Page 70 - Star Wars Insider #181

INTERVIEW: DOUG CHIANG

05
NEW WORLD VIEW 04
Yet Chiang’s dream was abruptly
sidelined by a serious illness in
his late teens. “I spent almost a
year in the hospital,” explains
the artist. “When I recovered, my
whole world view changed and
everything became more serious.
I don’t know if that was a good
thing or bad, because prior to
that, I was freeform. My creativity
seemed boundless because I did
not know that there were any
limits. Suddenly I had this limit,
and I felt like time was really
precious. I decided that I had to
be clear about what I wanted to
do, and that’s when I decided on

filmmaking. I didn’t know how
to get there, but that was what I
wanted.” He researched colleges
and discovered either NYU or
UCLA was where he needed to
be. “I was kind of tired of the
cold weather in Michigan,” he
smiles. “So, I came out to the
West Coast.”
Chiang was accepted to The
UCLA School of Theater, Film
and Television to study fi lm.
“The irony was that I got into
the industry through my art, not for the UCLA student newspaper, 04 Luke’s (1984). I knew roughly of their

through my film knowledge,” he the Daily Bruin. “Eventually I lightsaber finds work, having seen the fi lm, and
its way into
laughs. “But what it gave me was became the creative director for Doug Chiang’s they offered me a job to become a
the ability to design better for the newspaper, which involved personal 1990 commercial designer and director
holiday card,
cinema, in terms of knowing how me doing a lot of pen and ink for computer-generated television
painted in
to compose for shots, and how to illustrations for news and features acrylic. commercials.”
move the camera through scenes. stories,” he says. “It was through It was Chiang’s big break, but,
05 Chiang’s
“I did miss out in not going the newspaper that I was then he admits with a chuckle: “I did
production
through the art school program, given a lead for this computer- painting of not have any clue how to design
in terms of learning proper graphics company called Digital Naboo for commercials! But it was really
starfighters in
techniques,” he continues. “But Productions. flight. great to be in that environment,
fortunately, I had always drawn, “At that time it was one of because I met a lot of really
06 A stealth plane
and so I was able to work on my three major computer-graphics strong artists and I had a chance
concept, created
drawing skills until I was good companies designing motion during Chiang’s to learn art on the job. That was
enough to freelance.” logos and movie titles. They were “year of one of my first introductions and

homework”

Chiang’s first full-time job best known for doing the digital where I really got to understand
project (1990).
came out of his illustration work effects for The Last Starfi ghter project. how you do proper storyboards.
How you paint them, how you
07 Chiang shows
his mentor interact with clients, how you sell
“I started to learn how to paint Ralph McQuarrie your idea.”
the Jedi
starfighter With those skills learned,
and design by studying McQuarrie’s concept model. Chiang looked for an actual job

in the film industry and landed
paintings, and then learned how to a prop designer position on
Back to the Future II. “I’d heard
draw and sketch with markers by they were looking for artists,
looking at Joe Johnston’s drawings.” and I submitted my portfolio.
One of the wonderful things
70 / STAR WARS INSIDER