Trish Carden posted up on Instagram just now to say that unfortunately John Blanche passed away a couple of days ago.
It's a massive loss from one of the greatest fantasy and science fiction artists. His vision created what we all still share and enjoy today. Knew he was ill for a while but it's still a great shame.
Just seen. Pouring out a pot of Nuln oil for him later. It's funny you never know the ones that are really going to get you, but this is a downer. RIP John. Kudos on such a great legacy
Just noticed his name trending on bsky and was so saddened to see why. As a Fantasy Lad I resisted the wiles of 40K for three whole years but it was JB's 2ndEd Sisters of Battle codex cover and Battlefieet Gothic box cover that made its lure impossible to ignore.
An actual legitimate creative mind, the hobby is poorer for his loss.
Yeah it was great to see him gaining a new wave of fans and exposure in the latter years when so many often get forgotten. A huge shame to lose him; he defined generations of art and gaming for so many of us!
I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of John Blanche.
His unique vision and extraordinary artwork shaped not only Games Workshop, but the entire miniature wargaming hobby. His influence can be seen in countless armies, stories, and imaginations around the world. The dark, gothic aesthetic he created became an inseparable part of Warhammer and inspired generations of hobbyists, artists, and gamers.
I had the privilege of meeting him once in Nottingham in the early 2000s, and it remains a cherished memory. To have met someone whose work had such a profound impact on a hobby I love was a genuine honor.
The miniature world has lost one of its true legends. His art, creativity, and imagination will continue to inspire for years to come.
Rest in peace, John Blanche. You will be greatly missed.
Fabio Bile wrote: That really sucks. I mean I knew it was a matter of time, but then it always is.
It's nice though that he got a big surge in popularity before his death and was able to do projects like Voodoo Forest and En Garde.
I agree, it was great that more of his work made it out there. I think he was very aware of how little time he had left and so decided to go all out with some fantastic projects.
With his health having been what it was for years, I can't say I'm surprised about the news, lamentable as they are.
As a giant among artists and a personal inspiration for me and countless others, his defining vision will live on beyond his years. Moisten up thine Zorn palettes and splatter thine gauche, me hearties, for one more has put down their brushes for the final time.
Not really unexpected, but still sad. Condolences to his family and friends.
But well, he lived his dream, mostly doing what he loved - not many of us did and do that. And he left a huge legacy of fantasy and creativity. Thanks for that, Laurence John Blanche.
May he rest in eternal peace, we lost a good man. Condolences to his family, and let's all dearly remember his art and all the contributions he made to 40k.
GW may have written him off when he released his paint range with Army Painter. Could see them being too petty to mention his name out of concern that an entire generation of newer hobbyits who dont recognize his name might google it and then come across a competing paint range and realize that theres an entire industry of miniatures and hobby supplies made by other companies and for other games.
RIP Mr.BLanche, I knew he was ill from his videos with Filmdeg on Youtube. He worked on his passions until the end even when he couldn't really draw anymore.
I'm still thinking of how I can honour the man?
Kid_Kyoto wrote:I'm not so sure GW will say anything they haven't in the past when other artists and creators passed.
I hope they say something. It is was quite petty to ignore the passing of Brian Ansell.
chaos0xomega wrote:GW may have written him off when he released his paint range with Army Painter. Could see them being too petty to mention his name out of concern that an entire generation of newer hobbyits who dont recognize his name might google it and then come across a competing paint range and realize that theres an entire industry of miniatures and hobby supplies made by other companies and for other games.
You make a good point, hope 'new'-GW takes a second to be humans.
Paul Hicks mentioning his favourite John Blanche artwork on FB made me think about my own.
For me, it has always been the Ecclesiarchy illustration from Warhammer 40,000.
Every time I looked at it, I discovered something new. The central figure is magnificent, but it is the incredible detail in the background—the pilgrims, the architecture, the strange faces and symbols—that kept drawing my eye back again and again.
What always struck me was how much it reminded me of Hieronymus Bosch. Not in imitation, but in spirit. Like Bosch, Blanche created worlds that felt vast, unsettling, sacred, grotesque, and utterly alive. There was always another story hidden in the shadows, another detail waiting to be discovered.
