Black Gate Miniatures: 10mm Ogre Kickstarter

A while ago I got to work on some concepts for a project that is now up on Kickstarter: 10mm Fantasy Ogre Miniatures from Black Gate Miniatures. 

Needless to say, this was awesome fun and, depending on how successful the Kickstarter turns out, there might be plenty more to come. In the meantime, here's some of the work I've done on the project so far...

The mighty Ogre Chieftain/Champion (one of the stretch goals).

Some preliminary concepts (for ideas, scale, etc.).

And finally some actual concepts (different unit types and poses).

Feel free to spread the word and/or pledge for lots of minis yourselves. The more money the KS makes, the more work there will be for yours truly. ;)

And here you can read an interview with the man behind this project: http://fanplasticlittlemen.blogspot.de/2016/10/black-gate-miniatures-ogres-kickstarter.html

Necromunda: Goliath Gothique - Parts III & IV

As I've mentioned in my previous post, I'm quite keen to convert the free White Dwarf Slaughterpriest into the leader of my gang. So I did a bit more sketching and below you can see where my thoughts are going with this.

But wait there's more... as I was reading through the campaign special rules, I discovered that we'll be using Dog Rules as well as House Specialities. And in the case of Goliath the latter means access to OGRYNS!!!

If that wasn't enough, I also started thinking about various in-game counters, such as sewer entrance markers and loot counters.

Eventually, I also want to build an HQ for my gang, which is what the furniture and weight training equipment will be for. But more on that in a future post...

Necromunda: Goliath Gothique - Parts I & II

Since coming back to Germany I've been looking around the local-ish gaming communities for some new buddies.
I've already found a fantastic group of individuals to play Blood Bowl with, in the shape of the Munich RumBBL. In addition to those lovely folks, I've also come across a number of clubs in the greater Munich region, who play a more varied range of tabletop games.
Although I've only made contact online so far, I've received a right warm welcome from the Weiss Blauen Strategen, also in Munich.

It just so happens that one very enthusiastic individual from that club is organising a campaign for Necromunda, a game that I've been wanting to play for yonks now.
Not only that, but the organiser is also putting a lot of thought and effort into the creation of a suitable background for the event. The theme is Faith, Treachery, and Heresy... which is, of course, right up my alley. :D
I've had quite a few of the old Goliath models lying around for the longest time, so I decided to give these guys a go for the campaign.

Now, since most of the models I have are the plastic ones that only come in two poses with different weapons options, I'm wanting to personalise those models a little more.
During my recent holiday in Bella Italia I had some time to think up some ideas on how to pimp my gang... with minimal effort. I did a bit of doodling and you can see the results below. Let's see if I can translate some of those ideas into miniature form.

When I came back from my holiday I immediately picked up a copy of the new and (very much) improved White Dwarf magazine, which came with a free Slaughterpriest miniature. Well, this guy is just begging to become the oversized leader of my gang. I've already started chopping and glueing, and hopefully I can work up a sketch for him soon as well. Watch this space...

PS: I would love to do a female ganger like in the sketch, but I just can't think of a good (suitably muscular) base model to use. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm keen to hear them.

Microworld Games: MicroWasteland

As some of you may already know, I've recently(-ish) started designing a range of 6mm miniatures based on a Mad Max / Necromunda / Dark Future inspired post-apocalyptic Wasteland setting... aptly named MicroWasteland.

Naturally I've created a great many preliminary and concept sketches for the range, as well as a logo (see above). I'll be posting more of the artwork related to this endeavour over the coming months. For starters, here's the sketch for a piece of promotional artwork I'm working on.

The range is being produced and sold by Mircoworld Games. Distribution of the models for the UK and EU is being handled by Vanguard Miniatures.
The first wave of generic wasteland vehicles, bikes, infantry, as well as the ever popular "Muties" are available now.
Steve from Microword Games and I are already working to expand the range, so be sure to check them out, let us know what you think and, most importantly, buy some! :D

PS: You can also check out (and join the discussion) some of the finished models of wave 1 and some previews of wave 2 on the most excellent Tactical Wargames Forum.

Dark Heresy 2nd Edition: Enemies Within

Happy New Year everyone!
Time for a small update. I created these pieces for the second Dark Heresy RPG supplement, titled Enemies Within.

Dark Heresy 2nd Edition: Forgotten Gods

It's been too long!
So I thought I'd post some more work I did for the 2nd Edition of Fantasy Flight Games' Dark Heresy RPG. The following artwork was published in the first supplement, titled Forgotten Gods.

In addition to the usual characters and scenes, I also got to try my hand at doing an environment... which still has a few dubious characters lurking about as well. Plus some more concept sketches for the denizens of this grim dark setting.

