This Orc knows how to look cool!

The Orcs of Inneath are marching toward your desk, expected arrival: O(r)ctober 2023.

After having designed the most complex characters, I'm now dedicating myself to the basic troops of this range. We already saw Orc Soldier A, and I've been very happy with how the community welcomed this guy. Today it's time to share with you Orc Soldier B, a swordsman (or swordorc?!) that clearly knows his business. Or at least, he's very confident about it!

This Orc is completely different from his colleague. Soldier A is thin and tall, this one is bulky and shorter, with a kind of primate anatomy (legs are a bit shorter than the classic human proportions, for example). I chose this silhouette to suggest primordial strength and define from the very beginning the fighting style of this Orc: ok he's a swordsman, but don't think about "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" one, this guy handles a sword because he thinks it's cool, not because he needs it to smash his opponent!

He floats like a tank and stings like a club.

As you can see, the concept design of this guy is pretty simple: again, I wanted to focus more on the overall vibe of the subject, than the raw amount of details.

In this specific case, I wanted to portray an overconfident soldier, so I gave him the classic "cool-guy arsenal": the pose is inspired by the classic "cowboy holding his hat" one, to keep the subtle spaghetti western vibe of this range. I added also an overcoat, appealing to my obsession with coats, because it simply looks badass.

Then I just merged him with the other characters of this range, in order for him to look coherent with what we have already designed.

I think that this kind of reverse pipeline I followed with this range (I made at first the most complex ones, then I started to work on the simplest guys) is an interesting approach.

The core troops of a range should portray the essence of a concept, and I think that at this point I understand better what I want from my Orcs and I'm more able to turn it into a subject.

I have still two shots to shoot, before completing the initial range of Orcs (then, it's just a matter of how well the KS campaign will go!), and I want to end with a bang!

Orc Soldier A and B are easily accessible kits that show in their minimalistic approach the true aesthetic of the Orcs of Inneath.

I think that the Old West influences and the Conquerors' style are well represented by these two characters, and I want to complete this core group of subjects with two other archetypes: an Orc Warrior (like "Before the Battle") and a Veteran Sergeant.

Of course, there are plenty of other characters that I would like to turn into resin kits (a Doctorc, a Monsters Hunter, a Cartographorc and many more!) but there are still plenty of Goblins to make and above all, my resources are limited. So I think I just have to focus on what I can do now, and keep some bullets in my imaginary drawer of creativity.

I think it's evident how much fun I'm having while working on these Orcs: in fact, this is probably the range I'm enjoying the most!

"Wait a minute...are you saying that you prefer Orcs over Dwarves?!"

Well, not exactly.

When I designed the Dwarves of Kazhuk Izril, I had not the experience I have now. I feel like I have now a very clear idea of what I want from my miniatures, after years of tries and failures. I'm far from being an expert, but I surely have more understanding of this job both from a creative and technical point of view.

With these Orcs, I feel like I'm finally refining my creative approach, which is rewarding per se.

What do you think about this range? Are you liking what you've seen by far?