New Artwork - Combat!

Last week, we revealed the surprising results of our Osprey survey which helped to shape our new series Combat. Though you were no doubt enthralled by the brightly coloured graphs, this post is probably far more exciting as we reveal Combat's revolutionary artwork!

Nick from our editorial department has championed our new series Combat, so it seems only fair that he takes us through the artwork.

'Early on we identified that the artwork for this COMBAT series needed to build on Osprey’s traditional strengths, while finding new angles to help place the reader ‘in the action’. We hope to capture a real sense of dynamism and urgency in the figure plates, so the author has provided visual examples of authentic combat stances from period manuals, as well as the usual reference materials showing dress, equipment, weaponry, etc. Our inclusion of both front and rear views is intended to give a clearer picture of how equipment and weaponry was worn and carried in combat, as well as what it looked like as individual elements.

Following the focus of the series as a whole, the figure-plate artwork is strongly angled towards how soldiers actually looked in the field, rather than how they appeared on the parade ground or in camp. We were keen to get across the ‘human’ side in this figure art, too — the author explained what age the soldiers would have been, how long they’d been in action and how much sleep they’d have had, so the artist could incorporate these details into the facial expressions and stance.'

With this in mind, Peter Dennis was asked to create some very early preliminary artwork to give a sense of the new directions that Combat is taking. It might be a bit rough, but it's very exciting! 

Keep an eye out for some more artwork later!