That was John Blanche's gift. He didn't just illustrate a setting—he made you believe there was an entire universe beyond the edge of the picture.
It is a sad day for the hobby. His work shaped the imagination of generations of gamers, painters, and artists, and his influence will remain visible every time we open a Warhammer book or place a miniature on the table.
Thank you for the inspiration, John. You will be deeply missed.
It's hard to pick a favourite, he did iconic box art, but also a lot of amazing character designs, which for us did a lot of heavy lifting in setting the tone and general vibe for games, or to show that in general, the setting was way more than angry bald men screaming while swinging a big sword and shooting a big gun at something coming towards them. So for me, it has to be this absolute baddie:
I think somewhat uniquely as an artist he was an incredible communicator. I think many artists aspire to that, but vanishingly few can engage your imagination on a different world.
The_Real_Chris wrote: I think somewhat uniquely as an artist he was an incredible communicator. I think many artists aspire to that, but vanishingly few can engage your imagination on a different world.
This. Absolutely this.
His art didn’t just paint a picture, it explained the world and its concepts. I mean, his Inquisition works? Not just a painting of a future warrior, but one from a world you can tell at a glance hasn’t just gone very very wrong, but completely hatstand bonkers insane. The mishmash of styles on a single figure, from 80’s cyberpunk/Sigue Sigue Sputnik to Georgian Fashions including impractical wigs and court shoes, holding bizarre but still functional looking ancient weapons.
It was as if Da Vinci necked a bottle of Absinthe with Bosche, then entered a long period of collaboration. And it absolutely defined 40K, which remains to this day a glorious mish-mash of sources, inspirations and looks, which in turn is unique unto itself.
A rare, perhaps even entirely unique talent and style.
I’m currently trying to send a psychic message back in time to Wee Me, telling him to forgo lunch on that school trip to Greenwich, and buy the £2 copy of Ratspike found in a random charity shop.
The_Real_Chris wrote: I think somewhat uniquely as an artist he was an incredible communicator. I think many artists aspire to that, but vanishingly few can engage your imagination on a different world.
This. Absolutely this.
His art didn’t just paint a picture, it explained the world and its concepts. I mean, his Inquisition works? Not just a painting of a future warrior, but one from a world you can tell at a glance hasn’t just gone very very wrong, but completely hatstand bonkers insane. The mishmash of styles on a single figure, from 80’s cyberpunk/Sigue Sigue Sputnik to Georgian Fashions including impractical wigs and court shoes, holding bizarre but still functional looking ancient weapons.
It was as if Da Vinci necked a bottle of Absinthe with Bosche, then entered a long period of collaboration. And it absolutely defined 40K, which remains to this day a glorious mish-mash of sources, inspirations and looks, which in turn is unique unto itself.
A rare, perhaps even entirely unique talent and style.
I’m currently trying to send a psychic message back in time to Wee Me, telling him to forgo lunch on that school trip to Greenwich, and buy the £2 copy of Ratspike found in a random charity shop.
I think it's a particular testiment to his style and talent that modern corporate GW have been trying to sand the rough edges off of 40K for a solid 15 years now and are still struggling to get anywhere because that sinister oddness that permeated his work is so deep in the IP's DNA it just keeps bubbling back up to the surface.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: I’m currently trying to send a psychic message back in time to Wee Me, telling him to forgo lunch on that school trip to Greenwich, and buy the £2 copy of Ratspike found in a random charity shop.
A tangent but why did Ian Miller disappear from GWs artwork? He is awesome, even if I felt it was impossible to reproduce with models!
Warhammer Community wrote: It is with great sadness we learned of the passing of John Blanche.
John was an artistic powerhouse whose unmistakable style was a unique lens through which many of us came to know and love the worlds of Warhammer. John was also a friend and mentor to many of us here at Games Workshop. Our heartfelt condolences go to his family and friends.
The universe John helped create is a big place. He will be missed.
The news only broke yesterday. It’s not GW’s place to make such an announcement first. Or indeed without the family’s permission I’d say.
There are still many folks within GW who worked with him for years, if not decades. One imagines they’re lost for words, as many Dakkanauts were, and we only ever knew of him.
BorderCountess wrote: That post felt half-hearted and half-assed. That kind of effort should have been out yesterday.
