Wednesday, January 31, 2024

NEW ARTIST PROOFS! Coveted Peacock

I am thrilled to announce after a little delay, I finally have my new Coveted Peacock artist proofs on my store. This is a reprint of this card, which was originally from the set Conspiracy 2: Take the Crown. It took flight again recently in the set, Commander Masters, which was released in 2023. I have been juggling a lot lately, and these proofs kept getting ignored, but thankfully that has been rectified.

A new pair of Coveted Peacock Magic the Gathering Artist Proofs are NOW AVAILABLE!

Keep in mind, as these are reprints, you will notice a price reduction for these cards with the addition of a drawing on their backs. The stand alone cards are the normal price, but if you would like a drawing you will save on the card's price. Here is a look at all the final art of the Coveted Peacock, along with links to all of my artist proofs and prints.

Coveted Peacock
Magic the Gathering -Commander Masters
14 x 11- Acrylic on board with digital edits and finish
PRINTS available at OMA!
Art Director - Dawn Murin 
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast
 

All artist proofs are signed and numbered and can include an original black and white or color drawing on the back.

For those interested in a drawing on the artist proof, here are samples of what to expect.

That's 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

Monday, January 29, 2024

Ut-Louw'Vat Portrait - The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

I am thrilled to share another new piece from The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. This illustration is for Book Two: The Completed Circle. This will be a character portrait accompanying one of the short blurbs at the beginning of a chapter. I shared more about these with the first post focused on these portraits. With most of these, I have an idea regarding their voice and placement in the book, but the fun part is that it is not set in stone and may turn into something very different from what I first plannedI present you with an Ut-Louw'Vat (name to come later) Ambasidor that was mistaken for livestock and is now in a pin for sale. Hopefully, some being will come to their aid!

Ut-Louw'Vat
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
5 x 5 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - AVAILABLE!
© 2023 Christopher Burdett

Ut-Louw'Vat - Drawing 
5 x 5 - Pencil on paper
© 2023 Christopher Burdett 

These are the smallest pieces created for the books. There is something charming about a 5 x 5 image, and I have already framed them up. Here is a look at the sketch for the Ut-Louw'Vat to show where it started.

Ut-Louw'Vat - Sketch
 Digital 
© 2023 Christopher Burdett 
 
That is all for another exciting Monday on 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

Friday, January 26, 2024

Kickstarter Roundup - Stanley

Today on the blog, I wanted to point out a current Kickstarter project that I think you all might be interested in. It features fantastic art by an incredible artist, and if you have not already checked it out, you should do so NOW! 

 

First up is Melissa Sue Stanley's Make 100 Baba Yaga Huts. Melissa shares:

The stories of Baba Yaga and her home are captivating: the witch, the wise woman, the mother, the terror, the horsekeeper, the traveler in a strange and monstrous hut.
On some days my head is full of her mystery and lore, finding poetry and art in the dark shadows and thorny paths.
Other days, let’s be honest, I’m just thinking: “Man, that house is rad as heck. I wish I had one I could scramble around the forest and drink tea in.”
Whatever your Baba Yaga mood, this project captures the spirit of long wandering rambles through the moss-filled wood.

And for those that may not know, Melissa Sue Stanley is an illustrator and sculptor from northern Illinois. The lush green and blue landscapes of Midwestern summers are the heart of what inspires her work. She creates creatures in watercolor and sculpture as a way to explore these open fields and deep forests, looking for the small moments of magic and mystery hidden in these environments.  You can find out more about her work at MelissaSueStanley.com.

I am extremely excited about this project. I love Melissa's work. There is a playfullness and whimsy that attraches me to her work. You should definitely help out to make this a reality and get yourself some Baba Yaga huts!

That's all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here next week! Until then...

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

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Magic the Gathering Art FOUND! Breaching Hippocamp Concept Sketches NOW AVAILABLE!

Recently, while doing a great deal of organizing and cleaning I discovered some concept sketches from the second Magic the Gathering card I ever worked on, the Breaching Hippocamp. I had thought these lost, destroyed, or in the ownership of another, but I had them this entire time, safely tucked away in the completely wrong place. Now that they have surfaced, they are now available! This set of four pages are 7 x 5 and are drawn in ink on lined yellow notepad paper. Here are all of the pages together.

Each 7 x 5 ink on paper

I shared the process for making the Breaching Hippocamp painting ten years ago on this very blog. You can see how some of these concepts were used to create the finalized concept drawings for this monster. There are so many concepts here that I still love and hopefully, one day I will be able to utilize them for the starting point of something new. Here are all of the pages presented separately so you can get a better look at them. As I have mentioned before, these are available as a set

 
A better look at all four sheets of concept sketches

There are production notes on the back of each page. At the time of working on the card, it was simply called the Hippocamp. I often wonder if my depiction in the art led to the name change. Here is a look at the back of each page.

They are all signed on their fronts and have production notes on their backs

Lastly, here is a look at the final painting and the card these concept sketches led to. If you missed the links to my store above, you can check out these concept sketches here!

