We were supposed to have a pretty different post today, but unfortunately, the news has happened. For those not sure what this is about, legendary Games Workshop Art Director, John Blanche passed away very recently. There are going to be lots of far better eulogies written and posted, so I’ll just talk about my earliest personal connections with a man who never knew of my existence.
As people who read this blog know by now, I paint a lot more than I play. There are a couple of people to blame for this, aside from the fact that I was always a “drawer” from my early kiddie days. One is my departed brother, who is the one responsible for all this in the first place, introducing me to RPGs via reading the Tunnels & Trolls solo adventures to me when I was a little’un, and equally influential – his collection of fantasy and medieval Minifigs which he later passed onto me along with a collection of Humbrol Oil paints. My first miniatures!
One of the others in a roundabout way was John Blanche, through the “Blanch-itsu” articles that were a part of White Dwarf magazine during the 100-ish period. Just take a minute to at least skim these articles. All very basic stuff for the readers of this blog I’m sure, but rewind to the pre-internet days of 1988 or so and think about how a teenager would actually access this sort of information in suburban Melbourne or wherever you live (unless you live in Nottingham, apparently!) Sure, the one above is also an advertisement for the Citadel Inks Set, but look at the information there!
Next we have drybrushing explained in text without any video or even any images. And you know what? Through a couple of paragraphs in this small article on multiple topics, John Blanche taught me how to drybrush. A fundamental skill that I still use regularly today.
I’ll end this with the time John Blanche taught me to paint horses. Yeah, another written article – this time referencing the colour plates in ‘eavy Metal. This is the one that most comes to mind for me when I think of these articles, and in many ways indicative John Blanche meant and still means to me the most.
So for me, it’s not the artwork from Rogue Trader, or Realm of Chaos, or Battlefleet Gothic, or 40k Second Edition, or Inquisitor or any of that. It’s not my copy of Ratspike in the shelf upstairs. It’s the fact that his articles in those early (for me) White Dwarf magazines, showed me how to emulate what I could see in the photos of painted miniatures that we spent so long staring at. it’s the information passed across to me and undoubtedly so many others of the time, in an era where we didn’t have the internet and incredible amounts of information at our fingertips – just monthly magazines.
Vale John Blanche. May your bristles never bend.
Azazel's Bitz Box. 
It was sad to hear of his passing, and remember reading those articles myself, now I wasn’t always a fan of his artwork, but there were many of his pieces I really enjoyed, he will be missed and remembered, just as you do your brother.
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Thanks mate. It’s an interesting thought experiment every so often to look back and think about who influenced you to become who you are and in which ways. I was never the biggest fan of Blanche’s art, particularly as he got messier and more sketchlike but I still appreciated it as influential concept art. But yeah, for me the biggest impact was with those early Blanchitsu and ‘eavy Metal articles that helped teach me to paint in the days long before online tutorials.
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I know of his impact in the hobby but never fully appreciated Blanche’s work, possibly because of when I was in and out of the hobby. I’ve seen a lot of tributes to him and this is one that I learned quite a bit from so I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
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Not at all mate. That article about Horses is the one that has really stuck in my mind after all these years as a written piece. Looking at the one about washes it looks like stuff I’ve long since internalised, but without an obvious mental connection to the written piece. Horses, though… and that would probably have filtered through to influence how I paint a lot of my animal models as well.
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Really appreciated reading this, I’m a tad too young/late to the hobby to have read those articles but I do remember learning so much from later takes on the topic in newer white dwarfs. That and the painting sections of codexes/army books!
A lot of people have talked about John’s art, but you’re the first I’ve seen referencing his teaching, and in a way that is very personal to you. All that to say I really enjoyed the post and will be digging up old Blanchitsu articles.
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Yeah, I didn’t really think of it in that way as it wasn’t immediately obvious that a lot of people who are dedicated hobbyists would have missed those. He was basically the progenitor for the Mike McVey-style teaching how to paint things articles that came later and still exist to this day in places like WD and various how to paint guides – right up to Peach and Duncan and Louise and OnlyHands!
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I wasn’t aware of the articles that he wrote or how boots-on-the-ground he was about getting the miniature painting hobby off the ground back in the day for hobbyists. The man’s concept art was gorgeous and I feel like he made an immeasurable difference to the Warhammer 40,000 universe but even more broadly to the tabletop wargaming hobby and to bringing people together to have fun, roll dice, and get creative. He will be missed. Thank you for sharing your experiences with his early work too.
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Yeah, he was literally one of a very few people writing those original articles sharing “how to paint” knowledge back then – at least on the Warhammer side (I’m sure Wargames Illustrated et al were doing the same in the Historical sphere to some degree) along with answering posted-in questions as well. It seems kind of quaint today in the digital age, but back then…
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Very nice tribute Azazel. It’s sad to see the passing of a true legend. His “Harry the Hammer” artwork on the cover of the initial Warhammer boxed set was what got me excited to dip my toes into miniature wargaming.
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Yeah he was such a key figure in building the whole industry we have today via his influence, along with Bryan Ansell, Gary Gygax and still-living legends like Livingstone and Jackson, Priestley et al.
One thing in their favour is that they’re going to remain essentially immortal within our little niche of entertainment. So quite the legacy!
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A legend passes on. May his bristles never bend.
His influence on our hobby has been titanic, and his existence has improved my life in a significant way.
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Well put, mate!
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