Warhammer 40,000 fans spotted something out of place in a new piece of artwork. One of the Space Marines pictured in the image seemingly had an extra finger. This led to accusations that the company behind W40K was using AI tools, but Games Workshop claims it was just human error.
On June 8, Games Workshop posted some new artwork showing MkIV Space Marines deploying on the battlefield alongside a tank. The art looks properly “grimdark,” as 40K fans and creators love to say, featuring big, beefy armored men and tanks, and…wait a minute, folks, let’s zoom in on that one Space Marine in the front.
Yup…he has six fingers on that hand. You can see five in front, which implies a thumb hidden behind the gun. Hmmm. And once fans spotted this, as reported by IGN, they went wild and accused the company of using AI to create the artwork. People were mad, and when you consider how much money players spend on books and other material featuring fancy artwork, which is supposed to be created by human artists, you can understand why so many of them were up in arms over AI art possibly appearing in Warhammer 40K materials. The kerfuffle got so loud that Games Workshop stepped in to state that no AI was used to make the art. Instead, it claims you can blame a human mistake.
“Does that Space Marine have an extra finger? Yes, but it’s not AI or early signs of mutation among the Traitor Legions,” said the company. “The Horus Heresy art style, since its first edition in 2012, involves an artist blending miniature photography with art to create a dramatic scene. In this case, adding a little unexpected drama. So please, go easy on our artists. They are only (and completely) human.”
Some fans aren’t buying the explanation, but I would point out that looking at the rest of the image, I don’t immediately see any AI nonsense. And considering how the company has vocally stated it has banned the use of genAI (for now…), I’m inclined to believe that this extra finger can be blamed on a human mistake and not AI generation. Not so sure about that Kingdom Hearts artwork featuring extra fingers, though…
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