Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Keeping on rolling out at least one picture per chapter of Smirking: A Grot's Life and this time we're hitting chapter 8. This is the scene shortly before the big gun on the tank goes boom.



I had to completely redraw the tank at one point because the scale was way off. It looked like some sort of RC Leman Russ Scale model coming round the corner to shoot Nerf darts at them. You could probably kill a grot with a Nerf dart though.

Anyway, a quaint country courtyard gets the (not) grimdark treatment as another grot bites the dust. Smirking looks a bit "come hither" in this pose. I had originally planned on having them both just standing on the mat. Sometimes the actual details from the story just go and ruin your picture idea. Accuracy... pfff.

Another chapter another silly moment in the life of our favourite little guy. Smirking takes refuge atop a large rock as the trukks of Waaagh GorGoff go rolling by singing "'Ere we go, 'Ere we go, 'Ere we go!"



Aw... Remember when orks were mostly daft and had comedy written into every bit of fluff? I mean, that's firmly the world that Smirking inhabits. Was it all Jervis Johnston? It was all good, that's all I know.

I liked the Gorka Morka era of orks - fun but kind of gritty also in terms of the details of their life. Just like your stuff! Now it is all super grim.

I like your characters because they are brimming with personality, and because they exist in a world that could actually function! Too often the orks are only this mindless ravening horde in the fiction, in a setting that's already filled to bursting with mindless ravening hordes.

The way I play that is that the Orks inhabit a sort of dual-world in a way. There's the world that the outside world sees (ravening horde of murderous muscle-bound killing machines) and the world as the Orks see it (everyfing's a bit of a laugh, see. Chop dis dude's 'ead off an its funny!)

Can't remember where I saw it but someone did a brilliant piece of artwork that displayed this perfectly. On one side it had a familiar gritty piece of artwork of an Ork charging a desperate Guardsman. On the other side it had the same scene written from the Ork's perspective which was basically a badly drawn cartoon with the Ork shouting something entertaining and a comical-looking Guardsman.

So basically both examples of Orks exist at the same time, the way other people see Orks and the way Orks see themselves

Thanks guys. Good to know I'm not alone in my appreciation of the lighter side of 40k orks.
The plan to draw at least one scene from every chapter of Smirking continues with this picture.



Smirking (he's the tiny grot way in the distance) and friends find themselves in a minefield. I enjoyed the cartoony truck full of little grot faces. Didn't enjoy the landscape so much, but ho hum, here it is. I think I enjoy big close up portraits or little character sketches best.
Just one more chapter still to illustrate but there are a few more iconic scenes I'd also like to draw before I'm done illustrating my original story.

Yes, all those little heads poking out is a nice detail.

Haha neat I do like the Grot clown-car. Seems exactly how they'd travel around.

Here's the next instalment from my Grotlife (that'd be a good name for a grot boyband. No I won't draw that!)


Not a chapter that needed a picture as Chapter 3 already has one but more of an iconic moment that deserved drawing.
GrodMek and SnazzGuts hatch their KillaKan plan while Smirking hides inside.
Not entirely convinced with my portrayal of GrodMek here. He looks more Borg than Mek but not to worry, I like the picture as a whole. Only trouble is the last chapter I have to draw is all about GrodMek. I'm not looking forward to it, no good ideas.
Expect much procrastination to follow.

Having read the story, (brilliant), and seen the artwork, I'd really like to think that this is how orks see life, no matter how awful the reality, to them it's a vivid cartoon filled with fun and humour and if something bad happens, they just enjoy a little bit of revenge and the merriment continues. Orks would be Ryan Reynolds in the movie "The Voices" when he's not on his medication.

I like that the Orkish ecology/economy kind of works as you describe it. There should be more Grot Cars and more Grot fluff! Keep it up.

Thank you both. I'm glad my madness is making sense to people. Maybe we're all a bit mad though.

Anyway, onto the next doodle. Kinda giving the game away early over on Give it yer best Grot! with this one as the story hasn't quite caught up to this happening yet.
One of those moments when fluff leads to questions that require creative answers. The question is how can our grot buddies Grimy and Red use their big shoota as effectively as an Ork (i.e. as an assault weapon). The answer...



Really makes me want to grab some minis and scratch build a grot big shoota wheelbarrow assault team. Someone please do this!

Ok, remaining with the same band of hapless Grots we've got Gorsneek, an original character created by Warboss Grimdakka
. He's a straight up Kommando Grot.



So i figured I'd draw him like Arnie in Commando

Kinda a small little character sketch more than a full A5 scene. Its actually drawn on the rest of the same page as the above wheelbarrow picture.

Haha nice! Love the wheelbarrow assault weapon definite conversion potential there.

Also, I can't help but imagine Gorsneek speaks exactly like Schwarzenegger after a couple of helium balloons...

"Get to da Choppa!"

 theCrowe wrote:
"Get to da Choppa!"

Haha. Definitely exalted

Man if i had a little wheelbarrow of some kind i would try to make that setup.

I like to imagine the poor confused enemy seeing that pair bearing down on them

Hi folks, been a while since I posted one of these. But then I haven't been drawing much so after this one there's only one more to go for the time being until I pick up a pencil again. My hand seems to be a bit preoccupied with paintbrushes these days. (Painting tiny WW2 planes) anywho...


