KARL KOPINSKI (b. 1971)
Imperial guard cover
Details
KARL KOPINSKI (b. 1971)
Imperial guard cover
Sheet : 383 x 508 mm ; composition : 320 x 470 mm
Mixed media on thick drawing board.
Signed and dated (03) in the composition in the lower right.
On the reverse, autograph mention by the artist, including a title ((“Imperial Guard box set”), and a date (18/02/2003).
Born and raised in Arnold Notts, only a stone’s throw from Nottingham -the funding place of Games Workshop- Karl Kopinski has been working in the illustration industry since 1997.
His first commissions for Games Workshop arrived early in his career, around 1999. He created some of the most recognizable images of both the Warhammer Fantasy battle and Warhammer 40,000 universes, contributing in shaping and expanding the visual representation of factions, cultures and, of course, battles beyond the tabletop.
In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Imperial Guard is the military backbone of the human Imperium. The “Astra militarum” gathers several billions of men and women under the banner of the Emperor, to defend mankind and, perhaps first and foremost, to expand its territories.
Initially a garrison force to complement the elite Space Marines, the Imperial guard now comprises a vast array of both multi-function and highly specialized troops, to ensure they can be deployed in every theater of operation where their presence is needed.
The first separate codex devoted to the Imperial guard faction came with the second edition of the tabletop game, launched in 1995. The third edition of the game received two separate codex for the faction : the first one, published in 1999, was largely expanded and revamped in September 2003.
This striking composition by Karl Kopinski is certainly one of the most iconic of all Warhammer 40,000 artworks, and certainly the image that first comes to many hobbyists ‘minds when this faction is mentioned.
It portrays some Cadian shock troopers, infantry troops that have been one of the main focuses of the revised codex – it was therefore very logically chosen as the front cover for the aforementioned book. Such is Kopinsky’s compositional skills and eye for detail that every part of the bigger picture could be a painting on is own. It has been published and used by Games Workshop so many times that a full list would be quite long, but only to quote a few instances, apart from the front cover of the codex :
- The left part graced the front cover of White Dwarf issue no. 283 (July 2003), previewing the codex ;
- The full composition on the “Cadian shock troops” box ;
- The right part on the “Imperial guard battleforce” box.
Imperial guard cover
Sheet : 383 x 508 mm ; composition : 320 x 470 mm
Mixed media on thick drawing board.
Signed and dated (03) in the composition in the lower right.
On the reverse, autograph mention by the artist, including a title ((“Imperial Guard box set”), and a date (18/02/2003).
Born and raised in Arnold Notts, only a stone’s throw from Nottingham -the funding place of Games Workshop- Karl Kopinski has been working in the illustration industry since 1997.
His first commissions for Games Workshop arrived early in his career, around 1999. He created some of the most recognizable images of both the Warhammer Fantasy battle and Warhammer 40,000 universes, contributing in shaping and expanding the visual representation of factions, cultures and, of course, battles beyond the tabletop.
In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Imperial Guard is the military backbone of the human Imperium. The “Astra militarum” gathers several billions of men and women under the banner of the Emperor, to defend mankind and, perhaps first and foremost, to expand its territories.
Initially a garrison force to complement the elite Space Marines, the Imperial guard now comprises a vast array of both multi-function and highly specialized troops, to ensure they can be deployed in every theater of operation where their presence is needed.
The first separate codex devoted to the Imperial guard faction came with the second edition of the tabletop game, launched in 1995. The third edition of the game received two separate codex for the faction : the first one, published in 1999, was largely expanded and revamped in September 2003.
This striking composition by Karl Kopinski is certainly one of the most iconic of all Warhammer 40,000 artworks, and certainly the image that first comes to many hobbyists ‘minds when this faction is mentioned.
It portrays some Cadian shock troopers, infantry troops that have been one of the main focuses of the revised codex – it was therefore very logically chosen as the front cover for the aforementioned book. Such is Kopinsky’s compositional skills and eye for detail that every part of the bigger picture could be a painting on is own. It has been published and used by Games Workshop so many times that a full list would be quite long, but only to quote a few instances, apart from the front cover of the codex :
- The left part graced the front cover of White Dwarf issue no. 283 (July 2003), previewing the codex ;
- The full composition on the “Cadian shock troops” box ;
- The right part on the “Imperial guard battleforce” box.
Brought to you by
Vincent Belloy
Specialist