Thom Tenery

Congratulations to the team(s) that rebooted it and added a ton of new design to ARES – it looks stunning. Red Grid LightCycle design here based on concept work by Annis Naeem, Darren Gilford, and Paul Ozzimo.

It took more than 10 years for it to evolve into TRON: ARES, and I’m happy to see it retained a lot of the concept work, shot design, and animatic sequences we created for the original pitch.

Concept art from the 2013 version of Joseph Konsinski's TRON: Ascension. Three red lightcycles on a real-world highway being pursued by a police car. One of the lightcycles activates its lightwall/lighttrail and splits the police car in two.

Concept art from the 2013 version of Joseph Konsinski's TRON: Ascension. Three red lightcycles on a real-world highway being pursued by a police car. One of the lightcycles activates its lightwall/lighttrail and splits the police car in two.

Concept art from my time on the Disney lot in 2013 working on Joseph Kosinski’s TRON: Ascension with the incredible Production Designer Darren Gilford, David Levy, Annis Naeem, and Kristen Maloney.

I’ve lost track of specific design credits for a lot of what we did on that project but I believe the Red Grid Cycle designs in these shots represent multiple versions of collaborative effort from Darren Gilford, Paul Ozzimo, and Annis Naeem.

I’m happy to see it retained a lot of the concept work, shot design, and animatic sequences we created for the original pitch. Congratulations to the team that rebooted it and added a ton of new design to ARES – it looks stunning.

Shot design and concept art for TRON: ARES (formerly TRON: Ascension), created for the 2013 version of Joseph Kosinski's TRON sequel. This shot shows a red lightcycle in a real-world urban context moving stealthily between two big rigs on a highway in the city.

Shot design and concept art for TRON: ARES (formerly TRON: Ascension), created for the 2013 version of Joseph Kosinski's TRON sequel. This shot shows a red lightcycle in a real-world urban context moving at high speed on a highway in the city being pursued by police cars and a police helicopter.

I spent 6 months on the Disney lot in 2013 working on Joseph Kosinski’s TRON: Ascension with the incredible Production Designer Darren Gilford, David Levy, Annis Naeem, and Kristen Maloney. It took more than 10 years for it to evolve into TRON: ARES ....

Coming soon: Wildendrem Volume Two: The Saintly Hollows Two new books of mythic adventure in a land of wonder and peril, for use on their own or alongside the award-winning Valley of Flowers.

The next two (!) books of the Wildendrem tabletop RPG setting are coming soon to Kickstarter. #osr www.kickstarter.com/projects/626...

Concept art for Solo: A Star Wars Story. Mimban - trench warfare, desolate vistas, ultra-tanks, slave Wookies - all the horrors of war in one dark sequence.

Concept art for Solo: A Star Wars Story. Mimban - trench warfare, desolate vistas, ultra-tanks, slave Wookies - all the horrors of war in one dark sequence.

Concept art for Solo: A Star Wars Story. Mimban - trench warfare, desolate vistas, ultra-tanks, slave Wookies - all the horrors of war in one dark sequence.

Concept art for Solo: A Star Wars Story. Mimban - trench warfare, desolate vistas, ultra-tanks, slave Wookies - all the horrors of war in one dark sequence.

Concept art for Solo: A Star Wars Story. Mimban - trench warfare, ultra-tanks, slave Wookies, desolate vistas - the horrors of war in one dark sequence. We were riffing on historical WW1 photography for this location.

Concept art for Solo: A Star Wars Story. Mega-Cenote on Gangster Planet

Concept art for Solo: A Star Wars Story. Han and Chewie riding a paddlewheel boat toward a gangster hideout.

Mega-Cenotes and paddlewheel boats on Gangster Planet, aka ‘Crime Island’ for Star Wars: Solo. We explored every Western trope we could think of for this film. These didn't fly, but I always liked the Apocalypse Now vibe.

Concept Art for Rogue One: Saw Gerrera's downed ship as resistance hideout.

Concept Art for Rogue One: Saw Gerrera's downed ship as resistance hideout.

Concept Art for Rogue One: Saw Gerrera's downed ship as resistance hideout.

Concept Art for Rogue One: Saw Gerrera's downed ship as resistance hideout.

Concept Art for Rogue One: Saw Gerrera's downed ship as resistance hideout. I always liked how 'quiet' these felt. There was strong support from Doug Chiang (PD) and Gareth Edwards for working that way - a very vibes-forward attitude to concept art on that film.

Concept art for Solo, A Star Wars Story: the Imperial Conveyex (train) heist.

Concept art for Solo, A Star Wars Story: the Imperial Conveyex (train) heist.

Concept art for Solo, A Star Wars Story: the Imperial Conveyex (train) heist.

Concept art for Solo, A Star Wars Story: the Imperial Conveyex (train) heist.

Concept art for Solo, A Star Wars Story: the Imperial Conveyex (train) heist. I remember the crew at ILMxLAB were walking around on top of my train on a virtual stage planning action for scenes as quickly as I could hand off concept models. That use of VR was new-ish tech at the time (2015).

top shelf!