Prayers for the Dead

Following the Trail

The Grave World

Lord Pyre

Inheritors Concept Art

Dark Heresy 2nd Edition: Core Rulebook & GM Kit

Hello again!
Dark Heresy 2nd Edition has been out for a while now and I managed to score a few commissions for it. So I thought I'd show off some of the artwork I did for the Core Rulebook and GM Kit.

Let me know what you think. :)

Cut Flesh

Juno Noble

Painted Thong Ganger

Juno Undercity Scum

Ludmilla's Den

Desoleum Citizenry Concept Art

Year of the doodle

Happy 2014 everyone!
I know it's a bit late for a looking back at the year that was post, but here it goes anyway...

2013 was a very interesting year for me. There were a few big ups, as well as some pretty big downs. So this will be a bit more wordy than usual, as I look back at some of the highlights and a few of the low points of the past year.

Imperial Sanctioned Abhvmans a.k.a. Beastmen

Things started out pretty well. Going into the new year, I was full of confidence, energy, and had plenty of work on... concept art, illustration, graphic design, a bit of everything.
Thanks to the interwebs, I also met plenty of interesting people and got involved (as far as I do) with some great online communities.

Chervbim

I even managed to make good on my one and only New Year's resolution, which was to get in more gaming. Although my miniature modelling and painting endeavours were still pretty slow going (more like stagnant, actually), I was pretty content with how everything was going.
At that point, my head was just exploding with ideas and I was creating more artwork than ever before. I filled at least a sheet a day in one of my many doodle books. Hence the title of this post.

Miscellaneovs Doodles

Things got even better when John Blanche (one of my biggest idols) started showing an interest in my work and encouraged me to approach Games Workshop and Fantasy Flight Games for some freelance work.
I can't divulge any details at this stage, but I've been working on some pretty exciting stuff for Fantasy Flight Games throughout the rest of the year.

Infant Greif I

Just when I thought things couldn't get much better, I went on my first proper holiday in three years!
Thanks to my wonderful partner Kathi and her seemingly limitless love, patience, and support (yes, she paid for my flight), I got to spend five absolutely fantastic weeks in Germany.
I caught the final week of the Landshuter Hochzeit (Wedding of Landshut, a reenactment of one of the biggest events of early Renaissance Germany), and got to spend some quality time with family and friends.

Key Bearer

Upon my return to New Zealand, however, things slowly started to take a turn for the worse. Five weeks of not working had left a big dent in my bank balance. Over the first part of the year, I had also started to shift my focus more towards my artwork and away from graphic design work. With that came a huge paycut that I was to feel keenly over the coming month... and still am as I write this today.

Even though I had plenty of interesting projects on the go, I was constantly running at a loss. I've had money troubles for many years, but as Christmas drew ever nearer and things quieted down, it all began to look pretty bleak.
Soon enough, this situation started to take a toll on my (mental) health and, by the time Xmas rolled around, I felt thoroughly depressed about my life. I found it more and more difficult to motivate myself. Less and less work came in, mostly due to the holidays, and I just couldn't quite see a way forward anymore.

Gvn Hovnd

This carried on well into January 2014. Thankfully, as of a few days ago, I have finally managed to muster the energy to pull myself out of this hole. It was only possible thanks to the never-ending support of my amazing partner Kathi, my family, friends, clients, and all the fans and supporters of my work... as well as listening really loudly to old school Metallica and other high-energy music.

Gladivs Rex

So, while my financial troubles are far from over, I have a far more positive outlook on life again. New work is starting to come in and at last I feel that I might make it through this mess after all.
Onwards and upwards, I say... and to all of you who had the patience to read all of this, I wish you a really awesome and successful new year 2014!

Vnicorne (Unicorn)

Unicorns are one of those iconic breeds of fantasy creatures that I always wanted to add to my portfolio, but never got around to... until recently.
The Creature of the Week challenge #304 over on conceptart.org asked for "Twisted Fantasy Creatures: Equines". We were asked to portray an evil and sadistic version of one (or all) of the following: Unicorn, Pegasus & Hippocampus.

Obviously I went for the Unicorn, so here's what I came up with... followed by a short description of the concept.

The Vnicorne is the grim dark cousin of the Unicorn. It is of a cruel and twisted nature and hungers for blood and raw flesh. Eager to spread its corrupted seed, it proudly displays its masculinity and its impressive mane.

Ordo Illuminatus :: Revisited

A few years ago I discovered an awesome online community that is all about the appreciation and creation of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k inspired art: Ordo Illuminatus

Even though activity was already on the decline when I actively joined the forum in 2009, there were still a great number of talented and enthusiastic individuals about and I tremendously enjoyed being a part of this community. Unfortunately, life has since left the Ordo Illuminatus forum, but it is still up in case anyone wants to head over there to have a look-see.
As the 2009 season of the Ordo Illuminatus Weekly Sketch Group was about to kick off, I jumped in with both feet and got drawing. In fact, I set myself the goal to contribute to every single sketch challenge throughout the year... and I did. More on that at the end of this post.

