Jun 1, 2010
Here at Blood of Kittens we strive to showcase topics and discussions that you don’t normally find on your typical 40k blog. That is why Blood of Kittens presents this new series that promotes the artists that often get over looked bringing the 40k universe to life. I can remember almost 20 years ago how cool the art was in the two Realm of Chaos books and how they shaped the way I looked at the 40k universe. Today a new group of artists both digital and analog still produce fantastic work. It is Blood of Kittens hope that you take a look, sit back, and enjoy the beauty and sheer epicness that is Warhammer 40k art. Remember to click for enlarged images.
Many of us only play Warhammer 40k and never sniff a role-playing game. So it is understandable if you don’t know about the great art coming out of Fantasy Flight Games makers of Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, and the upcoming release Death Watch. One of Fantasy Flight’s artists is Niklaus Ingeneri hailing from Florida; Niklaus is primarily a video game designer, but his true love is illustration. Since 2009 he has worked with Fantasy Flight Games to produce some outstanding 40k pieces. Here is a sample.
Wounded Wolf is one of my favorite. Sometimes artists use a limited color palettes to intentionally blend and distort images. In the case of the Wounded Wolf the limited color palette is used to focus your eye on the center figure. What makes this image good though is the “off action”– we don’t know what exact danger the Space Wolf is in we just know he is. The small touch of blood on the snow and placing the Space Wolf on the cliff edge creates a sense of dread that would otherwise be non existant.
Niklaus shows the viewer how placement of figures and a simple arm cross tells the story. Niklaus again uses a limited spectrum of color to set the scene of these Adeptus Mechanicus at work.
The Flayed One demonstrates again action with subtle details. From the blood on the claws to the Necron staring directly at the viewer everything you needed to know about this creature is perfectly conveyed. As well the way the skin cloak is draped is pure visual gold.
Here is some more pics that range from comic bookie to dynamic black and whites.
Niklaus is an up and coming sci-fi artist, it will be interesting to see he has in store for us with the new Death Watch book coming out this fall. If you like his style please visit his other work at his own website http://www.ingeneri.com/ As well if you want to see more art and maybe even try out a pretty good role-playing game check out these books…
Dark Heresy RPG: Core Rulebook (Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay)
Rogue Trader RPG: Core Rulebook (Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay)
Nice images Tasty!http://www.imperiusdominatus.com
This was a cool article. I hadn't considered the art I was missing from those role-playing books… wow.My favorite is the Mechanicus overseer. It's an alien perspective, if you didn't know they were human you wouldn't know.
btw:Your latest blog updated broke some browsers (seamonkey/firefox) to view it.
The 40K RPGs are some truly beautiful books, I must say. Not always a fan of the mechanical aspects (mainly in DH), but the production values are fantastic.And oh shit, I didn't realize that Deathwatch was actually getting a book. I'm… not sure if that's a good thing.
Utter crap, looks like a 3 year old drew it with crayon.
NO THAT IS YOU!
Nice clean lines for a graphic novel, but I prefer the more wild and crazy Blanche-esque approach to codex art. They really need to hire Brom for the DE book, too.
I would pee my pants if Brom did art for 40k. Dark Eldar ALA Dark Sun style would be perfect. I think my next article will be Blanche because people have an opinion about him.