Tyranid Broodlord Genestealer Patriarch Conversion - Nyarlathotep

I can't say no to a commission that involves creating a horrible monster. Ostensibly, this one was meant to be a big Tyranid beastie: either a Broodlord or a patriarch for a Genestealer brood that had taken a decidedly Eldrict turn somewhere along the way.

However it could just as easily be any kind of horrible chaos demon.

Usually clients allow me a lot of freedom when developing the design for the beasties they ask me to build for them. This client, however, was pretty exacting about keeping the design very close to the source material, which was this Yugioh card for Lovecraft fan favorite: NYARLATHOTEP!

HORAY TENTACLES! IA! IA! FTHANG R'LEH! 

AHEM.

To say I was thrilled by the challenge would be an understatement. Not only did I get to give flesh to an ancient horror, I got to do it in the service of the Hive Mind!

The Tyranid Archive - 4th Generation (2005)

In honour of 40k's 25th Birthday this year, I'm working at an ongoing series called "The Tyranid Archive," which is meant to be a historical look back on where Tyranids came from and how far they've come. Here's our next installment.

4th Generation (2005)

(Also known as PLASTIC CARNIFEX!)

The 4th Generation/Edition refresh of the Tyranid codex caught me completely by surprise. Moloch, who at that time was pretty tight with the studio, had warned me it was coming. I remember being shocked, thinking that Nid players had waited so long for their codex after the release of 3rd Edition (not, actually, that long now that I look at it objectively), and that there was no possible way that we could be getting new models because Games Workshop had only just refreshed the entire model line. Long story short, I was, more or less, happy with the situation the Tyranids were in during 3rd Edition, and I couldn't imagine how Games Workshop could possibly improve on it.

Oh, how wrong I was.

The Art of Robert Cirillo

The concept series is my schizophrenic attempt to shine light on the art that inspires me. I always do some of my best work when working from concept sketches. I find the hard lines and white space conducive to creation as they give you just enough definition to get you going, while still leaving space to do your own thing. Here's hoping you find these sketches as helpful and inspiring as I do.

For this week's installment of the Concept Series, we go with an obvious choice: Roberto Cirillo. This talented artist was contracted by Games Workshop to churn out a pile of concept sketches for the 4th Edition Tyranid release, and in an unprecedented move, the company posted a gallery of what must have been every sketch Cirillo did. In the interest of making sure that Gallery of Tyranid Win isn't lost to Tyranid Hobbyists, I'm reposting it here.