Starship Design: Creating a weathered Beauty...

Mediator Class Battleship: The USSN Brigadoon...

Rough Sketch and Top Elevation of The USSN Brigadoon...

In late 2011 at the end of my contract with KMM on Happy Feet 2, our then publishers proposed to the development team that we put together an RFP, (request for proposal) pitching a brand new title. Should it appeal, our contracts would be extended to a more full time basis, and we'd be brought into the KMM fold as one of their go to teams for their games development arm. With uncertainty looming, one of the lads had a stellar idea that we create a game based on starship command, in which you play the Captain of a crew and the commander of a worn and weary battleship. The overall idea was that the last defending vestages of Humanity were left aboard these tired old battleships, and of those not many remained. Ours was to be called 'The USSN Brigadoon', but there were others too that needed imagineering. I jumped at the chance to do something different.

Interior Treatments: Engineer's Armature Mounted Station...

Early on the design sensibilities became clear to me: the Brigadoon was not to be some sleek and modern cruiser with a myriad of headsup displays, holographic projections and pulsing lights. Rather she needed to feel like she was a touch 'outmoded' amidst a sea of more highly evolved craft. Levers, dials, knobs and switches were the order of the day. Repetition of broad structures would serve well. She was to feel more like an old American submarine and play very much the sanctuary to her crew; the wafer thin layer between them and the cold sucking death of the black beyond. Her lines were to be largely geometric, and her volumes robust and intersecting, as if she were comprised of mismatching modules spot welded together to form a cohesive whole... yet not cumbersome and still possessed of grace... she is a lady after all ;)

Battleship Rough Sketch with Quad-Array Engines...

Here I was looking to discover what could become an iconic shape; a feature that could hold its own and stand out amongst a veritable galaxy of sci-fi ship design. That is a challenging task. There was very little time to develop any of these designs unfortunately; in fact I believe the time from conception phase to finished 3D model was in the vicinity of about 2.5 weeks, props included. It was very much all hands on deck to prepare the pitch for presentation... and in doing so potentially win the right to work on this and call it a living -  and what is more, develop this beauty in her entirety. I knew from the outset that she had to be a fair one... I didn't like the idea of her being a pure destroyer, so I coined the term 'Mediator', because it inferred that she was one who settled disputes rather than created them.

Battleship Rough Sketch...

Battle Frigate Rough Sketch...

For me at the time, creating sketches of militarised craft with an industrial edge was a departure from what I usually did, but one I welcomed as it gave me the chance to get stuck in and try to create something that was not only a touch aggressive, weathered and 'harder edged', but also something a bit special. I didn't want this battleship to feel like some souless shard of welded steel, but rather something that had a human touch, something that in every detail suggested the notion of 'protector', 'defender' and even of a 'home away from home.' She needed to support a crew...

Main Exterior Battery...

Science Officer's Analysis Console...

Details like ladder rungs on the main guns, mounted step panels and non slip surfaces suggested not only scale, but reinforced that this beauty was populated by a Human element. Right down to her rivots, I wanted our battleship to smell of Humanity, imbued with all the character and drama that that implied. She still needed to feel like she was (originally) punched out from the manufacturing assembly line in some far flung shipyard, but through things like weathering, the removal of panels, (to show open access to wires and conduits) hand rails on consoles, and through the minute details of ship interface (like levers, knobs and dials) I tried to give the Brigadoon a bit of soul and not hide the presence of the operator. 

Mediator Class Battleship: The USSN Liberty Bell...

We presented a pack of concept art, a video based on what we had achieved in a real-time demo, and held our collective breaths... would our disparate crew survive the pitch process and remain as a team to work on this project? We entered the battle-zone weapons free and firing... but it was not to be, and we all of us parted ways, ejected into the void of space and hoped the salvage vessels would not be long in coming :) 

Mediator Class Battleship: The USSN Cumberland Sound...

So it is with a glad heart that I can at least share these with you all. While the team that worked on the title that never broke atmo is no longer fully intact, elements of it still persist; like the boys building Satelite Reign and a few others now teaching games dev at Evocca College. They were fun, hectic and hopeful times, and I'm proud to have served, at least a while, with a few good mates aboard the good ship. Here's to the Crew! May it live long and prosper!

Keep on creating :)

Because... I'm Happy?

Happy Feet 2 storybook sequence panel: Eric reveres Sven

To say it's been a long time between drinks is the understatement of the year. A long year; a year that has seen illness most belligerant hijack my happy humanity and derail a good deal of ambition in 2014-2015. Without getting into sordid detail, suffice it to say that an unchecked infection that gains entry into ones lymphatic system can enter the heart, and therin grow a small garden of deadly pestilence that has the power to kill. After months and months... and months of all sorts of niggles, fatigue and oft-times terror... I'm pleased to say I'm still here. Doctors made no bones about it - I'm lucky that I am. Strange to think that a simple visit to the dentist a long while back could result in such a powerful and long lived infection, one that passed through my heart and settled there. So still here people, feeling so much better now! And I'm happy to be here. So if like me you are happy, just so damn happy to be back on deck, back doing things after so long an absence from the doings that give so much satisfaction - then what better way to celebrate than showing some happy little penguins doing their happy little thing?

