The Art of Ron Cobb

by Jacob Johnston

Discover the ultimate collection of Ron Cobb’s artwork from across his entire career (Alien, Star Wars, Back to the Future) in this comprehensive coffee table book.

During his sixty-year career, Ron Cobb provided concept art for some of the biggest films in sci-fi cinema. From designing spaceships for Alien , Dark Star , and Firefly and Delorean from Back to the Future to character designs for Conan the Barbarian and creature concepts for Star Wars and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , Ron has left a legacy of artwork behind to inspire future generations of concept artists.

This beautiful coffee table book is full to the brim with Ron Cobb’s artwork from throughout his career and includes exclusive insights from the talent he worked with along the way, including James Cameron, Joe Johnston, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, and Nick Castle.

Brought to you by Concept Art Association in collaboration with the Estate of Ron Cobb.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Media Tie In

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2022

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had my eye on this book for a while and I will admit that it was worth the wait (which for me says something considering how awfully impatient I am in real life). This is a book celebrating the life and work on Ron Cobb one of the most influential men in his field at that time (you just need to see the body of work and what is represented here to realise that - from Aliens to Back to the Future).

The book is filled with sumptuous artwork ideally shown to allow the reader to properly appreciate it (many images are single pages on this large format coffee table book) which I think lets the work really shine.

One thing I noticed while reading this book was how often it was mentioned how fun and likable and easy to work with he was - something I think is missing in todays way of life in general but to be so universally praised by so many influential and prominent people is testament to both how he lived and worked.

If you love read about the creative ideas that go in to films this is a book for you - highly recommended

[Serdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by the lives and works of people who created things that many people know about without knowing their creators. Ron Cobb was one of SF & fantasy cinema's best kept secrets, a production designer who began (more or less by accident) with "Dark Star", then graduated to "Star Wars", "Alien", "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind", "Conan The Barbarian", and many other household-name movies we all know. This book collects work he did across decades, not just for film but some of his work as an alternative-press cartoonist (his prior career, sorta-kinda), and many other bits that have long been hard to track down. I keep this one on the same shelf as the Syd Mead book retrospective also recently released by Titan.

[JN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection de concepts du maitre australien allant de Star Wars à Indiana Jones en passant par Back to the Future et Conan. Ce livre invite le lecteur à voyager dans un monde imaginaire rempli de possibilités.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous summary of the art and the huge personality of one of my great design heroes. I’m so pleased I got to meet him and shake his hand if only very briefly.

[Luke Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, read it in one sitting.

[Alex Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The same guy who designed the Nostromo in Alien designed Conan the Barbarian. The spectrum of Cobb’s design work is astounding. A great coffee table book!

[Elijah]

As with James Cameron, who provides the forward for this book, it will never stop being strange to me that these ecologically-minded hippies also love drawing military stuff.