"Star Wars" artist Ralph McQuarrie, RIP

You might not know the name Ralph McQuarrie, but if you've ever watched the "Star Wars" movies -- and I'm guessing you have -- then you've seen his work.

McQuarrie was the artist whose paintings helped visualize the "Star Wars" universe and its characters. He died March 3 in California at the age of 82, of complications from Parkinson's Disease.

“Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision ‘Star Wars,’?” "Star Wars" creator Lucas said in an online statement.  “When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and say, ‘Do it like this.’?”

In addition to the "Star Wars" movies, he also worked on "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "E.T." and other films.  He won an Oscar for his work on "Cocoon" and even provided concept art for the notorious "Star Wars Holiday Special."

You can read a more extensive obit of him here, and see his official website -- with plenty of art -- here.