The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic – Volume 1

by Kristin Baver

Featuring exclusive concept art, character and costume sketches, and vehicle and creature designs by Lucasfilm Publishing and its partners, this official companion to Star Wars: The High Republic (Phase One) offers fans a definitive, behind-the-scenes look at an ambitious new era of Star Wars storytelling

The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic takes fans behind the scenes of Phase I of Lucasfilm Publishing’s massive crossover event. Collecting the very best concept art of the new characters, worlds, ships, and creatures of The High Republic—designed jointly by the Lucasfilm Visualists and a team of legendary comic book and Star Wars artists, including Phil Noto, Iain McCaig, and Ryan Church, among many others—and presented alongside development materials and interviews with High Republic architects Claudia Gray (Star Wars The High Republic: Into the Dark), Justina Ireland (Star Wars The High Republic: A Test of Courage), Daniel José Older (Star Wars The High Republic: Race to Crashpoint Tower), Cavan Scott (Marvel Comics’s The High Republic), and Charles Soule (Star Wars The High Republic: Light of the Jedi), The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic is an essential guide to the creation, design, and realization of a new era of Star Wars storytelling.

The High Republic Phase I: Light of the Jedi finds the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic at the height of their respective powers, but following the events of “The Great Disaster,” the Jedi, led by Jedi Knights Avar Kriss, Loden Greatstorm, Keeve Trennis, and Stellan Gios and joined by a diverse group of Padawans and Jedi Masters, are confronted by the looming threat of the Nihil—a marauding group of Outer Rim anarchists who stand opposed to all the Galactic Republic represents. In The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic, readers will discover the origins of the fan-favorite new characters taking on this threat, as well as exciting new starfighter and creature designs, beautifully rendered environments, and detailed views of Starlight Beacon—the shining symbol of hope in the Republic.

The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic is the only book to explore all facets of the design and artistic direction of a story that spans comic books, novels, and young adult books, taking Star Wars fans of all ages on a deep dive into the development of the New York Times bestselling series.

Genres: Star Wars, Art, Nonfiction, Adult, Collections

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2022

About the author

Kristin Baver is the Associate Editor of StarWars.com, covering Star Wars news, writing interview features on George Lucas and other important figures in the Star Wars galaxy, as well as spotlighting the dedicated fan community and their impressive and imaginative creations. She is the host of This Week! in Star Wars and The Star Wars Show Book Club. She previously worked as an award-winning journalist covering crime and social issues in central Pennsylvania, but now lives with her cat, Hector Smidget, in San Francisco, California.

Reviews

[katezsz · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is possibly one of the most beautiful books of all time. i had no idea how much care, effort, and time was put into creating this series. the quotes and art descriptions really felt like i was watching a documentary and getting the inside scoop on everything that went into the high republic, from its earliest drafts to the actual published content. if you’re a high republic fan looking to expand your knowledge on the series, i cannot recommend this book enough.

i recommend reading this book towards the end or at the very end of phase i. that’s where i’m at in the series currently, and i felt like i understood everything going on without knowing TOO much.

some highlights for this book (spoilers for phase i):
• porter engle was partly based on gordon ramsay
• ‘there is no fear’ originally covered a lot of more ground. in its early drafts, before it was even known as ‘there is no fear’ sskeer wasn’t keeve’s master. additionally, it had an entirely different side plot which followed sskeer, avar, vernestra, and imri together (why did they delete this, i would have loved to see it😭 it would have hopefully furthered my theory that stellan getting a padawan would have, by extension, meant avar and elzar getting a padawan too)
• stellan originally was going to survive the destruction of starlight beacon (🧍‍♀️😭)
•bell was originally going to die instead of loden
•lula is canonically in love with zeen. this is explicitly stated in the book. star wars gays ftw, lulazeen fans you can rejoice
• in concept art for yoda, he was give a man bun which was eventually cut. thank god. this art was inspired by bernie sanders, which is actually insane to say

moral of the story, absolutely beautiful art and an even more beautiful story. lowkey i’m kind of sad because i just found out phase ii won’t be during phase i’s timeline at all, which means no firebrands… who is responsible for this

READ IT! 💥

[Saimi Korhonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In a time of uncertainty, fear, detachment, and despair, the High Republic in its grandeur is a reminder of togetherness, idealism, unity, and hope. And as Padawan Bell Zettifar tells himself while trying to do the impossible during the attack on the Republic Fair on Valo, the message we must carry forward is this: We are not alone."

The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic is an in-depth look into the creation of the High Republic publishing initiative. The focus is on the art and the visual creation of the High Republic era with its already iconic characters, locations, ships and creatures, but it's also the story of how this initiative came to be and what wa important for the people telling these amazing stories. This really is the perfect book for a High Republic fan.

