Hida Kaiji - Seeds of Decay - L5R

About a year ago I was asked to design and illustrate a new monstrous samurai for Legends of the Five Rings and it sounded like a interesting challenge. This member of the Crab Clan was to be over 20 feet tall and be able to wield a tetsubo that was basically a tree trunk wrapped with some metal. This Hida monster needed to be mutant... part man, part monster, and a whole lot of oni. He is a shadow of the man he use to be but still determined to serve his clan against the threats of the oni. Here is how Hida Kaiji and his three illustrations turned out...

Hida Kaiji
© 2012 Alderac Entertainment Group

Ruthless Onslaught
© 2012 Alderac Entertainment Group

Determined Challenge
© 2012 Alderac Entertainment Group

This set had a super limited early release at Gen Con this year and I was able to see some of my cards in person when folks brought them by for me to sign. I am still waiting to have all three in hand but there are plenty of good images online of them and here they are for you to see how the cards turned out...

I am really happy with how the final cards turned out... and my name was not cropped out in all of them. In the coming weeks I will be sure to share with you the designs, thumbnails, and process progressions for these pieces. As always a big thanks to Adrian and Steve for the opportunity, advice, and monsters! It is not everyday that you get to make a landscape out of a dead oni. More L5R will be along in the fullness of time... and I will need to be patient to share the pieces I just finished for them!

That is all for another exciting Monday of new monsters of the blog, see you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com