The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT

Nexus Ops - Part 2: Fungoid

2012-02-01T07:55:00.003-05:00

On Monday I brought you the first of the characters I designed for the new release of Nexus Ops, the Human. Now that the Human is out of the way, that just leaves all the monsters! Today to start off the monsters, here is a really fun guy... or is it, fungi? No, now I remember, it is the Fungoid! Giant mushroom man destined for manual labor under the harsh rule of the Humans...

Fungoid
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

Fungoid miniature turnaround
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

Production miniature for the Fungoid
(they are only slightly bigger then the Humans and full of detail!)

The Fungoid was the first piece that I designed for Nexus Ops, granted I was working on them all at the same time, it was the first to be sketched out, drawn and painted. Previously to the getting this assignment I had been really wanting to working a big mushroom man, so I may have gone a little over the top with the mushrooms... or maybe not far enough... I am just thrilled with the amount of detail they were able to get in the mini and how true to the design they kept.

With all of the pieces in Nexus Ops I really wanted to give them a completely new look and feel compared to their counterparts in the first release of the game. With this in mind, I also wanted to be able to give a nod to the original game where I could, and with the Fungoid you can see this. A common motif in the original game was to give all the monsters multiple eyes, so I made a conscience effort to incorporate multiple eyes in two of the monsters.

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

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

Nexus Ops - Part 1: Humans

2012-01-30T07:55:00.005-05:00

Early last year I was approached by the good folks at Fantasy Flight Games to redesign and update all the pieces for the classic board game, Nexus Ops. This project involved miniature designs and full character illustration. After a long wait, I am very pleased to be able to start bringing you the work I did on the game.

There were a total of six different pieces to design, each with their own personality and role in the game. Today, I am starting it all off with the only non-monster piece, the Human...

Human
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

Human miniature turnaround
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

Production miniature for the Humans
(they are super tiny and full of detail!)

For the Human, the direction was more of an armored astronaut rather then a typical space marine type design. Though I stick more to the monsters, this guy was pretty fun to design and work on. If you had one of you hands shoved up a gun you would want the rest of your gear in reach of the other arm. This was also the one piece that had a major revision, and that was the helmet. The helmet was redesigned to be a little more aggressive in profile compared to the original. Looking back at the original now I can see why the change was asked for, though I think the original had it's merits... though it was a little goofy.

I would like to say that this was a really exciting project to work on. The opportunity to design all the pieces for the game like this was truly a unique experience. A special thanks to Kyle for getting me involved with this project as well as the rest of the good folks at Fantasy Flight Games!

See you back here on Wednesday for the start of the Nexus Ops MONSTERS! Until then...

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

Fresh from the drawing table... Ki-Rin!

2012-01-27T07:53:00.003-05:00

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Ki-Rin! 'K' only has two monsters and with the Kobold already done the Ki-Rin closes out this letter and I could have done much worse than a horse dragon from Asia (looking at you Jaguar and Jackal). I present to you my version of a Ki-Rin...

Ki-Rin
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

Surprisingly, for a creature that rarely sets foot/hoof upon the ground it is not a creature from the Feywilds. There are a lot of interesting and varied takes on the Ki-Rin (or Qilin - look it up!) out there and I tried really hard to produce my own take on a monster that took shape in the 5th century BC. Lots of scales and there are some nice tentacle like tendrils in there so I am satisfied with it being a monster. Even though there was a horrid first attempt on this monster the second worked out and I had a lot of fun bringing it all together.

If you missed any of the second round of monsters, A-Z, you can see them here: Ankheg, Beholder, Cockatrice, Demon(Juiblex), Earth Elemental, Giant(Hill), Hobgoblin, Intellect Devourer, and Jaguar.

If you missed the first round of monsters, A - Z, you can see them here: Axebird, Bugbear, Chimera, Dragon, Ettin, Frog(Giant), Goblin, Hydra, Imp, Jacklewere, Kobold, Lizardman, Manticore, Naga, Owlbear, Purple Worm, Quasit, Rust Monster, Shambling Mound, Troll,Umber Hulk, Vampire, Wasp(Giant), Xorn, Yeti, and Zombi.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here next week for NEW WORK! Until then...

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

Arkham Horror Monsters - Dark Young

2012-01-25T08:31:00.004-05:00

Arkham Horror Monsters - Premium Figures, are now available over on the Fantasy Flight Website. I mention this because one of the brand new fully painted miniatures they are offering, as part of wave one, is my very tentacled Dark Young. The Dark Young was the very last Lovecrathian miniature that I designed, and I am just thrilled that I am not having to wait to the end to see it! Here is the miniature turnaround...

Dark Young
(With 100% more tentacles)
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

I ordered myself one so that I could hold it in my hands and I was not disappointed in the quality of the miniature. It is nice and big and is surprisingly true to the design, though with all minis some changes had to be made. I took some pics of the mini, and here they are...

RAWR! I came here to cause madness with my tentacles and chew bubble gum... and I am all out of bubble gum.

If you are a fan of Mansions of Madness and MoM: Forbidden Alchemy then you are in luck! The miniature appearing in both sets that I designed are also part of wave one of Arkham Horror Monsters - Premium Figures. Now you can have a fully painted Crawling One, Hound of Tindalos, and Witch (as well as the rest of the these set's monsters) to have a hold in your hands! They make great miniatures for any game and I can't wait for my D&D players to run into a pack of Crawling Ones or a Dark Young or two. I am sure there will be many more of these in the future and I will be sure to share them with you here!

That is all for another exciting tentacled filled Wednesday, 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

Spectrum... Once more with FEELING!

