Visual storytelling, worldbuilding, and creative direction for culture, brands, and entertainment.
Available for select freelance, consulting & speaking opportunities.
Scroll to enter the maelstrom
Scroll to enter the maelstrom
Featured
work archive
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A worldbuilding-driven environment study, developed as a tone-setting visual foundation for a premium narrative cyberpunk action IP called Ghosts of Kowloon.
Neo-Horizon: A Cyberpunk Metropolis Teaser
Neo-Horizon is a visual concept series exploring a future megacity shaped by climate collapse, corporate overreach, and digital obsession.
Neon Dusk — Quiet Collapse: Cyberpunk City Environment 3D Key Art Illustration
Neon Decay — Cyberpunk City Worldbuilding Teaser
Neon Decay — Cyberpunk City Concept Art Illustrations
Vegas 2199, Chrome Chronicles
Sector Blue Quiet, Retro Futuristic Worldbuilding & Illustrations
Blade Runner 1928, Neo Noir Anniversary Editorial Illustrations
Red Pill, ’88 — The Matrix Reimagined Through Retro Anime
Vice & Virtue — Cinematic GTA VI Universe Illustration Studies
Echo of Hellas is a cinematic illustration series created for interactive museum education, reimagining ancient Greece through immersive visual storytelling.
Eclipsara is a worldbuilding-driven visual development project for an original indie game IP pitch.
Monarch brand drop. Apparel illustrations built as memory artifacts — intimate, frozen, collectible. Different timestamps of the same film.
Aurelia Prime, Futuristic Solarpunk Paradise, Worldbuidling Illustrations.
Static Overdose - Cyberpunk Illustrations for a Personal World Building Project
City of Velthos, a post-cyberpunk retro-futuristic paradise where humanity thrives in harmony with nature and technology.
Always broadcasting. Always lost. — A retro-surrealist meditation on presence, signal, and the noise we mistake for thought.
A worldbuilding-driven environment study, developed as a tone-setting visual foundation for a premium narrative cyberpunk action IP called Ghosts of Kowloon.
Neo-Horizon: A Cyberpunk Metropolis Teaser
Neo-Horizon is a visual concept series exploring a future megacity shaped by climate collapse, corporate overreach, and digital obsession.
Neon Dusk — Quiet Collapse: Cyberpunk City Environment 3D Key Art Illustration
Neon Decay — Cyberpunk City Worldbuilding Teaser
Neon Decay — Cyberpunk City Concept Art Illustrations
Vegas 2199, Chrome Chronicles
Sector Blue Quiet, Retro Futuristic Worldbuilding & Illustrations
Blade Runner 1928, Neo Noir Anniversary Editorial Illustrations
Red Pill, ’88 — The Matrix Reimagined Through Retro Anime
Vice & Virtue — Cinematic GTA VI Universe Illustration Studies
Echo of Hellas is a cinematic illustration series created for interactive museum education, reimagining ancient Greece through immersive visual storytelling.
Eclipsara is a worldbuilding-driven visual development project for an original indie game IP pitch.
Monarch brand drop. Apparel illustrations built as memory artifacts — intimate, frozen, collectible. Different timestamps of the same film.
Aurelia Prime, Futuristic Solarpunk Paradise, Worldbuidling Illustrations.
Static Overdose - Cyberpunk Illustrations for a Personal World Building Project
City of Velthos, a post-cyberpunk retro-futuristic paradise where humanity thrives in harmony with nature and technology.
Always broadcasting. Always lost. — A retro-surrealist meditation on presence, signal, and the noise we mistake for thought.
A worldbuilding-driven environment study, developed as a tone-setting visual foundation for a premium narrative cyberpunk action IP called Ghosts of Kowloon.
Neo-Horizon: A Cyberpunk Metropolis Teaser
Neo-Horizon is a visual concept series exploring a future megacity shaped by climate collapse, corporate overreach, and digital obsession.
