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Grimdarkilitude: an evolving term and its definition


AlexCrute

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Help me Fraters, I'm trying to coin a word or phrase that describes ineffable radness of an artfully assembled and painted Space Marine model.

 

To clarify this question, I must ask you another: what is it that the work of these hobbyists have in common (not exclusively mind you)?

 

1000heathens

Cain Tiberius Konrad

Brother Syth

Scythas

augustmanifesto

Vadskaer

Desert Eagle

Chaplain Hiltraud

Inquisitor Engel

stinkenheim

kizzdougs

Mortarion

the damned artificer

blackbabyjesus

SCC

 

 

By no means an exhaustive list, but do you see what I see?

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Confidence! From what I've seen these are not the best painted or the most converted models (that's not say they stink far far from it). From the kitbashing and subtle conversions to the weathering and paint they have all been executed confidently by skilled enthusiastic hobbyists. These have been put together by people who know what they can do and allow them selves to make the best of every model using experience to guide them.
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I'll be honest I do not see what you see, I don't really see similarities between them other than they obvious appeal to your personal taste in some way. Just like if I made a list of all of the armies I think are the coolest someone else probably couldn't make any sense of it either. I think you need to look within yourself for the answer you seek. :)
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Well that's very zen of you Gumbafish, I suppose I should contribute just a bit more :tu:

 

It ought to be apparent that I do find these armies very cool, yes indeed. But there are plenty of other armies that I find equally cool, but that don't carry the same sense of *insert term here at conclusion of thread*. So my thought is that those don't have the 'something' that I'm trying to put a name to. The similarity, you see, is ineffable.

 

Darklighter, that's an interesting word I had not thought to use. Confidence. Specifically a hobbyist who knows their ability and uses it effectively. These armies do have that in common, certainly. I don't know if that's 'it' or not but it's certainly a factor.

 

GKTerminator, that was as far as I got too. For me, it has a lot to do with posing of models. I find that to be a defining aspect of a great model - a believable and interesting pose. It's not only about dynamic posing though, and I don't mean dynamic in the sense cartwheeling guns akimbo, but 'dynamic' in the sense of at-least-some-thought-given-to-the-posing-of-the-model.

 

Maybe that's the word I'm after. Believable. As in 'assisting with the suspension of disbelief'.

 

What I mean is, when I look at those threads I don't see models. I see Space Marines.

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I think the word you're after is 'grit'.

I only clicked on the first four, but as soon as I saw 1000heathens on there, that's the word that came to mind.

 

All those armies look gritty. Some painters do 'clean' others do 'grit'.

The weathering and the poses and that the marines are all darker than their 'normal' (i.e GW standard) colouration makes them look gritty.

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I would have to say that what ties these models together is both dynamic-but-not-over-the-top positioning and sense of movement(most having to do with posing that captures the feeling of a movement just started and not yet complete while still giving a solid sense of where the movement started and will be ending), and a style of painting that incorporates many destaturated, but still slightly vibrant coloring and a more realistic sense of highlights and shading. The highlights are subtle and not over done. There is also a use of deep, realistic looking metallics and senseable weathering used to add a real sense of grit and use to the armor.
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Love and devotion, I think covers my end of things. As odd as that sounds...

 

I put my heart into my work, from the individual poses, to the extensive fluff I build. If I don't like something, if it doesn't 'speak' to me... then it dies horribly. My Marines Malevolent, though horribly painted and converted in my opinion, was a labour of love from beginning to... well, not end yet, as I'm still planning on a last few things, but you get my point. I put every ounce of everything 40k I had into my work, from fluff to conversion, and held nothing back. If others liked it, cool. But in the end, it was all about how I felt about them, and I still enjoy them immensely, though my painting skills have increased since then. If you do this to your army while you build, you can truly never go wrong, and others will be able to see the deovtion you have put into your work.

 

I'm glad I've been able to inspire you, man.

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If I don't like something, if it doesn't 'speak' to me... then it dies horribly.

May I sig this? It is such a wonderfully funny statement, especially in the absence of context.

 

I think I know what you mean, you continue to tinker (or fully rebuild) until the model gives off that pleasing sense of .................what?

 

'Believability' is the word I got so far. I want to use 'verisimilitude' but it's a misuse of the term - not least because the entire setting lacks veritas, but also utter true-to-lifeness isn't the goal. That's a whole different thing. You see the WWII dioramists or the railroad-modelling types aiming for realism, they use tools and techniques (and spans of time) that even ardent and well-financed wargamers would never even consider. Or at least that I never have.

 

I propose 'grimdarkilitude' - a term we could coin to mean true-to-the-40k-setting. What say you Fraters?

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Grimdarkilitude is expressed in the the noted armies (among others) by combination of:

  • Discriminating taste in bits and kits
  • Conversions kept strictly to theme, not for conversions sake
  • Thoughtful assembly and posing
  • Consistency of tone and quality maintained across entire force
  • Paint scheme/recipe selected to yield good results in light of hobbyist's skill level. Not necessarily pushing the boundaries but rather doing what works really well
  • Special techniques (such as chipping, weathering, NMM, OSL, freehand, detailed bases etc) ably applied in support of general theme, but not as the main focus.
  • Background referenced and honoured continually throughout modelling process

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  • 1 month later...

A question? does the absence of weathering/battle damage/gore. Prevent a force from being grimdark?

 

I personally wouldn't think so, and I certainly hope that this is not the case. I did fully intend to apply said techniques across my force once I was happy with the paint jobs. However it seems to have become so ubiquitous now, that I think I shall be going for a fresh from the armoury look.

 

So how best to achieve a grimdark feel to a force that isn't weathered and wears bright yellow? Or could it be that this is like looking for a unicorn stool containing chickens teeth?

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  • 1 month later...

Wooo late reply, sorry Rhetoricus.

 

I don't think weathering or gore is a mandatory part of the grimdark look at all. It can work really well, but can also detract from the effect if overdone or applied incongruously. I should be careful to highlight that Grimdarkilitude isn't a 'look', but more of a sense that these models wholly belong in the 40k background.

 

Fresh from the armoury is how Space Marines roll. If they're gotten dirty they've been on the planet too long*.

 

*This problem can be caused by incorrect application of Codex Doctrine**.

 

**Ok I'm teasing. Dirty is cool too. I just haven't figured out how to apply the look to my guys yet -_-

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