Entry VI. - The Forest Awakens

I have completed the pack of five Fenrisian Wolves to serve as the Leshy's summoned forest companions. Nothing too special, a spot of minor re-posing and I used pictures of real Grey Wolves as reference when painting.

 I'd originally intended the snarling black one to the left of center to serve as the pack "Alpha", and hence painted him black like the Alpha wolf in the movie; The Grey.

However, on closer inspection it seems to me he's one of the smallest wolves in the pack, so not very suitable as a dominant specimen! (Note: I'm aware that the "Alpha" theory regarding wolf social behavior has largely been debunked at this point, but for fantasy gaming purposes and having a unit leader it is simply a convenience.) I now favour the one in the middle as the proverbial "big dog".

I'm considering sourcing something bigger like a Thunderwolf for the purpose though. I'm also thinking of getting some kind of were-creatures (one of which possibly being wolf or bear-like) for the Leshy's shape-shifted form; I figure there are surely times where he "runs with the pack", so to speak, but I still want him to stand out even when transformed.

I have further plans to expand the warband, and have now decided I'm going to leverage the Giant/Gargant I was working on as an additional ally, but this combination of master and hounds is the core setup I'd imagined when the idea first germinated.

I'd like to make him a Leshy-Wife, but haven't figured it out yet. There's also an idea for an aerial contingent in the form of giant birds of prey. Perhaps the Wife could bring the birds? There's a thought...

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed. See you next time!

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Entry V. - Forest Lord: The Leshy (Part Two)

In a previous post, I showcased the Leshy model I made for AoS28/Dark Age of Sigmar, but avoided going into detail regarding the model's conception and background as I didn't want to clutter the post, make it overly long, or force people who just like the images to read a wall of text.

That said, I do enjoy sharing my creative process and, for me, it's a big part of what this blog is for. So here I will go into detail about how the Leshy model came about - be warned that if you don't like long rambling background stuff, you might want to give this one a miss!

As I mentioned in that post, the Leshy model was inspired by the Witcher 3 video game, but only partially, as I was already familiar with the creature from Slavic myth.

Much as I enjoyed hunting it in the video game, about the only thing I really liked about that depiction in terms of visual design was the iconic stag skull headgear and the somewhat unnervingly lanky proportions.

I did like the creature's ability to command wolves and other forest beasts, however.

In Slavic myth, the Leshy is not necessarily always a malevolent force as it seems to be in the Witcher, although it certainly can be depending on the story. There are even tales of him helping lost travellers. It is quite variable. In the AoS setting, I can easily imagine him hating Chaos more than terrified humans, however.

Still, woe betide anyone from any faction who intends to harm his sacred forests.

He's described as being male or masculine (though he is sometimes depicted as having a female equivalent or "wife", and even having his own children), and humanoid or human-like.

However, usefully, for the purpose of representation, he's able to shape-shift at will into anything he likes (though usually some kind of woodland based form) and to any size. I may explore this in future with various other shape-shifted forms of the Leshy for representing in-game transformation powers.

For now though, I wanted to begin by depicting my Leshy in his true form.

You can read more on the Leshy here and here. I also enjoyed his portrayal in Mike Mignola's Hellboy graphic novels.

One thing I really love exploring with mythological beasts is the possible ways in which they could exist that is slightly different from their normal portrayal. Specifically, my usual angle of trying to introduce a touch of realism to everything.

But I'm also intrigued in the way the archetypal peasant villager, fearful and superstitious to the core, could get things so very wrong, and talk up some things which are not so fantastic into the tallest of tales. 

On a similar track I'm also interested in Cryptozoology, and generally trying to explain the inexplicable! 

So, in a lot of art and other media, the Leshy is portrayed most often as a sort of Treant/Ent/Treeman/Dryad type creature, with skin that is literally bark, and hair that is leaves.

Source

Source

Sometimes he seems to be more explicitly tree-like, and others more like a man but with these bark and leaf features nonetheless. 

Source (Both)

The Witcher 3's portrayal is very much like the former case; he is essentially a Treeman with a skull head.

To diverge from this path, my brain immediately went towards some kind of missing link Hominid Crytpid, a kind of Bigfoot or Neanderthal, essentially. Not quite a man, not quite an ape, something somewhere in between. 

The base model is a metal Ogor Kingdoms Yhetee I purchased on eBay. Things became complicated over time and his arms and legs were chopped, changed in length and re-positioned several times. He's now a good deal taller than the standard model even without the scenic base. His hands are from the Crypt Horror kit. I also replaced the flimsy antlers seen below with some bigger and more robust ones from a Nurgle Plaguebearer head. The skull is cast from an old citadel undead horse.

One of the things which piqued my interest about the Witcher 3's Leshen, and I'm not sure if this was deliberate, is the way there is a little sort of opening in the mantle just below the deer skull. I cannot tell if it's intended that the skull is the actual head, or if it is housed inside, or if its actually beneath the skull and inside this hole, with the mantle actually being a hood (see below image).

