Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes - Process - Choker

Today I have for you the steps and process that went into creating the Choker illustration for Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes that came out last year. This was the first of five paintings that I created for the book and one of my favorites. It is a classic monster and it was an excellent opportunity to give my personal spin on the Choker. The production flow for this piece was unchanged from all of my digital work from the past years so I might be a brief on the details. If you feel like you would like a more in-depth explanation of my process, I offer the following links: Break down 1,  Break down 2, and Break down 3. To start things off, here is the final painting for the Choker.

Choker

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

As with all my illustrations, I begin everything with a photo reference shoot/collection followed by the creation of thumbnails. For a humanoid monster such as the Choker, I had my wife photograph me making the best Choker impressions that I could. I used these photos to guide the poses and compositions of the thumbnails. These are the three thumbnails that I submitted for the Choker.

Choker - Thumbnails

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Option B was selected from the thumbnails which meant it was time to work up a finished drawing. Here is the final drawing that was submitted. There were no edits or changes after submission.

Choker - Final dawing

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

With an approved drawing it was time to get started on the painting. These isolated figures are a straight forward process. I created a masked clipping layer using the silhouette and never worry about the edges. When I shot my photo reference, I take into account lighting, so that is already worked out when it is time to paint. For a lot of these monsters, I like an up lighting situation, I feel it adds a bit of drama and makes the monster more menacing. Here is the painting coming together in twelve steps.

Choker - Process steps

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

To make the process of the painting a little more clear, here it is coming together in an animated gif.

Choker - Animated Process

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Finally, here again, is the final painting of the Choker.

Choker

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday! Until then...

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