Breaching Hippocamp
Magic the Gathering - Theros
12 x 8.7 - Digital 
© 2013 Wizards of the Coast
 
Breaching Hippocamp - in handy card form

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

Monday, January 22, 2024

Stilter Portrait - The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

I am thrilled to share another new piece from The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. This illustration is for Book Two: The Completed Circle. This will be a character portrait accompanying one of the short blurbs at the beginning of a chapter. I shared more about these with the first post focused on these portraits. With most of these, I have an idea regarding their voice and placement in the book, but the fun part is that it is not set in stone and may turn into something very different from what I first plannedI present you with an Aberrant Stilter (name to come later), and remember, do not act like food when you are near them.

Aberrant Stilter
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
5 x 5 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - AVAILABLE!
© 2023 Christopher Burdett

Aberrant Stilter
- Drawing 
5 x 5 - Pencil on paper
© 2023 Christopher Burdett

These are the smallest pieces created for the books. There is something charming about a 5 x 5 image, and I have already framed them up. Here is a look at the sketch for the Aberrant Stilter to show where it started.

Aberrant Stilter - Sketch
 Digital 
© 2023 Christopher Burdett

That is all for another exciting Monday on 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

Friday, January 19, 2024

Pathfinder Bestiary 3 - The Return of the Tojanida

In another blast from the past, today I have for you a monster that saw another life in a second printing that I was not really aware of until recent - sort of. Back in 2012 the folks over at Paizo released their Bestiary 3 and it included the return of one of my monsters. Looking back I apparently made a passing mention of this on the blog twleve years ago, but never actually shared all the images and details. I didn't even own a copy of the book until a few months ago. To start things off, here is the cover packaging for the Pathfinder Bestiary 3.

Pathfinder Bestiary 3

The monster that made its return this time is the mighty Tojanida. I designed and painted this monster for the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Misfit Monsters Redeemed. This has always been a favorite of mine and it marked a turning point in my career as became much more serious about monsters. This one also was the perfect mix fo things for me: reptile, fish, texture, pattern, color, weird, and alien. Here is a look at my final painting of the Tojanida

Tojanida
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Misfit Monsters Redeemed
7x5.2 - Digital
© 2010 Paizo Publishing, LLC

Lastly, here is a look at how the Tojanida printed in this book. Always nice to see how they turn out and this time around it gets to look to its right.

Tojanida in handy dandy book form!

That's all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here next week! Until then...

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

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Storm Crab - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for one of my contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants. I somehow missed sharing this before and thought it was already shared when I recently posted the process for the Fomorian Deep Crawler. So, ignore that I said the Fomorian Deep Crawler was the last one of these for this book; the Storm Crab is the final process post for it. Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants focuses on all things giants, including giant crabs that eat young dragon turtles. Here is the final painting for the Storm Crab about to enjoy a snack.

Storm Crab
Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Emi Tamji
© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I was asked illustrate the Storm Crab, while there was a concept design for this already I was asked to expand on it and make it more my own. I am always up for designing and painting monsters! The Storm Crab was described as:

This illustration depicts a STORM CRAB. The crab is a monstrously large crustacean capable of hunting dragon turtles. Its carapace is wide, like a crab, but also has a narrow thorax that ends in a STINGER. The crab has three long limbs, and two pairs of pincer claws. One pair is larger than the other, and the smaller pair is closer to its head. The shell is spikey and can have bioluminescent algae growing on it.
The crab is attacking a young DRAGON TURTLE that is about half its size. It holds the dragon turtle in its claws, and it is looking to stab it with its stinger to inject a paralyzing venom.

This all sounds fun to work on, so I got to work on some thumbnails. As with some of the others pieces for this book I was battling a very narrow tall composistional space - something that gave me a certain amount of ttouble. In the end, I think I made them all work. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted.  

Storm Crab - Thumbnails
 © 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC
 
These were well recieved and I was asked to make a small update to option 'B'. Production wanted more dangling creepy legs to be seen below and behind the dragon turtle. Here is the updated thumbnail that I submitted.
 
Storm Crab - Revised thumbnail
 © 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC
 
The updated thumbnail was approved without additional notes and revisions. I was now approved to take it to the next process phase. I always create a final traditional drawing for every project to work out the details and to give myself a tangible product from the assignment. Here is the Storm Crab drawing.
 
Storm Crab
Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants
11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper
Original - SOLD
Art Director - Emi Tamji
© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without comment, and it was time to start on the final painting. Here is the painting of the Storm Crab taking shape.

Storm Crab - Process
 © 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC
 
While I did not paint this one as quickly as the Fomorian Deep Crawler, I did complete this one in record time. Again, these were very straightforward pieces, and I had worked out all the details ahead of time. The color and deco choices for the turtle are establishedand I was free to make the crab however I choosed. I went with colors and deco that is familair to me and the crabs I have seen in my life. There were no issues and no edits or changes needed for it. Here, again, is the final painting of the Storm Crab.
 
Storm Crab
Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants
© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That's 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