Footage of the Traditional Matte Paintings on Glass Used in ‘Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back’

Video editor 70sSciFiBoy shared archival footage of a Star Wars artist showing off the incredible matte paintings that were created on glass in order to enhance scenes in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Prior to the use of modern CGI techniques, artists were used to help make the environment more believable, particularly when the subject matter was rather unbelievable in the first place.

Matte paintings are fake sets that-most of the times-used to be made with plexiglass and oil paint. The artists used oversized panels to create the necessary detail that the camera needed to fool the audiences when the film was projected over the large surface of the theater screen.

Several artists were involved in creating these traditional matte paintings.

Matte paintings were created for STAR WARS by Chris Evans, Mike Pangrazio, Frank Ordaz, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Ralph McQuarrie.