Koltti - Wood Elves II - Inspiration

© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.
Wood Elves - Part II

Inspiration
Page 1
Koltti | Wood Elves | Inspiration
[right] An illustration from The Prince
and the Woodcutter, by John Blanche. It’s
not about the (wood) elves but I really
like how this image captures some of my
thoughts regarding my wood elves.

Wood Elves of the Old World

When I think of the elves of the Old World I don’t see
beautiful and kind creatures that are dancing around
the lively green forest and flower meadows with light
feet, playing flutes and shooting arrows with beautiful
elegance. Fuck no! In the Old World the elves are mean
and selfish egoists, who are as brutal and murderous
fighters as their foes with even less remorse than the
men of the Old World.
What comes to wood elves, they’re even worse than

their more civilized kin. One could say they go crazy
lengths to keep their promise to protect the flora and
fauna with their lives, and that they do with a brutal
efficiency.
If you’ve watched The Revenant you might remember

the opening scene where the trappers are being
ambushed by the Arikara Indians. You can find it also
on Youtube. That scene is what I’d like think the fight
between human mercenaries and blood thursty wood
elves would look like in a forest of the Old World –
Fierce, intense and extremely violent. 
Page 2
When I look at the design of the old wood elves I can’t
help myself but think them as a mixture of glam rock
punks and Celtics with a twist of Native American.
Their massive and stylish hairs and tight leather clothes

are just like those of 80’s glam rockers. The quivers,
bows and leather wrappings along with long leather
boots have many details that remind me of the
equipment I’ve seen in the many drawings portraying
Native Americans of 18th and 19th century.
So when I decide to look inspiration for my wood elves,

I went to Pinterest and searched different sorts of items
the Native Americans had back in the days. I found
plenty of good reference material for my plans and
thought to include some of it here too.
What comes to glam rock punks, I decided to tone that

part a bit down and keep the palette very earthy, using
lots of greens and browns. I’m still thinking of going a

bit more wild with the Wardancers though.
[above right] Decorative Native

American leather boots wtih earthy
colour tones.
[above left] Wrappings with red-

white robe stripes. This is where I
took the idea of adding red-white
stripes to my wood elves.
[below left and right] Skarloc’s

quiver and strip of the elf captain’s
chainmail with a hint of the
decorational red-white rope stripes.
Note how the boots are of similar
coulour to those above.
Page 3
Warpaint
I gave some of my elf fighters a blue warpaint, just to
make them look more fierce and primitive. I had a
vision of implementing warpaint used by the Native
Americans to Hollywood Braveheart style warpaint on
them. After all the blue colour really stands out from
otherwise warm tones even though I dimmed it down
a bit to make less vivid.
The warpaint is only used by the elf fighters I’ve

painted, and like in the Braveheart movie, not all of the
characters were willing to use it.

[above right] The famous blue

warpaint Mel Gibson had when
playing William Wallace in one of
the battle scenes in Braveheart.
[Below right] Native American

portraits showing different sorts of
facial paints..
Page 4
Aurora Warrior Bear Berserker

[right] Wood elf warpaint sketches.

Some are very bold and cover much
of the face where others are more
subtle. I used Photoshop to draw an
elf face and then copypasted it and
applied different sorts of warpaints
on them.
[left] Warpaints painted on some of

the wood elf fighters. Guardian Eagle Scout Wolf
Wind Elk Arrow Waywatcher

Catcher
Page 5
Warhammer Fantasy Battle
I would lie if I’d say that the 3rd edition Warhammer
Fantasy Battle had nothing to do with my wood elf
enthusiasm. Of course it does!
The third edition rulebook was my first book of

