Orcs do love cats!

As I wrote many times, the first goal I set when I started to design the Orcs of Inneath was to give them a unique personality and "culture".

Of course, being these characters imagined to fit a wargame, the main focus is on fighters and soldiers, but as you know I like to spread here and there some cuteness and daily-life scenes.

Since the beginning, I decided to add to my Orcs' design something that is not obvious, when you think about towering creatures like them: cats!

I know what you are probably thinking: "you keep saying that, but we saw only a couple of cats 'till now!".

Of course, expect to see many new cats, in the next releases (basically 70% of stretch goals will be cats!), but at the moment let's enjoy this new dynamic duo and say hello to another Orc character and his feline lucky charm: The Orc Soldier A.

As you may guess from the extremely basic name, this guy represents a kind of basic troop choice, let's say he's the entry-level of Urghor's crew.

However, I think that this kit might be one of the funniest to paint because it's simple but it also delivers a nice story, I think it will be an interesting subject.

I didn't want to exceed with details or add too much stuff to it, on the contrary: I want to keep it essential and focus more on the interaction between the Orc and his cat.

I want to portray the unique relationship between Orcs and cats and highlight the fact that Orcs do love cats (and I love to think that cats love their giant owners too!).

It's true: Orcs started to adopt cats a long time ago because they consider them as a kind of lucky charms, but with the passing of time, I think that Orcs just started to love these felines as real friends.

For this reason, I wanted that the main subject of this scene was the loving gaze between them, and the contrast between this detail and the fact that the Orc is reloading his gun.

I love this controversial paradox, but I think that it adds more dimension to an Orc subject: they can be ruthless soldiers, but they are not just war machines, they are able to love somebody and establish friendly relationships. Like us, after all!

I decided to choose a sphinx cat not only because is one of my favorite types of cats, and I think that it is the closest real thing we have to a fantasy familiar, but also because I wanted a match between the Orc anatomy and that of his cat: they are both thin and with a very low body fat % and I love the fact that the Orc's ears are very long, like those of his pet!

This kit will be part of the entry-level reward of the Orcs' campaign, like Elf Archers and Iron Crow Sentinels. If you know me and follow my projects, you know that I always try to make all my minis special, no matter if they portray a powerful hero or just a simple unknown guy.

I think that this Orc is a solid character that resumes well the concept design of the Orcs of Inneath, in its essence, and give the observer a first taste of their uniqueness.

I'm very curious to know your opinion about this new kit: do you like it? Are you worried that a sphinx cat might not tolerate the adventurer's lifestyle?