Warren Fu

"Lucasfilm wasn't just a job; it was the ultimate film school."

―Warren Fu^[1]

Warren J. Fu was a visual effects art director at Industrial Light & Magic who has worked on all three movies of the prequel trilogy. Probably his most notable contribution was in the design of General Grievous, along with Iain McCaig, Ryan Church, and Robert E. Barnes, though he admits that he prefers his work on the MagnaGuards over Grievous. Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas's face was based on Warren Fu.^[source?]

Biography[]

Early life[]

"I was too young to watch the first Star Wars movie when it came out, so I remember the first movie I ever really wanted to see was The Empire Strikes Back. I think Carrie Fisher was my first crush. I wasn't able to see the movie in the theater, so I watched it on VHS. The shot where we saw the AT-ATs through the macrobinoculars was such a game-changing "Wow!" moment for me, so my first Star Wars drawing was of that scene."

―Warren Fu^[1]

Fu grew up as a middle child in Chicago, Illinois. Like many children of the time, he owned Star Wars action figures. His family moved to Southern California when he was still young, and there he discovered a passion for aerosol art in his early teens. In fun, he would compete with his friends painting giant productions on the legalized graffiti walls of Huntington Beach.^[source?] During his childhood, he drew Star Wars art, including an image of the Battle of Hoth.^[1]

Warrenfu-costume — Sheltay Retrac's costume was a design concept by Warren Fu.

After high school, Fu went on to the University of California, Berkeley and was about to begin his final semester as an economics major when he learned about an art internship at Industrial Light & Magic. He got the intern position and discovered that he enjoyed drawing spaceships and creatures more than drawing supply and demand graphs.^[source?]

Prequel trilogy[]

"When Yoda is acting crazy and eats Luke's candy bar after crashing on Dagobah. That was bananas."

―Warren J. Fu, when asked about his favorite original trilogy moment^[2]

Immediately following graduation, he was asked to join ILM's Episode I team, and over the next four years, worked his way up to become a visual effects art director. He received his first film credit as a visual effects storyboard / concept artist and learned a little about everything during the process: conceptual art, storyboards, animation, matte painting and even graphic design. Fu contributed to the prequel trilogy in the form of spaceship, droid, and environment designs, along with some costume and character work.^[source?] His first name rendered in Aurebesh appears as an easter egg in Episode II, printed on the side of the building Jango Fett shot Zam Wesell from.^[3]

Droid General Weapons — Concept art of General Grievous

In the workplace he is known for his dry sense of humor. He credits his Episode III position not to talent or connections, but to "two dollars cash and 10% off coupons to Chili's" attached to his portfolio submission.^[source?]

Current work and future[]

"It would be a dream to come full circle back to Star Wars and direct an episode or two of one of the new TV series."

―Warren Fu^[1]

Outside of Star Wars, Fu has worked on various commercials and films at ILM. He has also directed clips for recording artists Aaliyah and the Strokes. He planned to further his directing career after he completed work on Episode III. Fu credits the following people as major influences on his art career: Doug Chiang, David Nakabayashi, Brian O'Connell, Chito Arellano, Esther Taylor, Joe Johnston, Ralph McQuarrie, George Lucas, and his parents.^[source?]

Having since gone into directing, Fu told Star Wars Insider that a dream of his is to return to the Star Wars universe as a director for one of its Disney+ series.^[1]