2012-01-23T12:43:00.004-05:00

It's that time again! What time you ask? It's that time to get the ego squarely knocked back down to its' proper place. Which can only mean one thing, the Spectrum deadline is fast approaching. If you haven' heard of Spectrum, by all means check out my post last year on this very subject! There is of course the Spectrum website!

The submission deadline for Spectrum 19 is this upcoming Friday and according to my tracking code my entries were delivered this past Friday. Hopefully they arrived in one piece and were not folded in half. I did all I could to ensure that they would at least remain dry. This is the second year that I have submitted work and like last year I am not kidding myself about my chances of getting into the publication. Mind you, I feel a ton more confident in what I submitted this year compared to last. It is after all a publication of the 'BEST OF THE BEST'. Oh look, a pretty picture...

Spectrum 19 submission poster by Rebecca Guay

There is an amazing line up for the judges this year and I do not envy the difficult job ahead of them in trying to select the line up for Spectrum 19. I hate popularity contests and I hate having to compare myself to others and having them compared to myself. But I think that is just the underlining nature of the beast when it comes to art and things that involved the esoteric judging mechanics of a person's opinions snd feelings. You can't win if you don't try and you can't have winners without losers. ...not really sure losers is anywhere near the proper or accurate term.

Anyway, that all said, I picked the 5 pieces I felt that were my strongest, printed them out at their best quality and sent them out into the world for judging. I cross my fingers. Expect the worst. And maybe, just maybe, hold onto a little hope that this year will be the year I did my very best.

(1994) "It would be amazing to be in a book like Spectrum..." - status: incomplete

That is all for another Monday, see you back here on Wednesday for something NEW! Until then...

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

Bugbear Process

2012-01-20T08:09:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday I brought you my second traditionally created painting, the Bugbear. Today I am bring you some images that track my progression through the painting. Thanks to my much smarter phone I can now track things like this much more easily. Here is the progression in two blocks of eight images, generally speaking, each image is taken roughly an hour apart...

Bugbear painting progression part 1

Bugbear painting progression part 2

Compared to my first painting I tried to make sure I addressed the background from the beginning, but it went pretty much untouched again till close to the end. It did make it much easier to control the environment to make sure that it felt like it surrounded the Bugbear. It did feel like I had much more control over the entire painting this second time out. It only felt like it was spiraling out of control a couple times early on but I manage to pull it back. I still can't get the paint to do everything I want it to yet and I think some of my forms are a little more simplified they I had planed them to be in the drawing. That said, the paint does make it much easier to make some things much more complex. I can live with that right now.

In this painting I made a conscious effort to go in a fix things I felt that weren't working, unlike in my first painting which was over all much more of an evolving creation. I was not happy with how the hood turned out pretty much one color early on and went in and added more variation. This is something that would have been fair straight forward digitally, but for me was a little more involved with the paint. Also, the skull on his trophy rack somehow ended up a little long in the face. I was worried that going in and trying to match a rather thinly applied and rather layered background would be a little beyond my current abilities. I think it turned out pretty okay. As always, I am trying to make sure I am looking at plenty of reference through out the entire painting. There are some slight difference in how I use the reference while working traditionally. On the computer I can have the reference onscreen or even on a separate layer in the piece I am working on so that I can look directly at it while working. With the painting there is a more back and forth flow of looking and then painting and then looking again. Of course... there is no handy eye dropper tool to grab those pesky hard to figure out colors!

Here is the finished painting again to see how it turned out. I am still not 100% with how they are reproducing, but I have come to learn int he last few years that no matter how good the reproduction is the actual painting looks a million times better in person. And once the varnish goes on, they look even better!

Bugbear

I have a ton of stuff going on right now and a ton of stuff to share on the blog! The next several weeks are going to be full of new work and (miss)adventures! Until then...

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

Bugbear

2012-01-18T09:11:00.005-05:00

On May 7th 2010 I posted the first of many 'fresh from the drawing table' drawings. It has taken me a while, but I have finally completed the first painting associated with those drawings. Also, this painting makes the second traditional painting that I have completed. I started with where the drawings started, the Bugbear, and this is how it turned out...

Bugbear

Hopefully it will not take me close to another two years to paint the next one! At this rate I will have them all done in 52 years. Had a lot of fun working on this piece and I felt much more comfortable compared to my first attempt at working traditionally. I will be working traditionally only for myself for the foreseeable future and it is a good way to separate the work I do for clients and the work I do for myself. Can't wait to start on my next painting... maybe I can do that this week!

See you back here on Friday when I will have for you a step by step walk through of this Bugbear painting! Until then...

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

Fresh from the drawing table... Jaguar!

2012-01-13T10:07:00.003-05:00

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is an Jaguar! 'J' is a bit of a problem, it has three listings and only one of them is technically a monster. It was only a matter of time, but I have finally reached the first non-monster entrees in the Monster Manual. There was only one thing to do, pick one and get a lot of reference! I present to you my version of a Jaguar (which is pretty much a Jaguar)...

Jaguar
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

It's a Jaguar! Not much more to say about that... Well, actually... I did think long and hard about whether or not to make the mundane animal entrees in the Monster Manual more MONSTROUS or to leave them as is. I am still on the fence, but as you can see from the Jaguar I am for now going in the direction of making them representations of their normal selves. I still might end up making some of the mundanes a little more then they normally would be, but for now they will remain the natural threat that they are. RAWR!

If you missed any of the second round of monsters, A-Z, you can see them here: Ankheg, Beholder, Cockatrice, Demon(Juiblex), Earth Elemental, Giant(Hill), Hobgoblin, and Intellect Devourer.

