Heroes of Armageddon: Meet the Artist and his Art

We started the Heroes of Armageddon last week and the response has been overwhelming. Not only have lots of generous people donated, countless blogs have also added links and talked about it and I have received so many emails with offers of help or other donations. Thanks all.

This week will feature the first prize of this drive. On Thursday we will give away two METAL 12x16 prints of the amazing artwork. The prints, valued at 80 dollars each will be TWO of TWO and will not be made available publicly anymore. Shipping to anywhere will be included. This wonderful donation comes from the company that I work for: www.bayphoto.com, the best photolab in the country. 

But before we get to the prize drawing this Thursday, I want you all to meet the amazing artist who created the art! Here is an interview I did with Chris Miller, the one talent who doesn't work in the art department of GW.

When we asked you for the Armageddon artwork, what was your first response?

Originally I had been requested to do some artwork for the Storm Wardens project by my good friend Mik over at Mik's Minis and I was more than eager to do further work for another great cause. I just hoped that I could provide the look and feel that was being asked for.

 

What material did you use for your research?

I gathered a pile of imagery of both Yarrick and Ghazghkull for use as reference while I sketched out the original rough copy. I pulled out my copy of the Ork codex for some green-skinned inspiration.

How do you make this artwork?

I sketch the image in a 11x14 sketchbook using a blue prismacolor pencil (a habit I picked up from my animation courses). Then I will scan it into Photoshop and go over the original sketch using a Wacom tablet. From here I will overlay a clean line drawing and color it in.

(here's Chris's first shot at the artwork, we revised it together to get to the final art)

Dayjob? Wife? Kids? Education in the arts or self taught?

Actually I am currently planning for my wedding in July to my lovely fiancé of five years. We are sans-children at this time, unless you count our two dogs. We met while in college; I graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Animation. I also have a degree in Graphic Design. My current job does not make use of my degrees but I definitely do not let that stop me from having an outlet for myself artistically. It is rare to see me without one of many sketchbooks in hand or the thought of my next project in mind.

 

Have you done artwork for other sites?

I have been commissioned for a number of pieces for other sites over the past year, hugely in part to the encouragement of my friends from Minions of the Monster Master -Thanks Guys- I am always trying to get some artwork completed for the Minions Blogcast. Recently I did the banner piece for the blog My Dice Hate Me! (mydicehateme.blogspot.com). I did the logo for the Barter Bucket at Santa Cruz Warhammer.

Do you play 40k yourself?

I have actually only played a few games of official 40k tabletop war gaming. However I have amassed quite a few models from Games Workshop’s miniatures wargames. When I do play, I favor the Space Orks of the 41^st Millenium, I find an insurmountable amount of charm in playing the primitive minded, destruction craving, and dakka-wielding greenies of the future. I enjoy the aspect of playing them so much so that I am looking to get some Gorkamorka mobs tableside in the near future. Additionally I have had quite a bit of fun playing in the 40k universe via the Fantasy Flight Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch RPGs with the gang over at Minions of the Monster Master.

 

Do you paint your own models?

Of course! At the moment I’ve got a sizable queue of paint jobs awaiting me for the summer ranging from 40K to Fantasy, we’ll see how far I get…

Where can people hire you and are you expensive?

I can most easily be commissioned via email at cmgillustrations@gmail.com or through the Minions Blogcast. I encourage anyone to go check it out; again, a lot of my work is available for viewing. I believe I offer fair rates and I am more than willing to work with a deadline or any special formatting needs.

There you have it, friends. If you want to get in on a chance to have ONE of TWO metal prints of the artwork, contribute to the Heroes of Armageddon. PayPal link on the top right. Do it!

Mike