Kings of War Monsters: Designing The Greater Water Elemental
20th Jun 2018
Dave
Following our blog on the Chroneas yesterday, today we share some of the thoughts and processes behind designing the Greater Water Elemental.
Greater Water Elementals are immense sentient waves, summoned to the battlefield through magic to lay waste to opposing troops. So powerful are these beings, that they are only called upon at times of great need. The devastation they wreak is terrifying, and there is always the risk that the summoner will lose control of the untamed water spirit and set it loose on their own forces.
The Water Elementals and the Greater Water Elemental appear in no less than three different armies; the Forces of Nature, the Trident Realm of Neritica, and the Brotherhood. In order to look great (no pun intended) alongside each of these armies on the tabletop, the miniature would need to be suitably generic. Thankfully, we’ve been on form with our Fire and Earth Elementals in this regard, making each of them look great, no matter which army you field.
Unlike most of our other miniatures, the Greater Water Elemental didn’t have concept art created for it. Instead, we submitted images and concept art for the lesser Water Elementals to the sculptor with instructions to create something based on them. This meant that the same style and aesthetics would be carried across to the large model and the two units would mix well on the tabletop. But how much style can a sentient wave have?
The Water Elementals are designed to look like waves cresting – similar to what a surfer would use. This is shown through their shape and surface textures and can be brought out on your miniatures through drybrushing and glazes. However, water on its own doesn’t make for an interesting miniature and these Elementals are on dry land, which they’ll be interacting with. We break the open areas of the model up with sea life that has been brought along with the elemental itself – although sadly, the suggestion of a ‘Shark-fist’ was turned down. Where the Elementals touch the base, there are splashes and rocks. You can imagine these creatures rolling along the land as an unnatural wave.
The Greater Elemental follows these same design cues. It has a curved posture as if it is bearing down on unfortunate prey – most of the beings it faces will be smaller than itself. The Greater Water Elemental stands around 4-inches tall, which is almost twice the size of its smaller brethren.
The larger space has allowed use to add a face, complete with raging expression – literally the fury of the sea. The size difference has also let us add more fauna to the miniature. There’s a large octopus and an entire shoal of fish spread across the model. You can see the remains of ship’s hull and rigging caught in the Elemental’s back, with the loose rope wrapping around to the front of the body. The detailed base features an anchor, rocks and the splashes of agitated water from where the Elemental meets the ground.