Warhammer Box Covers

4th Edition, High Elves vs. Orcs & Goblins - Geoff Taylor, 1992

With the release of The Island of Blood, we thought it a great time to take a look at Warhammer covers past and present with Games Workshop's veteran art director, John Blanche. ‘First and foremost they need to look fantastical,' says John, when I ask him what makes a good Warhammer box cover. 'This is the Warhammer world, not the fields of Arcadia. Mountains should look tainted and defaced, the very ground needs to be riven with magic and the viewer should be at the heart of the action.'

I'm interviewing John in a meeting room with a big table on which we've laid out prints of all the boxed game covers that you can see below. It's a great way of getting John talking and enthusing about the art but it's interesting to note a box cover has to do more than just look cool. 'The artist knows his piece has lots to do, it has to work within a framework and as packaging - there are logos, legal marks and straps that are all going to be added over the top of the picture. You can't afford to ignore that as an artist, so you need to think about these things. The placement of the central figures, so they remain prominent but don't overpower the logo, is a good example.'

And while an artist must consider the graphic elements of a game he can't forget about what is going to be in the box as well. 'There has to be a relationship between the artwork and the miniatures, however - and it's a really important point - it can't be limited to them either. What you're doing is providing a window into the Warhammer world, you're evoking the possibilities contained within the game so you do that by showing the gamers what can or will happen once they get their models onto the tabletop,' explains John.

‘Looking at all the pictures before me,' he continues, 'what you can see is that there is a story in each, a narrative that is happening. It's evocative but not necessarily obvious. Different people will see different things or focus on different areas, whether it is the prominent things in the foreground or something happening beyond.

‘The other thing I ask the artists to consider in these pictures is iconography,' says John. 'Warhammer is a unique place and every race within it has its own cultural stamp so making sure icons, symbols, weapon shapes, and so on, are prominent not only gives a race a distinct image but can also help modellers and painters as well, especially when you consider a great proportion of them are new hobbyists who are not yet so steeped in Warhammer.'

As we look at all the pictures on the table before us, I ask John if he sees a progression, as the art spans quite a few years. 'We - as in Games Workshop - never stand still. With each retelling we add more depth and put more flesh on the bones as our understanding of Warhammer becomes greater. That's what I see when I look at these great and evocative battles.'

Did You Know?

• Goblins have the most Warhammer boxed cover appearances with three.

• It's over 20 years since Geoff Taylor drew the 4th Edition box cover.

• The High Elves have been accompanied by a terrifying Griffon on both their box cover appearances.

• Original Warhammer author Rick Priestley can be found in at least two of these pictures - he's there if you look hard enough (alright, this one may be a lie...).