I had a great time with this book. It was beautiful to look at - I love that I now have this treasure trove of High Republic art from early pencil drawings to concept art to finished pages of the comics - and it was very informative. I learned a lot about the creation of this era and these stories. I loved reading about how the characters were developed and it was so cool seeing early versions of characters like Stellan Gios, Vernestra Rwoh and Marchion Ro. There was art for big characters as well as some smaller ones who only appear in a book or two. Some were images I saw for the first time ever - it was cool finally being able to see what some characters I've only read about looked like. The book also emphasised how a lot of the vehicles, places and character designs we see in the final stories are based on old, unused drawings and designs by legendary SW artists like Ralph McQuarrie: nothing in SW ever goes unused and I think that's brilliant.

The book features a lot of interviews and quotes from High Republic creators - both the authors and the visual creators - and it was really fun reading about their thoughts, intentions and feelings about their work. They talked a lot of what they wanted to bring to Star Wars with this project and it was everything from fun to hope to adventure to politics to togetherness to humor to representation. I really loved reading about how the authors and artists were all dedicated to making the galaxy far, far away feel open for everyone, a place where everyone can find someone to relate to. Daniel José Older talked about the importance of Lula and Zeen's love story being canonical and clear, Justina Ireland spoke of how important it was for her to see black characters be active, multidimensional and important characters, and Charles Soul talked of how he wanted everyone to feel at home in these books. There were also interesting discussions on representation when it comes to the characters appearances, for example, their hairstyles. Lula Talisola and Bell Zettifar were given dreadlocks, because there has never before been a SW character with said hairstyle.

The authors and creators also spoke of the way the time in which they wrote their books impacted the stories they told. Daniel José Older spoke of how Midnight Horizon ended up being, in many ways, a response to the American political chaos of the time, and Justina Ireland spoke of how they decided to end the Rising Storm by killing off Loden and not Bell as they had thought because they did not want to kill a major black character - the book was written during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests - and have that be their grand ending for the book. It was interesting to learn how the pandemic, the political chaos of the world and spesicifally America, and the overall divisiveness of the world at this moment impacted the story.

I really loved this book! It's a must-read for every High Republic devotee!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

When The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic was first announced in February 2022, I basically lost my mind. My love for art books goes all the way back to my childhood, and my collection continues to grow. Knowing that a book like this encapsulating all things The High Republic would be the next addition was thrilling. Cut to November 8, 2022 and The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic (Volume I) is here, and so is my review!

Published by Abrams Books and written by Kristin Baver (host of This Week! In Star Wars), The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic is part art book and part history book. Baver sets out to recount the origins of The High Republic publishing initiative, providing a glimpse behind the curtain that fans have yet to experience. She gets firsthand experiences from the Luminous Five: Cavan Scott, Claudia Gray, Daniel Jose Older, Justina Ireland and Charles Soule on what it was like to build something new in Star Wars from the ground up. She does a great job of showing how the Lucasfilm executives and creatives truly partnered with the authors to create something distinct, and how artists collaborated early on character design and how that influenced the books and comics. Artists like Star Wars legend Ian McCaig, Ario Anindito and Harvey Tolibao, plus numerous concept artists also give voice to their work, laying out their creative process and inspiration.

The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic is laid out in chapters that help guide readers through this wealth of information. Baver smartly starts with the origins of the project up front and moves through characters, locations, and ships, all with gorgeous accompanying art. Of course it wouldn’t be an art book without stunning images, and there are a ton! We get to see sketches of character ideas that get fleshed out into final designs, comic book interiors and covers, photographs of the Starlight Beacon model, weapon designs, unused interior book art, and much, much more. I am a particular fan of sketches and found myself lingering on the the sketches of Ian McCaig and Ario Anindito in particular. There’s just something so organic and personal about sketches, it really gives a glimpse on what the artist is thinking and I love seeing how ideas morph and change into final pieces. Plus, The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic is hefty, the hardcover measures at 10.38 x 11.32 inches, so the artwork is displayed with the significance it deserves.

I was surprised that, for an art book, there was more text than I expected, but this was a pleasant surprise! I can normally sit and “read” an art book in a sitting, but The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic took me a few days to get through, and I’d definitely recommend taking your time to soak all of the awesomeness in, it’s worth it! Kristin Baver’s writing is informative while also being entertaining. The amount of research and time she dedicated to crafting this book the way she did is mind-blowing, it’s truly a masterwork. Plus, it’s Volume I, so High Republic fans definitely will have more to look forward to once phase 2 is complete.

The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic simply belongs in any Star Wars book collection, I give it 🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢/5 – highly recommend!

