The Incredible Topography of Galaxy’s Edge
When it comes to visiting Batuu as part of Disney’s incredible Galaxy’s Edge expansion, it is all about the details! One of the aspects that really adds an extra dimension to your Disney visit is the incredible landscape and rockwork you’ll find throughout the land. Whether it’s in the city Black Spire Outpost or outside you’ll be blown away by the unique geography including giant trees, petrified spires and more!
Behind all of the beauty you see at Galaxy’s Edge is an incredibly talented team that created the more than 200,000 square feet of artificial rockwork you see throughout the land. The man responsible for bringing this magic to life is Zsolt Hormany who is a creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering. He oversees the teams that have created The Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom, the Cadillac Mountain Range at Cars Land, and the otherworldly look of Pandora- The World of Avatar.
All of these incredible creations are made by the Themed Finishes Art Studio which covers four major disciplines: Rockwork, Character Facade, Character Paint and Hardscape. The team will occasionally work on other landscaping including the Artificial Foliage at Pandora – The World of Avatar.
According to Zsolt the goal is “to have our guests NOT question the finishes but accept them as real for what they are in the context of the storyline.” Zsolt goes on to highlight all the tricks his team has employed over the years to fool the eye including the layering of textures and paint techniques, aging, adding moss and lichens and using translucent materials.
The team put together to create the amazing topography of Batuu included about 110 Cast Members including field art directors and artisans.
One thing that guests will first notice on your approach to Galaxy’s Edge is the ancient petrified forest. Zsolt’s team had to work to make sure that each of the vertical elements was completely unique but also working as a cohesive unit – As part of the same forest.
To bring this to life, Imagineers started with a small scale (1:100 inch) model to define the layout of the land. Once that is approved, Imagineers create a design on the next scale (1:50 inch) model that helps designers define further details and elements. The final steps of the design happen on the 1: 25-inch scale model where the textures and color composition are finalized. Once the design is complete, designers scan the model and create a digital mesh file that is used to drive a computer that bends the metal bars for the underlying structure. Then it’s time for the full-scale installation of the individual pieces with artisans hand sculpting the final cement and finishing layers of paint.
For a closer look at all the details that brought Galaxy’s Edge to life check out this video.
For more juicy tidbits about the building of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge keep following along with MickeyBlog!
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