Across seven Star Wars projects (The Mandalorian (Seasons 1–3), Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew) my team and I supported Lucasfilm as the Virtual Art Department (VAD) evolved from early testing into a critical part of production.

Through my company, Happy Mushroom (later Narwhal Studios), we pioneered the VAD process on The Mandalorian Season 1, working closely with Jon Favreau, Doug Chiang, Greig Fraser, Andrew Jones, and directors across departments. We designed the virtual sets that were to be put on the LED screens along with Art Department and the Key Creatives.

Our role was to facilitate clear, real-time collaboration between directors, production designers, cinematographers, art departments, and stage crews, ensuring physical and virtual set plans were aligned. Once approved, our environments were passed to ILM for final optimization and deployment to the LED volume.

Over the years, we supported every major department, adapting our process to fit the unique needs of each production while keeping real-time visualization clear and creatively aligned.