Coloring Classic Warhammer 40,000 Art

Just a couple of pieces of artwork from the early days of Warhammer 40K that I recently colored. The first is by Russ Nicholson and the second by Pete Knifton. Both images are so densely packed with detail that they only required flat colors. Taking the time to go over them so minutely has given me an even greater appreciation for two pieces of art that I already loved. 

It's been a true joy to work with these masters, even in this small way.

The Pacification of Flotis III: D Company of 7th Mordion Imperial Guard Regiment from White Dwarf #113.

Chainsaw Warrior Art and Comic Script.

A couple of nifty bits from Pete Knifton. First off his interpretation of the Chainsaw Warrior, or CW as he's sometimes known, as well as a script, by Ian Rimmer, for a seven page comic based on CW's fight to destroy Darkness. Pete was kind enough to let me have a go at coloring his art and I had a blast doing it.

Pete also let me know that CW always wore a Hawaiian print shirt under his armor and was quite the slob, often getting called out by his commander for the accumulation of pizza boxes in his apartment. Sounds like me in my teens.

Thanks to Pete for the scans and for sharing this bit of Chainsaw Warrior history!

Art by Pete Knifton. Colors by Brian S. Roe.

(Everything is Copyright Games Workshop, Forever and Ever, Amen.)

Pete Knifton, An Appreciation.

Of all of the many talented artists that have worked for Games Workshop/Citadel Miniatures, Pete Knifton is one of my all time favorites. During his time at GW, he was simply the most prolific artist in the pages of White Dwarf. His drawings were full of character and action, his style could shift from tight comic book inking to looser brush-work, and he maintained a sense of playfulness that was infectious and fun.

I've always responded to Pete's sense of action and movement, something based in his obvious love of comic art, and his ability to capture the "feel" of a piece in his illustrations.

In the same way that H's blueprint artwork made the technology of 40K more real for me, Pete's art gave it life and told exciting, fun stories without any words. He was the soul of early 40K to me and one of the strongest reasons why I still love this era of Games Workshop. 

The following collection of images represents a pairing down of all of the artwork PEte created for White Dwarf. The man was a machine.

Thanks for the wonder Mr. Knifton!

From White Dwarf #113 The Pacification of Flotis III.

From White Dwarf #102 "Illuminations" 

From White Dwarf #102 "Illuminations" 

From White Dwarf #102 "Illuminations" 

From White Dwarf #101 

From White Dwarf #101

From White Dwarf #105

From White Dwarf #106

From White Dwarf #114

From White Dwarf #114

From White Dwarf #114

From White Dwarf #114

Distortion Cannon from White Dwarf #100

Dreadnought from White Dwarf #100

Harlequin Jet-bike from White Dwarf #107

Ogryn from White Dwarf #110

Robots from White Dwarf #104

From White Dwarf #104. Pete has said that The Desert Lions Chapter mentioned in this article are colored "desert color with sky blue highlights". R.A.W. is Robot Attack Warrior and Zarbi are ant-like creatures from early Dr. Who episodes.

From White Dwarf #98

From White Dwarf #98

From White Dwarf #111

From White Dwarf #109. "REVENEBO" is Imperial Gothic for "I'll Be Back."

From White Dwarf #109

From White Dwarf #110

Bullock Jet-Bike Re-sculpt by Mr. Papafakis.

Inspired by the original Pete Knifton artwork, The One from the brilliant blog Mr. Papafakis has re-sculpted the classic MK-14 Bullock jet-bike to more closely match Pete's version.

This hog has all the candy and looks far more bad-ass than the original models.

Head over to The One's blog and check it out! He's been playing with creating a portly ork with Oyumaru that has to be seen to be believed.

"More Chrome Please.": The MK14 Bullock Jet Cycle.

Only cowards need handlebars.

I've been doing more practice comic book coloring and have started using vintage black and white gaming art as my line-art. I used this drawing of a Warhammer 40K MK14 Bullock Jet Cycle by Pete Knifton as my most recent piece. The scan I had wasn't that great so I did this one quick and dirty but was still pretty happy with how it turned out.

I then went through my collection of White Dwarfs and found a much better image that I could have scanned and used. But I've already colored it once so so c'est la vie. But it made me realize how cool these little bikes were so I scanned the other reference I have in my collection.

Although I don't want to dwell only in the past I still enjoy the humor and obvious fun that the early creators of 40K shared. The test report by Johann Blank sums up this mood quite well.

The detachable combat blade is a nice touch.

"More chrome please."

From the Citadel Miniatures Catalogue Part One, 1988.

From the Citadel/Games Workshop Catalogue Sheet: Warhammer 40,000 Part Two.