If you missed the first round of monsters, A - Z, you can see them here: Axebird, Bugbear, Chimera, Dragon, Ettin, Frog(Giant), Goblin, Hydra, Imp, Jacklewere, Kobold, Lizardman, Manticore, Naga, Owlbear, Purple Worm, Quasit, Rust Monster, Shambling Mound, Troll,Umber Hulk, Vampire, Wasp(Giant), Xorn, Yeti, and Zombi.

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

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

The Project That Never Was (Part 6)

2012-01-11T08:00:00.005-05:00

Continuing my coverage today of a big project that I worked on back in 2008. The project died before it ever saw completion and the work I produced for it has remained sealed away every since. ...until NOW. Please keep in mind while I can now share my work I can not divulge any other details regarding the project. If you missed them, you can see catch up on PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, and PART 5.

Today for the sixth installment I have for you two of my favorite pieces from the project, 'Fire Head' and 'Super Fire Head'. I really liked how the armor turned of and there is just something about their legs that I really liked and had a lot of fun drawing... THEY HAVE HOOVES! The floating 'specter of death' skull head wreathed in fire is not to bad either! I wonder what got 'Super Fire Head' all riled up that he popped his seams? Before I say to much, bring on the monsters...

'Fire Head' Turnaround
© 2008 Wizards of the Coast

'Super Fire Head' Turnaround
© 2008 Wizards of the Coast

That's all for another installment of unreleased monsters that I can't really talk about! I have only one more pair of monsters left to share with you from this project. Stop back by in the near future to see the last of the monsters!

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

Claw Killer - Dreamblade

2012-01-09T07:56:00.005-05:00

You may be aware that I worked on a little miniatures game called Dreamblade some time back. This blog is littered with turnarounds and work that I generated starting now over six years ago. Though it seems hard to believe at this point I still have more to share with you from that time in my career!

Today I have for you a little creature from the second set of the game, the Claw Killer. Claw Killer was a vanilla piece meant to fill in the lower end of the spawning curve. With no powers and no abilities the Claw Killer was meant to hit the board early and most likely be in the Graveyard soon after. If I recall, the CK was described as a little piggish mutated creature with GIANT hands with GIANT claws. This is what the turnaround for the Claw Killer looked like...

Claw Killer
© 2005 Wizards of the Coast LLC

As was common back then my first attempt at the Claw Killer didn't really hit the mark and I had to do a round of revisions to make sure it was up to speed for the game. I was a little timid maybe, or I was unsure of the intended feel for the character, or maybe I just didn't know any better. No matter, my first version of the CK was updated and overhauled, but you get to see it now...

Claw Killer version 1
© 2005 Wizards of the Coast LLC

As I am want to do, I did have some extra time recently and I thought it would be fun to take a fresh crack at the Claw Killer to see how I would go about it today, some six years later. I addressed some elements I was never happy with, though these changes may not have been able to happen since the mini was a common and had to have a simple two piece mold. But these concerns are not really important now after the fact, I am just having fun drawing monsters. All that aside, here is the 2011 version of the Claw Killer...

Claw Killer Redux
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Not sure I can add more to the conversation that the image doesn't already covey. Less pig frog waving hello and more mutated killer ...well, that is what I am hoping the new drawing is conveying.

That is all for another exciting Monday, 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

SKETCHBOOKS STILL AVAILABLE!

2012-01-06T09:03:00.005-05:00

Did Santa not bring you what you really wanted this year? Well, fear naught, I still have copies of both my sketchbooks left AND they could be yours! Act now before they are all gone!

I have a couple different price points to fit your needs:

Your very own copy of creatura libri OR creatura libri 2 (please specify) with shipping to anywhere in the US: $20 (additional fees apply to those outside the US)

Your very own copy of creatura libri OR creatura libri 2 (please specify) featuring an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch on the first page with shipping to anywhere in the US: $25 (additional fees apply to those outside the US)

SPECIAL DEAL! Your very own copy of creatura libri AND creatura libri 2 featuring an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch on the first pages with shipping to anywhere in the US: $40 (additional fees apply to those outside the US)

Send an email to: My Yahoo Account and I will send you my paypal info. If you need to send cash or a money order I will provide my home address, but I prefer Paypal. Supplies are limited and it will be on a first come first serve basis. Please specify which book(s) you would like to purchase and if you would like sketches when you email me.

Speaking of sketches, here are some examples of what you could get in your books!

Mr. Dragon would like to show the peasants his fire trick - RAWR!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Intense monster is starring intently - RAWR!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Another dragon, this time with a more distinguished mustache - RAWR!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

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

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

2011 - Okay, NOW WHAT?

2012-01-04T08:07:00.006-05:00

It feels like only yesterday I was reflecting on 2010 and preparing to sum up a years worth of experiences and learning ...and here we are, already in 2012. If you have missed my previous posts you can read them here: 2009 Part 1 & Part 2 and 2010 ...you can read all about getting serious.

Do it for yourself, not for them.

In years past, before writing I would spend time reflecting on the things I did right and the things I did wrong. Believe you me, in the last couple of years I have made some mistakes, but thankfully I have done some things correctly as well. Looking back at 2011, the year feels a bit different. It is hard to put my finger on one thing, but I think in 2011 I realized that I need to be doing this art thing more for myself and less for somebody else. I don't think this began to take shape in my head until June, but it completely came together this past week, the last week of 2011.

