Jes Goodwin is retiring

[Joe]

 

Reddit Post

 

Sourced from Reddit, which in turn sourced from Gav Thorpe's Discord. Jes Goodwin is apparently retiring. A sad day for the community, as Jes' influence has been felt across 40,000 for decades now.

[Domhnall]

4 minutes ago, Joe said:

 

Reddit Post

 

Sourced from Reddit, which in turn sourced from Gav Thorpe's Discord. Jes Goodwin is apparently retiring. A sad day for the community, as Jes' influence has been felt across 40,000 for decades now.

 

That will indeed be a sad day
Though the wording suggests it's not immenent: ".... that Jes is retiring and will be less and less involved in the coming years...." So could be he's got a retirement plan in place and will be pulling back from the front line over the course of the next couple years? Hopefully? 

[Indy Techwisp]

This feels like less of a "Jess Goodwyn is leaving." post and more of an Exodite rumour post with Jess Goodwyn news thrown in.

[mecanojavi99]

The man deserves some rest after so many years of creating masterpieces.

 

We welcome another Custodes among the Eyes of the Emperor.

[Xenith]

I do hope he's codified his design ideals and ethos somewhere for new hires to read, digest and worship. Jes has been the instigator of many, many timeless models throughout the years, and we do see that when they stray from his ethos, things go wrong.

Edited January 14 by Xenith

[mecanojavi99]

16 minutes ago, Domhnall said:

 

That will indeed be a sad day
Though the wording suggests it's not immenent: ".... that Jes is retiring and will be less and less involved in the coming years...." So could be he's got a retirement plan in place and will be pulling back from the front line over the course of the next couple years? Hopefully? 

It seems to be a gradual thing instead of just not showing up the next day, I imagine someone as central as him needs to leave everything tied up before truly retiring.

[mecanojavi99]

1 minute ago, Xenith said:

I do hope he's codified his design ideals somewhere for new hires to read, digest and worship. Jes has been the instigator of many, many timeless models throughout the years, and we do see that when they stray from his ethos, things go wrong.

Among GW various flaws, not cataloguing and storing designs and models isn't one of them, we know they pretty much store everything they've ever released (and even some stuff they didn't).

 

So I would say it's save to assume that Jess designs are very well codified by this point.

[Ahzek451]

2 minutes ago, Xenith said:

I do hope he's codified his design ideals somewhere for new hires to read, digest and worship. Jes has been the instigator of many, many timeless models throughout the years, and we do see that when they stray from his ethos, things go wrong.

This. One of many things a growing company has to contend with is the passage of time and its ability to stay true to its roots. A company needs to adapt, but it also needs to have a strong rooted base culture to adhere to to help future employees assimilate to what made their product good to begin with. Stray too far and you will find yourself in the same mess many other's have found themselves in. He deserves rest, but he will be greatly missed. 

[Xenith]

Not just the designs themselves, but his thinking and way of working, and *why* he did what he did. newer sculptors strayed from his original space marine design from 5th ed onwards, something that he wasn't a fan of, according to the voxcast episode, and they stripped marines back for the primaries release. Even amongst the most decorated, ornamentation is really toned down. 

[MoriyaSchism]

His designs are truly timeless, especially the Eldar and the Indomitus Terminators. In my eyes he's more important to how I feel about Warhammer 40,000 than John Blanche. Not to knock John Blanche as I love his art, but I was always a huge fan of Jes Goodwin. 

[Neil H]

I was told a couple of months ago that Jes was retiring, so I expect some planning well underway?

Neil

[Scribe]

Foundational, doesn't begin to do him justice.

 

End of an era.

[Doghouse]

Well and truly paid his dues as an artist and I am very happy for him.

[TheWarmaster]

No. I refuse. 
 

Jes, if you read this, you aren’t allowed. 
 

Sorry. 

[Redcomet]

They should make him sculpt Eldar untill he is 90

[grailkeeper]

I figured he was the kind of person who viewed his work as a vocation or a calling, rather than a job.

 

GW owes him big. I hope they give him a massive pension on condition he gives them a few ideas whenever they need them from him. 

[Northern Walker]

When he does retire, that'll be a really sad day. An absolute colossus of the hobby. Like many of us, his designs have been a massive part of my life for over 25 years, and I have only gratitude to him for his contributions.

