Privateer: Crucible Guard Infantry – Start to Finish
Privateer Press shares the design for the latest force to come out of CID.
This limited release faction is part of the latest CID cycle. The Crucible Guard has ties with the Llaelese Resistance, and is likely the military of the Order of the Golden Crucible – a high tech organization based in Llael until Khador invaded. They carry an injectable serum that can give anyone warcaster powers, but at a price.
In this behind the scenes look concept artist Nate Feyma walks us through the design process for the force’s light infantry
Partway through this process, we recalled another sketch that had been submitted by the incomparable Andrea Uderzo as part of a different piece. We liked the overall direction of this alternative, but wanted to do some more work on the helmet, so it was off to the races on gasmask and helmet variations:
Option 3 was the decisive favorite among these options, and so I began cleaning up linework and taking care of variants and back views. At the same time, we needed to figure out their weapons and accessories. Along with a sword, an infantryman in the Crucible Guard is armed with a complex firearm that treats ammunition with various alchemical substances as it is fired. Getting the gun right was the biggest challenge we had to create a weapon that looked complex without being a pain for hobbyists to work with.
Sword F and gun 3 were our jumping-off points. These were further refined into weapons befitting our Crucible Guard by making the blade look more utilitarian, and by distilling the most important parts of the rifle to simplify it while retaining its character.
Finally, the Crucible Guard Infantry needed a standard, and I wanted to make it unique. Given their role as rescue workers in hazardous situations, I proposed a chemical lantern that could be used to find the unit in the midst of battle and to ward civilians away from danger when off the battlefield. This went over well, and standard B was the option chosen for further refinement.
After much additional linework, refinement, and pose reference, the Crucible Guard Light Infantry were finally ready.
What do you think of this design?
