Tweedledum and Tweedledee Squigs. A quick, playful sketch of amusing monsters intended for a card entry or bestiary thumbnail. While these creatures leaned heavily into comedy, resembling something akin to a beach ball with teeth, the artist David Gallagher aimed to provide them with a sense of underlying structure where possible. He explored several design variations for different projects, ensuring each iteration had its own unique charm. As with other pieces in this series, David Gallagher deliberately kept the use of color minimal to maintain focus on form and character.
Squigs, short for “squiggly beasts,” are one of the most bizarre and amusing creatures in the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Age of Sigmar universes. They’re essentially fungus-based lifeforms created by the Orks and Gretchin, which means they straddle the line between plant and animal. These creatures vary wildly in form and function, with some being used as mounts, others as food, and many as weapons in battle.
In Warhammer 40,000, squigs have been bred for different purposes, resulting in a wide array of subspecies. There are “Attack Squigs” that are used as ferocious living weapons, usually released to chomp down on enemies in the midst of combat. These vicious little monsters are all teeth and aggression, and Ork warbosses, in particular, love to keep them as pets—or more accurately, as tools of destruction. Then there are the “Bomb Squigs,” which have explosive devices strapped to them, turning them into a deadly combination of living creature and ticking time bomb. These squigs are herded or unleashed into enemy lines, exploding in a blast of shrapnel and body parts.
In Warhammer Age of Sigmar, squigs play a central role in the armies of the Gloomspite Gitz, a faction of lunatic Grots (Goblins) who worship the Bad Moon and have developed an affinity for these chaotic creatures. One of the most iconic types is the Cave Squig, which bounces unpredictably across the battlefield, wreaking havoc wherever it lands. Their erratic movement and unpredictability make them both a blessing and a curse for their handlers. Even the Grots themselves often can’t control their squig companions, resulting in accidental friendly fire—or rather, friendly bites.
And let’s not forget about the larger variants, like the Mangler Squigs. These monstrous beasts are enormous, snarling squigs often tethered together, used like living battering rams that leap around the battlefield, smashing anything they touch into pulp.
Squigs are deeply embedded in Ork and Grot culture. They’re bred in squig pens by Runtherds, and they serve an integral role in Ork society—not just as combatants, but as sources of food (known as “Edible Squigs”), and even as living tools (such as the Hair Squig or Face-Eater Squig, both with very… peculiar uses).
Squigs embody the chaotic, unpredictable nature of the Orks and Grots. They are hilarious and terrifying in equal measure, bouncing from one moment of carnage to the next. Whether in the far-flung future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe or the fantasy realms of Age of Sigmar, squigs are always up for a good scrap, usually to the detriment of whoever happens to be nearby—friend or foe.