As a member of the art department, working alongside Mike Minor, Sternbach designed control panel layouts and signage for the starship sets. Movie work Īfter some work for Disney and PBS, in April 1978, Sternbach was offered an illustrator position on Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In 1977, inspired by the story of artist Ralph McQuarrie's move from working in the aerospace industry to working for George Lucas on Star Wars, Sternbach moved to California to seek illustration work in the film and television industry. In 1976 he helped found the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (ASFA), to give legal advice to science fiction and fantasy artists on contracts and copyrights. It is unknown if these works are still in possession of CMWH, the original owner and client of Sternbach. The works included airbrush paintings of the Earth as a primeval planet. ĭuring 1974 to 1976 he produced several original works of art for the Gengras Planetarium, part of the Children's Museum of West Hartford, in Connecticut. Sternbach became a friend of science fiction writer Greg Bear, after his illustration of 'A Martian Ricorso' featured in the cover of the February 1976 issue of Analog. After leaving University, he became an illustrator for books and magazines, with his first cover illustration published on the October 1973 issue of Analog magazine. Richard Michael Sternbach (born 1951) is an illustrator who is best known for his space illustrations and his work on the Star Trek television series.īorn in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1969 Sternbach enrolled at the University of Connecticut with an art major, but after a couple of years switched to marine biology. Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Creative Technical Craft.Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist.

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