In this one SkagNet is busy being nasty. I've drawn him plenty of times bumbling around in his usual mode (abject failure) but rarely doing any proper bossing around of grots. Not sure who the little guy is. Not sure SkagNet knows, or really cares much.

And another picture, this time it's KommissarKiln's grot duo, Pokey and Snot-fer-Brainz from Give it yer Best Grot!


I hadn't done any big close studies of grots yet, all my close ups had been orks to date so I took the oportunty to do these two nice and close and big. Turned out alright, bit tricky getting the grots' noses right when they're facing you. I do so many of my big-nosed grots in profile because its so much easier.

Been drawing like crazy!

Watch this space grot-lovers.

Sitting drawing with the kids i picked up some of their colouring pencils and this guy popped out onto the page. Smirking is back baby!


So then things got a bit more serious.

The first time I've drawn a version of Sleekit aka. "The Grotfather" that i'm actually really happy about.


So that was it. I'm back to drawing like a man posessed.

Grabbaed a postit note pad at work and sketched out this little guy. Smirking Da Chosen One. Coloured with watered down acrylics. very happy with the result.

Lot's more to follow soon. Thanks for looking.

Haha awesome stuff dude always look forward to updates on this

Glad you're still enjoying them YW. (Can I so abbreviate your name?)
I'll drop another couple quickly too. Cause I've been dead busy.

Just a wee drawing of Nurd, the book 2 incarnation of Nurd sees him less of a smart arse fixer grot and more of a gobby know-it all from a grot bomba crew.


Thought I'd try out some alternative colouring methods. Grabbed the kids' crayons for this one.
A scene from waaaaay further on down the line in book 2. Something I haven't even written yet, just know I want to do. I'll say no more...


Then this is one for my last un-illustrated chapter of book one, which now has at least one picture on every chapter. I still want to draw Smirking in the very final scene though, but that hasn't happened yet. This is GrodMek of Book 1 preparing to dish out the Dakka.
Used some colouring pencils (as I did with the Sleekit sketch above) which really, given the smooth look, I should just be doing from now on. (I say that knowing I haven't been... Old habits.)
More to come soon, and thanks for looking.

I am very glad to see these little guys back, your art always gets me in a good mood. I love the grotfather's expression.

Thanks AT. Glad I could brighten your day.

Now, introducing... Aaris Da Butcha

The big cheese of the Morka-Wing and Kaptain of Da BizMork, the Morka-Wing's largest and fastest aircraft carrier.
Another painted postit for another pretty successful portrait. We're going to be seeing a lot of this fella.

Going on holiday for a week so I'll drop a good few pictures before I go.

Ok, so telling the story of Aaris Da Butcha in a few pictures.

Here's Aaris laughing it up as Smirking outsmarts GrodMek like a total Grot boss.


Aaris takes Smirking for a flight on his big red bomba.


But things get nasty and he takes our hero on, not realising that Smirking is not exactly, alone... Its a long story.


Smirking wins.


Now look who's joined the party.

That's all for the big fella in the coat and hat. Quite enjoyed drawing him, but I don't think he'll feature much in my future drawings. Still you never know.


As ever folks, thanks for visiting my grot-life sketchbook.

Well I'm back. Had a great holiday, thanks.

Knocked out a couple of doodles on the inflight magazine.


But seriously...

Or about as serious as a bunch of grots partying around the campfire of the revolution can be.

And one last one.

WazzBad's Dakka-jet gets bounced by some human fliers outa nowhere. The Dakka-jet designs on display here were inspired by Buttery Commissar's own Dakka-Jets which are some of the first kit-bashes on his rightly legendary blog. Buttery, wherever you've been these days, hope you're doing well.

That's all for grot-life for now. Might get back to painting my planes again so no more drawings likely in the near future. But you never know.

And wrapping things up here for now it's the last picture in my original Grot fiction The Adventures of Smirking: A Grot's life.


At this point there's little danger of spoiling the ending cause lets face it, I've been shamelessly promoting this story on Dakka for years and if you haven't read it by now you're not likely to. (Though I still think you should) This right here is the final scene, where Smirking strides off, triumphant, into the moonlight.

So that's all for my Smirking Book 1 illustrations. Thanks to everyone whose encouragement helped me complete a long term project goal.

Also I'm very excited to be able to tell you, if you haven't seen already, that I've started uploading my second book in the Illustrated Adventures of Smirking
Smirking Da Chosen One Many illustrations for which were seen here first.

As a story it's a slightly different format this time around. Shorter chapters but many more of them, though not all of which have illustrations just yet. Only four chapters posted so far but lots more are drafted.
Its a very different world this time around but if you enjoyed "A Grot's Life" I really think you'll enjoy "Smirking Da Chosen One" too.

I've no more pictures in the pipeline just now but if I get the bug again I'll be back on here. Not hanging up my drawing skates just yet.
Thanks again to everyone who's commented and shared my enthusiasm for daft grot fiction inspired illustration.

I'm so glad I got to see this.

Mate, glad you did too. Always a pleasure BC, hope you're doing well these days.