[Mike S · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Art of Star Wars is a book that is what I would call a coffee table book. It is a mix of artwork/pictures and text. The text talks about how the concept of the High Republic era (which is set a few hundred years before the events of Episode I) came to be, how various characters and creatures were conceived, etc. The pictures range from very rough sketches (almost scribbles in some cases) to the final artwork that appeared on the covers of the various novels and in the graphic novels. The text is written from interviews with the artists/illustrators and the authors of the various High Republic era novels as well as bigwigs at Lucasfilm. It also includes some concept art from the movies and TV series as well.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 230 pages. You can read it from cover to cover, but chances are a lot of people will skim it and mainly focus on the pictures. Either way, it is something that most people can get through in a few hours, or a day at most. It is also a good way for those people who do not get the graphic novels to see some of the characters who are described in the books but are not on the covers (or are not easily identifiable on the covers).

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been following the High Republic project and as it progresses I am finding my interest waning, and this book does little to rejuvenate it. I guess I was hoping to get more of a visual sense of what the High Republic was like, but this did not scratch that itch. For one thing, most of the art was already made publicly available. For another, a lot of the art was rudimentary sketches made by artist Iain McCaig. And yet another, there are a few pages of sketches of background characters--which I liked--but the text did not even try to rekindle my memory of these characters.

Probably the most interesting artistic choice made was the voice actor Marc Thompson's choice to make the big baddie have a soft voice, like he was a precocious adolescent or something. I thought that choice was more illuminating about the character than anything visual comic book artists have put together, but there is nothing on that here.

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The High Republic hits many fans in many different ways. For me the first visuals that were released of the characters Keeve, Bell, Lula, Ram and several more elicited an equal amount of awe and joy. As a little kid who ran around with Christmas Wrap tubes pretending they were lightsabers ( SOO much better than Paper Towel Rolls), seeing people that looked like me on the cover or a canon novel and comic is deeply satisfying.

This book is filled with gorgeous illustrations of the character in the first Phase of The High Republic. Kristin Baver does a tremendous job with the text about the journey to the production of the initiative as well as sharing amazing stories and quotes from the writers and artists. This book is a joyful celebration of the initiative and I hope we get more volumes in the future.

[Bryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! The images were stunning, and I loved learning more about this series, which is one of my favorites.

Some of the things I thought especially interesting were how the decision was made not to kill off Bell Zettifar in "The Rising Storm" because of the BLM movement, and also how they chose to gave him dreadlocks, how American politics influenced Daniel José Older's "Midnight Horizon", and also, of course, the inclusion of queer characters!

I love Kristin Baver's "This Week! In Star Wars" weekly video series, and her writing is also phenomenal.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Inclusion matters.

[Leo Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't been particularly enamored with the High Republic publishing initiative—I have no issues with the concept of it, I simply don't think they chose their authors very well—but the one aspect of this era that I have consistently loved is the art. Every artist working on the various comics has been top-notch. Ario Anindito's work on the flagship High Republic comics and Dave Wachter's art for "Trail of Shadows" have been especially phenomenal. Even the novels have been an uncharacteristically visual reading experience due to the regular release of character concept art online. Usually readers must turn to fanart or their own imagination to visualize characters that only appear in the books, so having a treasure trove of canonical art for the High Republic characters is very exciting for me as someone who often struggles to picture things in my head. All this to say, the art of the High Republic has always been its most appealing aspect for me, so unsurprisingly I enjoyed this book more than almost any other High Republic book.

The level of care that went into character, location, vehicle and creature designs seems, to my mind, to exceed the level of care that went into the stories themselves. The looks and costumes are movie-caliber. Each Jedi has both formal robes and mission attire, meaning that each Jedi character has not just one but two excellent costumes. Most of the final concepts for characters have already been released online, but this book traces the process for arriving at the look for each major character. Marchion Ro, especially, went through many iterations, some of them quite bizarre. He's also pictured seminude to show different proposed skin textures, which I definitely enjoyed for exclusively pure and chaste reasons. In addition to characters, the vehicles and locations are explored in depth. Starlight Beacon is an instantly iconic design. It is simple and aesthetically pleasing but with a great depth of detail and thematic potential. The ship designs are mostly pulled from preexisting concept art from the Star Wars movies, but as far as I'm concerned there's nothing wrong with a little recycling, given the sheer volume of excellent Star Wars concept art that's been left unused. The Vector is an especially beautiful design, as is the Longbeam cruiser.

There's a lot of focus on the High Republic comics in this book, since they are perhaps the highest-profile visual exploration of this era. We get to see concept art by comic artists like Anindito, Harvey Tolibao and Nick Brokenshire, and uncolored line art for comic covers and interiors. It was also nice just to see comic page spreads in their full, original glory, unmarred by speech bubbles.

Much of the look of the High Republic was derived from sketches that Ian McCaig, classic Star Wars concept artist, created for the initiative. Many of the McCaig sketches included are very rough, preliminary scribbles, which was a bit jarring at first. But I didn't have an issue with the inclusion—it was refreshing to get a window into the very early stages of visual development, since "Art of" books often exclusively focus on more polished concept art.

