6th Dec, 2022 10:30
TV, Film and Sporting Memorabilia with Comics
JOHN R. MULLANEY - ORIGINAL ARTWORK - ALIENS (1986) - APC CUTAWAY.
A sheet of A3 tracing paper of the original preliminary cutaway artwork depicting the iconic Armoured Personnel Carrier vehicle from James Cameron's 1986 masterpiece Aliens. Drawn by by John R. Mullaney in 2014.
Commissioned by Insight Editions and 20th Century Fox Studios, the artwork formed a crucial stage of the approval process between studio and artist for the eventual art's publication in the high-end collectible title Alien : The Weyland-Yutani Report. Hand-drawn by John, the original artwork was approved by the studio and publisher as well as by a project Brain Trust of franchise consultants, comprising of prominent collectors, archivists and enthusiasts from the fan community.
The artwork is as screen-accurate as available reference allowed, with the artist piecing together all the details using rare on-set production photography and film-stills to ensure a definitively canon reproduction of the vehicle's layout. The artwork evolved over an extensive series of approval versions, as John worked closely with project collaborator and 2D artist Graham J. Langridge to hone the detail. The artwork was then reproduced at large format size and carefully traced to form the set-up for the final full colour artwork which appears on pages 114-115 of The Weyland-Yutani Report.
The artwork's evolution can be seen in a special making-of film produced by the artist who is also an award-winning film-maker. The time-lapse film has currently received over 60,000 views on Youtube, and continues to wow fans and viewers
About the Project
Of all the franchises John has been commissioned to illustrate, the Alien franchise remains his most personally beloved. Between 2005 and 2006 John created his self-initiated cutaway art of the Colonial Marines Dropship from the 1986 sequel as a proof of concept for an entire book of cutaways depicting the iconic craft and locations from the franchise. The artwork became a limited edition collectible produced by Acme Archives and rapidly sold out.
In 2014 he was commissioned by Insight Editions to paint a cutaway of Aliens' APC which appeared alongside the Dropship art and 8 other new artworks of hardware from the franchise in high end collectible Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report. The making-of film APC Cutaway : Special Edition which John created to promote his work in Insight's publication, continues to wow viewers seven+ years after its release amassing over 60,000 views on Youtube. Both the Dropship and APC cutaway originals artworks sold to a private collector.
In 2018 John was commissioned to produce six new colour 2D artworks of craft from the series for Free League's Alien Role Playing Game title, with each piece rendered using the same intricate techniques as for his 3D cutaway work. Valuation note: the full colour artwork later sold to a private collector for £3,500.
Click here to see the full gallery of John's work for Alien.
About The Artist
A lifelong fan of science-fiction cinema, John R. Mullaney has over two decades experience producing beautifully detailed sci-fi cutaway art for publications licensed by major film studio properties.
His career in studio-licensed sci-fi cutaway art began in 1999 when he was recommended by the Society of Architectural Illustration to Dorling Kindersley who were looking for an additional illustrator for their Star Wars Incredible Cross Sections series of publications. Following an extensive audition process, John secured the position and subsequently illustrated multiple iconic locations and ships from the franchise.
In addition to his work with Lucasfilm, John has gone on to be commissioned by many other major studios such as 20th Century Fox, Pixar, Universal Studios, 343 Industries, the BBC and Games Workshop. As well as Star Wars, he has produced art for Alien, Batman, Halo, Firefly/Serenity, Doctor Who, Wall-E and Warhammer/40K. Published by DK, Lucasbooks, Insight Editions, Egmont, Titan and Free League, John ensures his artworks are as screen-accurate as the reference allows, working not just from film-stills but from production blueprints & digital models, on-set photography and archive imagery of original miniatures.
Each unique large format piece has a production time running into hundreds of hours, using a process of carefully applied multiple watercolour layers, to achieve a complex and nuanced richness of colour, tone and texture. Measuring up to 76x55cm these intricately detailed large format pencil, watercolour, ink & gouache pieces on 300gm watercolour paper, pack a huge visual punch. Alongside these are the preliminary artworks for most cutaways. These pencil artworks are all created on A3 tracing paper and form the basis for the full colour artworks - the majority are as detailed as the size of paper allows before they are enlarged and traced.
In a world of predominantly digital art, John's original paintings of iconic vehicles and locations from world famous science fiction properties have become much sought-after unique investment pieces for pop culture collectors, film enthusiasts and corporate buyers.
John is a fellow and council member of the Society of Architectural Illustration, and is also an award-winning film-maker.
