Tony Ackland is responsible for producing some of the finest fantasy and science fiction imagery of the 1980’s and 1990’s. Along with artists such as Ian Miller, Colin Dixon, Paul Bonner, John Sibbick, Jes Goodwin and John Blanche, Tony’s artwork gave life to the worlds of Games Workshop’s Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 games. In addition to his work on paper, over the years Tony has produced a number of fine fantastical wargaming miniatures too, his sculpting skills being applied to the model ranges of Fine Art Castings, Asgard, Citadel, Harlequin and Black Tree. Honoured to be spared some of his time, this is part 4 of my talk with the legend that is Tony Ackland.
The Master Of Chaos! A Talk With Tony Ackland… Part 4 (continuing from Part 3).
Tony has previously mentioned his use of Photoshop and his Wacom tablet when it comes to creating digital artwork. I asked Tony if he could provide an insight into his digital illustrations and how the process develops.
Tony: The process is pretty well the same as the traditional approach. Start with rough sketches then build up from background to foreground. I create structures for figures which I then build up. The advantage with digital is that underdrawings can be eliminated. The following examples showing the various stages should give some idea.
Like many others, I do speculative sketches that are kept because they might serve as the basis for a future finished piece. More are generated than ever put to use. The level of finish varies. These should give some idea.
While Radiograph pens and pencils were Tony’s primary art tools when he first set out in his art career, these days his main artistry apparatus is his Wacom tablet. Given the decades that Tony has already dedicated to fantasy and science fiction artwork, and now being retired, I wondered if he still gave much time to this creative field.
Tony: My main tool is now a Wacom Intuous graphics tablet. I do still have a collection of mechanical pencils going from 0.3mm,0.5mm,0.9mm, 2mm, and 5.6mm. I also have some fibre tip pens which have taken the place of the Rotring. The advent of the 0.05mm pen has added to the versatility of fibre tips. I haven’t used an airbrush for a long time but I still have all the equipment. The time varies a lot. It’s largely down to how I feel. When I recently revisited the subject of Cthulhu Mythos I spent around the same amount of time I did when I was at GW. It comes down to a mixture of health and inspiration.
Tony has sculpted some wonderful models over the years, below is a selection of some of his most impressive, Aangor, Golgoth, his Dwarf Juggernaut, and an Orc War Machine, each of which were designed during Tony’s tenure at Games Workshop. Produced in the 1980’s, these multipiece metal models often required pinning and careful assembly, resulting in the kits being sold with the note “For advanced modellers only.”
- The Balrog Aangor: “Most foul and deadly of all his kind is the Balrog Aangor, Slayer of Gods, Greater Demon of the Deepest Pits of Hell. Before him even Balrogs and Demons quail in terror, squealing pitifully like squashed infants. His body is black beneath a cake of running sores and blood-crusted fur. His skin sweats sickly scented blood, his foaming jaws spit rotting gore, and dark blood pours constantly from his ears, nostrils and eyes. Every inch of his body is slimy and slippery with vileness. The stench of decay and putrescent flesh that he exudes is alone sufficient to tear apart the mind of a mortal. This is the least of Aangor’s powers, for he is also a potent wizard, with dark and unfathomable secrets; magics far beyond the scope of living creatures.” Bellicose Bestiary, Warhammer, Games Workshop.
- Dwarf Juggernaut: “Engineered by dour Dwarf artisans and crewed by stalwart Dwarf labourers, this large and weighty multi-part kit is Tony Ackland’s most ambitious work yet. The model includes a cannon and steam boiler as well as a crew of 4 sturdy Dwarfs amongst its total of 30 separate castings.” Games Workshop.
- Orc War Machine: “Tony Ackland’s famous and ever popular Orc War Machine, previously featured in our Citadel Presents range, now recognised as a true monstrosity. A huge stone throwing engine comprising of a multi-part giant catapult and crew of 3 Orcs.” Games Workshop.
- Golgoth: “Mighty Lord of Balrogs is a monumental kit in 5 parts.” Games Workshop.
Science fiction pulps have been a major source of inspiration for Tony, along with the works of illustrators such as Ed Emshwiller, Wally Wood and Frank Frazetta. I was keen to know of any other literary and art interests of Tony’s. I was interested to find out more about his enthusiasm for entomology and palaeontology too.
Tony: Tales of supernatural horror were up there with science fiction. Authors such as Arthur Machen, E F Bensen, M R James, Frank Belknap Long, H P Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, Clark Ashton, and Fritz Leiber. Some of those mentioned also wrote fantasy and science fiction, most notably Fritz Leiber.
The classic fantasy stories of Robert E Howard are quite important. These days with the exception of Christopher Fowler’s brilliant Bryant and May stories, I read mostly urban fantasy and steampunk. For urban fantasy there are the Dresden Files stories of Jim Butcher, the Rivers of London, tales of Ben Aaronovitch, and the October Daye and Incryptid books of Seanan McGuire. The most entertaining steampunk stories I’ve come across are those of Gail Carriger. Shelley Adina, Pip Ballantine, and George Mann are also worth reading.
I had a general interest in natural history at a very early age. At some point, I took more of a deeper interest in creepy crawlies. Possibly as a means of overcoming the feeling of creepiness that some could engender. A friend of mine found a trilobite and that started the geology thing going. Living in the area of Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks led that to being the part of geology that was easiest to study. Although I had some general interest history it was collecting figurines and wargaming that deepened it. I realised that you had to have some knowledge of general history to put military history in context.
In addition to reading books, films are a great source of entertainment and enjoyment for Tony. I questioned if he had any favourites and if there is a particular genre that he finds himself drawn back to. In discussing this, Tony referenced his preferred way of relaxing too, “Watching DVD’s and reading reprints of pre-code comics.”
Tony: Films pretty much reflect my taste in reading. Back in the fifties the most popular films were westerns, probably followed by crime. It was science fiction and horror that I liked the most. The late fifties and early sixties were the age of cheap exploitation movies aimed at teenagers. Being six foot tall at the age of twelve the X and A certificates proved to be no barrier. I still go back to the old film noir thrillers and mysteries of the 30’s and 40’s. Films such as ‘My Murder Sweet’, ‘The Big Sleep’ and ‘Laura’ are very atmospheric and have great dialogue.
Tony Ackland is one of my favourite illustrators and I have enjoyed his work for many years. Being spared some of Tony’s time, finding out more about his art and being able to ask him some questions has been a huge honour. This being the fourth and final part of my blog feature on him, in addition to his decades of producing some amazing, along with some truly iconic, illustrations and models, I would like to say a big thank you to Tony for his time, efforts and contributions to this blog. Thank you, Tony!
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Copyright © 2020 John Wombat & Ruth Moreira
John Wombat 
What a cool retrospective! Space Crusade Chaos had a lot of the flavor of his designs…
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