However, I do appreciate how they subverted the introduction for him.
This does feel like the bare minimum. And yes, the “universe is a big place, he will be missed” was a nice touch.
Hopefully they will get a best of retrospective article of his work up. They seem to be fond of art over the ages pieces, doing one for an artist vs. an army would not be hard. And very appropriate.
A sad day and a huge loss. Along with Jes Goodwin I think John Blanche was the most responsible for creating the visuals that are quintessentially 40k.
I'll be breaking out the black and red paint in his honour this weekend
I think he had been having health issues for a little while. I don't know if the exact nature of those is public, and I think it's still a bit of a shock that he's passed.
Kudos to GW for releasing a statement quickly. Believe me these things have to go through a lot of people, including legal, so this was lighting fast.
It would be great if they reprinted some of his art books or rereleased some limited edition model (the cover girl SoB would make sense) and wonderful if proceeds went to his family or a charity, but now we're well into dream land.
What an amazing artist! How incredibly lucky we are all to have been around to see his creativity in real time. He really helped define Games Workshops worlds. Such a creative mind that will be sadly missed, but without a doubt helped inspired so many more artists out there, and whose artwork will continue to inspire for many years ahead.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: The news only broke yesterday. It’s not GW’s place to make such an announcement first. Or indeed without the family’s permission I’d say.
There are still many folks within GW who worked with him for years, if not decades. One imagines they’re lost for words, as many Dakkanauts were, and we only ever knew of him.
His wife Lin specifically asked Trish to break the news precisely for that reason, as they've been good friends for decades.
Given that they do an artwork through the ages I'm sure they'll do one for John either this week or after the Armageddon release.
It was a nice enough tribute, it's difficult as a company to put out something in a way that hits home like his closer friends and colleagues have done. I'd like them to do a bit more and hopefully they will.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Kudos to GW for releasing a statement quickly. Believe me these things have to go through a lot of people, including legal, so this was lighting fast.
Yes, I am disappointed with how people have been behaving on the internet (such as on reddit) in response to the community post.
There's plenty to criticise GW for without acting like they're supervillains for not writing a long enough statement fast enough.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: The news only broke yesterday. It’s not GW’s place to make such an announcement first. Or indeed without the family’s permission I’d say.
There are still many folks within GW who worked with him for years, if not decades. One imagines they’re lost for words, as many Dakkanauts were, and we only ever knew of him.
His wife Lin specifically asked Trish to break the news precisely for that reason, as they've been good friends for decades.
Given that they do an artwork through the ages I'm sure they'll do one for John either this week or after the Armageddon release.
It was a nice enough tribute, it's difficult as a company to put out something in a way that hits home like his closer friends and colleagues have done. I'd like them to do a bit more and hopefully they will.
A fair view on the thing.
Grief is a difficult thing. And we all process it in our own way.
Speaking solely for myself? My Dad was incredibly well regarded within the Scout Movement, to the point he received the Silver Wolf. An award that’s given at the Chief Scout’s discretion.
When he died, in front of my brother? It fell to me to let those that needed to know, know. I chose to do it via Facebook myself, after I’d PM’d immediate family (I didn’t and still don’t have their numbers). Then I emailed the Scouts to let them know.
No matter Dad’s standing within that organisation? Not one of them was as close to Dad as my brother and I were. Of course they weren’t. If they were, I almost certainly wouldn’t have held Dad in the regard I did.
My point? When it comes to someone passing? It’s for the family to break the news. Every. Single. Time. And any organisation, be it a company or a charity or however you want to describe The Scouts? They should, ideally, seek the family’s consent, if not approval of how they share the news.
We only ever knew John Blanche as a fantastical artist with an incredible influence on the worlds we like to inhabit. To others? He was a husband, a father, a dear friend and so on.
The words used were brief. Yes. But that last line, to me, shows they’re heartfelt. It’s not for GW to gush about the guy. Not right now. That would be intruding. Arguably trying to co-opt the death of someone held in high regard for corporate attention.
And let’s face it, this is the Internet. Whilst not necessarily the same people? If GW had posted a gushing obituary? There’d be counter accusations of trying to monetise his death.
For me? I think they played it about nice. Short. Direct. Respectful. Genuine.