Concept Design for Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle from Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens

Concept Design for Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle from Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens

Concept Design for Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle from Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens

Concept Design for Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle from Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens

Concept Design for Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle, aka JKShuttle (Jedi Killer), from Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens - From 3d sketch to final. We spent about a month designing this one. I think it was one of the first approved designs for the film.

Brilliant. I misread that initial grammatical flourish as ‘drunk talk’ and there might be an rpg idea there. Has anyone done Drunk History meets D&D/OSR yet?

Concept Art from the movie Rogue One - the Occupation of Jedha

Concept Art from the movie Rogue One - the Occupation of Jedha

Concept Art from the movie Rogue One - the Occupation of Jedha

Andor is a gift. I still can’t believe it got made. Here’s more of my Rogue One concept art - the Occupation of Jedha. Reality continues to be stranger and more cruel than fiction.

Vader’s Chamber (Bacta Tank variant) and Chamber Door concept art for Rogue One

Vader’s Chamber (Bacta Tank variant) and Chamber Door concept art for Rogue One

Vader’s Chamber (Bacta Tank variant) and Chamber Door concept art for Rogue One

Vader’s Chamber (Bacta Tank variant) and Chamber Door concept art for Rogue One. I think this made the screen mostly intact. I’d forgotten this set was code-named the “White House” during preproduction. That’s giving this 10 yr old work new resonance for me given current events.

Wild. Sublime. What a vibe. I would compliment with Snarky Puppy's We Like It Here.

I’m ready.

Concept art for the Star Wars film Rogue One. Mountain platform scene.

Concept art for the Star Wars film Rogue One. Mountain platform scene.

Concept art for the Star Wars film Rogue One. Mountain platform scene.

Concept Art and process work for Rogue One. I worked on this sequence from early concept art to the set build - based (very) loosely around a Ralph McQuarrie sketch from the original trilogy. This shot was so spot-on the concept art that I remember gasping audibly during the screening.

design for the TIE Striker from Rogue One

design for the TIE Striker from Rogue One

design for the TIE Striker from Rogue One

My design for the TIE Striker from Rogue One. Gareth Edwards asked for an atmospheric TIE for the Scarif assault. I always preferred the compact variant (3) but still really like this 'long-pill' that we put in the film. ILM absolutely nailed it with a completely faithful realization of the design.

concept art for Jyn's ship from Rogue One.

Early concept designs for Jyn's Ship from Rogue One. Jyn's Ship was an art department-wide development effort. It was a career highlight working with a legendary team on the most significant movie-world of my youth. Find much more on the development of Jyn's ship in The Art of Rogue One art book.

book cover against a green cityscape background. Book cover depicts (in green to blue gradient)a profile against an image of missiles striking a cityscape, with a central tower split in two. This Brutal Moon by Bethany Jacobs

Didn't I tell you she would be beautiful? Here is the cover launch for THIS BRUTAL MOON available November 11, 2025.⁣
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Design by Alexia Pereira. Background Illustration by @thomtenery.bsky.social

Black and white hand drawing of a city with a tower in the background

Black and white hand drawing of a city with a tower in the background, overlaid with a gradient purple silhouette of a woman with a shaved head, and the title On Vicious Worlds by Bethany Jacobs.

Refined black and white hand illustration of a city with a tower in the background, overlaid with a deeper purple silhouette of a woman with a shaved head, and the title On Vicious Worlds by Bethany Jacobs. Includes a blurb from Ren Hutchings, author of Under Fortunate Stars: "Jacobs is an ingenious worldbuilder and a stunning new voice to look out for in sci-fi."

Check out the evolution of the #onviciousworlds cover, with art by @thomtenery.bsky.social.

OVW is eligible for awards! Consider nominating for the Hugo Best Novel and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. I'd love your support!

@orbitbooks.bsky.social @awfulagent.bsky.social

I remember the day I made this. It was a Tuesday.

That’s because we weren’t calling it the U wing at that point in production. It was simply a rebel dropship/troop transport at that time. In fact there was no “U-wing” designation until after we had finished designing Jyn’s ship, the one seen in the final film.

Happy Day of the Big Bird!

Here’s a detail from a personal piece that fits today’s theme.

‘Precipice’

The Keys to December. Illustration of an ancient mechanical structure with a flat vertical tower rising from a bridge-like structure spanning an icy landscape. Vertical towers of icy rock in the background. Foreground silhouette of primitive humanoids apparently offering an animal sacrifice on an alter to this megastructure. The 3 primitives recall the Darwinian 'evolution of man' diagram seen in textbooks depicting the change over time of ape/chimp to homo sapiens.

Keys to December. I was reading a lot of Zelazny at the time. I think this was for ImagineFX magazine (2013?) - not certain about that, it's been too long.

a moody mountain landscape with soaring vertical landforms and a "bronze" tower/fortress on a prominence in the distance. a small caravan crosses a bridge over a gorge. strange plant-forms take flight, apparently fauna.

The Bronze Road. another old one. i've always been annoyed by the scale problems with this one, but whatever.

Me in my Echo Chamber