Arbennian - The Artifact

Hey all! Arbennian’s back!

I recently started trying out working more with Procreate on the iPad especially while travelling and moving around. I never managed to get the hang of it before, so recently I created this excuse of doing a little cinematic sequence to at least try and learn how to use it properly. I gotta say, it’s amazing! I tried to do as much as possible directly on the iPad, so only the editing of this short video was done on the pc, which is quite mind-blowing! Definitely gonna try and use it more for some future stuff!

The original idea behind this short sequence came one day while chatting with Francesco Baldini and Tiziano Palumbo about doing a little side project based in the 40k universe. Francesco especially wanted to involve the Tau since they are one of the most overlooked races in Warhammer, yet they are visually super cool mixing some very mecha designs with a more traditional asian aesthetic. Arbennian has always been, at least in my head, a lens through which I could see different parts of the Warhammer universe. With him being a Solitaire, that meant that I could explore his personal story in a more free form and also use it as an excuse to draw some of the places that I imagined as a kid playing with miniatures.

Recently I also rewatched Arrival, which is my favorite alien-contact movie ever. I remember seeing it for the first time and being absolutely mindblown especially by the music -by Jóhann Jóhannsson! That eerie and unsettling mood fits 40k and especially a figure like an Eldar so well!

I definitely want to elaborate more on what Arbennian is after or what the hell that object is, so stay tuned for some more grim dark space exploration with the masked boy! Thank you for watching!!

Songs :
First Contact
Hydraulic Lift

By Jóhann Jóhannsson!