Earlier this year, as I was looking through my old sketchbooks, I re-discovered all of these sketches. So I decided to revisit some of them for my portfolio and give them some (digital) paint. Here are the first two (I plan to paint more of them at some stage)...

WSG#28: Champions (Champion of Nurgle)

WSG#22: Or(k)nate Armour

Throughout the 2009 season of the Weekly Sketch Group there were a total of 50 challenges, one of which was not an art challenge. Since my contributions are no longer on the forum (re-designed my homepage and needed the space on the server) I decided to compile all 49 of my entries into the single image below.

The Legendary Pirate Cap'n Redbeard

Happy New Year everyone!

When our postie handed me the latest issue of Imagine FX magazine the other day, I could barely contain my excitement. As usual, the issue is filled with lots of wonderful art, as well as plenty of useful tips and tutorials. It also features a piece by yours truly. The legendary pirate Cap'n Redbeard.

This piece was my entry for the MyFX Weekly Challenge #301, late last year. Needless to say, I was pretty thrilled when I found out that, not only had I won the challenge, but my picture had also been selected as the forum image of the month by the IFX staff. Which, of course, means that I get a whole page to myself :)
Big thanks to Nicola and the IFX crew for letting me share the whole spread (which features some more great work from fellow forumites) on my blog.

For those that are interested in what the text reads, here it is:
With a keen interest in pirates since childhood, the challenge to create an imposing Scottish pirate captain was right up Christian’s street.
“My pirates tend to be of a more medieval variety, with some Warhammer influences thrown into the mix.” Coincidently, as the challenge brief provided details of the Captain’s unmistakable red beard, Christian’s took inspiration from Warhammer artist John Blanche in terms of colour and style. “John is a huge inspiration for me, and looking at his artwork also brought about the mostly red palette I’ve used in the piece. It was tons of fun to work on.

Shouldn't be too long before IFX Issue 92 hits the shelves here in New Zealand. Here's the cover, if you want to look for it.

Britanan All Stars - Relics: AL Fantasy Football Miniatures

Bringing a touch of Stitchpunk to the fantasy football pitch with the Britanan All-Stars team for Relics: Armistice League.

That's right sports fans, Tor Gaming's latest project is now live on Kickstarter. Click the link below to check out all the yummy details and pledge your support:

Britanan All Stars - Relics:AL Fantasy Football Miniatures Kickstarter Project

To further wet your appetite, here's a few pieces of concept art I've created for the project (which I will only get paid for if the project is successfully funded).

The Grim Dark Tooth Fairy

The Tooth Fairy myth is not really something I grew up with as a kid. So when the challenge came up on the Imagine FX forum, I wasn't quite sure where to take it.
All I knew was, that the whole idea fills me with unease - like all things to do with teeth - so I wanted to it to be quite creepy.

Being the Warhammer fan-boy I (still) am, I decided to go with something that would fit nicely into the grim dark future of the 41st millennium.

A New Hero

Another entry for conceptart.org's Character of the Week challenge. This time, the idea was to create a hero that is entirely unsuited to the task... because all the real heroes are away fighting monsters and evil elsewhere.
I went with a young peasant girl for mine, with armour and weapons that are way to big for her. If you can spare a moment, let me know what you think her chances are in the comments section.

And here are some WIPs to show how it all came together.

Piety & Wickedness

Monarch of Duality was the excellent theme for the big CHOW (Character of the Week) #300 challenge over at conceptart.org a while back. Needless to say, I couldn't resist giving this one a go. The piece below is what I came up with.

I've also created a little GIF animation, to show how the artwork evolved from a pencil sketch into the finished painting.

Concept Art Practice

A while ago I was offered to do a test for a massive concept art contract. Unfortunately I didn't land the gig (due to some mis-communication from the potential employers), but it prompted me to work on my concept art skills.
So I did a couple of ImagineFX challenges with goal to keep them rough and do them quick. Although I still struggle a little with the quick part, I think I'm getting there with the roughness.

You can let me know what you think of them in the comments section...


MyFX #297: Deep Sea Danger

MyFX #296: Magistrate Grimm

Wrapping Up 2011

Happy 2012 everyone!

I thought I'd kick off the new year by having a quick look back at 2011 with a few more pieces I never got to post.

MyFX Monthly Challenge December 2011: Character Remix

Red Sonja (of the Warhammer World)

MyFX #258: Camelot

MyFX #253: Tarot Card (The Moon)

MyFX #236: Grumpy Troll

More quick work...

... for a variety of challenges.

MyFX Weekly Challenge #168: With a mini skirt and a raygun

ArtOrder Quick Challenge: D&D Beholder

ConceptArt.org IDW #119: (Near-future) Tactical Bomber