"The Art of the High Republic" is written by Kristin Baver, host of the weekly Star Wars YouTube show and author of the in-universe biography "Skywalker: A Family at War" (which I haven't read). Her writing can get awkward at times, especially compared to the polished professionalism of Phil Szostak, who writes the concept art books for the movies and TV shows. But it gets the point across, and no one comes to an "Art of" book for the prose anyway. The art is well-presented and well-curated, and the prose sections effectively outline the development of the initiative, although I will admit that I often rolled my eyes as Baver extolled the sweeping, emotional storytelling and uplifting progressive themes of the High Republic stories—as discussed, I haven't found many of the books or comics to have much literary merit outside of mindless entertainment.

But overall, I would definitely recommend this book, not only to High Republic fans, but also to non-fans like me. I think the art and design work on display here are worth admiring even if you are unfamiliar with, or indifferent to, the stories themselves. Warning: there are spoilers for the entirety of Phase I, so if there's any Phase I media you intend to read but haven't got around to yet, I would save the "Art of" book for last.

[Joseph Passafume · Rating 1 out of 5]

Enjoyed looking at the pictures and reading until the author started getting political. Don’t need to hear about Trump or being a fascist from Star Wars. Disappointed in this that they let this get published under the Star Wars logo. For a new way forward trying to be inclusive does a really good job of dividing.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning artwork. Just enough nuggets in the text to add to the story through design studies. Bit of a history of the High Republic project to boot.

I don’t delve into coffee table books to much, so I don’t know what ,Akers a good one or not. I certainly enjoyed this one, but I won’t remember much from it outside of a drawing or two.

[Martycoffey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way more than just pages of art like I thought. The behind-the-scenes look at one of my favorite Star Wars publishing initiatives of all-time was well worth the price. Lots of insight into the creative process, and the concept art was awesome as well. If there's a Volume 2 for Phase II, I'll definitely get it as well.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only a great look into the behind-the-scenes and creative process of the High Republic, but also a really well-paced and balanced art-of book! I loved getting to know the thoughts behind design and story choices, the cultural context and of course, seeing all the different iterations of everything from Geode to the Starlight Beacon.

[Daan Spanbroek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to see how the high republic initiative is built up and how the art is made. Highlight was to see past unused designs for other star wars projects getting recycled for these stories. It’s nice to add to the collection, but it still is an art book and does not really expand my enjoyment of the stories themselves.

[Grant Nemzek · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very cool and fun to get a behind-the-scenes peek at The High Republic. The art was beautiful and the stories about how everything came together were awesome. Lots of fun little tidbits and trivia throughout - highly recommend for any THR fans!

[eilidh · Rating 5 out of 5]

first book i’ve read in months and it’s a star wars concept art coffee table book lmao. very interesting look at how the high republic and all of its beautiful characters came to be. love to see the behind the scenes of stories that caused my mental illness

[Claire Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this because it gave a visual representation that helped me better appreciate the books I'd read. Also interesting behind the scenes look at how to make long storytelling work with many writers / artists.

[betanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing how the authors and artists worked together to create this new Star Wars galaxy and story, especially during the pandemic is truly fascinating. Hearing how the stories evolved seeing the evolution of the characters and culture is fun.

[Will Plunkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a good balance of words with the images; not all Art of... books do that (too much of words or of pictures some times). Nice background to the idea generation, especially during the time of the pandemic. And of course, the paintings and preliminary sketches (some digitally) are stunning.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really designed for fans of the High Republic series and while I have read some of the comics and books, there were a lot I had to look up to remember who they were. But great art and designs.

[Yarnstead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable for fans of The High Republic who want to see concept art and read about how the series came to be. This book covers Phase I and I'm looking forward to future art books for the other phases.

[Mike Delacard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork is impressive and a must-see for readers of The High Republic!

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gebruikt om m'n avar kriss cosplay te maken which is al een tijdje terug maar het is ZOOOOO mooi allemaal.

[good book detector · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love concept art. I always have. Creators and artists peeling back the curtain and allowing the audience to wonder, “what could have been?” is such a fun way to engage with a story after it’s finished.
“The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic” is remarkable in that it doesn’t just give readers a look at what could have been, but also provides detailed notes on how this publishing initiative came together. Different from the art books and making-of stories of its cinematic counterparts, this is a special book in how open the creators are with just how these ideas came to be words on a page or line art in a comic book. Iain McCaig’s commentary was a particular highlight for me with how joyful and funny he was in describing his pieces and how they shaped the stories of the High Republic.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who has enjoyed The High Republic so far, and I will be first in line when volume 2 is released.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love art books and I love star wars. This is a winning combo

[Rodney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice companion for reading The High Republic series.