At Star Wars Celebration 2025, Doug Chiang Talked About His Journey to Lucasfilm and ILM
No Star Wars Celebration without Doug Chiang. At this year's Japan edition, the creative mind behind endless iconic designs revealed what he loves most about his work at Lucasfilm and more.
Without him, the galaxy far, far away would probably look very different: Doug Chiang has been with Star Wars for around three decades. He started out at the visual effects company Industrial, Light & Magic (ILM) in the 1990s before working with George Lucas on the prequel trilogy. Today, he’s Lucasfilm’s Senior Vice President and Executive Design Director and served as concept artist, art director, design supervisor, production designer and head of design on several Star Wars projects.
Of course, Doug Chiang was also present at the Star Wars Celebration Japan – with two very special panels: On Friday, he delved into the design process of Skeleton Crew, followed by a master class on Saturday in which he explained the workings of the Star Wars Art Department. He also stopped by at the Star Wars Celebration LIVE! stage and he talked to The Art of the High Republic author and StarWars.com editor-in-chief and Kristin Baver about his work at Lucasfilm and ILM.
Here’s what he said.
Doug Chiang already knew at 15 that he wanted to work with George Lucas
The conversation between Chiang and Baver focused first on his beginnings in the industry. How did his Star Wars adventure start? Chiang remembers:
My dream – when I was 15 years old and first saw Star Wars and then the making-of the year after, my dream was that I wanted to work with George [Lucas] at Industrial Light & Magic. To be here now and to have participated in that is still surreal. It's like I'm living my dream. The crazy thing is that being part of this, you don't realize how important being at ILM is.
ILM is not just any company, as Chiang points out:
It’s an industry changing company. My part is very small. I'm just lucky to be there. But when I look at the history of it, especially with the documentaries like Light & Magic, you realize, it's such a time capsule to look back. For me, it brought back so many memories. When you're there and you're working day to day, the pressures get to you and you just have to focus on getting the job done. You can't really stop and enjoy it. It's only at moments like this where I can pause for a little bit, take it all in and go like, wow, this is amazing!
Chiang elaborates on the pressure he experienced in his first years at ILM:
I was just focusing on doing a really good job. This was my dream to work with George and then especially working on Star Wars. When you get into that zone, it's rare that you get a chance toc step back and relax. I was worried that one, did I earn this? And two, can I actually live up to the expectations of all the fans? Now that I'm here, I don't want to disappoint anybody. Subconsciously, that puts a lot of pressure on me. So during those times, even though it looks like it was fun, it was very stressful for me.
Doug Chiang reveals what makes Light & Magic season 2 so special
Speaking of Light & Magic, Chiang shared what he thinks is the greatest achievement of the new season, which was released on April 18, 2025 on Disney+. It’s all about George Lucas’ impact on the industry. Most people only talk about Lucas in terms of Star Wars, but above all he was a visionary, fearless filmmaker:
[Director] Joe Johnston did a terrific job telling that story. You don't realize all the innovation that we did. Many of the things that we were doing, have never been done before, and they were the first for everything. We had no idea what we were doing. I mean, we were all young kids. The fact that we got so many smart people in the room together and figured it out was quite remarkable. When I look at that documentary, it looks like I'm looking at somebody else. The amazing thing is that George pushed, encouraged and empowered us to do the best that we can.
At this point, the conversation turned briefly to Skeleton Crew, the latest Star Wars live action series for which Chiang served as production designer. What made the project special for him? Chiang reveals:
Skeleton Crew was one of my best design experiences for Star Wars. Star Wars is about fun. It's about fun adventures. That was the brief from [Skeleton Crew creators] John Watts and Chris Ford. We really want to tap into that Spielberg Amblin quality and blend it with George's vision.
Well, this is where the fun begins:
I want to make fun movies for the fans and for myself to enjoy. Skeleton Crew had many of that. We had fun characters, new environments, cool spaceships. It was a blend of old and new. The fact that we got to do stop-motion sequences and models in addition to practical puppets! It was like the best of old-school Star Wars.
