There are many sources of inspiration for painting projects. But for Golden Demon winner Andy Wardle, who runs the Cult of Paint channel on YouTube, one stands head and shoulders above the rest – the incredible art in codexes, battletomes, and boxed sets. He joins us today to share some of his projects inspired by the art of Warhammer.
Andy: One of the reasons so many people love Warhammer is the rich background to the games that we explore and immerse ourselves in. For many of us, this is a driving force for choosing the projects that we do. Many of my friends choose armies based on the background, and Black Library novels can inspire us to paint the characters they describe. Personally, I’m driven by the visual aspect. I’m not much of a reader, but the art of Warhammer has always grabbed my attention.
I sometimes get stuck trying to choose my next project – especially if it’s for something like Golden Demon, which will take a significant amount of time. Lately, I’ve been turning to the art, and using it to guide my projects directly.
Blood Angels Diorama
Last year I entered this Blood Angels squad into Golden Demon. It’s based on a piece of art I’ve loved for years, and always wanted to try and replicate it. As soon as Primaris Space Marines were released, I knew it was time.
While the art and models aren’t an exact match, the illustration heavily influenced the composition. I just love the way the Ancient is standing taller than the rest, his sword up high. I also love the way the Space Marines have skulls pinned to the armour, with really long purity seals flowing from them. The banner in my piece isn’t the same design, but you can see the navy centre was taken from the art, a colour choice I perhaps wouldn’t have used for Blood Angels without that influence.
Looncurse Diorama
I’m a huge fan of the Arch-Revenant model and of the art from the cover of the Looncurse set that introduced it.
I wanted to create a duel based on this, since I love both models. The biggest challenge was figuring out how to suspend the Arch-Revenant, and the art helped me here. I noticed that the grot’s spear was between the Sylvaneth’s wing and head, as though it had just missed its charge. This gave me the idea I needed to bring the piece together.
Sepsimus the Plaguesworn
Armies of Nurgle are something I never really paint, but as soon as I saw the art on the box of the Wurmspat warband for Warhammer Underworlds, I knew I wanted to recreate its depiction of Sepsimus the Plaguesworn.
The colours were just perfect, with the purple plume, white helmet, and yellow-green armour. I liked the way he was posed, looking over his shoulder, with the spear held confidently down at his side. With some conversion work, I manage to get a close match to the pose. I’m really happy with how this project came out, and it wouldn’t have happened without the fantastic box illustration.
I have more projects based on Warhammer art in the works, including a certain Living Saint. I’m also excited to get started on a Lumineth army. The art for these has been particularly amazing – the battletome cover seems to have the perfect palette, particularly the rich blues and indigo for the cloth.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this, and maybe you will take a closer look at the art of the 41st Millennium and the Mortal Realms before starting your next projects!
Thanks, Andy! We think you’ll agree that Andy’s work is amazing, and reflects the inspiration fantastically. Do you have similarly art-based models? If so, share them with us on social media using #WarhammerCommunity – we’d love to see them!