Andrew Probert (born 1946 in Independence, Missouri) is an American artist. He is known for his work with the ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' franchise, most notably the designs of the
USS ''Enterprise'' for ''
Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' and the
''Enterprise''-D for ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation''.
After spending some time in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, Probert studied at the
Art Center College of Design
Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California.
History
ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School.
In 1935, Fred R. ...
in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
I ...
.
His first film/TV work was on
Glen A. Larson's 1978
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
miniseries ''
Battlestar Galactica
''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...
'', for which he was recommended by artist
Ralph McQuarrie
Ralph Angus McQuarrie (; June 13, 1929 – March 3, 2012) was an American conceptual designer and illustrator. His career included work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, the film ''E ...
.
For ''Galactica'', Andrew contributed the design for the
Cylon Centurions.
In 1978, he was hired by
Robert Abel and Associates to work on ''
Star Trek: The Motion Picture'', where he worked as a concept designer/illustrator.
When Abel's group was replaced, Andrew survived the transition to the group of new effects supervisor
Douglas Trumbull
Douglas Hunt Trumbull (; April 8, 1942 – February 7, 2022) was an American film director and innovative visual effects supervisor. He pioneered methods in special effects and created scenes for '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', ''Close Encounters o ...
. Andrew was primarily responsible for designing the human and
Vulcan
Vulcan may refer to:
Mythology
* Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
space technology seen in the film, including the refitted starship
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterpris ...
, Space Drydock, Orbital Office Complex, Travel Pod, Work Bee support vehicles, and the Vulcan long range shuttlecraft.
His concept sketches for the bridge set of the
Klingon battlecruiser set the style for all future Klingon ship interiors.
In 1983, Probert returned to television, working on the pilot episode of ''
Airwolf
''Airwolf'' is an American action military drama television series that centers on a high-technology military helicopter, code-named ''Airwolf'', and its crew. The show follows them as they undertake various exotic missions, many involving esp ...
'' (1984). He designed the external fuselage attachments for the
Airwolf helicopter, based on a
Bell 222
The Bell 222 is an American twin-engine light helicopter built by Bell Helicopter. The Bell 230 is an improved development with different engines and other minor changes.
Development
Origins
In the late 1960s, Bell began designing a new twin- ...
, as well as both versions of the internal Electronic Data Command Center, the show's iconic logotype and wolf insignia, flight suit costumes and other miscellaneous items within Archangel's office. He also story-boarded most of the aerial sequences on the show for the 2nd Unit team during the series' run from 1984-1986.
In 1984, he worked on ''
Back to the Future
''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...
'', initially drawing
storyboard
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...
s but then continuing the design of the
DeLorean time machine that had been started by
Ron Cobb
Ronald Ray Cobb (September 21, 1937 – September 21, 2020) was an American-Australian artist. In addition to his work as an editorial cartoonist, he contributed to major films including '' Dark Star'' (1974), '' Star Wars'' (1977), '' Alien'' (19 ...
.
Also in 1984, he designed the motorcycle for the pilot episode of ''
Street Hawk
''Street Hawk'' is an American superhero television series that aired for 14 episodes on ABC in 1985. The series is a Limekiln and Templar Production in association with Universal Television. Its central characters were created by Paul M. Belou ...
'', which was later redesigned for the series by Ron Cobb.
In 1986, he joined the staff of the then new series ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' where he was initially hired to design the bridge of the new starship, the
''Enterprise''-D.
However, after the show's producers saw a speculative Enterprise sketch that Probert had produced he was tasked with designing the starship's exterior as well.
During his one season stint on ''The Next Generation'', he also designed the exteriors of virtually every other space vehicle seen in the first year of the show, including the
Romulan Warbird
The Romulans () are an extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. They first appeared in the series ''Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek'' (1966–1969). They have appeared ...
.
His film and television work also includes stints on ''
*batteries not included'', ''
SpaceCamp
''SpaceCamp'' is a 1986 American science fiction adventure film inspired by the U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Directed by Harry Winer, story by Patrick Bailey and Larry B. Williams, screenplay by Clifford Green (as W. W. Wicket) and Ca ...
'', ''
Mask
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...
'', ''
Tron
''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer a ...
'' and ''
The Philadelphia Experiment''. He also worked four years as a Show Designer at
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attra ...
.
On February 6, 2006,
Perpetual Entertainment
Perpetual Entertainment, founded in March 2002, was an American developer, publisher and operator of networked multiplayer games and MMORPGs. Their headquarters was located in San Francisco, California, United States. From October 2007 to Febru ...
and CBS Media announced that Probert had been employed as an initial design consultant for the first incarnation of the
MMOG
A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, alt ...
''
Star Trek Online''.
On November 21, 2012, Alê Camargo, Brazilian animator and film producer, of Buba Filmes, contacted Probert to work on his new television series '. For this, Probert designed the show's main spaceship, both inside and out, and consulted on several additional details during the following three years of production.
In May 2013, Probert began communicating with Jamie Anderson, son of the late
Gerry Anderson
Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...
of "
Space: 1999" fame, resulting in Conceptual Consulting on Anderson's first book project: "GF-1", written by M.G. Harris, continuing into 2015.
August 2018 through July 2019, Probert was asked to return to Buba Filmes and upgrade the look of the show's hero spaceship, new spacesuits, shuttlecraft, & more, for a Motion Picture version of their 2017 Fujiwara Manchester TV series titled: "Mundo Proibido" (Forbidden World).
Probert continues to design for film and television productions and makes an occasional appearance at various media-related conventions.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Probert, Andrew
1946 births
American illustrators
American storyboard artists
Living people