Neon Dusk — Quiet Collapse: Cyberpunk City Environment 3D Key Art Illustration
Neon Decay — Cyberpunk City Worldbuilding Teaser
Neon Decay — Cyberpunk City Concept Art Illustrations
Vegas 2199, Chrome Chronicles
Sector Blue Quiet, Retro Futuristic Worldbuilding & Illustrations
Blade Runner 1928, Neo Noir Anniversary Editorial Illustrations
Red Pill, ’88 — The Matrix Reimagined Through Retro Anime
Vice & Virtue — Cinematic GTA VI Universe Illustration Studies
Echo of Hellas is a cinematic illustration series created for interactive museum education, reimagining ancient Greece through immersive visual storytelling.
Eclipsara is a worldbuilding-driven visual development project for an original indie game IP pitch.
Monarch brand drop. Apparel illustrations built as memory artifacts — intimate, frozen, collectible. Different timestamps of the same film.
Aurelia Prime, Futuristic Solarpunk Paradise, Worldbuidling Illustrations.
Static Overdose - Cyberpunk Illustrations for a Personal World Building Project
City of Velthos, a post-cyberpunk retro-futuristic paradise where humanity thrives in harmony with nature and technology.
Always broadcasting. Always lost. — A retro-surrealist meditation on presence, signal, and the noise we mistake for thought.
More case studies coming soon
Services
three ways in — Choose your depth of entry
Tier 1 — The Signal
For brands that need a single, powerful visual statement. • Key art & hero illustrations • Brand drop visuals & campaign imagery • Poster & editorial illustration • Animated teasers & motion stills One visual that makes people stop scrolling and start believing.
Tier 1 — The Signal
For brands that need a single, powerful visual statement. • Key art & hero illustrations • Brand drop visuals & campaign imagery • Poster & editorial illustration • Animated teasers & motion stills One visual that makes people stop scrolling and start believing.
Tier 2 — The World
For brands and studios building something that needs to feel like a universe. • Worldbuilding & visual development • Concept art series & environment design • IP pitch decks & game visual development • Cinematic illustration series • Tabletop, board and card game art and maps Not just a look — a place people want to live in.
Tier 2 — The World
For brands and studios building something that needs to feel like a universe. • Worldbuilding & visual development • Concept art series & environment design • IP pitch decks & game visual development • Cinematic illustration series • Tabletop, board and card game art and maps Not just a look — a place people want to live in.
Tier 3 — The Transmission
For those who need Maelstrom’s vision embedded into their creative DNA. • Creative direction & art direction • Brand identity with narrative backbone • Visual strategy for culture & entertainment IPs • Ongoing creative partnership Your aesthetic agenda, built from the ground up.
Tier 3 — The Transmission
For those who need Maelstrom’s vision embedded into their creative DNA. • Creative direction & art direction • Brand identity with narrative backbone • Visual strategy for culture & entertainment IPs • Ongoing creative partnership Your aesthetic agenda, built from the ground up.
About
Who the f*ck is maelstrom?
Maelstrom is the alter ego of Dusan Kovacevic, a Serbian designer and creative director moving between mediums, transforming pixels into stories, mood, and meaning since 2014.
His work lingers in the memory of a future that never was, merging culture, design, and AI into visuals with atmosphere, tension, and intent.
No templates. No trends. Just imaginary worlds that didn’t exist yesterday… Worlds people want to belong to.
For brands who...
• Don’t seek approval — they set the aesthetic agenda
• Want to turn attention into allegiance
• You.
FAQ
Why work with Maelstrom instead of an agency?
Can you handle both art direction and execution?
What kind of projects do you take on?
Do you work with brands or only on personal creative projects?
Do you use AI in your work?
What if I don’t have a fully formed brief yet?
How does the process work?
Do you take on smaller or one-off projects?
How long does a project take?
How do I start?
Why work with Maelstrom instead of an agency?
Can you handle both art direction and execution?
What kind of projects do you take on?
Do you work with brands or only on personal creative projects?
Do you use AI in your work?
What if I don’t have a fully formed brief yet?
How does the process work?
Do you take on smaller or one-off projects?
How long does a project take?
How do I start?
