There's a thing somewhere might be from a WD about why Ork blood is actually more red than humans and has a higher oxygen content, and the green is just under the skin.
I love the idea of the paint squig, or the waaagh to the forgeworld in search of paint.
But mostly I have the idea the orkboss screams at his grotz for paint and paint is procured.
However the process of robo-insemination is far too complex for the human mind!
A knee high fence, my one weakness
Cheers Crev, you gave me a reason to crack open Waaargh Orks (1990),
"Paint Squigs: This small, vividly coloured Squig excretes powerful dyes that are used as warpaint. These paints are also used by Gretchin artists as pigments for wall paintings and decorative banners. Many Paint Squigs have tufts of hair on their tails, which allows the artists to use the Squig as both a brush and tube of paint simultaneously. The shells of Edible Squigs are also used by Gretchin artists as paint pots and pallettes."
p.69
"Has the whole world gone crazy? Am I the only one around here who gives a **** about the rules? Mark it zero!"
Holy crap... I was right and I didn't even know it! :P Paint Squigs... what a universe :P
Thanks Crevab btw, great link. I always wondered also how come some Orks had top knots... now I know... it was a Squig!
They certainly do have a Squig for every job... even an arse wipe... O.o
"Even the servants of the great enemy fear the crushing depths of our lair." - Jathalon Tidefury
Do squigs lay eggs? You can make tempura paint out of eggs and i can imagine orks doing that
I imagine an orks thinking isnt more than telling a grot to make it red. Or blue. Or whatever.
I think grots have many many ingenious ways of making paint in different colours. Paint squigs and looting from humans being the favoured two, but all the primitive ways of making paint... its a big galaxy and there's alot of grots not communicating with each other having to come up with it all on there own... over and over and over.
im lazy, so rather than look and see where the question has ended up, ill just answer it. paint squigs exist, and even form a neat little paintbrush for the user. they would grow something akin to how the orks, grots, and other orkoid races, as fungus at first. of course, orks being orks, they will also gladly use other things that work. like blood, or dung.
I always assumed it was part of the chain of looting, Warboss gets the best stuff followed by the Nobs, Meks, Boys and finally the gretchins get any that hasn't been looted like paint, bones and any floorboards that weren't already looted.
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Yeah I remember that and the actual reason was way more mundane. You see, it's because green doesn't look like blood when you paint blood on a miniature. I believe they described it in that white dwarf, and I'm trying to quote it from memory without having to trawl through 200 back issues, as looking like that they "went at it to a gooseberry bush". Green just doesn't come across as blood and offers a poor contrast to the orcs/orks own skin. It's an effect even found in film an tv as a device to desensitize what ever violence, make it less offensive and allow themselves a lower rating such PG or MA15+. One example, Samurai Jack. Another example, Transformers across most continuities.
There are some visual conventions that will speak more loudly than actually applying logic to the fluff and really these should be considered in order for the idea to make sense ad easily as possible. Things like making the blood all glowy and you got robot blood as an example (except in the Aliens films, their bots have white blood). Green reads as slime and mucous. Red though contrasts with green which will have a strong visual impact, something that you want when representing the insides of another being spattered here, there and everywhere around your badass hero.
Around the white dwarf issue 200 mark Wayne England was painting the titular white dwarf and whenever there was a severed orc head he painted them with green blood. It was kind of a dark angels green in colour.
And that was a ramble on the colour of greenskin blood.