Doug Chiang facts for kids

Doug Chiang (born February 16, 1962) is an American film designer and artist. He is known for his amazing work on movies, especially for Lucasfilm. He helps create the look and feel of many famous films, including those in the Star Wars universe. He is currently a Vice President and Creative Director at Lucasfilm.

Early Life and Learning

Where Doug Chiang Grew Up

Doug Chiang was born in Taipei, Taiwan. When he was 5 years old, his family moved to Dearborn, Michigan in the United States. His parents wanted him to learn English and fit into American culture.

Because of this, Doug learned English very well but slowly lost his ability to speak Chinese. Even so, he felt his family still lived in a "very culturally Chinese" way. This included having a strong work ethic, which his parents taught him.

How Star Wars Inspired Him

Doug Chiang was greatly inspired by the first Star Wars movie. He also loved the art design book that came with it. These helped him decide what he wanted to do in life.

He first studied industrial design at the College for Creative Studies until 1982. Later, he went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to study film production. He graduated from UCLA in 1986. While in college, he worked as an illustrator and art director for the student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

Doug Chiang's Career in Film

Starting in Visual Effects

In the late 1980s, Doug Chiang worked at different movie studios. One of these was Rhythm and Hues. He later joined Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), which is a famous company known for its special effects.

At ILM, he became a creative director. He worked on many big movies, including Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Forrest Gump (1994). His job was to help design the visual effects that made these films look so real and exciting.

Designing the Star Wars Universe

In 1995, Lucasfilm hired Doug Chiang to lead their art department. This was a huge step in his career! He became the design director for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). He also worked on Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002).

After his work on these Star Wars films, he became a production designer for The Polar Express. This movie was directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Creating His Own Worlds

Doug Chiang also created his own science-fiction world called Robota. He started his own company, DC Studios, in 2000 to focus on this project. He even worked with Sparx Animation Studios to make animated short films about the world of Robota.

In 2004, he helped start another company called Ice Blink Studios. There, he worked with Robert Zemeckis again on the movie Beowulf. Ice Blink Studios later became a key part of ImageMovers Digital, a studio that used special "performance capture" technology for animation.

Returning to Star Wars

Doug Chiang came back to the Star Wars universe as a concept artist for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). He was also the production designer for Rogue One (2016).

His work on Star Wars continued with films like Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He also helped design the look of popular TV series such as The Mandalorian (2019–present) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022). He is also working on the upcoming film The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Awards and Recognition

Doug Chiang has won many awards for his amazing work. He received an Academy Award and a BAFTA for the movie Death Becomes Her. He also won another BAFTA for Forrest Gump.

He won a FOCUS Award for his independent film Mental Block. He also received a Clio Award for a Malaysian Airlines commercial. In addition, he was honored with The BrandLaureate Award.

Doug Chiang's Works

Movies He Worked On

• Ghost (1990) (visual effects art director)
• The Doors (1991) (visual effects art director)
• Switch (1991) (visual effects art director)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1992) (visual effects art director)
• Death Becomes Her (1992) (visual effects art director)
• Forrest Gump (1994) (visual effects art director)
• The Mask (1994) (visual effects art direction supervisor)
• Jumanji (1995) (visual effects art director)
• Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) (design director, visual effects production designer)
• Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) (concept design supervisor)
• The Polar Express (2004) (production designer)
• War of the Worlds (2005) (concept artist)
• Monster House (2006) (concept design supervisor)
• Beowulf (2007) (production designer)
• A Christmas Carol (2009) (production designer)
• Mars Needs Moms (2011) (production designer)
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) (concept artist)
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) (production designer)
• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) (head of design)
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) (head of design)
• The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) (production designer)

TV Shows He Designed For

• The Mandalorian (2019–present) (design supervisor, art director)
• Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) (design supervisor)

Books He Wrote or Illustrated

• Robota (2003) (co-Writer, illustrator)
• Mechanika: Creating the Art of Science Fiction with Doug Chiang (2008, 2015) (writer, illustrator)
• Star Wars Art: Concepts (Star Wars Art Series) (2013) (introduction, concept artist)
• The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) (concept artist)

Video Games He Contributed To

• Card Soldier Wars (2008) (artist)
• The Looking Glass Wars Card Game (2009) (artist)

See also

In Spanish: Doug Chiang para niños