Happy Feet 2 storybook sequence panel: Mucking about in snow

So here's to creating some fun concept art and storybook images for the Happy Feet 2 project (thought it was about time to share them!) and to once again working with my good buddy Ron Marc during our all too brief spell at Kennedy Miller Mitchell together. All in all a good year there where the compositional talents of Paul Christey took the work Ron and I did to craft some pretty special little storybook pieces. I cannot complain, and so it's back to doing the things I love, really back into freelance (have been for a wee while now) and working with really good mates to make memorable entertainment. Lots for me to do now as I catch up on things. Lots to post up here, work I've not yet shown and new things to create too. So hope you all enjoy this frosty little offering peoples, Here's to doing what you love... here's to being happy :)

Happy Feet 2 storybook sequence panel: Enter Sven the puffin

Happy Feet 2 storybook sequence panel: Precarious precipice!

Happy Feet 2 storybook sequence panel: Leopard seal confrontation

Happy Feet 2 storybook sequence panel: Mumble 'rescues' Eric.

Alien Bust: Warrior

Alien Warrior Work In Progress...

I've been working on the portfolio now for some time, inbetween freelance contracts, and have been working on the different aspects like props, creatures, characters and vehicles etc. Its been a slow burn as I gear up towards having a proper website, with examples of all the various facets of design so as to showcase a good cross section of abilities to gain new working opportunities. 

So far I have a range of things together, although I'd say that most of them are works in progress. Rather than sit on everything while I tweak and polish an entire gallery of art, I thought it best to release one or two of these WIPS into the wild for you to check out... I've been so precious about what I show so as to have it be my best, but sometimes, just to let people know you still exist, you just have to put it out there!

This latest is a member of a proud warrior race... I'm thinking of having the jaw be distendible much like that of a snake - while the membrane covering the olfactory glands can articulate and peel back, to reveal a flashy and aggressive display of bright colour beneath. All ideas at this point, and all ideas that I'll be fleshing out in the final gallery. More to come soon! And more to come in the realm of all things Dragon oriented as well....

Brutish Bust: Alien Tracker

Alien Tracker (Work in progress....)

Time has not been in high supply of late, but in the interest of keeping things humming along here I've posted up a work in progress of this alien brute. Still a fair bit I'd like to work up here, but thought I'd share his progress thus far. I'll be adding elements like ritual scarring (great idea Tony Parmenter, thanks for that!) and costuming elements that reflect culture and his background as a hunter and tracker. Stay tuned for updates on this brutish character!

Partners In Crime... Book Cover Art

Finished cover art for 'Partners In Crime' (Book 1)

Promotional poster art for 'Partners In Crime' (Book 1) 

This May marks four years of Soulful Savage, and in that time I've had the pleasure of partnering up and collaborating with some wonderfully innovative and creative people. This time around saw me creating the cover art for the pilot book in a series called 'Partners In Crime' by author and screenwriter Mr. Ian David Noakes. The book itself is a humorous, but all too true social commentary on the state of play in today's modern world of raging debt, crime and joblessness. Centered on the lives of three unlikely allies thrust together by adversity and necessity, it's a book that asks the question: 'how far will ordinary people go to survive the change of the modern world?' A question that many of us (myself included) can relate to only too well...

I had an absolute ball creating this cover depicting Noah Smith (far left), Harry Holmes (center) and Milly Cloud (far right) for what promises to be the beginning of a long and enduring creative partnership. I'm deeply looking forward to working on the next Partners In Crime cover art! Feel free to check out the book and register your support for Partners In Crime on Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/Partners-Crime-Ian-David-Noakes-ebook/dp/B00JR98NWM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1400472870&sr=1-1&keywords=partners+in+crime+Ian+David+Noakes

You can also find Ian David Noakes at his website: http://www.iandavidnoakes.com/partners-in-crime.html

and on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/iandavidnoakes

So here's to partners; to finding those rare and fantastically talented people to team up with, in the name of art, culture, friendship and entertainment... for it is through the power of people (the many) and not through the individual alone, that we achieve our greatest visions. Keep on creating people!

Soulful Savage Concept Art & Design in 2014...

Hi all, it's been an extremely long time since last I posted anything up here! An update has been definitely long overdue! There’s been much to attend to as I write my children's books, hit the freelance work and in between, update the tired old folio. The books are still humming along and will have their day, and the folio is building day by day... I'm just making sure that whatever I put out into the world is worthy of attention, so I'm being pretty critical with myself. So much to get right... I just can't wait to share what I've been up to though. So thanks to the Faithful that keep checking here for new artwork, I am ever grateful :) There's definitely more on the way from me (and the Soulful Savage here) in 2014!

