60 April 2019
I
t’s not hard to spot recurrent motifs in
Paul Bonner’s art. Craggy mountains, lush
trees, leathery skin, large noses, ruddy
complexions and cheeky grins are all the
hallmarks of the English-born illustrator.
His is a world of windswept Nordic vistas and
trolls, of mighty beasts and stoic warriors. One
thing you won’t nd much of, however, is elves.
“ ey just don’t do anything for me,” he
explains. “As soon as I see any pointy ears or
owing hair all belief just goes straight out the
window and I pack my bags!”
Paul Bonner is an artist who, in one form or
another, has been involved with the gaming
and hobby scene for the last 30 years or so. His
art style has been featured in numerous RPGs,
card games and miniatures games, including
Warhammer 40,000 and Magic: e Gathering,
and is notable for its distinctive, Scandinavian
take on the fantasy genre.
For him, one of the most important things
about presenting fantasy is to try to create a
world that’s believable.
“I think my main thing is a need to portray
some kind of reality rather than that almost cliché
approach to fantasy which you see rather a lot of. I
think a lot of people [who do fantasy illustrations]
go from the basis of creating a great painting,
whereas I try to work from the idea of, ‘What
would this look like if I were actually there, if I were
hiding behind a big stone or tree or something?’Dwarves, goblins... but no elves! We speak with Paul Bonner,
the veteran artist behind the fantasy visions of Warhammer,
Magic: e Gathering, Mutant Chronicles and more
Words by James Winspear‘CUPS OF TEA AND
NOTHING ARTY-FARTY’
It’s those little details like a nose or grubby
ngers; it’s about what they would look like;
it’s not about what a nose or a weapon or
whatever ‘should’ look like for fantasy.
If you go down that route you just end
up doing what everyone else is doing.”
Hand in hand with this
desire for believability is
an urge to drawn the
player in, which
explains another
key feature of his
work. ough many
of his pictures feature
con ict, few ever have
blood or portray the killing blow.
“I’ve always been attracted to
the moment just before the crucial
event,” he explains, “or else the
contemplative moment
after. It leaves it up
to the viewers
to make their
own story, or
else ask, ‘What’s going on here?’
A guy smashing a load of zombies or Conan
atop a horde of warriors: there it is – there’s no
interpretation. But if you leave a few little details
you can subtly pull your audience in – very crafty!”BLANK CANVAS
Born in Yorkshire, it was clear from a young age that
Bonner’s future career lay in a creative direction.
“Like most kids, I’d spend those rainy
afternoons drawing when I was young, but unlike
them I just never really stopped,” he recalls.
He was particularly drawn to the worlds of
fantasy, having been exposed to the likes of
Tolkien, Conan and Mervyn Peake’s fantasy series
Gormenghast from a young age. At the same time,
his inspiration was fuelled by the fantasy artists
of the golden age of illustration, particularly John
Bauer, Arthur Rackham and Edmond Dulac.
Attending Harrow Art College, Bonner did a
foundation year followed by a three-year illustrationcourse, after which he got a job as an illustrator of
children’s novels. ough it paid the bills, there
were few opportunities to do anything fantasy-
related and the work was largely unsatisfying.
His rst break came a short while later when,
towards the tail end of the 1980s, he sent a few
samples to Games Workshop illustrator and
sculptor John Blanche. Blanche liked his stu
and Bonner moved up to Nottingham to work in-
house as a full-time artist. His main output was
in doing orks for Warhammer 40,000, though he
also worked on some fantasy elves and the Slaan
lizard people for Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
Whilst he found the Warhammer 40,000 orks
wonderfully characterful, he laments that there
were few chances to do his beloved dwarves.
Bonner remained with Games Workshop for
just over three years and left in the early 1990s. In
part, it was because he was only commissioned
to do black-and-white illustrations rather than
full colour – something that “drove [him] crazy”THE LIFE OF A GAMES ILLUSTRATOR