Doug Chiang's artworks will soon be published in a large double volume
A selection of the artworks Chiang created over the years will appear in the art book Doug Chiang: The Cinematic Legacy and The Star Wars Legacy by Alexandre Poncet and Gilles Penso. But which pieces exactly will fans get to see? Chiang jokes:
They're going to find a lot of embarrassing art. No, honestly, it's still a little surreal for me. Star Wars had such a profound impact on me, especially the artwork of Joe Johnson and Ralph McQuarrie. I grew up with their art. I got inspired to be a film designer because of them. I fell in love with cinema because of George, but Joe and Ralph really inspired me to be a better artist. To be able to share part of my journey, which was very convoluted, is very meaningful and special to me.
Chiang has been involved in the creation of the double volume for two years:
I was in Paris at a conference, and the two writers that I met, Alex [Poncet] and Gilles [Penso], they approached me and they said, you know, we can do a book on you, and I was like, no, me? Really? There's so many other better artists. And they said, no, it's time to tell your story. And I just went with it. I said, okay, if you guys believe in it, I'm just going to follow your lead.
Don’t expect only Star Wars concept art:
I collected everything from high school, from college, all the way to my early films prior to Star Wars. So you're going to see all of that. You're going to see 53 years of art. I mean, there's probably like over 2,300 pieces. It’s strange in the sense that when I look at it now, it feels like I'm looking at somebody else's artwork. It doesn't seem like it's me. But you're going to see everything. You're going to see my flaws. You're going to see my successes, but you'll see the journey.
The reason Chiang sat down and chronicled his journey was to inspire young artists and show them that there are many different paths into the industry. On his personal background and his earliest works, he says:
I grew up in Detroit, Michigan. We had long winters. Back then, I was painfully shy. I really didn't have a lot of friends. I would spend my days at home just drawing. It was my escape because I didn't enjoy the real world and I wanted to escape into my mind. I drew things out of my imaginations.
Doug Chiang's first love was combining nature with mechanics
Although Dertoit is primarily known as an industrial city, Chiang discovered his first great love before Star Wars in the nature on his doorstep:
I love nature. So my earliest drawings were wildlife drawings, pencil sketches. I think one of the things that I love about nature is that there's the complexity in there. But for me, it was easier to break it down to mechanics. That's where I started to combine nature with mechanics. That's where I found my style. And that's what George saw in my portfolio.
In the end of the talk, Chiang had some advice for all aspiring concept artists:
The path that I took was that when I was growing up and trying to aspire to Joe Johnston and Ralph's work, I thought you had to be the best. I thought you had to be the best artist in order to get into the industry. And I struggled with that. So I set the bar really high for myself. What I realized was that you don't have to. You just have to be a better version of yourself from yesterday.
Don’t repeat Chiang’s mistake:
When I got the job at Industrial Light & Magic, I was the rookie. I was the most inexperienced person in a room full of seasoned artists, some of the best in the industry. I couldn't keep up. Part of my strategy was to just work really hard. I had to be the best in the art department. Otherwise, I was going to get fired. Slowly, I realized you don't. You just have to find your own voice. If you find your style, you will get the opportunities that you want. For art, it's not about being the best artist. It's about being the better version of yourself.
For Lucasfilm’s social media channels, Chiang was also asked about what he loves most about working in the Star Wars universe. His answer:
My favourite part about being a part of Star Wars is just creating fantastic environments that we’ve never seen before that fans can enjoy. I’ve always wanted to sort of live in this fantasy world of Star Wars ever since I was 15, and to actually have an opportunity to fulfill that dream is beyond my wildest dream.
Chiang is truly living the dream. His designs are as influential as they are iconic. His worlds are so adventurous and breathtakingly beautiful that you want to lose yourself in them forever. Every shape of a ship, every landscape of a planet and every nuance of a character – Chiang has created incredible things in the Star Wars universe.
Image credits: Lucasfilm