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Friday, March 08, 2013

Marines of Mayhem - The Red Corsairs Illustrations

I managed to finish the rest of the illustrations for my Red Corsairs project. Here they be...


Renegade Adeptus Astartes Red Corsairs II
(black ink pencil and white acrylic on white cardboard)

This chap is pretty generic Chaos Space Marine with all the spikes, trophy skulls and grotesque helmet. But as always, I wanted to add at least one reference to pirates... "X" marks the spot, eh? My favourite part is the Xenos skull that has been rammed thru the barrel. It gives a nice barbaric touch to the customized boltgun and makes it just a little bit more fearsome weapon of destruction.

Once again my main goal was to draw space pirate marines with hulking armours, whose god-like personalities would fill the whole paper, literally. I actually had to extend my paper with tape and another piece of paper to be able to fit these monsters on my drawing area. I know, bad conceptualization and even worse planning.
Renegade Adeptus Astartes Red Corsairs III
(black ink pencil and white acrylic on white cardboard)

Here's the third and final brutal renegade illustrated for my Red Corsairs project. The pose is once again very stiff and proud – I might try out something a bit more mobile next time, maybe even an action packed battle scene. The off-chopped heads, wide chaotic blade, ancient pistol and long, dark hair give a nice regressive, barbaric impact. Some of you might recognize where the sword has been taken from ;)

Conan the Barbarian flick from the 80's worked as my main inspiration for the all three Red Corsair concepts. I tried to saturate the Corsairs with the same fearsome character that Thulsa Doom and Co. had in the movie. Just check out the scene where James Earl Jones gets off from his ride, takes off his helmet to beheads Conan's mother, and you know what I mean.

These drawings will again work as my guidance and inspiration through the conversion and painting sessions that I will be having somewhere in the future. Like with their predecessor's case, Ragal Gair, I won't be tied to follow the exact path but have pretty much free will to take ideas from here to there.

20 comments:

  1. This is INSANE! You have truly become true artist by now my dear rat brother!! (kneels down) simply stunning.

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  2. It's refreshing to see ideas drawn to life by a true artist - I think the major problem today with miniatures and all the other stuff is that people (designers) want to see is dramatic movement, and there's no space for more stabile, artsy characters with eerie backgrounds. I like how you are expanding the image of characterful 40K chaps without making them look like action figures. Your work has a visible soul in them.
    Close your eyes and you can hear them speaking.

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  3. Gosh, your drawing skills are unearthly .DDDDD I can't wait to see these marvelous characters turned into ready models .DDDDDDDD Keep up the good work!!!!!

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  4. Those are some neat looking sketches! I really like the towering simplicity of them, very intimidating. I like that one just has a bolter, and that it is styled more around a 2nd edition version. Personally, I would not want to have a chain of bolter rounds hanging from the gun, as 40k's bolter mechanisms do not really look as though they would function in a belt fed manner. I am really fond of the sort of hybrid Colt Single Action Army/ flintlock dueling pistol the second marine has. Reminds me a bit of Predator, he he. The Kroot box comes with some neat looking holstered pistols of that sort that you could look into using. Can't wait to see how the models come along!

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    1. I'll definitely check out the Kroot bits for the dueling pistol. Thanks for the hint, Godwyn!

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  5. These really are special, and they take me right back to JB's early '90s style, around the time of the Epic Space Marine supplements. A different motivation comes through and they seem almost child-like, and tired, both of which renegades could very reasonably be. They have a medieval carven in wood feel.

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  6. The first Red Corsair was so stunningly executed I'm excited to see these rendered into 3d.
    Awesome artwork and conceptualisation.

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  7. I really do love your artwork, they looks great and taling in count you previouse work, this two will be as great as first one.

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  8. Thank you for your kind words, fellow hobbyists!

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  9. Well, it goes without saying that I simply cannot wait for these to be translated into models! Stunning work!

    The best thing about your Red Corsairs project is how both the drawings and models reinforce the notion that each of these guys (even a "regular" Bolter Marine) is really a superhuman warrior god, something that is lost all to easily whenever you start removing your CSM by the handful after a bad shooting phase during regular games of 40k...

    Anyway, keep up the fantastic work!

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  10. im not doing that job anymore but i could do a critique on these as if they are for publication because they are so close to being good enough - the rapidographs are certainly working well for the technique - ill ask sonya to send you what i say - and its not a great deal so congratulations there ....

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  11. Thanks John, I would appreciate it a lot. Im sure that it would be both very helpful and inspiring. Looking forward to hearing from Sonya.

    They are charming, the rapidographs. Took me some time to find good enough paper to suit my style. The head is pretty cruel to cheaper silky papers.

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  12. You must be really burning the night oil to be producing so much great stuff.:-)

    I like the nod to RoC with the nurgley chaos sword too, that one was always my fave .

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    1. Burning my night oil for sure and SWMBO ain't happy about it. I need to take a little rest every now and then to let the dust fall ;)

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  13. I love the Red Corsairs. (my marine army is based off of them.
    I love the artwork except for the heads, they seem to small. Like a normal human instead of a human that has been umped full of growth drugs and misc parts.

    I would love to see some sketchs of hurons support vehicles (read 6 legged walking construct here.)

    I think on the first drawing the noise marine would be a donor for the shoulder pads and the scout box has a skull for the bolter. (going to try that myself tonight on one I'm painting.)

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    1. Thank you for your critique, mathhammer. Sometimes you need to exaggerate to make the point. Small head is just one of them.

      These guys are umped with extra parts, like second heart, third lung and so on - 19 different parts to be exact, maybe even some crazy growth hormone to give the strengthen solid rib bone plate the much needed space.

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  14. Great stuff. Really captures that renegade space marine look.

    I insist that you keep the tiny spikes on the shoulder pan through to completion.

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    1. hmm i bet you could do tiny spikes with
      - small drill (optional)
      - an old hairbrush cut the bristles and implant them in the pad.

      I sense a weekend project to try and model that marine.

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    2. Thanks Peter. I'll keep the spikes for sure...

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