*The Design of Star Wars
Yoda as gremlin, troll, gnome, pointy-eared professor - even Santa Claus - are some of the permutations that artists Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston and makeup artist Stuart Freeborn went through before coming up with the final version of the Jedi Master (front and back by Johnston). Since Yoda was a puppet operated by Frank Oz and assistants, he also had to have a face that could be made expressive through moving eyes, brows, mouth and ears. *Source: Back of card