Warhammer 40k: Sister Repentia

Scroll down to see the process.

Essentially battle-nuns, The Sisters of Battle are raised and trained from birth into the ultra stringent Ecclesiarchy: the church. To me they represent the religious fanaticism and zealotry the Imperium has embraced in the ten millennia since Horus' destructive betrayal. Disgraced members of this all female warrior cadre are known as Sisters Repentia. Stripped of armor and minimally equipped, they have a chance to honor the Emperor in death or occasionally survive and be redeemed within their order.

When people think of Repentia, immediately what comes to mind is half naked women with swords and cosplays. I wanted to do something that bucked that idealized image, focusing instead on the insane cult-like devotion they embody while remaining faithful to the lore and miniatures.

I wanted her to be a power fantasy; both terrifying and beautiful. Covered in grime, blood, scars, and surgically installed interface ports for her missing armor. A shock of white hair framing a visage of passionate, focused rage. Built to bench press a main battle tank or tear your head clean off, and commanding of utter respect.

-Sam Bogits

Process

I started with a pen and paper gesture drawing translated to Photoshop. I then developed the anatomy and form with her physicality being an important part of the piece. Looking at the various miniatures over the years I put together three different outfits before pressing forward to sketch the background and start painting.

First I blocked in the color palette and general shapes and then start defining the light and shadow. I wanted to use that red green palette present in a lot of older Warhammer art to evoke a world choking on the fires of war.

After polishing off the general rendering of the main subject, I moved to the background, detailing the Sisters in the distance and refining the mountains, clouds, and explosions to bring the whole thing together. Lastly I detailed and refined the whole piece again, added some servo skulls, and modified her design a bit to bring her closer to the current line of Repentia miniatures.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse