Page 64 - Star Wars Insider #182

INTERVIEW: DOUG CHIANG

He was wonderful to work with. 01
He is very supportive, and he
loves working with artists.”
In hindsight, Chiang says
that this approach was exactly
what he needed to follow in
order to understand what Lucas
wanted from the prequel trilogy.
“I knew that the look was going
to be slightly different, but the
process of how to design for
Star Wars, and what makes a
Star Wars design, still had to be
exactly right,” he explains. “And
I really learned that by hearing
it directly from George. During

that first year, we established
the entire design history of the
Star Wars universe, which now
anchors everything we do, from
the prequels to the new movies.
I was really fortunate to have
the opportunity to help George
discover and establish that
design foundation.
01 A Doug
Un-Designed Chiang “George had basically said: ‘Forget
“One of the biggest lessons I concept
sketch for everything you know of what Star Wars
learned from George,” Chiang Star Wars:
continues, “was that he never The Phantom is, because we’re going to start over.’”
Menace.
really considered Star Wars to
be a science-fiction genre movie. 02 Doug Chiang

He thought of it as a historical, at Skywalker sets were authentic, and they That believably haphazard
Ranch.
documentary dr ama. It was an looked real, and that they helped eclecticism has been part of Star
interesting way to look at it, 03 Battle droids tell the story, but not the specifi c, Wars since the beginning, but has
because he wanted to create ride STAPs, in otherworldly details.” often been attributed to budgets
this concept
designs that disappeared into painting (top With that in mind, a big part and schedules as much as a
the background, and he didn’t right). of Chiang’s job became making deliberate aesthetic, but Chiang
want to create things that drew sure that his designs didn’t look maintains that it was always a
04 “Olm Hunter”
attention to themselves; he painting from ‘designed’ at all. “George’s big bold tactic on the part of Lucas.
wanted sets that the audience Robota by critique of science-fi ction at “George always loved to take
Doug Chiang
wouldn’t remember afterwards. the time was that it was always risks,” he says, “and I found that
(opposite
They should remember that the page). very carefully art directed. He really wonderful. If you look at
said: ‘If you show me a set from Jabba’s sail barge in Return of
any of those films, it looks like the Jedi, it has a totally different

02
somebody designed it. It doesn’t aesthetic from anything that’s
look like real life.’ He wanted to been seen before, but it works.
go the opposite way, so I tried to It’s still totally Star Wars, you
make everything very eclectic. know? But, if someone was
Real life is a collection of things looking at A New Hope on its
that you gather over many years. own, they would never think to
Furniture doesn’t match, paint design Jabba’s barge like that for
doesn’t match, lighting doesn’t Return of the Jedi. The pirate-
match. But it all informs who the like sail barge visually reinforces
characters are. When you look at Jabba’s criminal character and
the interior of the Millennium gives him more depth. George
Falcon, for example, you can see was bold enough to do that, and
Han’s personality in it, not the that is where I really appreciate
vision of an art director.” the genius of what he has done.

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