A Thousand Sons: New York Times bestseller

Double WOW! - fantastic work Graham, Black Library and little old me, we've made it onto the New York Times bestselling novel lists:

(Above)
There, highlighted, look... it's us!
22) A THOUSAND SONS, by Graham McNeill (Games Workshop)

I'm aware freelancing can sometimes about peaks and troughs of success, so I'm currently savouring this monumental peak in my career by having... tonsillitis *cough*

Still, I have to say how proud and honoured I am to be associated with such an incredibly successful, talented and decent bunch of people as those who consistently put out such entertaining and high selling books. Not only to those who make the books, but also those millions - yes, that's right, I said MILLIONS, who have bought and read the series - without you good people supporting us and enjoying the books, we wouldn't be here.

Bah, this is beginning to sound like an Oscar™ acceptance speech.

Anyway, here's to much, much more.

Excelsior!

Horus Heresy: Galaxy in Flames

For Galaxy in Flames, Bl Publishing had a fairly specific brief: a pre-heresy Titan, Death Guard, Luna Wolves and a massive explosion on the left hand side. Organising these elements was the tricky part, such as making sure the Titan would be clearly visible after the title box was overlaid. Having a template for the book cover was a real help in laying out the image.

Trivia: In earlier versions of the image, the main Death Guard Marine had no helmet.

Horus Heresy: Horus Rising

BL Publishing came to me with a commission for a series of books detailing the Horus Heresy and wanted, as a wraparound cover, the Luna Wolves attacking a fortress. At the time I was really into Lord of the Rings films and so I wanted to capture the essence of the flashbacks to the 'Battle of Mount Doom'. Also, I wanted to produce a piece of artwork that would be as inspirational and definitive to others as John Sibbicks' 'Rogue Trader' cover was to me back in 1988.

Trivia: The distant mountains are referenced from holiday photos taken in Snowdonia.

Dawn of War: Ascension

This was my first fully commissioned piece for BL Publishing. It took an age to realise as I was still figuring out my workflow. Based on the previous Dawn of War novel, the composition and colours were made as 'punchy' as possible. It's one of my personal favourites.

Trivia: The Sister of Battle is based on my sisters' facial expression and my wifes' skin texture - so, for your own safety, don't mess with her!

Bringers of Death

This was the first piece I created for BL Publishing. I was in between jobs and had previously worked on character art and marketing images for the cancelled Warhammer Online project. This Space Marine was less resolved when I sent it to BL, however Christian Dunn saw enough potential and asked me to rework a few issues, after which it was used for the anthology 'Bringers of Death'.

Trivia: The clouds were referenced from photos taken from my bedroom window.