Source

I thought for my Hominid Leshy I would run with this idea, which escalated into the concept of him being a kind of Druid or Shaman character wearing elaborate head-gear, perhaps designed to trick and intimidate his enemies. I made a cloak out of green stuff to resemble moss and vines, and perched the stag skull on top, then made a little indentation for where the "true head" would be and built up layers around it to hide it as much as possible.

I applied glue to the dried putty cloak and rolled the model in the bits of debris on my cutting mat - spirals of plastic from drilling, plastic shavings, bits of green stuff, bits of balsa wood, to give a random twiggy, viney, and leafy texture. When it came to painting I made sure his hidden face was painted to blend in, as I imagined him covering his face in mud or crude paint to help with his ruse. I also used plenty of Agrellan Badland crackle paint for added texture.

I thought about how the Leshy could be misinterpreted as a Treeman-like beast and investigated how some tree bark looks a little bit like dense, matted fur from a distance. Thus, I decided to paint his fur in a light grey colour like what you'll find on fairly mature and weathered White Ash trees.

Source

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed. See you next time!

If  you're interested you may find me on Instagram.

Entry III. - Forest Lord: The Leshy (Part One)

"Wander not in yonder dark woods, lest ye upset th' Olde Mann"
- warning written on a sign outside the village of Ulfsvelt

~~~

Panic. Mad, blind panic. The raw pain in Gunter’s legs was searing as he gasped and wheezed, his lungs pushed to their limit. 

He burst through the thick undergrowth into a small clearing, not daring to look back at his black-armoured pursuers. The screams of his dying comrades echoing in his ears urged him onwards in spite of sheer exhaustion. But he was wounded, and his frantic running on tired legs caused him to stumble. He tripped and fell, landing heavily in the tall grass.

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Whether he had closed his eyes for a second or for many hours, he did not know. But as Gunter became alarmingly aware that he was regaining consciousness from a sleep he could ill afford, he noticed that the sky began to grow darker. 

However long he’d been out, his enemies had not yet caught up with him. Surely, it could not have been that long.

Looking up, he heard the cawing of crows, as first a trickle, then a flock, then a great stream of the black-feathered birds fluttered frantically overhead. Suddenly, he felt that he was not alone. 

Glancing to his right, Gunter jumped as a huge and terrible figure with the skeletal head of a stag emerged almost silently from the woods beside him.

He screamed in horror, raising his arm to shield his face, believing he was now to be struck down by this cruel servant of the Dark Gods.

Mere moments passed. Moments that felt like an eternity. And yet no evil deed was carried out. No grim fate befell Gunter at the claws of this fell beast.

Shuddering and whimpering, he opened his eyes, lowered his hands, and peered cautiously at the creature before him. It stared back. Calmly regarding and examining the Free Guild soldier cowering within arm’s reach.

+++

The being was the height of a troll. Lithe yet sinewy, with great thick hands and long, clawed fingers; it clearly possessed great physical strength. Its body was covered in shaggy and matted grey hair resembling the bark of an ancient white ash tree, and about its shoulders was a mass of leaves, twigs, and moss.

At that moment, the creature reached up and pulled down a piece of this mossy mantle to reveal its true face, smeared with mud and hidden beneath the great-antlered deer skull worn atop its head. 

A cunning ruse perhaps? To make the beast appear bigger and more imposing? 

Certainly it had worked on Gunter.

The creature’s true face had an almost human appearance, though much hairier and with a heavy brow, thick nose and wide jaw. It almost resembled the savage Ogors of the mountain steppes, though not quite as bestial. 

Gunter could see in its eyes an intelligence far greater than even the most cunning chieftain of those tribes. Indeed, he sensed that this being surpassed the capacity of his own mind by some margin. He was reminded of the haughty, yet wise and powerful Wizards he’d encountered back in the cities.

Lifting its huge arm, the figure pointed a  clawed, gnarled finger, first at a nearby plant, then at Gunter himself. It then made a gesture as if rubbing something on its arm.

Around the clearing Gunter heard heavy rustling noises, the sounds of large, four-legged figures moving past at speed. They came from the direction the beast had arrived and were heading towards the massacre the soldier had fled. 

The forest was pierced by the mournful howl of a wolf...then another...then another…

Many more joined in the chorus. The pack was clearly huge.

The beast slowly and silently turned away and began to follow the unseen wolf-pack, but not before a massive bear shuffled out of the woods and came grunting to his side. 

As the creature and its bear companion disappeared from the clearing, the wolf howls were joined by new screams....notably more guttural than before, but no less terrified.

+++

So, this is my first model for AoS28, aka Dark Age Of Sigmar; a Leshy, a mystical forest guardian. I might as well come straight out and say it; yes, this was inspired by the Witcher 3 video game (where the creature is called a Leshen).

But with that said, I was already reasonably well-versed in Slavic mythology before that game came to my attention, and the Leshy is a being that's fascinated me for some time.

This post is just going to be a showcase of the model. I have a lot to say about the background of the creature and my thought process in creating him in model form, but I'll put this in an additional post so that only the curious, and those prepared to read  a wall of text, may opt in if they wish! If so, click through to "The Leshy (Part Two)".

Thanks for stopping by!

If  you're interested you may find me on Instagram.