Space Marine Character Redesign Process

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I used to really like Warhammer 40k when I was a kid. I started drawing by copying art from their books (as well as video game covers). I posted some of my copies online and I remember getting absolutely torn apart in the comments.

They called me a hack, that I had no talent or originality, that I was just copying other people’s art, and that basically I should just go kill myself. It was my first encounter with internet hostility and I stopped drawing for quite some time because I felt so bad – which of course delayed my development, because in reality, ALL artists get better by copying and making bad art.

I was looking through my old sketchbook and all those vitriolic comments came back to me. I understand my work was lacking in many ways. I shouldn’t have posted copies online when I was a kid. But there are constructive, supportive ways of saying that. There’s this modern undercurrent of idle armchair criticism – like a Hater’s Ball zeitgeist. It’s really easy to criticize and it gives power to the one laying judgment. But it’s a coverup for an inability to actually create anything yourself. I respect Uwe Boll more than Roger Ebert, because at least Uwe Boll tried.

“You don’t see courage because you are nothing.”

Uwe Boll

That being said, in an effort to get revenge on the haters of Christmas past, I decided to do a redesign of the classic Space Marine. Yes, Warhammer is hokey, cartoonish, and nerdy. But that’s part of what makes it fun.

My process was to create a design that felt more modern with more believable proportions, while still staying true to the stylized original. Even looking at the animation, you can see it starts out “bad” and slowly becomes better with every pass. It’s not perfect, but it was fun, and that’s the point.

Working professionally, it’s hard to find work. It’s hard to keep clients happy. It’s hard to make creative decisions you don’t want to make for the commercial viability of the product. It’s easier when you’re a big-name artist, but the process of fighting your way up the food chain can quickly become not fun. You lose sight of why you even wanted to make art in the first place: it’s because you spent your life getting bullied and making art was one of the only things that made you feel better.

You can see the final image on Deviantart.