Sold for £200
Hammer Price
A sheet of A3 tracing paper of the original preliminary cutaway artwork depicting the iconic Armoured Personnel Carrier vehicle from James Cameron's 1986 masterpiece Aliens. Drawn by by John R. Mullaney in 2014.
Commissioned by Insight Editions and 20th Century Fox Studios, the artwork formed a crucial stage of the approval process between studio and artist for the eventual art's publication in the high-end collectible title Alien : The Weyland-Yutani Report. Hand-drawn by John, the original artwork was approved by the studio and publisher as well as by a project Brain Trust of franchise consultants, comprising of prominent collectors, archivists and enthusiasts from the fan community.
The artwork is as screen-accurate as available reference allowed, with the artist piecing together all the details using rare on-set production photography and film-stills to ensure a definitively canon reproduction of the vehicle's layout. The artwork evolved over an extensive series of approval versions, as John worked closely with project collaborator and 2D artist Graham J. Langridge to hone the detail. The artwork was then reproduced at large format size and carefully traced to form the set-up for the final full colour artwork which appears on pages 114-115 of The Weyland-Yutani Report.
The artwork's evolution can be seen in a special making-of film produced by the artist who is also an award-winning film-maker. The time-lapse film has currently received over 60,000 views on Youtube, and continues to wow fans and viewers
About the Project
Of all the franchises John has been commissioned to illustrate, the Alien franchise remains his most personally beloved. Between 2005 and 2006 John created his self-initiated cutaway art of the Colonial Marines Dropship from the 1986 sequel as a proof of concept for an entire book of cutaways depicting the iconic craft and locations from the franchise. The artwork became a limited edition collectible produced by Acme Archives and rapidly sold out.
In 2014 he was commissioned by Insight Editions to paint a cutaway of Aliens' APC which appeared alongside the Dropship art and 8 other new artworks of hardware from the franchise in high end collectible Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report. The making-of film APC Cutaway : Special Edition which John created to promote his work in Insight's publication, continues to wow viewers seven+ years after its release amassing over 60,000 views on Youtube. Both the Dropship and APC cutaway originals artworks sold to a private collector.
In 2018 John was commissioned to produce six new colour 2D artworks of craft from the series for Free League's Alien Role Playing Game title, with each piece rendered using the same intricate techniques as for his 3D cutaway work. Valuation note: the full colour artwork later sold to a private collector for £3,500.
Click here to see the full gallery of John's work for Alien.
About The Artist
A lifelong fan of science-fiction cinema, John R. Mullaney has over two decades experience producing beautifully detailed sci-fi cutaway art for publications licensed by major film studio properties.
His career in studio-licensed sci-fi cutaway art began in 1999 when he was recommended by the Society of Architectural Illustration to Dorling Kindersley who were looking for an additional illustrator for their Star Wars Incredible Cross Sections series of publications. Following an extensive audition process, John secured the position and subsequently illustrated multiple iconic locations and ships from the franchise.
In addition to his work with Lucasfilm, John has gone on to be commissioned by many other major studios such as 20th Century Fox, Pixar, Universal Studios, 343 Industries, the BBC and Games Workshop. As well as Star Wars, he has produced art for Alien, Batman, Halo, Firefly/Serenity, Doctor Who, Wall-E and Warhammer/40K. Published by DK, Lucasbooks, Insight Editions, Egmont, Titan and Free League, John ensures his artworks are as screen-accurate as the reference allows, working not just from film-stills but from production blueprints & digital models, on-set photography and archive imagery of original miniatures.
Each unique large format piece has a production time running into hundreds of hours, using a process of carefully applied multiple watercolour layers, to achieve a complex and nuanced richness of colour, tone and texture. Measuring up to 76x55cm these intricately detailed large format pencil, watercolour, ink & gouache pieces on 300gm watercolour paper, pack a huge visual punch. Alongside these are the preliminary artworks for most cutaways. These pencil artworks are all created on A3 tracing paper and form the basis for the full colour artworks - the majority are as detailed as the size of paper allows before they are enlarged and traced.
In a world of predominantly digital art, John's original paintings of iconic vehicles and locations from world famous science fiction properties have become much sought-after unique investment pieces for pop culture collectors, film enthusiasts and corporate buyers.
John is a fellow and council member of the Society of Architectural Illustration, and is also an award-winning film-maker.
Auction: TV, Film and Sporting Memorabilia with Comics, 6th Dec, 2022
