Matrona Imperivm

This piece was my last minute entry for the MyFX April Challenge: Chiaroscuro.
I wasn't really planning on entering this challenge, until some last minute inspiration from a photo I saw on Dark Beauty Magazine's Facebook page compelled me to give it a go. The theme for the challenge, Chiaroscuro, was really interesting and a great opportunity to experiment a little. Awesome fun!

You can also see some of the WIPs for this piece on the Imagine FX forum.

Traitor Marine

I thought I'd try my hand at drawing a Space Marine... but then I thought, nah, let's go for a Traitor Marine instead.

Even after much deliberation, I was unable to decide exactly which legion (or chapter) he should be from. As the drawing evolved further I started to go with a slight Word Bearers theme, but nothing too obvious. There are one or two hints at it about the picture.
What I wanted to capture most about the character was that he'd been around (and exposed to the ruinous powers of the Warp) for a bloody long time.

Medicae Servitor

The Medicae Servitor only got the briefest of mentions in Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn trilogy (or was it Ravenor?), but it was enough to spark my imagination and I just had to do my own take on the concept.

Additional inspiration (mainly for the leg) came from looking at this website:

http://www.thealternativelimbproject.com

Imperial Official

High time for another update!
This one has been in the works for a while: I spent several days on the sketch, after which the sketch just sat there for a few weeks, and last weekend I finally managed to paint it.

As the title suggests, he's an imperial official, enforcing the God Emperor's will in the grim dark future of the 41st millennium.
He still needs a name and purpose, but I imagine him to be a tithe collector or something of that sort.

Any suggestions and/or comments are very welcome.

The Stygian Witches

... or The Graeae of the 41st Millennium.

Yesterday was Waitangi Day here in New Zealand and there's no better time than a mid-week holiday to get stuck into a painting. So I decided to use my "day off" to give a more recent sketch of mine some attention... the Stygian Witches, inspired by Warhammer 40K.

Originating in Greek mythology, the Graeae (translates to "grey ones", "old women", or "grey witches") seemed like a great set of (kind of creepy) characters to be placed in the grim darkness of my favourite science-fiction setting.

I got a little carried away with the details when I did the sketch, so it took me the better part of the day and evening to flesh it all out in colour using Photoshop.

Plague Demon

Revisiting old sketches is not really something I do as much as I should.
The other day, however, I was flicking through my sketchbook from a couple of years ago and came across a sketch that I had always been rather fond of... a Warhammer inspired demon known as a Plaguebearer. In a flash of inspiration I decided to give it some colour. So below is the result of about 3 hours work in Photoshop.

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.

Merry Xmas!

I wish you all a very merry Xmas and happy holidays.

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.