Science Fiction

(Low Resolution)

In 1999 John was approached by Dorling Kindersley and Lucasbooks to be the third illustrator on their world-famous Star Wars Incredible Cross Section series. Since then he has had his meticulously detailed work published in four of the series’ titles. Thanks to a close working relationship with DK and Lucasfilm’s licensing and art departments, each image has been extensively researched and referenced for accuracy to the films before being finally approved by George Lucas himself. He has since had further work published in DK’s Doctor Who Visual Dictionary and in their Batmobile Owner’s Manual. More recently he has been working with Pixar/Disney Studios, producing cross-section work for the Blu-Ray release of 'Wall-E'. In 2005 and 2006 John attended and exhibited work at Atlanta’s DragonCon - one of the world’s largest sci-fi events with an attendance of 25,000- at which he also performed to 4,000 people with his band Last Picture Show.

A big fan of the sci-fi genre, John is always looking for the next iconic ship, vehicle or character to illustrate. In 2006 he completed a breathtaking cross-section artwork of the Dropship from Jim Cameron’s Aliens and in the same year produced his rendering of the same director’s Terminator Endoskeleton. The Dropship is about to be printed as a limited edition print licensed exclusively by 20th century Fox. Keep an eye on this site for details of this release and for news of forthcoming artworks.

  • Clone Speeder - This craft makes the briefest of appearances in Episode III and was commissioned for the Revenge of The Sith vehicles book.   Docking Bay 94 - This piece was originally commissioned to be a vignette illustration on the same page as Mos Eisley in the Inside the Worlds of the Star Wars Trilogy Episodes IV-VI title. In time, we realised that there wouldn't be space for it on the spread. I coloured it anyway and sold it to a collector at the Galaxy of Stars event in Weston-Super-Mare in April 2005.   Yavin 4 Rebel Base - The Great Temple. First published in Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy Episodes IV-VI, 2004. This was the first piece I ever painted for the series and depicts the cheesy ending of the original movie- zoom in towards the top of the temple and you can just make out Wookie & co picking up their Olympic medals in the overthrowing-evil-empire track event.   Hangar Duels - First published in Inside the Worlds of Star Wars, Attack of the Clones, 2003. This artwork depicts the aftermath of Dooku's attempt to kill Anadin and Kinobi by severing a column to fall on top of their wounded bodies. As Dooku prepares to launch his ship, Yoda levitates the column away from the two Jedi knights, and seconds later the Clone cavalry arrives.   Jango Fett - was originally going to paint son Bobba but having securitised the two characters’ appearances I came to the conclusion that Jango’s was a slightly cooler design.  
  • Mos Eisley. First published in Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy Episodes IV-VI, 2004. This piece gestated over a period of 3 years. From planning via countless emails and meetings with Curtis Saxton (series consultant), John Kelly and Jim Luceno (author), to colouring the final pedestrian, this artwork was a labour of love. It captures the moment from the original movie when the Millennium Falcon blasts its way out of Mos Eisley. The original painting contains Concorde (removed for litigious reasons) as well as a few other identifiable craft.   Senator Palpatine's Quarters. Published in The Complete Star Wars locations, 2005. This was drawn up using Lucasfilm's blueprints and reference shots of the set. Kerrie Dougherty (the author) and John Kelly (the series' art editor) then helped me to devise the content of the unseen back rooms. In drawing up Palpatine's en-suite facilities, I had to take the unusual decision of considering whether the soon-to-be Emperor, the single most evil character in cinema history, was a hot-tub or a power-shower kind of guy...   Serenity - Being a huge fan of Joss Whedon's Firefly series, I really wanted to illustrate this beautifully designed spacecraft in a dynamic perspective. Browncoats: Watch this space- I will be producing a series of limited edition Firefly prints in 2009   Dalek Flagship - Commissioned in Autumn 2006, this piece was originally going to be one of several vehicle cross sections for the franchise before content limitations meant that there was only room for Pepper Pot central. In their review of the Visual Dictionary Dr. Who magazine wrote: “The book is defined by its detailed technical illustrations... DK's artists have produced some stunning full page spreads of, among other things, the inner workings of the Dalek Emperor's Flagship.
  • Terminator Endoskeleton - Stan Winston’s design for the Terminator Endoskeleton is I think one of the finest examples of sci-fi design and is all the more remarkable for now being over 20 years old and still looking incredibly fresh and futuristic. Many models and second-hand reference of this design are incorrect so I relied heavily on freeze framing the DVD’s to achieve an exact and accurate representation. I was also keen to mimic the lighting from the films and consequently used a lot of blue hues to depict the chrome finish.   Bat Cave - This gatefold artwork is based on the visuals and content of the DC Comics, rather than of the films. The Dark Knight’s serialised adventures are nearly 70 years old and DK asked that the artwork reflect this by showing the progressive incarnations of the Bat mobile, as well as the various technologies depicted in the original comic’s stunning illustrations. My own addition to this subterranean hall of Gothic gadgetry was the Bat-sub, as well as one or two other inclusions for Hawk-eyed viewers.   Aliens Dropship

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