Michael WhelanMichaelWhelan@mastodon.art

Nov 11, 2026, 4:20 PM

The book and the movie by Stanley Kubrick are all-time favorites so I felt the pressure even more. I did 10 preliminary roughs or comps (unlike the customary 2-4) and agonized over using airbrush almost exclusively to achieve that diffuse, soft-edged quality.

It was worth it—the publisher was thrilled with the result and even the artist was pleased! 2/3

Detail from 2010: ODYSSEY TWO featuring the Starchild, an obelisk filled with stars, and a long slender spaceship resembling a rattle positioned in front of the planet Jupiter with only a sliver of its stormy surface visible against a field of stars.

Detail from 2010: ODYSSEY TWO featuring the USSC Discovery. The bow of the ship is spherical, like a lollipop on a stick. Toward the top, a curving red line of light indicates the front viewport. Below, points of ingress are marked by circles containing lines intersecting at the center.

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