Warhammer and I remember the day I got it like the
yesterday. I was instantly blown away by the content,
in which almost every other spread was full of
beautifully painted Citadel miniatures.
Elves were pretty nicely portrayed in the book. Even

the less good looking plastic monopose wood elves

(which I remember also havin also) looked like a nice
set of minis!
The paint jobs in the pictures were a little bit too

colourful for my taste and I decided to tone the palette
down for my project. The same chaotic aesthetic is still
there.
[above] ”Elven Elites Protect Their General”,

an image from the 3rd edition Warhammer
Fantasy Battle rulebook, Advanced Rules
section.
Page 6
Flora & Fauna
Forests of the Old World are dangerous places. Many
men who have entered them never returned – and no
wonder. Menacing goblin wolfriders and brawling orc
marauders keep the outer edges busy with their
constant raids, whereas the inner and darker regions
are kept serene by the tight grip of the wood elves
living in the isolation.
” A row of pale chopped-off

heads tied high above on
tree branches sway in the

wind like a macabre wind
chimes.
Tall trees block the most of the light entering the

ground and only a few rays of daylight passes through
their dense foliage. Below the trees is a soft and thick
green blanket of moss and lichen stones. Small clusters
of more or less colourful mushrooms pop out of the
fallen tree trunks here and there. Most of them are
deadly poisonous.
Wild animals roam freely in the gaze of their invisible

guardians. Every now and then a hungry band of orcs
make a fatal mistake by thinking that the game is theirs
to take. Such a crime goes not without consequenses
[above] Finnish primeval forests
and the punisment is always a cruel one - Death.
with mossy stones and old trees are
my favourite place to get inspiration
for my bases. A row of pale chopped-off heads tied high above on
tree branches sway in the wind like a macabre wind
[right] Tall and massive trees in San chimes. They pass a warning message to whomever
Francisco really made an everlasting ponders of passing through the whispering woods. 
impact on me when I was visiting
Migs. Great source of inspiration is
often standing just a few miles away
from you – and in some cases on the
other side of the world.
Page 7
When I create and paint bases for my My bases tend to lean a bit more towards when I’m doing a display board (or [above left and right] New and old
Oldhammer miniatures they are often autumn because of the dead grass, fallen aquarium) for the wood elves, I’ll try to Blanchitsu. I really love the way John
inspired by the nature of Finland and the leafs and mushrooms. make it even more green. I’m also thinking draws trees and ground flora (or in
art of John Blanche. I’ve tried to capture of doing a WIP diary from the process of some cases, swarming ground
these themes also on my wood elves; the I’ve also tried to achieve similar effects on the board on Iron Sleet Patreon. creatures). Good example of images
bottom most layer being green like a moss bigger canvas when I did my Mordheim that can inspire you a lot. There’s
carpet and on top of it there’s batches of MMXIX Sleetheim table. I used dead roots always that unknown danger lurking
dead grass and clusters of mushrooms as trees which worked really well. I’m not in the darkness or behind the slowly
and fern, just to add another layer of flora. 100% satisfied with the hues on it and moving mist.
Page 8
[right] Skarloc’s wood elves pre primer photo
shows the way the bases have been created.
[far right] Ready made base with a green base

colour, dead grass, mushrooms, dead leafs and
some taller turfs.
[below] Wood elves of Athel Loren stand firm on

the edge of a grim forest. My Sleetheim gaming
board worked as a backdrop for this elven patrol.

Page 9
End.

In next part: Basic Pre Painting Chores
Page 10

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© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.

Wood Elves - Part II

© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.

Wood Elves of the Old World

What comes to wood elves, they’re even worse than

If you’ve watched The Revenant you might remember

Their massive and stylish hairs and tight leather clothes

So when I decide to look inspiration for my wood elves,

What comes to glam rock punks, I decided to tone that

© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.

lots of greens and browns. I’m still thinking of going a

[above right] Decorative Native

[above left] Wrappings with red-

[below left and right] Skarloc’s

The warpaint is only used by the elf fighters I’ve

© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.

[above right] The famous blue

[Below right] Native American

© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.

[right] Wood elf warpaint sketches.

[left] Warpaints painted on some of

Wind Elk Arrow Waywatcher

The third edition rulebook was my first book of

Elves were pretty nicely portrayed in the book. Even

© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.

The paint jobs in the pictures were a little bit too

[above] ”Elven Elites Protect Their General”,

” A row of pale chopped-off

© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.

Tall trees block the most of the light entering the

Wild animals roam freely in the gaze of their invisible

[far right] Ready made base with a green base

[below] Wood elves of Athel Loren stand firm on

© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.

© Kari Hernesniemi | All Rights Reserved.

In next part: Basic Pre Painting Chores

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