For the Lion
The last brother standing, a lone Dark Angel bulwark stands against the tyranid hive tyrant in a defiant last stand to save planet Avarax from the tyranid invasion.
For anyone who doesn’t understand the universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Dark Angels are a legion of Space Marines. The Space marines are genetically modified humans that stand 7 feet tall and are decked out in power armor. The tyranids are a hive mind alien race of countless numbers who consumed the biomass of entire planets in order to grow stronger. When they invade a planet, they arrives in the millions and are led by a hive tyrant. When the hive tyrant is destroyed, so to is the fleet.
The inspiration behind the fight is from the 2024 video game Space Marine 2, in which there is a mission where you are tasked with slaying the hive tyrant
Inspiration
I wanted the the characters to look like the models made by Games Workshop. The design of the tyranid hive tyrant is based off of the winged variant. For the overall look, I wanted to make it look like a knight fighting a dragon.
The dark angel marine is inspired by the bulwark class in Space Marine 2. His helmet is the iconic Corvus MKVI helmet, also referred to as the “Beakies” by fans because that’s what the Orks call them. The wings on the side of the helmet are seen on various Dark Angel marines.
In Warhammer, the dark angels aesthetic is heavily inspired by medieval knights, making it the optimal choice for our bulwark. He wields a mighty power sword and a shield for defense. The dark angels primary color is dark green with some having dark red in some areas. I didn't want to make the marine look like a main character or make him look very flashy.
In terms of customization, he does have a purity seal, which is used to protect space marines against evil. I decided to nickname him Dark Angel Dan.
“Dark Angel Dan”
The Beast
The hive tyrant’s inspiration comes from the trailer for Warhammer 40,000 10th edition where a winged hive tyrant spits acidic bile at the Ultramarines, another space marine chapter. I made an overall outline of the acid as it hit Dan’s shield.
Speaking of Dan, I decided to start more shading on him with glow effects on his power sword
Shading
Rewatching the trailer, the acid has a glow to it