I was VERY busy this year, the most busy I have ever been as an artist. This has its' pluses and minuses and everyone has to deal with these challenges in their own way. For me, I was seriously burnt out by April or May and I really didn't know what to do. It was my own fault and I only can blame myself. I could not say 'no' to anything. Mind you, I worked on some really fun and interesting assignments, but at the end of the day I was exhausted (I of course did my best and did the assignments to the best of my abilities).

Thankfully there was an exterior influence that saved the day ...the Illustration Master Class!

Haggling
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Just in the nick of time the IMC made me schedule a break in my deadlines and required me to make a piece of work that was for myself and only for myself. A week to paint, have fun, and to learn ... who could ask for more? that I did all there in abundance (after I stopped freaking out). And you know what? I really enjoyed it! Making work that was in my voice, that accomplished my needs as an artist was an incredibly rewarding experience, one that I had almost forgotten about. This reminded me that I need to be invested in what I am doing, I need for my assignments to fulfill my needs as an artist. Not every project will allow this and in many situations you will need to figure out how to make the assignment fulfill this need. This did mean I had to learn to say 'no' more often and to make sure I really wanted to work on any given assignment. Thankfully, because of my efforts in 2009 and 2010 I have been focusing on my passions as an artist (see the links above for more details) and making sure my Art Directors are aware of the work I want to do. This lead to some incredibly fun assignments, many of which I can't share with you yet, but some I can...

Heart of the Scar / Shoth-Goragg.jpg
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast
Giant tentacle monster for Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, this I can get behind and while following the art order and giving the client what they want, I can add my voice to it, which hopefully will make it even better.

In the second part of 2011 I really made sure I said 'yes' to the projects that were best for me and my needs. Not sure how well I did, but I definitely felt better about the work I was doing and I was invested in the assignments. I tried to approach them all with the same philosophy, "What can I add to this assignment so that I can get the most back from it." So far, it seems to be working.

It is good to have goals!

Hopefully I have mentioned the importance of having goals before now. They are incredibly important and I feel they help shape your motivation and direction with your career. When I am asked the 'What does it take to become an artist' question, I answer with, "Have long term goals and invest lots and lots of time and hard work". If you don't know where you are going, how do you expect to get anywhere, let alone someplace you want to be? I have been making goals for myself and my career for a very very long time and thankfully I have been able to (in one way or another) complete most of them. Here are the goals that I set out for myself ...

(1980) "OMG DUNGEONS & DRAGONS MONSTER MANUAL!" - Completed 2008
(1984) "I want to make MOVIES!" - Completed 1999 - 2000 & 2002 - 2005
(1996) "I would really like to design toys" - For me, designing miniature definitely fits the bill - Completed 2005 - today
(1998) "I would really like to work on a video game." - Completed 2008, 2010 (and hopefully 2012) *none of these projects have yet to be released*
(2010) "There is no way I will ever get to do a cover because monsters never get to be on covers by themselves ...but it would sure be nice to do one" - completed 2011

But there was always a hold out, the one that began them all...

(1977) "I want to make Star Wars."

For years I have quested for this first and most dear of goals. I foolishly thought I had a chance at one of the coveted ILM student internships. I thought I would be close when I moved to LA to work in the film industry, but no. I thought I was even closer by working with Wizards of the Coast, but I still could not make it happen. I even interviewed with Lucas Licensing in the hopes of getting one assignment, yet again I was denied. It only took me 34 years but as of 2011, I finally got to 'make Star Wars' ...twice even.

These are purely for reference purposes ...and a small sample of a larger addiction.

I won't be able to share my Star Wars work until sometime in 2012, but it was very weird to finally work on that license after so very very long. In many ways they were just another set of assignments. At other times I felt like climbing onto the roof and shouting, "The circle is now complete, when I left you I was but a learner, but now, I AM THE MASTER!". And no, I was not working on any Darth Vader pieces. It also, in its own way, made me feel like I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Of course this resulted in a little problem ...all my goals are complete ...OKAY, NOW WHAT?

Well, I realized in the last week of 2011 that the answer to this question is answered by my first topic, I need to do things for me and myself. Evidence of this has already been showing up on the blog and hopefully more will be along soon! Instead of looking to others to help complete my goals, I am going to be looking to fulfill them myself. Two birds, one stone.

Push yourself and learn new things because you are better then you were and will be better then you are now.

2011 was marked by a lot of learning opportunities. While I have sought situations in the past to learn and grow, 2011 was just chalk full of them. It started with the before mentioned Illustration Master Class which lead into Gen Con ...I will stop right here and mention that setting up at a major convention for the first time was very much a learning experience. It is important to see how the public responds to your art and art in general, what works, what doesn't, and of course all the very important face time with your peers, your heroes, and your ADs. So, Gen Con lead into Illuxcon 4, which by far was a completely new and exciting experience for me. I wrote at length on it, but after IMC and Gen Con I got something very different out of Illuxcon compared to the last two years I attended. I mean this in the best and most positive way that I can, it was a AWESOME time.

Okay, as I am writing this, I think I figured it out, I found self confidence as an artist this year. As strange as this might sound, I think it has taken this long to feel like I am standing on my own two feet, I have something unique to say with my work and that I bring something that is my own to any assignment I take on. I think this feeling can be summed up in one pair of drawings, something that I had on my blog within the last couple of months. One of my redesigns of work I did on Angel...

High Priest 2003 / 2011
© 2003 Almost Human / © 2011 Christopher Burdett
Yeah ...a little difference. Looking at them I can't stop feeling like they were done by different people. With an eight year gap between them, they kind of have been drawn by very different people.

