The new Codex: Aeldari is available for pre-order this weekend, and to celebrate, we’re showing off some stunning Aeldari cosplay. Clémentine Gelly is a costume and prop artist based in the south of France, specialising in intricate builds, especially armour and weapons.
Clem: I’m inexplicably drawn to Aeldari designs, despite what I say about Horus Heresy-era Night Lords being my favourite Warhammer army. I was just starting in the world of cosplay armour when I had my first Warhammer 40,000 costume experience as Lelith Hesperax in 2016. It never stopped.
Less than a year later, I wanted another project, and as a lover of anything winged, I decided I was going to be a Swooping Hawk. That’s how Baharroth came to life. I was still learning – there’s a huge difference between a tiny model and a life-sized xenos, and I made several mistakes with the proportions.
My main error was to make the wings as large in real life as they were on the miniature, and I looked so tiny in comparison! Nevertheless, I learned a ton from the project and didn’t want to stop there.
A few months later, the Visarch was released, and I was immediately captivated by the design. Discovering the lore around this particular character made me want to portray him. The project almost didn’t happen, as I stopped working on it for almost a year.
Fortunately, I always post my progress online, so hobbyists (and Black Library author Gav Thorpe*) encouraged me until I finally completed the build in 2019. I tried to add more details, in the form of runes on the cape and vanes and a special texture on the armour. My main inspiration was the scribbled notes left on Jes Goodwin’s concept sketch, ideas that did not make it to the final design but which could work on a life-sized rendition.
The Visarch looked great, especially with such vivid colours, but I still had issues with the silhouette – it was too top-heavy. Sure, it was more balanced than Baharroth, but I still wanted to improve. So that’s how Drazhar came to be.
I didn’t base my Drazhar design on a particular model, looking instead for inspiration from the Drukhari sketchbook and the lore. The texture and colours are reminiscent of iridescent beetles, and the blades are based on Drazhar’s older miniature.
I made sure to include references to the Striking Scorpion aspect as a nod to the legend that Drazhar could have been their fallen Phoenix Lord. I’m not sure people spotted these, as I purposely kept them quite subtle.**
This project is a culmination of everything I have learned. It uses every crafting technique I know of, and I spent countless hours polishing the details. I do have more projects on the horizon, and the new Aeldari range is capturing my imagination. The new look of the Avatar is very tempting…
Thanks, Clem! We can’t wait to see what you do next. If you’ve been up to some awesome hobby, don’t forget to share it with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using #WarhammerCommunity.
* Only the guardians of the Black Library know more about the Aeldari than Gav Thorpe, having written the Black Library novels Rise of the Ynarri: Ghost Warrior, Jain Zar: The Storm of Silence, and the seminal Path of the Eldar omnibus.
** Show your love for the Master of Blades with this Drazhar t-shirt.