Local Knight illustrates Jedi universe

LucasArts concept artist lives out childhood dream creating visuals for popular video games

March 22, 2006

By DANE GOLDEN
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

When he was a student at Petaluma High School, a friend told Greg Knight about the amazing artwork created at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in San Rafael. He suggested that Knight, who had been drawing since he was a young boy, should work for Lucas when he grew up.

"As if I could ever be that good," Knight told his friend.

Actually, he did become that good. Knight, a seventh-generation Petaluman who lives in town with his wife Annee and their daughter, has worked at LucasArts for eight years.

He was the lead concept artist for the game Star Wars Republic Commando, which came out last year for Xbox and PC, and was one of several concept artists on the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith game for PlayStation 2, as well as working on other titles.

He now works in the new Lucasfilm complex in the Presidio in San Francisco, where his desk has a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts.

It's a dream come true for Knight.

"I've always been drawing -- as long as I can remember," he said. One of his earliest memories is searching through kitchen drawers for wax paper to draw upon. His first fascination was with drawing trains, later moving on to robots and superheroes, thinking he might like to become a comic book artist.

"When I was a kid I just loved Superman," he said. "I loved the idea of doing something 'fantastical.'"

Concept artists also get to add their own influence along the way.

"To be a good designer, you always add a little bit of your own input, your own aesthetic," Knight said.

A lot of the concept artist's work takes place at the beginning of the project. In the Star Wars games, hundreds of designs are required, as they bring different perspectives to the worlds than are seen in the corresponding movies.

A game takes about two years to produce, start to finish. In many cases, Knight will work directly with the artists from the films, as he needs to know what the elements will look like long before they hit the silver screen.

Knight attended Santa Rosa Junior College before graduating in 1996 from the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland (now California College of the Arts). Unfortunately, he said, the school's illustration program had not fully developed when he was a student there.

"When I left school I was more of an abstract painter than an illustrator," he said. "But I knew my real interest was in science fiction and fantasy."

Knight is actually a recent convert to creating artwork on the computer. Even a few years ago, he was still using analog tools, such as pen, ink, gouache and watercolor.

Now he uses Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter and a Wacom tablet that enable him to draw as he would with a pen or brush. Whereas he used to spend an entire day creating just a pen and ink drawing, he can now do a full-color project in one day, quickly adding or changing color palettes and other features.

Some of the highlights of working for LucasArts have been getting the chance to work with artists such as Ralph McQuarrie, the well-known concept artist who created the original look of Star Wars.

For kids who want to grow up to be video game concept artists, Knight recommends they first start with more traditional techniques.

"But at the same time, keep in touch with what kind of work is being created by concept artists," he said.

For those who want to take some lessons from Knight in person, he will be teaching a workshop in character design at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa in late June for aspiring artists from the seventh grade on up.

As for himself, Knight said that he couldn't have made it this far without his mom, Julie Hansen, who was always very supportive of his artistic interests and education. He also had the encouragement of friends, as well as some early experience creating business cards and ads for Kathy Bottarini at the Comic Book Box (which has since moved to Rohnert Park).

Knight said he much prefers working on games than movies, because the 10 or so hours of player experience gives the artist more opportunities for creativity.

"I just love doing concept art," he said. "It's a job I feel I could do for the rest of my life."

"What else can you say about a job where you get to draw spaceships all day?"

(Contact Dane Golden at dgolden@arguscourier.com)