John Blanche has passed away

[Dr. Clock]

Never be another like him, sure. The bell tolls for an original hero of the hobby, an artist beyond compare. 

 

Rest in Peace John Blanche. 

 

No Cheers today,

 

The Good Doctor. 

[Felix Antipodes]

So sad and a genuine loss.  His art was the very definition of grimdark.  One of my favourites…

 

[lhg033]

My thoughts to his family and friends.

 

I can only echo the comments here about his influence on me and this hobby. I started with second edition, in particular Chaos, and his art was definitely a deciding factor in what drew me to this and the hobby as a whole. Gritty and grim dark!

[BadgersinHills]

Horrible news. He had a great impact on our community. My condolences to his friends and family. 

[Alby the Slayer]

Sad day indeed.

 

I will drink to his life tonight, for my favorite hobby wouldn't have been the same without him.

 

Farewell, John Blanche.

[Marshal Reinhard]

Unreal.

[SvenIronhand]

I know the old man was in poor health, but...

[NovemberIX]

Unfortunate news, his style was iconic, and 40K wouldn't be what it is today without his contributions. It is a loss of great magnitude. 

[Shinespider]

I can't think of any visual artist whose work has ever meant as much to me. It's a tragedy.

[Scribe]

Simply put, a Legend.

 

His work is foundational, and thus will live on forever. RIP.

[ZeroWolf]

There's nothing that I can say that hasn't already been said by others. His artwork was always phenomenal and I agree that I don't think any other artist has had a bigger impact than him on 40ks style.

 

My condolences to his family.

 

Rest in peace Mr Blanche, unlike what the famous line says you will be missed.

[Necronaut]

It was Mr. Blanche's artwork that really captured my imagination back in the dim days of the mid-1990s when I first encountered GW and 40K more broadly, and his artwork has inspired, confounded and fascinated me ever since. He will be greatly missed.

[Ahzek451]

Condolences to his family. Man, what a legend and such a loss. Rest in peace sir. 

[Moonstalker]

We should all aspire to be as influential, recognized, and remembered as him.

[Mmmmm Napalm]

Rest in Peace, prayers for his family.

[de Selby]

That is very sad news.

 

John Blanche had a colossal impact on our hobby and like many people I've often made a conscious effort to apply his principles to things I've painted.

 

That influence will continue. Rest in peace.

[mecanojavi99]

Gutted would be an understatement to describe how this news make me feel, my thoughts are with his family.

 

May the bell toll eternally for him.

[Kommisar_K]

RIP to an absolute legend. I didn't always love his work, but that style has defined Warhammer. May God welcome you to eternal life. 

 

Hear that? The Bell of Lost Souls tolls only for the greatest...

[Lay]

Man, we lost a few hobby legends over the last few years, but John Blanche's passing really stings.

 

That said, the best thing any artist in any medium can hope for is to be remembered for their artwork. And I don't mean the the art gigs that you make to pay the bills, or the stuff you know only got exposure because you aimed for mass appeal. You want to be remembered for the art that is unmistakingly "you". The art that shows what you're really passionate about. That shows the way you see the world. The art that influences other people. In that regard, I can't think of few more accomplished artist than John Blanche.

 

Rest in peace, Mr Blanche. You'll be missed, but you'll never be forgotten.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20080629040240/http://news.mondewarhammer.com/?article=379&page_art=2

Quote

MP: What do you think makes Warhammer, Warhammer?
John Blanche: Dark, death, stonked? Does that one exist? Stonked? Big, bold, brutal… It’s fantasy but Warhammer is gritty.

MP: How would you rate those screenshots?
John Blanche: (Chosen Artwork): That is Warhammer. That one is like faery tales (Avelorn Screenshot).

Dark and grim, just like real life. Brutal, nasty.

[Hungry Nostraman Lizard]

The amount of creativity Sir Blanche inspired, hell - a whole artstyle/movement was born to emulate his very own. An icon. I will never tire looking at his art. Not every artist has people continuously going back to their creations for inspiration. I propose we all share a piece of art, perhaps not our favorites (god, I couldn't pick just ONE!), or pieces that stood out to us. As a Ukrainian, the Imperial Army concepts he did really stood out to me, which then birthed the Vostroyan range.
 

Edited 13 hours ago by Hungry Nostraman Lizard

[Lord Sondar]

I like others have been greatly inspired by John.  I learnt about the Zorn palette, limited the number of colours I use to paint my miniatures and more recently have started to explore my own take on a more gritty realistic style.

 

I've also enjoyed watching or reading interviews John has kindly given over the years.  

 

Thank you, the bell does indeed toll for the loss of a mighty hero today.

[Son of Rawl]

Sad times. Blanche's work utterly blew my mind as a kid. It still does now.

[DuskRaider]

This is a sad day indeed. John Blanche has had such an incredible impact, not just on our beloved game but sci-fi culture at large. His grimdark style has permeated every corner of pop culture over the years, but everything else just feels… cheap compared to Mr. Blanche. 
 

I can say personally that John has had a massive impact on my hobby. He has been such a big influence on my painting, my converting and the lore I’ve written, and it’s something that can be seen as far back as 2008 when I first joined B&C. My Death Guard and Chaos Knights have so much influence from John’s vision of the Warhammer universe (which at times found itself at odds with the one GW themselves were creating IMO). 
 

He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten. His impact will be felt and his image will live on forever.

Ring the Bell of Lost Souls and Godspeed!

[Xenith]

RIP John, absolute cornerstone of the 40k IP and vision, and creator of some of the most amazing, inspirational art. One of my all time faves:

 

Edited 8 hours ago by Xenith

[Magos Takatus]

I've been talking about this on Discord today, I can't believe I forgot to post here.

 

This is awful. I will crack open his Inquisitor sketchbook tomorrow and spend some time with that art. I spent a long time admiring the box art for the 40k 2nd edition box set that my brother bought for me long ago.  The box is long gone but that art is imprinted into the meat of my brain. From his epic, finely detailed battle scenes to his bizarre BDSM-inspired characters off the battlefield he inspired a lot of people. His technical execution was often imperfect, but it was hard to rival the mood his art created.

 

40k lore scroll be damned. You *will* be missed.