The Fallen Moon Page 24 (Art Monday)

 

This page is showing us the Imperial troops taking cover from massive explosion from the previous page. I recall being inspiredby by footage of U.S. troops doing similar maneuvers during the nuclear tests back in the 1950s.  

And the last panel has the Gothic vessel shattering a mountain. Anytime I can use Kirby crackle in a comic I'm a happy artist! I aspire to one day incorporate it into a Tales From The Smoking Wyrm cover, I just need the right subject matter to justify it...

The Fallen Moon (Page 23)

 

So I kind of imagined that the explosion sort of 'bounced' the ship into a nearby mountain. It was that or the momentum would've just carried the thing right into the ground and everyone and everything would just be dead. And that wouldn't have fun right? But a big junk of wreckage smashing itself all over the place seemed like it would be a fun thing to draw. And it was! 

The Fallen Moon Page 22 (Art Monday)

 

I wear my Simonson influence proudly! I had fun visualizing the massive explosion that's wiping out everything in it's path. With the forces in disarray vainly trying to escape the oncoming superheated plume. It was always fun drawing the classic rhinos too. Especially blowing one up like this! 

The Fallen Moon (Page 21)

 

It's rare to see (in comics) extreme bird's-eye views like the one in the last panel. In fact, this maybe the only time I have drawn one outside of art school. I remember how tough it was to do at the time, but it was fun to use one point perspective like this. 

The Fallen Moon Page 20 (Art Monday)

 

This is an interesting page as I finally show the Farseer of the rival Eldar force. It makes sense to me, even now, that a farseer would ride on top of a Tempest superheavy tank.  It was fun showing them all reacting to the new situation. It's not every day a Gothic Battle ship falls from orbit at you. 

I decided to use some pseudo runes to imply their language. If I recall correctly I found them in a variety of art within the 2nd edition Codex: Eldar. These Eldar were going to be fleshed out more in the second part of the story and I had names and backstories sketched out somewhere. They were going to be a unique craftworld as they didn't have enough back then compared to a myriad of Chapters to pick from the Space Marines.  

The Fallen Moon Page 18 (Art Monday)

 

And here is Colonel Roel in his glory. I love this page and I think about it often. If I were to redo this story I would start it here and make these two my lead characters. 

Until, I believe, the 5th edition Imperial Guard there never was any proper depictions of Imperial Guard landing vehicles. So instead of making up my own version I just kept it vague. I think it works. 

This artwork is unofficial and is not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 17 (Art Monday)

 

I'm proud of the layout on this one, but I would definitely change things if I did this now. Most obviously I would make her bum a bit more subtle as I doubt it's possible to get that form-fitting with a coat like that.  I think I was inspired by some of Howard Chaykin's women.... and, well, left. Artistic license and whatnot. I love doing the dialog in the way I did between the Captain and the Navigator. I believe I was inspired by the Dark Knight Returns, which uses a lot of this kind of thing. I can't help but wonder if the dialog would work better under the images or not, but I suppose it's fine here.

This artwork is unofficial and is not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 16 (Art Monday)

 

Continuing on from Page 15 we can see that the Invictus didn't take that explosion all too well. I thought all the cross-talk in panel two was clever at the time and I still think it holds up. I love a good dynamic explosion, maybe the Blind Visionary crew will let me draw more at some point? 

And that poor old Astropath; we hardly  knew him. But here's Luccini. 

This artwork is unofficial and is not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 15 (Art Monday)

 

A full page spread, a true one with no inset panels either. Just a dramatic spread! 

This artwork is unofficial and is not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 14 (Art Monday)

 

Another one of my favorite pages from this series. I wish I had the hat on her head sooner, as I think it gave the Captain more character. That first panel is probably my favorite darwing of her. And that final panel, yeah, not ashamed to admit it, but I wear my comics heroes on my sleeve sometimes. 

Are you just joining us? Here's the quick links to the previous parts: 

Page-1

Page-2

Page-3

Page-4

Page-5

Page-6

Page-7

Page-8

Page-9

Page-10

Page 11

Page-12

Page-13

This artwork is unofficial and is not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 12 (Art Monday)

 

Who doesn't love good old fashioned sequential art? This was done using tracing paper, my light box and lots of ambition. There's a lot happening here. The onlooking marine in the foreground watched the lancing of the Phantom Titan while the Tempest in front of it is damaged by a missile. Also there is a unit of Guardians over to the right that seem to lose their enthusiasm as the panels progress.

