You will by now have seen the phenomenal first three episodes of Hammer and Bolter, part of the grand Warhammer hobby service that is Warhammer+. In addition to the free exclusive miniature*, premium app access, monthly deals, and weekly shows like Battle Report and Citadel Masterclass, we also get to enjoy original animations that tell new stories in the Mortal Realms and the 41st Millennium with fantastic artwork.
We wanted to take a closer look at some of that great art, to see how background scenes and character concept art come to form the worlds you see on screen.
Let’s start with some background visuals. Touching on humble Imperial scribes, paranoid Inquisitors, and the hero of Armageddon facing down Ghazghkull Thraka, production pieces like this are essential for establishing the atmosphere of the scene while integrating details that seasoned fans of the 41st Millennium will recognise.
The Hammer and Bolter episode, Bound for Greatness, is a rare look into the daily drudgery of an Imperial adept, surrounded by sweeping gothic architecture and icons of the Emperor’s faith. What might seem like a safe and easy life is anything but.
This episode takes place at the very heart of Imperial civilisation, and great care was taken to ensure that every last detail drips with Warhammer atmosphere. Naturally, this means that skulls and aquilas adorn every surface, even down to these delightful-looking feeding tubes. Here we see how moving elements like the character’s hands and delicious grey gloop layer over the background artwork to create a complete scene.
The characters themselves are drawn by hand, so even hunched and crooked Astropaths explode from the screen with their presence.
Concept art is an essential part of production work, and is often used to workshop character designs, which are finalised through a process of iterative feedback until the final character looks just right.
Concept art like the pic below for one of our favourite characters, Old Bale Eye’s Runtherd Dursnang can be referred back to throughout the production process to ensure that he consistently maintains his role as Old Bale Eye’s wizened storyteller during every moment of the finished animation.
There’s one thing we love about him that you may not have noticed on a first watch of Old Bale Eye. Orks like to accessorise themselves with hair squigs. If you look really closely, you can see one of his hair squigs blinks while Dursnang gives the yoofs his opinions on ‘pointies’.
Do you have any favourite scenes from Hammer and Bolter so far? Let us know on the Warhammer TV Facebook page, and if you haven’t watched the first three episodes of the new series, you can access them and much more right now by subscribing to Warhammer+. There’s something for every Warhammer fan, and there’s more on the way every Wednesday.
* Once you’ve been a Warhammer+ subscriber for 12 consecutive months, you'll get an email explaining how to claim your miniature.