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 Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' 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 naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
, Probert studied at the
Art Center College of Design
The ArtCenter College of Design is a private art college in Pasadena, California.
It was incorporated in 1930 as a degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual arts and design. ...
in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, 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 commerci ...
.
His first film/TV work was on
Glen A. Larson
Glen Albert Larson (January 3, 1937 – November 14, 2014) was an American television producer, writer, and composer. He created many series, including '' Alias Smith and Jones'', ''Battlestar Galactica'', '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', ' ...
's 1978
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
miniseries ''
Battlestar Galactica
''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...
'', for which he was recommended by artist
Ralph McQuarrie
Ralph Angus McQuarrie (; June 13, 1929 – March 3, 2012) was an American conceptual designer who worked in film and television. His career included work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' television se ...
.
For ''Galactica'', Andrew contributed the design for the
Cylon Centurions.
In 1978, he was hired by
Robert Abel and Associates
Robert Abel and Associates (RA&A) was an American pioneering production company specializing in television commercials made with computer graphics. Founded by Robert Abel and Con Pederson in 1971, RA&A was especially known for their art direction ...
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 visual effects supervisor, who pioneered innovative methods in special effects. He created scenes for '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', '' Close Encounter ...
. Andrew was primarily responsible for designing the human and
Vulcan 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. It centers on a high-technology attack helicopter, code-named '' Airwolf'', and its crew. They undertake various exotic missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War the ...
'' (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-t ...
, 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 simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...
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 concept art to major films including '' Dark Star'' (1974), ''Star Wars'' (1977), ...
.
Also in 1984, he designed the motorcycle for the pilot episode of ''
Street Hawk
''Street Hawk'' is an American action television series that aired for 14 episodes on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in 1985. The series is a Limekiln and Templar Production in association with Universal Television. Its central characters w ...
'', 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''. Their adopted home world is Romulus, and within the same star system they have settled a sister planet Remus. Their ...
.
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 ...
'', ''
Mask
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...
'', ''
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 ...
'' and ''
The Philadelphia Experiment
The Philadelphia Experiment was an alleged event claimed to have been witnessed by an ex- merchant mariner named Carl M. Allen at the United States Navy's Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, some time aroun ...
''. He also worked four years as a Show Designer at
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc.—commonly referred to as Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineering, or WDI—is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construc ...
.
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 to interact in the same online game world. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are games th ...
''
Star Trek Online
''Star Trek Online'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Cryptic Studios based on the ''Star Trek'' franchise. The game is set in the 25th century, 30 years after the events of '' Star Trek: Nemesis''. ''Star Trek O ...
''.
In May 2013, Probert began communicating with
Jamie Anderson, resulting in Conceptual Consulting on Anderson's first book project: ''GF-1'', written by M.G. Harris, continuing into 2015.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Probert, Andrew
1946 births
American illustrators
American storyboard artists
Living people