 

Also easily top 10 in my blokes I'd love to have a pint with rankings. (at Bugmans, on the Boltgun, obviously)

[dienekes96]

I bought The Gothic and the Eldritch at a U.S. Gamesday right when it was released.  I looked through his sketchbook when he was the GD guest a few years later.  I’ve. Ought quite a few models (back in the day) just because he sculpted them.  The 2nd edition character models were almost exclusively his, and many of them still hold up quite beautifully.  He’s done a fantastic job bringing along many of the current sculptors (Darren L among them).  But he’s a legend, on par with Blanche and Priestly.  His career should be celebrated.

[The Praetorian of Inwit]

An amazing designer. He has produced phenomal work and done it consistently l. He's earned his retirement.

 

I just hope with him winding down that GW doesn't lose his vision and feel. Losing the art of John Blanche was a blow. Losing Jes's design influences would be another. 

[soviet1337]

The Gothic and the Eldritch is great, I would love to see Jes's sketches for Primaris and other more recent models. 

 

It's a sad day for Jes to be retiring but presumably there are still years of releases in the pipeline that have his influence on them. Hopefully exodites are indeed on the horizon too. 

 

I guess it does mean i) he'll be available to be interviewed on hobby podcasts now and ii) he'll be free to be involved in passion projects and side hustles in the same way that John Blanche has. He might even sculpt again? Who knows

Edited January 14 by soviet1337
typo

[Robbienw]

He will be 65 now, has been on the card for the last few years,.  He’s set the look for the 40k range since the early 90s, will be interesting to see the direction whoever takes over from him will take, particularly with Space Marines.

 

Big shoes to fill, I wonder who they will get to take over from him. I reckon it might be Darren Latham.

[torcathmk2]

I was re-reading a White Dwarf from 1988 that had some of Jes' minis in, helluva shift he's put in. That the Eldar range still has minis from the late 90's stands testament to their timeless design. The Falcon grav tank is a wonderful design.
With regards as too who could take over I hope it isn't Darren. He is undeniably superbly talented in both sculpting and painting, but, he poses minis like a painter. I don't need another combat leader at parade rest, helm in crook of arm, sword pointed down into the ground. I want more hacky slashy poses

[01RTB01]

Regardless of who follows, Jes really is one the GOAT sculptors. I can only agree with what's already been written here. It's weird to think of GW after he goes as his impact has been so vast. Considering the constraints of materials in the late 80s and early 90s so many of those minis have stood the test of time and still don't look out of place on tables. Hopefully he's well looked after in retirement.

[Mmmmm Napalm]

3 hours ago, torcathmk2 said:

I was re-reading a White Dwarf from 1988 that had some of Jes' minis in, helluva shift he's put in. That the Eldar range still has minis from the late 90's stands testament to their timeless design. The Falcon grav tank is a wonderful design.
With regards as too who could take over I hope it isn't Darren. He is undeniably superbly talented in both sculpting and painting, but, he poses minis like a painter. I don't need another combat leader at parade rest, helm in crook of arm, sword pointed down into the ground. I want more hacky slashy poses

it's darren latham lol

Edited January 15 by Mmmmm Napalm

[Antarius]

Jes is an absolute legend. Everything else that can be said is just elaboration.

If anyone was ever in doubt that making miniatures is truly a form of art, he is the first name I would point them towards - and I would fully expect that to end the debate.
More than any other sculptor I can think of, his work is not just great for what it is - rather, like most great art, it is timeless.

Most of his minis hold up or even surpass current minis, despite being decades old. In the time of the (generally speaking) much clunkier metal minis, he was a master of making both delicate and expressive designs that I honestly don't think any of the other GW sculptors of the (g)olden days (as much as I love them) could hope to match.

Looking at the old Necromunda gangs for example, the difference in detail and dynamics between his Escher and most of the other gangs are night and day. Even the current Escher models can arguably be said to not actually being an upgrade, so much as a replacement.
I also think his Eldar designs are a big part of why it didn't seem necessary for GW to update a lot of (relatively speaking) ancient minis for the longest time. They were just that good.

His concept art and design sketches is a whole other chapter of greatness that I am admittedly not nearly as familiar with - let's just say I hope they have a lot of it stockpiled in Nottingham.

He's definitely earned his retirement and I hope he gets to enjoy it for many years to come. Still, I can't help feeling a bit wistful, not to mention old