Maybe you only see two monster concepts, one that is 'meh' and one that is better ...maybe you don't even see that ...but to me I am floored. These both came from my brain and my hand buth if the last eight years of a LOT of drawing, hard work, and time had not happened the one of the right would not exist. It just finally hit me, maybe I can do this thing, maybe I am actually be an artist. I have only been working as an artist professionally since 1999 ...maybe it is about time I feel a little confident of the job I do ...as long as I don't become a total jerk.

I keep mentioning this past week, well, last week I produced my first traditional painting. It is acrylic on board and I used a drawing I really liked that I did way back in 2008. I have been feeling the itch to paint with real paint since the IMC and I finally had time to do it over the holidays. Here is how it turned out...

Myopic Thrasher
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Even though this is my first traditional piece I am really happy with how it turned out and really looking forward to doing more of these ...a lot more actually. I know I have a lot to learn I am just thrilled that the things I have been learning while working digitally have actually paid off when I worked traditionally.

Wrapping it all up...

I feel like I am forgetting so many other things that happened this year that played a huge roll in shaping it for me. One that I have not mentioned is my inclusion in the blog group Shadowcore. Check out this awesome group of artist is you already have not. Okay, to wrap things up… what I have come away with from 2011 is that I need to make sure I am doing work that I am passionate about and invested in and if I am not, I need to find a way to invest myself in the project. I need to focus on my new goals which are in many ways linked to working on projects that I am passionate about. And finally, continue to learn and push my boundaries as I improve and strengthen my abilities, feeling more confident about the work I do. …it is just that easy! :P

If you have any questions or would like me to clarify anything, let me know. I hope my ramblings have been helpful, useful or at least mildly amusing. I hope 2011 was a good year for you and here's to 2012 being even better! Now, let's get to work!

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

A Brave New World - Part 3 - The Unexpected Journey

2012-01-02T08:58:00.007-05:00

As I mentioned in my posts last Wednesday and Friday, I have been working on my first traditional painting. Today, I bring you the conclusion of my first attempt. Since I was focusing on the figure to get my feet under me and to get accustom to handling the paint I concentrated on the figure and had left the background untouched. In my last day of painting I remedied this situation. I have for you again a progression of my work in more or less hourly increments showing the painting as a whole, medium shot and close up...

Full image painting progression. I was happy and a little surprised with how quickly and easily the background laid in to the piece. I of course had to make some modifications to the figure to better tie the two together and make sure that the light was consistent. One thing that the background was... it was really FUN to paint!

Medium shot painting progression.

Close up painting progression.

I have a couple more tasks ahead of me before I call this first painting done and begin working on a second... I need to find a good way to make a digital backup, I need to sign it, and I need to varnish it. I have taken some photos of it, but they are not doing a good job of capturing it well and the colors are all off a bit. I will be scanning it hopefully later today since it is only 11 x 14 and I am hoping for some better results (this is now done, see below!). I also need to make a decision on varnish and move forward with that. I know I have a lot to learn with working traditionally, but this first painting does give me a sense of hope that I am not crazy for attempting it. I look forward to making more work traditionally... but my clients should fear naught! I am not moving to traditional media for my hired work. This is something I am currently only doing for myself.

*UPDATE* I have now scanned the painting and leave you with a much better reproduction of the painting which shows the detail and color much better and is MUCH closer to the original then the other photos I have been posting...

Myopic Thrasher
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

So concludes the happenings of 2011, I will have for you on Wednesday (hopefully) a look back at 2011 and a look ahead at 2012! Until then...

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

A Brave New World - Part 2 - I can has paint?

2011-12-30T10:37:00.005-05:00

On Wednesday I shared with you the results of my first day of painting with actual real paint. I had time in my schedule to paint again yesterday and I spent most of the day doing so. This second definitely felt a whole lot more natural. Handling the paint and getting it to do what I wanted it to do came a little easier. I know I have a lot to learn and this after all is my first traditional painting, but it makes me feel like I have not somehow been cheating myself by working digitally. Maybe I actually know something about painting finally! I tried to take photos every hour showing my progress but as the night wore on I may have missed one or two, but I think you will get the idea. I took a full image, medium image and a close up each time and I have arranged them accordingly...

Full image painting progression. One of the first things I did was address some of the anatomy issues with the let side of the next that were in the drawing. Next, I tried to get paint blocked in on the rest of the figure. I was a little concerned having concentrated so much on the top half of the figure to get my feet under me that I would have a lot of difficulty matching colors the second day.

Medium shot painting progression.

Close up painting progression.

As is stands at the end of day two. Really happy with where this has ended up! I still need to get a background in there, which I am sure will have some ramifications for the figure. I know I should have worked on the background first, but I will learn more faster by just jumping into the figure. I think I have at least another day to go on it and hopefully I will have that time before Monday so I can share it with you then!

That's all for the last post of 2011! See you back here on Monday for the first post 0f 2012! I getting my year in review post together and will have that to you really soon as well! Until then...

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

A Brave New World - Part 1 - Not Freaking Out

2011-12-28T10:39:00.005-05:00

I hinted on Monday's post that I am up to something wacky. Over on Facebook I posted a teaser image of some globes of color on a plastic surface. Today I have for you some of what has been going on... in pictures, mostly . I think it started this year at the Illustration Master Class, was egged on at Gen Con and finally made a certainty at Illuxcon, that I needed to try my hand at traditional painting. This was all moved along with a (un)healthy amount of freaking out on my part as I tried to get my head around something I really have never done. I asked a lot of questions, looked at a lot of the real stuff and finally having the time in my schedule I jumped in. This is what has happen so far...

