John Blanche has passed away

[Petitioner's City]

 

The most sad news, and a lovely post by Trish Carden too.

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EPHA8uywi/

Edited 7 hours ago by Petitioner's City

[NorthernUltramarines]

Oh that's absolutely devastating. What a titan and an icon to the hobby and the community, he always seemed like a lovely bloke who was really passionate about his art. Thoughts go out to his family and friends, hope they're all doing okay.

[Matcap86]

Ah damn. Truly the end of an era.

[Vassakov]

Probably one of the most influential figures in the creation of this hobby we all love, and whose work is still informing the designs of models nearly 40 years later.

 

He's going to be missed. Thank you for all you did, John. 

[Antarius]

I really don't know what to say. I can't think of a single painter and illustrator who has meant more to the hobby, or to me, as a lover of fantastic art.

His work, to my mind, stands alone and has been truly monumental in the way it has shaped the universes we all know and love. He was a master of his art and he had a vision that went far beyond not just this world, but also kept pushing the boundaries of the fantasy worlds he illustrated. These worlds would not have been the same without him and neither would mine. I don't think it's an overstatement to rate him among the great artists, not just of the 20th and 21st century, but of all time.

 

I knew his health wasn't the best, but I had really hoped he'd had a few more years of enjoying his retirement (such as it was, as far as I know, he was still working on stuff).

[Evil Eye]

Well that's thoroughly ruined my day. I'd hoped to meet the man at some point, he was an absolute creative genius and a great artist, and responsible for so much of the Warhammer (both flavours) aesthetic.

 

May he rest in peace.

[W.A.Rorie]

Damn. He was an Icon. Will be greatly missed.

[Joe]

Genuinely sad day for the community.

[apologist]

What dreadful news. A genuine one-off, Blanche will be sorely missed. His influence on modern GW is deep and difficult to quantify – his style varied, often divisive but always engaging – and he was undeniably a titan of the industry as well as a really distinctive artistic voice.

 

My sympathies to his family and friends; a sad loss to the artistic and tabletop gaming communities alike.

Edited 6 hours ago by apologist

[hinace]

RIP Blanchesama. Few people have had so much impact in our hobby. Hopefully GW will have the decency to honour him. 

 

"Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee"

[Harlan Skorus]

Bugrit. Blanche 40k is peak 40k.

[dienekes96]

Rest in Peace

 

His impact probably cannot be overstated, to the hobby and to the Warhammer universes.

[Robbienw]

An absolute legend.  RIP John.

 

I feel compelled to go and look at the Battlefleet Gothic front cover now.

[redmapa]

More than almost anyone else his art truly defined what Warhammer 40k looked and felt like, an absolute inspiration! 

[firestorm40k]

Genuinely gutted to read this  of course, all Warhammer fans owe John Blanche a huge amount, for his contributions that have defined the hobby and setting we all love and participate in through many different ways. I don’t need to detail these contributions, as we surely all know and appreciate them. 
 

On a personal level, I’m gutted - I had the privilege to meet John Blanche in person at a community event at Warhammer World in 2012; he was a genuinely lovely person, who had time to chat with everyone there. I had a chat with him about a mutual love for techno and obscure electronic music. He recommended an album to me (Liumin by Deepchord presents Echospace) which ended up being my soundtrack for that particular summer; I’m genuinely grateful to him personally for that music recommendation. 
 

We were aware that his health had been in decline - I had hoped he would still be around when the Amazon Warhammer series dropped, because I was looking forward to his art being noticed and embraced by a new set of fans 

 

As a hobbyist, I thank John Blanche for his incalculable contribution to my favourite pastime, and I feel very privileged to have met him in person. 
 

Thank you, and rest in peace good sir. 

[Wibbling]

In the 2nd Edition Wargear manual there's an piece with a Lord fellow with a pipe going into his eye with a tap on it. That defines 40K. It's classic Blanche. The work the man threw out for countless pieces that defined a setting to this day. Thank you, Mr Blanche.

From

https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Senatorum_Imperialis

 

 

[Hfran Morkai]

This hurts.

 

What an icon of the Hobby.

 

The Bell of Lost Souls tolls for him.

[Orange Knight]

An icon of the hobby.

 

No one else like him.

 

 

God speed

[nodnol88]

What an absolute titan of a man when it came to his influence on this silly hobby. His artwork IS 40K. The 3rd Edition rulebook continues to be the definitive depiction of the setting for me, and I’m sure many others. 
 

RIP Mr Blanche.

[Evil Eye]

15 minutes ago, Wibbling said:

In the 2nd Edition Wargear manual there's an piece with a Lord fellow with a pipe going into his eye with a tap on it. That defines 40K. It's classic Blanche. The work the man threw out for countless pieces that defined a setting to this day. Thank you, Mr Blanche.

From

https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Senatorum_Imperialis

 

 

I absolutely adored his weird little marginalia pieces like that. Though on a lighter note, I am now imagining the bloke in the picture as grimdark Eyeball Paul from Kevin and Perry Go Large- that pipe supplies vodka to his eye on demand. I would add the catchphrase but it would be autocensored, and those who know will know.

[Redcomet]

A true titan. Without him 40k wouldn’t be what it is today. Thoughts go out to his family and loved ones. 

[Emperor Ming]

Such an Icon

[derLumpi]

Oh wow that's so sad! :-(

 

He will be at the Emperors side.

[grailkeeper]

RIP.

 

His decision not to use green or blues in his art is something that changed the way I look at art and produce things myself.

[Lord_Ikka]

Damn, that sucks. I knew he had just had a recent successful Kickstarter for his En Garde work, which was great. Such a massive influence in the hobby.

 

RIP.