If you have any queries, or wish to employ my services for any of your creative needs, please don't hesitate to contact me. Keep on keeping on!

Kindest regards,

Jared

Two Years of Soulful Savage!

Cover Illustration: The Dogtown Tourist Agency...

This month marks two years since the creation of Soulful Savage, and sees me undertaking some cover art for the works of Science Fiction Grandmaster Mr Jack Vance! It's been a welcome and very humbling hit out to produce cover illustrations for the esteemed Mr. Jack and his Miro Hetzel novels. Formerly packaged as the collection entitled 'Galactic Effectuator', the two books I've been lucky enough to illustrate for are 'The Dogtown Tourist Agency' and 'Freitzke's Turn', with a third cover on the way for the Omnibus title called 'The Miro Hetzel Omnibus', slated for release later in the year.

It's been a very busy time here as I juggle all sorts of things toiling from the Creature Grotto at home! From negotiating with the rampant and insidious dishes, to pacifying a detritus uprising on Ye-Olde wooden floors; I've been effectuating all manner of alien domestic duties as I also tackle freelance on various fronts :) Despite being here with chores to keep the home fires burning, I'm still making a good go of things with freelance. It's a starkly different beast to the Studio scene for sure, and it moves and breathes in an entirely alien way, with a rhythm all it's own. I am thankful for the opportunities. I am also very lucky...

Cover Illustration: Freitzke's Turn...

Truth to tell I'd never regarded myself as a particularly lucky person; quite the opposite rather, putting my stock in meritocracy and the whole 'you get out what you put in' edict. If there was a prize to win, I'd miss out. If I dropped my bread, it was always buttered side down. If there was dog poo on the sidewalk, my boot would find it. I didn't really believe in luck....but then there are people out there who continually defy logic, make every wrong turn imaginable and yet still inexplicably come out on top :)
Yes luck does exist... though I feel one has to sometimes engineer the conditions of it's making and try to create opportunities... Hmm, perhaps that's still just the whole 'hard work' ethos again? Hehehe... No, I'm talking about just 'taking a punt' and backing yourself... talking with good connections and friends and introducing yourself to new circumstances :) Showing initiative gets the dice rolling... but a good measure of what follows is wild and variable affected luck :)

It was after talking with David Russell, an industry professional in the field of storyboarding and illustration whom I regard as a friend, when I saw the opportunity to possibly paint some Jack Vance cover art. I got very excited as the works of Jack Vance are incredibly special. David is a dear friend of Mr Jack and was handling the covers for his Tschai, Demon Princes and Dying Earth titles. I checked out Mr Jack's website as David had sent me the link, and saw that they were advertising for cover artists. Weirdly enough my Mother phoned me that same day to let me know that on jackvance.com they were asking for artists... 

Providence? Luck? A cross-convergence of guiding consciousness? (lol) Whatever it's name, fates were in motion that were not entirely of my fashioning it seemed. I contacted the Vance Family through the website and took a punt, introducing myself. As luck would have it, the welcome was warm and I was asked to do the works you see here. It's been extremely humbling to produce art works for one of the most prestigious and brilliant science-fiction authors of all time; one whose works have shaped and governed the landscape of modern Sci-Fi writing the world over. I hope I've done his books some measure of justice... but as always you must decide! 

So home chores and duties aside, I'm a pretty lucky guy: Lucky being able to ride out the industry drought and work from home... luckier to have these rare and unique associations and opportunities cropping up out here in the Wild. Luckiest though to have a treasured, empowering Family that supports me at every turn; indulging my vocation and feeding  my Spirit to keep taking punts and back myself. Luck seems to be at my back... and besides: it's not every day you get to draw for Mr. Jack! 

I think 'luck' is out there for all of us, but we have to go looking and then see it for what it is; the fleeting shade of opportunity. When it speeds past, reach out and catch it, then hold on for all you're worth. You never can tell where that one thing will lead you :) So more coming from me in this vein very soon... I hope you all like this offering! Keep a keen, observant eye out for the works of Jack Vance coming soon in Ebook format online at: www.jackvance.com

You can also find me and my buddy Ron Marc, (who is an absolute fanatic disciple of the written word of Vance!) up there on the site under the 'Jack Vance' tab, then click 'Resources'. It was Ron who first exposed me to the works of Mr Jack some time ago, so very fitting that he also is handling cover illustrations for some memorable Vance titles! Be sure to check out his site soon for updates on his progress at: carefulconan.daportfolio.com
So happy, lucky 2nd Birthday to this soulful little savage and more from me later.... I'm off to clean my boots and hit it again!