Hard board, acrylic media and a print of an older drawing with a digital under painting are about to have a party.

Party complete, I have my drawing with digital under painting firmly attached to the hard board... it is like magic!

READY TO PAINT! Okay, I learned many things about myself and painting in the next few moments. (1) I do not like working on an easel, I MUCH more prefer working flat on a surface like drawing. (2) I sometimes work to wet to work on an easel and will quickly create a mess, time to ditch the easel. (3) I do not need the under painting, the drawing will be enough for me, I was treating it like my digital work so for this it was too dark and too over powering. I am confident that a line drawing will be fine and that I will do all the under painting with the actual paint. (4) I prefer a smooth surface to paint on. Somehow I printed my image on the rough side of the paper and didn't notice until I started painting. I am fighting the grain a bit, I have a spare bit of paper I am testing colors on and I am using the smooth side and it is just what I want to work on.

Now I know! And knowing is half the battle!

After worrying about color choices, the great and powerful Jeremy McHugh was nice enough to give me some advice and told me two yellows, two reds and two blues to start with, I went ahead and grabbed a white, a black (which I have not touched yet) and some of my favorite earth tones and I was good to go.

Paint going on... it should be noted that this was the point at which I FREAKED OUT. Having not done this I have a lot to learn. This thing was out of control and charging in an unknown direction. Needless to say I felt a wee bit out of my element. ...where is my computer???

After some panic I calmed down and got to work using what I know from all this time working on the computer and from my time painting makeups in LA. Slowly I think I am taking control of this thing and getting my head around it. STILL LOTS TO LEARN... but I think I see some potential to this whole working traditionally thing! :P

This is where the painting stands after the first evening of painting. I will be working on it again later today. I hope it continues to go well... or as well as it can being my first traditional painting.

This is the fun part! I really like mixing the colors to make new colors, it all makes sense in it's strange way. Like science and magic all in one.

See you back here on Friday with hopefully more progress images! Until then...

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

A Brave New World...

2011-12-26T11:33:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post with a single image and I will leave you to think about what I am up to this week... succeed or fail, here we go...

Taking my first step into a larger world... maybe...

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

RAWR! Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings!

2011-12-23T08:04:00.008-05:00

Happiest of Holidays to one and all. Here's to hoping for an exciting and prosperous 2012! ...and that you receive the tentacled horror from beyond space and time that you have always wanted!

My Little Cthulhu
Iä! Iä!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

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

Heart of the Scar - Process

2011-12-21T07:54:00.007-05:00

As promised when I first showed of the Heart of the Scar I have for you today a look at the steps that went into the piece. Over the last couple of years I have been able to put together a work flow that has been very successful for me. The work flow plays to my strengths and insures that I am aware and address my weaknesses. If you saw my recent post on the process for the Oasis Beast, then this work flow should look very familiar. Since I was creating a brand new creature and illustrating it I started with some concepts for the creature and thumbnails for the over all illustration. As you will see, I had a fairly set idea of what I wanted to do for the illustration...

Shoth-Goragg Concepts
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast
Option 'B' was my first choice but 'C' was the winner in the end.

Heart of the Scar thumbnails
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast
Not sure if any of these were a stand out favorite of mine. I just knew I wanted to get up close and personal with the monster so you could see all the tentacles and horror. Option 'C' was the winner with production.

Now that I had a monster and a composition I could get started on a final drawing. Looking at the drawing now I am a little shocked how little detail I put into it, especially with it being such a large and prominent piece. I guess I felt confident in the subject matter and forms that I didn't need any thing more complex from the drawing. Of course, it tuned out I was correct... thankfully!

Heart of the Scar drawing

I was working on this piece and the Oasis Beast at the same time. I have a superstition that makes me work on paintings in the order I was assigned them, since the Oasis Beast was first on the list I finished it first followed by the Heart of the Scar. I usually prefer to work on larger more complex paintings first, but my silly superstition wouldn't allow it. When I did get started on the painting I was a little surprised with how quickly it went...

Heart of the Scar painting progression
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast

After an undetermined amount of time I had a finished monster ready to devour unsuspecting players. As I have mentioned previously, I really need to keep track of how much time goes into a painting one of these days. As per my work flow, I put the piece away for a few days to have a look at it with fresh eyes, made some changes and turned it in with my fingers crossed that I had not taken stupid pills when working on it. Thankfully I had not and the piece was approved without revisions!

Heart of the Scar - Shoth-Goragg
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast

This piece is my first cover and to make it even better it is for Dungeons and Dragons. I could not be happier and it was a real treat to work on! To wrap up the post, here is the piece on the cover...

Dungeon Issue #197

Another monster to add to the monster zoo in my head. If you have any questions regarding the steps I take or the process in which I work, please feel free to ask!

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

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

Mansions of Madness: Forbidden Alchemy

2011-12-19T07:59:00.004-05:00

Forbidden Alchemy, the newest expansion for Mansions of Madness is now out and I designed one of the miniatures in this expansion! This time around it is the Crawling One, a Mythos horror I particularly like. The reference art I was given to base the miniature on was a little dark and vague so I was given a lot of room to flesh the Crawling One out and give it my own spin. This is what I came up with...

Crawling One
(Planning to touch you with all its tentacles)
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

As I mentioned previously, I did all these designs way back in 2009 and they are slowing being released. Patience is a virtue when it comes to miniatures, but after two years I am getting pretty anxious to see the rest of my designs become plastic. If the Crawling One looks familiar to you it is because it appeared in another Cthulhu piece that I have done. Having enjoyed designing the Crawling One so much, when I was given the chance to include any Mythos monster I wanted to I jumped at the chance to revisit the big CO.

