Mike Vilardi was an illustrator for numerous West End Games roleplaying books, articles, and short stories. Vilardi enjoyed creating new alien species, and repeated a number of original designs throughout his work, such as a stalk-eyed species.
Others involved in Star Wars products spoke highly of his work: Dan Wallace described his work as "constantly a joy," and Peter Schweighofer called Vilardi's work "incomparable." Current Star Wars artist Robin Pronovost also names Vilardi as a major influence.