PHIL SZOSTAK will be signing at the Forbidden Planet London Megastore on Friday 15th July from 6.30 – 7.30pm

Step inside the Lucasfilm art departments for the creation of fantastical worlds, unforgettable characters, and unimaginable creatures. The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens will take you there, from the earliest gathering of artists and production designers at Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco to the fever pitch of production at Pinewood Studios to the conclusion of postproduction at Industrial Light & Magic—all with unprecedented access. The book features exclusive interviews with the entire creative team, imparting insights into director J. J. Abrams’s vision, which includes unused “blue sky” concept art, and offering glimpses into roads not travelled. Bursting with hundreds of stunning works of art, including production paintings, concept sketches, storyboards, blueprints, and matte paintings, this visual feast will delight Star Wars fans and cineastes for decades to come. The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the definitive expression of how the latest chapter in the Star Wars saga was dreamed into being.

Image archivist Phil Szostak was embedded with The Force Awakens art department as a conceptual researcher and archivist from December 2012 through to the end of production, and has worked in conjunction with Star Wars art departments for six years at Lucasfilm. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, Szostak worked for Wild Brain Animation on the Disney Channel series Higglytown Heroes, and he ran the JAK Films Art Department on Skywalker Ranch for over three years before joining the narrative design team on LucasArts’ Star Wars: 1313. He resides in San Francisco. Phil is in town for Star Wars Celebration Europe, taking place at the ExCel Centre July 15-17.