I look forward with sharing more monster miniatures with you, but we will need to be patient because it will most likely be a while to wait.

That is all for today, see you back here for another exciting day 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

Sketchbook sketches

2011-12-16T12:56:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I currently have copies of both my sketchbooks in stock and available to you while supplies last. They have been selling fast and when I can remember I have been taking photos of the drawings that have been going in them. Since I am running a little behind today I thought I would share with you some of those sketches, ENJOY!

Monster are more scary with fluid filled sacks on their heads - RAWR!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Creepy bird monster is transfixed - RAWR!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

All monsters should have to snort a lot and the puff of air needs to be visible - RAWR!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

More snorting monsters - RAWR!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

If you are interested in obtaining your own personalized sketchbook or getting one to be that perfect gift here are the details:

Your very own copy of creatura libri OR creatura libri 2 (please specify) with shipping to anywhere in the US: $20 (additional fees apply to those outside the US)

Your very own copy of creatura libri OR creatura libri 2 (please specify) featuring an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch on the first page with shipping to anywhere in the US: $25 (additional fees apply to those outside the US)

SPECIAL DEAL! Your very own copy of creatura libri AND creatura libri 2 featuring an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch on the first pages with shipping to anywhere in the US: $40 (additional fees apply to those outside the US)

Send an email to: My Yahoo Account and I will send you my paypal info. If you need to send cash or a money order I will provide my home address, but I prefer Paypal. Supplies are limited and it will be on a first come first serve basis. Please specify which book(s) you would like to purchase and if you would like sketches when you email me.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you on Monday! Until then...

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

ImagineFX issue #77

2011-12-14T07:53:00.005-05:00

Issue 77 of ImagineFX is currently on the shelves in the US and if you happen to catch the issue you will see that I have a double page spread on pages 18 and 19. I was approached about this a while back and it is great to finally see my pieces grace the pages of ImagineFX. Some of my favorite monsters get to strut their stuff and enjoy being in print! If you haven't seen the issue yet, here you go...

ImagineFX issue 77 - pages 18-19
RAWR! Monsters on paper in your hands!

A big thanks to the fine folks at ImagineFX for including my work in the issue and giving me two full pages! Also, thanks to Eva and Ania for giving me advance notification that issue 77 had my work, always appreciated!

That is all for another exciting day 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

My life as a crappy artist - High Priest

2011-12-12T07:58:00.003-05:00

You of course remember the High Priest from episode 21, Peace Out, from season 4 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I designed it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is High Priest...

Well, if it isn't the friendliest little hell beast that I ever did meet! Give the folks at home a nice little, 'RAWR!'.

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around the High Priest was the lucky winner. Here are some of my original designs for the High Priest from 2003...

Uh, yeah. Not scary enough, how about I make the neck a little longer... yeah, that's the ticket...
© 2003 Almost Human

If that one is not bad enough, here are some full body studies I think I did first to get my head around the character. I think I should have stopped before I had gotten any closer...

I would like to imagine that the one on the left actually becomes two dimensional as it nears the bottom of his dress/robe/tube suit thing. How freaky would that have been? Turns to a profile and the lower part of his body disappears since it only has height and width but no depth... totally freaky!
© 2003 Almost Human

As I mentioned in my post about the Keeper of the Name, these two like to hang out in some hell dimension keeping the name of the Woman (I will talk about her another day) safe. The High Priest is an evolved version of the Centaur Bugs (I will talk about them another day), a crazy mixed up monster that was one of our real successes on Angel. I had to take what we had come up for the Centaur Bugs and advance it a couple millions year ahead in it's monster evolution. I basically had to make it bipedal and more human in appearance... and it appears I was barely up for that task. I really should not be so hard on myself, it was eight years ago after all and I was a different person then... but my work offers such an easy target. All that aside, here is something... newer, for the design of the High Priest...

Taking the High Priest back!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

I wonder if I could have drawn the High Priest like this eight years ago if I would have ever left Los Angeles for greener pastures. Of course, if I had not left I would not have had the opportunities to grow and improve that I have had in Florida. I surprised myself with this redesign and I am really happy with how it turned out. It came together really quickly and really easily which is still a little unnerving!

But that is not all for the High Priest! I have a couple more photos of the happiest widdle hell beast of them all! As a side note, the actor portraying the High Priest also was Karg from the live action Masters of the Universe movie. So that makes me like two to three degrees away from everyone on Star Trek Voyager...

OH HAI! Can I offer you some hand crafted jewelery? They are all made by hand, by hell beasts!

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

Meeting Notes! ...and you will like it.

2011-12-09T07:50:00.004-05:00

A quick post on a busy day. For someone who hates to juggle work, I am doing a lot of juggling right now. Mind you, I am not complaining, that is the last thing I want to do. Things should smooth out soon if everything goes to plan. In the mean time, I have for you today some meeting note monsters to take the weight off my shoulders in regards to the blog at least. ENJOY!

As always, before you pass judgment, this is how I take notes in meetings and you should not think I am not paying attention. Active hands means active brain... or something... anyway, on with the monsters...

Thankfully the one that got away...
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Chin lizard is proud of his mighty chin.
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Hold still, he just want to pet you with his tentacles...
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here for some more fun and adventure 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

Fresh from the drawing table... Intellect Devourer!

