Customer briefing

Slaves to Darkness: Fragments of an Eternal Horde

Our history with this client did not begin recently. In fact, we could say that he is already almost a “veteran” of Art-W Studio. He met us some time ago, and since then we have worked together on several phases of his Slaves to Darkness army. This latest commission was the third installment, an expansion designed to reinforce and complete what we had already painted previously.
He was clear from the start: he wanted to maintain the aesthetic line we had defined in previous projects. A classic scheme, very faithful to the spirit of Chaos: black, dark, and heavy armor, with a strong contrast in the bases, which were to represent landscapes of boiling lava. The goal was for these new miniatures to fit perfectly with the ones he already had in his collection.
In addition to the color scheme, he asked us for something very specific: that Abraxia could be easily transported. To achieve this, we designed a magnetized system with her mount, which we resolved with precision so that the piece would retain all its spectacularity, but without complications when taking it to tournaments or games.

General picture of the project Ornate & Premium level

Walkers of the Eternal Fire

Each project has its own pace, and in this case we decided to save the best for last. We started with the infantry, setting the overall visual tone: black armor with that sober and forceful finish that defines the Slaves to Darkness. We shared photos of each step with the client, keeping them up to date on the progress, as we always do.
The process was very organic. Once the Slaves to Darkness III troops were finished, we moved on to the miniatures with more narrative prominence. Tzarketh, the Exalted Hero, and the monumental Nexus Chaotica allowed us to play with more pronounced volumes and contrasts. But it was Abraxia who took the most elaborate part of the process: her premium painting and the construction of a custom magnetic base required several days of dedicated work.
The most challenging part was replicating the lava bases. It wasn’t just a matter of imitating a pattern, but of exactly matching the previous finish: the glow of the lava, the transition of warm tones, the way the rock seems to melt. That’s where the craftsmanship really shines through.