6th Dec, 2022 10:30
TV, Film and Sporting Memorabilia with Comics
JOHN R. MULLANEY - ORIGINAL ARTWORK - HALO, TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION.
A sheet of A3 tracing paper containing the original high detail preliminary for the cutaway artwork of Truth and Reconciliation as featured in Halo Warfleet – An illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo (see images, book not included) licensed by 343 Industries and published by Egmont. Drawn by John R. Mullaney in 2016. Measures 42 x 25cm.
This detailed artwork underwent extensive discussion as most of the internal elements had yet to be seen within the Halo universe, with just the Hangar seen in gameplay. A notable detail from gameplay present within the preliminary which did not make it into the final colour artwork is the bridge, the position of which proved too elusive for 343 to definitely locate within the ship.
More than just a preliminary, this artwork acted as a high-detail blueprint for the final artwork, precise as the scale allows. Once approved, the artwork was then reproduced at large format size and carefully traced with a lightbox onto watercolour paper to form the set-up for the final full colour artwork.
The eventual artwork which was set-up using this preliminary art appears on pages 62-63 of Halo Warfleet – An illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo.
About The Project
In 2016 John was approached by illustrator Hans Jenssen asking if he would like to collaborate on a Halo cutaways project on which he was already working. This was a huge deal for John – given that just under two decades earlier John had begun his career in architectural illustration by forensically studying Hans' and Richard Chasemore's work in DK's first Star Wars Incredible Cross Sections title. Aspiring to one day work on these famous titles – which he did in 2001 – John has ever since based a great deal of his cutaway technique on Hans' work.
Published by Egmont, licensed by the team at 343 Industries, and overseen by lead-writer of the Halo Universe Kenneth Peters, the book project saw Hans produce artworks of all the human-built ships in the book whilst John depicted the Covenant fleet. These ships’ organic curves and unusual design represented a departure from the more utilitarian designs seen in Star Wars and Alien, as well as an opportunity to apply new digital techniques to the hand painted artworks.
Click here to see the full gallery of John's work for Halo.
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 £160
Hammer Price
A sheet of A3 tracing paper containing the original high detail preliminary for the cutaway artwork of Truth and Reconciliation as featured in Halo Warfleet – An illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo (see images, book not included) licensed by 343 Industries and published by Egmont. Drawn by John R. Mullaney in 2016. Measures 42 x 25cm.
This detailed artwork underwent extensive discussion as most of the internal elements had yet to be seen within the Halo universe, with just the Hangar seen in gameplay. A notable detail from gameplay present within the preliminary which did not make it into the final colour artwork is the bridge, the position of which proved too elusive for 343 to definitely locate within the ship.
More than just a preliminary, this artwork acted as a high-detail blueprint for the final artwork, precise as the scale allows. Once approved, the artwork was then reproduced at large format size and carefully traced with a lightbox onto watercolour paper to form the set-up for the final full colour artwork.
The eventual artwork which was set-up using this preliminary art appears on pages 62-63 of Halo Warfleet – An illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo.
About The Project
In 2016 John was approached by illustrator Hans Jenssen asking if he would like to collaborate on a Halo cutaways project on which he was already working. This was a huge deal for John – given that just under two decades earlier John had begun his career in architectural illustration by forensically studying Hans' and Richard Chasemore's work in DK's first Star Wars Incredible Cross Sections title. Aspiring to one day work on these famous titles – which he did in 2001 – John has ever since based a great deal of his cutaway technique on Hans' work.
Published by Egmont, licensed by the team at 343 Industries, and overseen by lead-writer of the Halo Universe Kenneth Peters, the book project saw Hans produce artworks of all the human-built ships in the book whilst John depicted the Covenant fleet. These ships’ organic curves and unusual design represented a departure from the more utilitarian designs seen in Star Wars and Alien, as well as an opportunity to apply new digital techniques to the hand painted artworks.
Click here to see the full gallery of John's work for Halo.
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
