Malignant Jesters

[5t3]

Please critique name and scheme.

Thanks

[Carlson793]

I'd swap the colors on the upper torso, shoulders, and arms while leaving the stomach and below as-is. Give it a little bit more of a motley look.

[Olis]

Okay... The name doesn't quite roll off the tongue, imo. Not really sure how to go about suggesting a decent alternative, though, without context. :huh:

[The Vagabird]

Looks extremely Irish!

[Cartoon Head]

First thoughts; damn, now that is a striking scheme. Don't know how it would look on a miniature so if you've got one painted up I'd love to see it.

 

You could make a cool Tzeentch (or Malal if that's the reference you're going for with the helmet) aligned warband from this but I imagine your gonna have a difficult job making them a loyalist chapter. Not that you can't though, I just don't know how you would do it personally.   

[Doctor Perils]

Okay, I haven't seen much movement on this since it was posted, but I'll say this right away: I'm not a fan of medley colour schemes like this - it just doesn't really look that good, even for chaos warbands.

I'd go for a more unified colour scheme, possibly a halved scheme (or a quatered scheme if you want) - then, I'd apply some diamond shapes to the pauldrons: some dark angels and the Lamenters both use checkerboard patterns to some extent, so I don't see why you shouldn't be able to use diamond board patterns.

 

On top of that, I'd change the colour composition: these shades of orange and green just look "clashy" - I get that that's probably something you're going for to some extent (with a name like "jesters" after all), but here it's just a bit too much. If possible, you could use a darker green, nearly dark angels green - this would give you more contrast as opposed to clashiness, and contrast is probably one of the most important parts in a space marine colour scheme.

Something like this:

 

 

 

 

In addition, with a colour scheme that already is quite unusual like this, I'd recommend keeping the helmet in the same colours, rather then black and white - you can then reserve the black and white for a single marine in the chapter that is the Pierrot to all these Harlequins. That may be straying a bit too far into Eldar Harlequin territory, but it's worth considering.

[Draakur]

Yep gotta be honest here, I'm not drawn to this. The name, specifically, feels very off for a Chapter of Space Marines - Jesters are objects of ridicule, "fools", to be laughed at and serve as entertainment for others. I can't imagine Space Marines ever carrying themselves under such a moniker, no matter how loose the interpretation of the word. 

[Guest Mordray]

Yep gotta be honest here, I'm not drawn to this. The name, specifically, feels very off for a Chapter of Space Marines - Jesters are objects of ridicule, "fools", to be laughed at and serve as entertainment for others. I can't imagine Space Marines ever carrying themselves under such a moniker, no matter how loose the interpretation of the word. 

 

IIRC Jesters were originally wise men tasked with the mission of keeping the king/ruler humbled by satirical reminders of their failings and even to help them when dealing with dignitaries. Sometimes the wisest are those who appear the most foolish.

[Draakur]

I was not aware of this! Perhaps I should have thought further than what I've been taught via typical mainstream comics/movies/books etc over the years and done more research before replying - my apologies :)

 

I'm still not convinced really, the capering, peculiar laughing stock image is strong, but if the aspect of things you mentioned is more where you're going I could maybe see potential if it was done well?

 

I'd suggest you make things like this clear sooner rather than later though - with no context at all and a single sentence of instruction to critique name and colour scheme, you're probably not giving yourself the best chance here of getting this off the ground...

[Draakur]

Another sign of hastiness - I didn't even check to realise you weren't the OP, Mordray! My apologies, thought that by way of explaining you were actually the owner of the idea :) Appreciate the information before, regardless.

[Guest Mordray]

Another sign of hastiness - I didn't even check to realise you weren't the OP, Mordray! My apologies, thought that by way of explaining you were actually the owner of the idea Appreciate the information before, regardless.

I can't speak for the OP, but I don't mind... didn't even think much of it when you posted...

[DaBoiKyknos]

I would do the Black and White on the breast, too.

The Name? Well, original in any case!

But as stated above, it´s difficult to say if it´s fitting without knowing more.