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John Blanche - am I the only one who thinks he cannot draw or paint?  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut






SoCal, USA!

No way odin...

The difference between Blanche and Brom or Giger is that Brom and Giger actually have talent. To mention Blanche in the same sentence is an insult to Brom, and especially Giger.

Blanche is a hack with no more talent than, say, Rob Liefeld. Like Liefeld, he's widely published. But that doesn't mean he has actually demonstrated any skill, talent, training, or ability whatsoever.

OTOH, if you can actually show something of Blanche's that isn't a blurry, lazy piece of crap, then I'll reconsider. But Blanche's "work" doesn't demonstrate knowledge of form, anatomy, or composition. For all intents and purposes, he does little more than cartoon pin-up dolls.

   
Made in ch
Regular Dakkanaut




Webway

I remember someone posting on GW forums why GW gave so much importance to "slung faeces on wax paper over a pale moonlight" - more or less describing Blanche's "art" - but the topic was quickly locked despite this honest approach.

Ahh, those were the days.

(those who believe otherwise are invited to browse again his "contributions" to current CSM codex. Lesser Daemon entry.)

Anyway, as someone told, John Blanche is the Art Director of GW. Considering the general unwillingness of corporation to remove senior managers, no matter how incompetent, I guess Mr. Blanche will continue to wreak havoc in the art department for years.

We can just hope he's too busy frustrating young and promising illustrators to approach a pencil.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2008/04/02 14:21:39


: : www.stephane.info : :
"It's better to enlarge the game than to restrict the players" -- Eric Wujcik 
   
Made in dk
Stormin' Stompa





Mr. Blanche has been and still is a great influence on the way GW looks today.
He has great vision and is doing a great job as head of the Art department

BUT

He is a conceptual artist and ideas-man and there he should remain. His concept-doodles is a great way of inspiring and setting the tone for the other artists. His work should NOT be included in the books IMO. They are rough drafts and i'd much rather see the final works (made by other artists). It is fine to make a book of his doodles and release that but spare us the agony of having to look at his concept sketches in the finished product.
GW doesn't release the Games Designers ideas for a new rule/race/thingummy jotted down on a used napkin on a saturday night in the local bar either. Or maybe they do.

My point is this; Blanches work is an inspiration (and works superbly as such) but should not be taken for the final product and not peddled by GW as such IMO.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2008/04/02 16:50:04


-------------------------------------------------------
"He died because he had no honor. He had no honor and the Emperor was watching."

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Made in us
Dakka Veteran




San Diego, CA

I gotta say that I feel the same as Wehrkind: back in the day, the prevalence of Blanche's style on box art and book covers made me completely ignore 40K for years. As a concept artist, he has merit, but I find his work highly unappealing. I mean, he *can* draw, and has more skill at it than I do, but it's simply that I don't like what he does.

His defining piece for me is (unless I've got the wrong guy) found in Codex Imperialis (IIRC): the depiction of one of the High Lords of Terra (I forget which one) with the friggin' water faucet coming out of his eye.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2008/04/02 16:15:43


Bernard, float over here so I can punch you. 
   
 
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