MECHANIKA

I got a very nice surprise when I came back from AUTOZONE…Great open, huh. Well, I had to go to Autozone in the morning to get a new battery for the car and then replace it in the parking lot myself. I am not a car man by any means, so do not laugh if my battery winds up in my front seat, because I didn’t secure it properly.When I came back home, I was met by my Fed Ex man, Keith, who pulled up to my house with not one but two packages for me.One of the packages was a storyboard program that I will get into at a later date. The other package was a signed copy of my friend Doug Chiang’s new book, MECHANIKA.

I met Doug back in 2001 I believe, during a brief stay on Skywalker Ranch during pre-production of EPISODE 2: ATTACK OF THE CLONES. Doug was and is an approachable kind of guy, and we have remained friends, even though we only see each other if he is in LA, and he is usually working or selling in one form or another. Doug and I are the same age and yet he has so fewer grey hairs. Darn calm mind and all. Anyway, MECHANIKA is Doug giving back to fans and fellow artists as he reveals his tricks of the trade in a step by step fashion. You will see him solve problems with pencil, marker and digital paint.Doug was the design director for those “indie” prequel films THE PHANTOM MENACE and the before mentioned ATTACK OF THE CLONES. His designs also heavily shaped the latest WAR OF THE WORLDS, POLAR EXPRESS and BEOWOLF. He also co-wrote and painted the book, ROBOTA.  If you want to learn from a young but humble master, check out MECHANIKA.