculpting the Darth Vader, stormtrooper, and other costumes
Can you talk about the process involved in creating Darth Vader from Ralph McQuarrie's original design?
The process started with David Prowse being molded from head to toe so that a full plaster cast could be produced for me to work on. As the mask and helmet were to be sculpted first, the head and shoulders were cut from the body and fixed onto a modeling stand.
I began by sculpting the mask, back and front, ensuring that there was at least a quarter inch of clay on the plaster head at any point to allow for casting thickness, and to be sure it would fit well on Dave's head. After creating Vader's mask in clay, it was passed to the plasterers to mold and reproduce in plaster. I then carved and sharpened the plaster cast to a finish. At this point I started modeling the helmet in clay over the plaster mask to ensure the overall appearance worked. The same methods of molding and casting in plaster were again carried out. The final molds were made from the plaster cast, and fiberglass versions were produced.
The plaster head and shoulders were then reaffixed to the body and it was moved to the main plaster shop for me to model the armor. Working from Ralph McQuarrie's paintings, I sculpted the chest armor, two shoulder bells, and shins. Again each piece was molded and cast in plaster, the lines carved and sharpened with a final remold, and finally cast in fiberglass.
Read the rest of this interview in Star Wars Insider #116, available with newsstand and variant covers:
Newsstand cover
Collectors Edition
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