Clanrats stage-by-stage; Skaven three-ups; Skaven concept art
Today, Andy Hall has put together a new Skaven article for you to enjoy; Skaven: Clanrat Focus & Stage-by-Stage Painting talks about using Clanrats on the tabletop, has a look at how the new models were designed and provides a stage-by-stage guide to painting them.
Having read through Andy's article, I paid a visit to the Studio curious to see what else I could uncover about the Skaven design process:
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These are two of the three-ups created as part of the Clanrat design process. The one on the left is part of the early stage, where the basic shape and musculature are created. Once finished this is then cast in resin to give the sculptors something to sculpt the clothes onto.
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Again, these are three-ups of components from the Clanrat set. As with the Clanrat's body, the spear was constructed in several layers, with the arm being cast in resin and then the rope added later. The spear's blade was sculpted from the same material used in car dashboards.
Alex Boyd is the man behind the great piece of cover art on the new Skaven army book. Having also painted the cover of the previous edition of the Skaven book, he wanted to take a different approach this time round. On the last cover there was a lone Warlord but this time Alex wanted to show 'the power behind the throne' and ask 'who's really in charge of the army'. This sentiment is represented in his picture by the Grey Seer stood behind the Warlock.
Here's a look at Alex's finished artwork as well as his earlier drafts:
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This is Alex's finished artwork, which you can see on the cover of Warhammer Armies: Skaven. It takes about six weeks for one of our artists to complete a piece of cover art.
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This was Alex's first sketch, where he worked on establishing roughly what he wanted to appear in the image. Click on the image to view the full picture.
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In this image you can see how Alex has begun to build up the picture, outlining where the book's title will go and making his lines more defined.
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Alex sends his drafts to John Blanche for his input, which he then incorporates into further drafts. Notice how the central figure has remained even although other details have changed.
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Although still rough, this sketch is very close to the final version and the position of all of the main components have been finalised.
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This is the final piece of art before Alex painted in the colour. At this stage the artwork is sealed with a primer before being painted.