I recall that it was lots of fun to draw this. Note the inset was me trying to figure out how the heck the Phantom was piloted. It was never properly defined until the model by Forgeworld was released. Back in '97, I just had to wing it. Also anytime you see the Eldar speak in this story they'll just be saying a bunch of asorted pseudo Eldar runes. I think it works and makes them feel a bit more...alien. 

Are you just joining us? Here's the quick links to the previous parts: 

Page-1

Page-2

Page-3

Page-4

Page-5

Page-6

Page-7

Page-8

Page-9

Page-10

Page 11

This artwork is unofficial and is not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 11 (Art Monday)

 

Here is page 11. Not sure why I went with such big panels on this page, but I am glad I did as I got to draw that archaic astropath in all of his glory. That helm is a bit of a cerebro tribute. The first X-men comics I read were right around the time of the Mutant Massacre and recall the beautifully drawn Alan Davis art from the issue where Sabortooth attacks Psylocke while she was using Cerebro. So I thought it would be fun to make the Astropath's transmission unit look like that a bit. 

I like the Captain's face in panel 1 but panel 2...for some reason I totally changed Shankra's look. If memory serves me right, I think The Fifth Element movie had come out around this time and his look was sort of (vaguely) inspired a bit by Gary Oldman's character. Also behind him is another of those Breacher troopers that I have running all over the ship. Curiously, GW released a preview last week of their new Breacher models for Kill Team that are based off of the same Jes Goodwin Battleflert Gothic sketches that I was inspired by when I drew these guys back in the '90s. Fun stuff huh?

Are you just joining us? Here's the quick links to the previous parts: 

Page-1

Page-2

Page-3

Page-4

Page-5

Page-6

Page-7

Page-8

Page-9

Page-10

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

Tales From The Smoking Wyrm issue 5

 

The Kickstarter for Tales Of The Smoking Wyrm issue 5 has launched. Featuring art by myself and others throughout it.  And I did the cover as well. 

Cover to #5

I write a bit more extensively about the cover on my art blog, as well as show all of the color variants; go check it out! 

This issue my comic, Onward Retainer!, is three pages long.  In this one the party gets itself into a rather big scrap while the retainers watch on. It was a fun one to draw.

 

The Legion charges!

So if you haven't already done so, and you have an interest in old school style fantasy RPGS, (DCC particularly) go to the Kickstarter and get yourself a copy! I think you'll be pleased. 

The Fallen Moon Page 10 (Art Monday)

 

And here is the first full page spread and it's quite an epic one. In fact, it took a lot of inspiration from the Epic game at the time. There's the classic Phantom Titan in the background, a few Eldar Tempests, a bunch of Falcons but taking center stage is that Viper. And originally it wasn't going to be there, but as I was working on this page White Dwarf #207 arrived in my mailbox and I was gobsmacked by this model. I still think it holds up very well, which is saying something considering that this model was produced in the old fashioned analog way ( i.e. no computer generation!) by Jes Goodwin. Anyway, it had to go into this story so I had it crashing but the defiant gunner was still shredding Marines with monofilament disks. 

There is a lot going on in this scene. I think I may have been inspired by Sergio Argones' work on Groo, particularly the epic battles he would draw. I tried to make it so you could see that there's a lot of smaller conflicts within the scope of the larger battle.  

Are you just joining us? Here's the quick links to the previous parts: 

Page-1

Page-2

Page-3

Page-4

Page-5

Page-6

Page-7

Page-8

Page-9

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 9 (Art Monday)

 

This is the page where they reach the "fallen moon". It's also the page where I make the biggest mistake (IMHO) of the whole project by calling the marines "Astares" instead of Astartes. Oops. I guess if this was ever going to be printed I would make some sort of effort to try to correct it, but for now, I'm just going just let it be. I picked a rather obscure Chapter of marines from the Codex: Ultramarines (40k 2nd ed): the White Consuls. Seriously, at that time absolutely nothing had been done or written about these guys, They were just a color scheme. I figured their white scheme could allow be to some neat things with contrast and shadows in the following stories. 

