Doug Chiang Gave the Ultimate Concept Art Masterclass at Star Wars Celebration 2023
At Star Wars Celebration, concept art legend Doug Chiang spilled all the secrets of what goes into designing a new Star Wars series. Here’s a write-down of the most interesting insights.
Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 had many exciting announcements in store for Star Wars fans. We got our first look at The Acolyte and an amazing trailer for Ahsoka. Tony Gilroy gave an update on the production of Andor season 2, while Kathleen Kennedy outlined the future of the Star Wars universe on the big screen, including the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker. However, the secret star of the event was Doug Chiang.
The Vice President and Executive Creative Director of Lucasfilm led three panels at ExCeL London, starting with 'Bringing Worlds to Life: The Concept Art of ILM' on Saturday. Alongside Jason Horley, who is the Supervising Art Director at ILM London, he spoke about the workflows of Lucasfilm and ILM. Later in the afternoon, he elaborated on his presentation titled 'The Challenges of Film Design: Working in the Star Wars Art Department.' He was joined by concept artist Jama Jurabaev, who worked on The Mandalorian.
The grand finale was held on Monday with 'Designing Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Mandalorian.' Doug showed a lot of previously unseen concept art from the two series and revealed the inspirations behind some of the design decisions. Listening to Doug speak was a real treat and very inspirational. So, I wanted to share my notes with you, as I learned a lot about the creative processes behind the production of a Star Wars series.
Creating several Star Wars series simultaneously is a lot of stress
Although there have been no new Star Wars films in the last four years, the art department of Lucasfilm and ILM has worked around the clock to prepare for eight seasons of live-action television. The biggest challenge being: For the production of one season, they have only two-thirds of the budget and time available compared to a feature film. But the amount of storytelling they produce is worth three feature films, including sets, characters and vehicles.
Since most of the series are shot using StageCraft technology in the Volume, the production process has changed, with post-production now playing an essential role in pre-production. This means that all art and design elements must be completed before filming begins. Additionally, due to overlapping schedules, many artists work on multiple shows simultaneously. With Lucasfilm and ILM offices located in both San Francisco and London, there is a constant flow of work – and very little sleep for Doug Chiang.
The art department starts working on a new Star Wars series about 30 weeks or seven months before the first day of shooting. First, they start with a very small core team consisting of Ryan Church, Erik Tiemens, Christian Alzmann, Richard Lim and Doug Chiang. Then they expand to 19 concept artists that are based around the world, from Sweden to Australia, and all across the US. Chiang describes this as a global art department. Every episode takes seven weeks of concept art and design work before it’s ready to shoot.
One interesting fact: The art department starts working even before the screenplays are ready. At Lucasfilm the art inspires the writing and the other way around. Often the directors and creators come to the concept artists and pitch them their ideas. How should the movie look and feel? It can be a set piece, a specific image, or just a description of the mood and tone. Most of the concept art never sees the light of day, but they’re integral in the process of shaping the final movie or series.
In the world of Star Wars concept art, everything is constantly changing
For Obi-Wan Kenobi they created 4875 designs, for the third season of The Mandalorian 5188! These can be fully fleshed out pieces, but also just a quick sketch or a doodle. It's important to remember that everything is constantly changing as the project evolves. Designs are being adapted, changed, or expanded. And sometimes they even get dropped. But history has shown us: There’s always a chance of an unused concept art popping up in another project like Pao from Rogue One who was originally created for The Force Awakens.
One quote Doug Chiang often returns to comes from Orson Welles: “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” Since with the Star Wars series they do not have the resources of a feature film they have to invent and explore alternatives. Yet they try not to compromise in quality. They adhere to the high standards of the films. And that leads us to the question: What exactly are the design principles of Star Wars? What makes Star Wars, Star Wars?
“No zippers or buttons!” That’s probably one of the oldest rules, but Doug Chiang goes deeper with his explanation. Most of the iconic Star Wars designs are rooted in reality, especially in the technology that was available in the seventies when George Lucas was creating the first film. If you want to put a number to it, take 80 percent. That’s how close Star Wars comes to our history and reality. Without these 80 percent, most of the Star Wars wouldn’t feel authentic and tangible. But don’t forget the other 20 percent!
This is the part where Star Wars becomes Star Wars. New ideas, inventions and the combination of the most diverse influences. There are traces of epic samurai movies, of adventurous Westerns and old serials. In Star Wars you can blend every era and culture, but every piece of art has to come with its own inner logic. And even more importantly: It must be immediately understandable and recognizable – within a few seconds at most.
In movies, each second traditionally consists of 24 frames a second. To perceive an object or design on film, the human eye needs exactly eight frames, so a third of a second. To understand it, we need three more seconds, before we can move on to the next image or element. Shapes and silhouettes are key when designing the world of Star Wars. The designs must be easily understood. “Keep it simple,” Doug Chiang explains. But don't throw out personality in favor of believability. Everything needs a history to look and feel real. Invoke a certain color or add small greebles for more details and even a simple design can suddenly feel elegant and new.
How to become a concept artist at Lucasfilm and why AI won’t replace you
How do you get your foot in the door? There is no one way to become a concept artist. You can come from any background. Doug Chiang explains that he doesn’t care about degrees and diplomas. What’s most important for an artist is an ever expanding portfolio. A portfolio shows who you are and what ideas you have. And that’s how you find your own voice. To refine his voice, Chiang recalls once drawing a new piece every day for one year and challenging himself with things he was uncomfortable with.
Another crucial skill is being a collaborative person. Doug Chiang says he would rather hire a good collaborator than someone who has all the skills but doesn’t fit in the team. You can learn skills with time, but bringing someone in who destroys the harmony is way too dangerous. Chiang learned to appreciate the value of such a mindset early by working very closely with George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, and now Jon Favreau, who all shaped his career. Without trust, this would not be possible.
And then Doug Chiang addressed the one question looming over the whole industry. What about AI? AI is on the rise and many artists fear it will replace them. Chiang admits: What these tools can do is impressive, although most of the results have a certain look you can immediately identify as AI generated. But he was also sure to make it very clear that there will never be a piece of AI generated art work without an artist first. The challenge for the future is to integrate AI as a tool in the daily workflow and processes. But it will never replace the human nature of art.
You can follow Doug’s work on Instagram and ArtStation.
Image credit: Lucasfilm