Listen to the Soul: remember always what is most important, and never compromise on it. Defend that like a Savage.....

J S Pullen 

Head Study: Alien Huntress Facial Design...

Alien Huntress Facial Design...

This month truly is the month for Marching forward, and sees me firmly back in the saddle, riding the beast that is Freelance Concept Art. Two hands will be needed to control this wild thing I believe, for since February it has truly started to awaken. In response, this month has seen the launch of 'Soulful Savage Concept Art & Design' as an official freelance concept art business, with me as the sole artist. Currently it is a 'feast and famine' regime, and like many things early on in their infancy, there are many posibilities before it. So as I expand my skill set and do my absolute best to look after the Clients that I have, I'm looking forward to creating, trying new things and really pushing myself to honour the Craft... bringing in some fresh new works in 2012 that hopefully inspire. I'm excited, for there is nothing better than inspiring People to inspire... 

So I've been underground for a while, toiling away in the Grotto and giving my skills a Face-Lift; the results of which can be viewed here in this latest offering: The Alien Huntress. So much to do, so much to learn, so it is best to start at the beginning... I'll be revamping this blog with a more updated look; a sort of Face-lift if you will for 'Soulful Savage', with new art from the varied sub-sets of  Film and Games concept art. (For now I have chosen to begin with Character and Creature Design.) Along with the fresher look will be new regular features like 'The Savage Armoury' as well as a 'Feature Artist' segment on some of the finest concept artist's in the business... my Friends :) 

'The Dragon's Vault' will also return in full with more insight into the World of Spyro The Dragon, with new works also planned that expand on the vision and show the direction I would have taken had I still been involved. Old posts will also be edited, explaining this and that about how The Legend Of Spyro games were made and the inspiration behind the art... 'til then Peoples, keep creating! It's going to be a good year. Always looking Forward...

Alien Brute Facial Design...



  

Listen to the Soul: remember always what is most important, and never compromise on it. Defend that like a Savage.....
J S Pullen

Creature Character Head Studies: The Alien Condition...

Alien Bust Design 01

Alien Bust Design 02: (Aquatic Archipelago Yeti)

Alien Bust Design 03

Listen to the Soul: remember always what is most important, and never compromise on it. Defend that like a Savage.....

J S Pullen

Creature and Environment Illustration: Freed Souls WIP

"Freed Souls" WIP...

Hi Peoples, stay tuned for an update on my "Freed Souls" piece. Busy, busy, busy.. and getting busier! Will be posting this asap to give an update :)

Kindest regards... and GO THE ALL BLACKS in 2011 ;)

Soulful Savage.

Work in progress section 01...

Work in progress section 02...

Overall Illustration WIP...

Once More Inside The Dragon's Vault: Prop Concepts From The World of Spyro...

The Ancient Scrying Pool...

Stay tuned for more from the Dragon's Vault, in which we'll take a look at various prop concepts from the World Of Spyro The Dragon...

With much to do and so little time. Keep on creating Peoples :)

Boom Barrel from The Munitions Forge...

Diseased Silt-Hopper...

Obsidion Beetle Hive...

Obsidion Beetle Hive: Damage Remnant State...

Smashable Plate-Rock Entrance...

Smashable Plate-Rock Entrance: Remnant State...

Infernal Pool Shoots...

Corrupted Tree: Small Scale...

Corrupted Tree: Mid Scale...

Corrupted Tree: Large Scale...

Corrupted Tree: Feature Piece Scale...

Listen to the Soul: remember always what is most important, and never compromise on it. Defend that like a Savage.....

J S Pullen

Creature Design: Grotto Gargantuan; resolving the details...

The Grotto Gargantuan Returns...

Greetings People and welcome to May 2011 and once again to the home of the Soulful Savage! This post marks 1 year of art posting under the Soulful Savage banner; 1 year since I took up this much needed journey to create something beyond my 'nine-to-five' existence... and what better way to celebrate than by returning to where this blog began? By going back into the wooded wilds of my mind to wrangle that zoological conundrum; that slippery Leviathan... the Great Grotto Gargantuan!

In last May's post you'll find the creature from a more illustrative approach, but I mentioned I wanted to go back to wrangle all the details and resolve the particulars of design. So stay tuned! I thank you all for your support in tuning in over the last year, and for being patient! The Gargantuan is surfacing from the crushing depths, and its full story will be revealed soon. I've every intention of doing a detailed full scale concept design of this beasty... I'm still kind of working him out, but no doubt the design work will happen as soon as I get the chance :)

Gargantuan Design... preliminary head study

Gargantuan Design... overall treatment and scale

More on the way when I get the chance!

Kindest Regards,
Soulful Savage.

Listen to the Soul: remember always what is most important, and never compromise on it. Defend that like a Savage.....

J S Pullen