Also, the Captain takes her hat from the hook on the back of her throne. It's not a real big deal, but going forward you'll see her wearing her hat. 

The first two panels are my favorite on the page. I just dig the space battle stuff. The black Prisma color pencil that I used on the planet holds up really well and I wish I used it more. 

If I re-did this page I would probably only change that last panel. When you see the next page it'll make sense why I chose an extreme close up to end this page with. But looking at just the page, I think it would make a little more sense to pull it bavk a bit and show the monitor that she is speaking into. But that's a minor thing; I'm always looking at my stuff wondering how I could make it better.

Tune in next week; it's one of my favorite pages from this whole project. 

Are you just joining us? Here's the quick links to the previous parts: 

Page-1

Page-2

Page-3

Page-4

Page-5

Page-6

Page-7

Page-8

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 8 (Art Monday)

 

The chase is on! With a bit of foreshadowing added in as well. 

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 7 (Art Monday)

 

Continuing on from page 6, more security personnel show up to protect the cargo only that the Warp Spiders have already departed. The Captain is informed and the chase begins! 

This was a fun page to draw. Unlike the Gothic Battleships and the Wraithships, I didn't have a model to reference the Eldar Shadowhunter, just the catalog pics from White Dwarf. I think it still holds up well. Shankara's image changes a bit again, as I was constantly experimenting with the guy. 

The story continues next week.

Are you just joining us? Here's the quick links to the previous parts: 

Page-1

Page-2

Page-3

Page-4

Page-5

Page-6

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 6 (Art Monday)

 

One of my favorite pages from this story. I like the pacing of it and drawing the Warp Spiders in action was a total joy. I think these Aspect Warriors were the most over powered unit in all of Warhammer 40,000 2nd edition. If I wanted to just end this story, they could've attacked the bridge and, well, story over! But instead they were sent to retrieve the mcguffin-crate. 

I don't think I have ever seen Warp Spiders show up in any 40k fiction (not that I am claiming encyclopedic knowledge on the matter) but it's neat to try to picture just how they perform in a fight. The clouds of monofilament wire that dices anything exposed to it is such a brutal concept. I lost count of how many orks I lost to these guys in 2nd edition. They were indeed over powered, but the nerfing they received in 3rd, and subsequent editions, was overly harsh; and I don't believe I have encountered them since. 

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 5 (Art Monday)

 

Continuing on from Page 4 the vortex torpedoes hit the Eldar vessel. And just as the Imperials are about to finish them off, more pesky Eldar arrive. 

I enjoy the first four panels on this page, especially panel four. I think the Captain looks great in that one. But that last panel...not so much. Panel five I would redo as well. I would fill that Black space with something. A servo skull, servitors,  guards... something! As the story continues the look of Commander Shankara changes from page to page. I just couldn't help myself with wanting to tweak his look. 

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop. 

The Fallen Moon Page 4 ( Art Monday)

 

 ..and continuing on from Page 3 we have halfing Colonel Roel successfully serving the Captain a tea. I love how tiny that tea cup looks in that massive power fist. I am not sure why I chose to draw her arm with that banded look. Perhaps I read too many X-men  comics in my teen years? Anyway, this page gives a better view of the bridge, and you can see that a lot the bridge crew serve in a lower tiered area beneath her and off to the sides. Note that the first officer is in a balcony forward to her and to the right. You'll see more of this in future pages. 

And finally we got some action shots with those torpedoes. I still like how I drew the stars in these panels to evoke a sense of speed and direction to them. And that Wraithship... it was good to have the models for reference, I loved drawing the Space Fleet miniatures for this strip. The eldar ships are so iconic,, I think the GW design team got it right the first time they were released. However they only had about three Eldar ship designs for the Space Fleet range.

Please join me on Page 5 to see what happens next...

This artwork is unofficial and not endorsed by Games-Workshop. Furthermore this blog and this post generates no revenue for it's owner and is strictly used for, and as, a free entertainment resource in support of games by, but again not official or endorsed, by Games-Workshop.