It is a team of highly talented concept model makers that move the creations for Star Wars one step closer to reality, transforming two-dimensional illustrations into three-dimensional models and maquettes. For Episode II, the number of concept model makers working on Star Wars has nearly doubled compared to the work done on The Phantom Menace. Two of these artists working out of Skywalker Ranch are Kim Smith and Carol Bauman.
"We make small scale, 3-D conceptual models based on sketches by Doug Chiang and the artists working with him," says Bauman. "The weeks before George Lucas left for Australia were pretty hectic. There were a lot of things we wanted him to see first-hand in a meeting."
Smith and Bauman specialize in crafting models of vehicles and set pieces -- the so-called 'hard surface' models, as opposed to maquettes of creatures and aliens. Both worked on Episode I, and the two often collaborate on the larger pieces. Smith also specializes in the finishing and painting of the models. "Finishes are often taken farther than they're drawn in the original sketches," explains Smith, "which often brings something new to the concept."
"Kim and Carol are new members to the Art Department," explains Design Director Doug Chiang. "I've worked with them before on other shows down at ILM. And I worked with them extensively on Episode I when the show was down at ILM. They are really wonderful talent. Kim has a fantastic artistic eye for color and texture; that's what she seems to enjoy. She's one of the best vehicle and model painters that I know. I brought her on board with that in mind but she's also excelled in model building."
"Similarly with Carol," adds Chiang. "I brought her on board initially to help support some of the other model builders. But she's developed and shown her real skills, and she's now creating models as well."
Smith, a graduate of Fine Arts from Syracuse University, worked for several years in a model shop in Los Angeles, before moving to the Bay Area to begin work at Industrial Light & Magic.
"I watched a lot of films growing up," says Smith, "but they didn't tend to be special effects movies. I heard that ILM was going to be doing work on a Kurosawa film, Dreams, and I thought that was what I really wanted to do, to go work on that film. So, that was when I applied at ILM."
Bauman can recall a specific movie that sparked her interest in special effects. "I was watching The Wizard of Oz a couple of months ago and I actually got teary-eyed, because I realized that my love of fantasy film and the movie business came from watching that film as a child. It was that visceral, because there's a lot of special effects, make-up and creatures, and incredible sets, and the story is very much rooted, like Star Wars is, in mythology. It really connected for me." Bauman studied film at New York University. She had been in the effects industry since 1989 and a full-timer in the ILM model shop for the past five years.
