Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Out-of-Print 'Blade Runner' Sketchbook A Gold Mine Of Design

If you're a fan of concept designers, like Syd Mead (Tron, Aliens, Star Trek), you've got to check out the "Blade Runner Sketchbook".

Blade Runner (1982) is a Ridley Scott film starring Harrison Ford as a Rick Deckard  prowls the steel-and-microchip jungle of 21st-century Los Angeles. He's a 'blade runner' stalking genetically made criminal replicants.
Besides the amazing and rare concept art in the book, we also find and interesting glimpse into the mind of visionary director Ridley Scott. He was so concerned with the shape and visual profile of the objects in his film that he had Syd Mead redesign parking meters from sleek cylinders to make them chunky and more interesting.

Charles Knode and Michael Kaplan's 1940's inspired costumes are in full display too. Here are some samples from the book.

Interior Deckard's apartment entry

Interior "Spinner" vehicle

Alternate police "spinner" vehicle design

Fire hydrant designs

Parking meter design

Alternate "spinner" vehicle design

Deckard gun design

You can use the embedded book below to read it.
 
You can find the book online courtesy of Futurenoir and see more of Syd Mead's designs at sydmead.com

Even though the book is out of print you can still get a copy by searching Amazon or eBay. Just get ready to drop a couple of hundred dollars.