The Download Munkey : Download This, Download That :)

Found Frank Frazetta’s (a fantasy artist whose uhm, fantastic work I recently got acquainted with over at The Lair of the Evil DM) marvellous painting of the Death Dealer, an armoured horseman with ominous fiery-red eyes (see below) purely by chance quite a while back. This particular painting from 1973 happens to have an article in Wikipedia which is quite a feat for any piece of fantasy art.

© Frank Frazetta

After seeing this particular artwork, I think I now know where the hulking armoured champions of Chaos in Games Workshop’s Warhammer Fantasy Battles might have been inspired by. As a sidenote, Warhammer Fantasy first came about some ten years after Death Dealer in 1983, this year 2008 being its 25th anniversary.

Here I present Adrian Smith’s depiction of Karrig Sturn, Despoiler of Tzeskagrad from the Warhammer : Hordes of Chaos page @ Games Workshop UK (more artworks) as a comparision. I would love to see a coloured version of this piece

© Games Workshop

While there are definitely many similarities between the two artworks, I list below the most significant ones.

• Both the Death Dealer and Karrig Sturn have sturdy warhorses (although the hind legs of Karrig’s mount seems to be buckling due to the combined weight of both its master and its own armour) in almost similiar poses with bowed heads and gaping mouths
• Both warriors are wielding vicious axes singlehandedly with their swords still in their scabbards. They also seem to be staring straight at the viewer but the Death Dealer seems more menacing due to his glowing red eyes.

View Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer (Google Images) and Adrian Smith’s Karrig Sturn in their original resolutions.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Adrian Smith - Illustrator
Andrea Uderzo - Warhammer/Warhammer 40,000 Illustrator
Warhammer Online : Age of Reckoning Illustrations & Concept Art
Warhammer : Mark of Chaos - The Collected Concept Art
Warrior Knight Wallpapers