Black Library: Plagues of Orath
Check out the trilogy of e/books by Cavan Scott/Steve Lyons here! : blacklibrary.com
Illustration © Games Workshop
Art director/producer: Karen Miksza
Hope everyone’s been keeping well!
What can I say- this piece ate my weekends! The single greatest challenge behind this image were the requirements: The lead character (Centurion), Stormtalon and Hunter tank were to eventually be made separate as standalone subjects for their respective covers but still work cohesively when they come together as a single image. This meant balancing lighting and position for narrative as well as overall visual impact, and evaluating the compositing alone made me sweat buckets. Suffice to say it was an exciting piece to work on given the lack of artwork available (for reference) of the aforementioned characters/units. Risks had to be taken and subjects not often tackled all kind of came together (as they normally do in the masochistic world of 40k) to screw me over but I gained more from the process than I gave and put into practice principles I’ve not had the opportunity nor discipline to try before.
In that sense, I’m proud to be one of the first few artists to portray them in action and paint them in… ah…the best possible light?
Oh and Shaddy Safadi’s dirt brush… :’D with some tweaks I think I’ve found a new favourite! Thanks for sharing!!
STORY
A trilogy of exciting Space Marine Battles novellas starring the Ultramarines
PLAGUE HARVEST: On the quiet agri-world of Orath, an ancient evil awakens. As the people of the planet sicken and the crops fail, Librarian Vabion of the Ultramarines, castellan of Fort Kerberos and guardian of Orath’s secrets, must work with his uneasy allies from the Doom Eagles Chapter to discover the source of the contagion and end it. But when the plague’s victims start to rise again and the architects of Orath’s fate are revealed, Vabion must stand alone against the darkness.
ENGINES OF WAR: The Ultramarines descend upon the plague-wracked world of Orath. Captain Galenus of the Fifth Company leads a force to wrest control of Fort Kerberos from the enemy. But with the dread forces of Chaos arrayed against them, it will take more than firepower for the Space Marines to defeat their rot-infested foes and save Orath from a grisly doom. As death comes from the ground and the air, Galenus and his warriors must be prepared to sacrifice all to achieve victory.
ARMOUR OF FAITH: Sent to secure a seemingly unimportant fortress on the war-wracked world of Orath, Ultramarines Chaplain Sentina and his small squad of Centurions find themselves at the centre of a plot to open a new Eye of Terror in the heart of the Imperium. As daemonic hordes assail the fortress and a fell power rises within, it falls to Sentina to unravel the design of the Ruinous Powers and prevent Chaos from consuming an entire sector of space… whatever the cost to his life or even his soul.
