Desperate Men

Desperation is one of the more discernible flavors in the sour mélange of material I’ve come up with for the Wyrdwold over the last year or two. I think that’s because, from a narrative standpoint, desperation is often the only motivation that makes sense out of the actions we choreograph for our little men.

Because what we fetishize with wargaming is pretty dark. Violence, murder. Desperation. We don’t always notice it because it is buried beneath layers of strategy, or fantasy, or artistic expression, or abstraction, all of which make this such a rewarding hobby…but we serve no one if we ignore the kernel from which it springs.

Paltry Grist

Which is why, I guess, when I found myself at Games Plus in front of the Wall o’ Reaper with some money burning a hole in my pocket, I was drawn to these sculpts. 

Even in the bare metal, they communicated to me such a sense of raw fear.

Titus Slake

I don’t know if I managed to bring it all through in the painting. Don’t really care to be honest. I found them uncomfortable to paint— though not because there was anything wrong with the sculpts.

Rather, I found myself contemplating what could be in front of them to inspire such fear, such desperate violence.

Let me know your thoughts.