2011-12-07T07:54:00.004-05:00

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is an Intellect Devourer! 'I' has a lot of wacky monsters and some are jumping out at me a lot more then others. The Intellect Devourer is on such monster that is jumping out at me. Though it is near perfect in its original incarnation I tasked myself with redesigning it. I present to you my version of a Intellect Devourer...

Intellect Devourer
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

I am beginning to wonder if my personal take on the Dungeons and Dragons pantheon of monsters is partially layered with Lovecraftian influences. I am including a lot of tentacles and crazy forms. Though I love the idea of a giant crazy brain monster with legs that sucks your brain clean of all thought I wanted to go with something a little more physical in it's eating practices. I wanted it to need to get the head of it's prey and have to let it digest in the dangly stomach sack. I thought it would be fun to have one of the warning sighs that an Intellect Devourer was approaching was the tell tale sound of wet skulls sloshing around together.

If you missed any of the second round of monsters, A-Z, you can see them here: Ankheg, Beholder, Cockatrice, Demon(Juiblex), Earth Elemental, Giant(Hill), and Hobgoblin.

If you missed the first round of monsters, A - Z, you can see them here: Axebird, Bugbear, Chimera, Dragon, Ettin, Frog(Giant), Goblin, Hydra, Imp, Jacklewere, Kobold, Lizardman, Manticore, Naga, Owlbear, Purple Worm, Quasit, Rust Monster, Shambling Mound, Troll,Umber Hulk, Vampire, Wasp(Giant), Xorn, Yeti, and Zombi.

That is all for today, 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

Heart of the Scar - Dungeon Issue #197

2011-12-05T07:58:00.004-05:00

Dungeon magazine issue #197 is out and I am on the cover! This is my first cover and I can not be happier that it is for Dungeons and Dragons. The piece depicts the harrowing finale of the Chaos Scar adventure, Heart of the Scar. I was tasked with designing and illustrating a horror from beyond time and space, a terrifying mass of tentacles and eyes, and if there is one thing I feel confident about, it is tentacles! On with the monster...

Heart of the Scar - Shoth-Goragg

I was working on this piece at the same time I was working on the Oasis Beast. Back to back design and illustration of new D&D monsters, I was not complaining! This is one of those surreal moments when reading the art order that I realize that all my hard work to convey to my clients the type of work I want to make has paid off. You need a tentacled horror from beyond time and space surrounded by a hole in the very fabric of reality? Yeah, I got you covered! There is always a certain amount of worry and/or stress that goes into any of my paintings as I plan it out and take it from the under painting to the finished piece making sure I don't miss anything. With this painting there was none of that stress and worry and that was pretty special. This is how the piece looks on the cover...

Dungeon Issue #197

In the near future I will bring you some of the process work that went into making this piece. Again, a huge thanks to Kate Irwin for getting me involved with this assignment! It was right up my alley and I had a ton of fun!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you 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

The Project That Never Was (Part 5)

2011-12-02T11:00:00.005-05:00

Continuing my coverage today of a big project that I worked on back in 2008. The project died before it ever saw completion and the work I produced for it has remained sealed away every since. ...until NOW. Please keep in mind while I can now share my work I can not divulge any other details regarding the project. If you missed them, you can see catch up on PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, and PART 4.

In this fifth installment of turnarounds I have for you 'Hammer Bro' and 'Gun Bro'. These were big bruiser types and were really fun to work on. 'Hammer Bro' was based a lot on concept work done for the project while 'Gun Bro' was let to me to design and flesh out. Before I say to much, bring on the monsters...

'Hammer Bro' *SMASH* Turnaround
© 2008 Wizards of the Coast

'Gun Bro' *PEW PEW PEW* Turnaround
© 2008 Wizards of the Coast

That is all for another installment of a project I can't really talk about. Next time I bring you more from the project I will be bringing you two of my favorite designs from the project!

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday for something special and new! Until then...

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

Rainforest Shaman - Dreamblade

2011-11-30T08:02:00.003-05:00

You may be aware that I worked on a little miniatures game called Dreamblade some time back. This blog is littered with turnarounds and work that I generated starting now over six years ago. Though it seems hard to believe at this point I still have more to share with you from that time in my career!

Today I have for you one of the first minis I designed for Dreamblade, the Rainforest Shaman. A sad little orangutan that I could have done so much more with... but I didn't know any better at the time and seems to have been good enough after all, it did get turned into a mini. This is what the final Rainforest Shaman turnaround looked like...

Rainforest Shaman
© 2005 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Little monkey man on a rock doing something with his hand. First things first, the art description did call for him to have a lot less hair so that you could see his sweet tats... and originally he was suppose to have some sort of lightning or energy element to go along with his game ability to energize. The Shaman went through some different stages as we worked out the details and finer points of his gear and pose...

Rainforest Shaman - evolution
© 2005 Wizards of the Coast LLC

As I am want to do, I did have some extra time recently and I thought it would be fun to take a fresh crack at the Rainforest Shaman to see how I would go about it today, some six years later. I seem to be doing a lot of this lately, but I find it really enjoyable and I think it has been letting me evaluate how I use to go about solving design issues compared to how I currently solve them. Hopefully this will let me move forward with a better understanding of how I create. All that aside, here is the 2011 version of the Rainforest Shaman...

Rainforest Shaman Redux
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

First thing I did when starting on this new version was to get a ton of orangutan image reference. I know for a fact I looked up a bunch of reference six years ago, but to compare the images of orangutan I have today versus my original design I would think I had not used any reference at all. For one thing orangutan feet are AMAZING! Well, orangutan in general are pretty amazing in and of themselves, which is why I wish I had done more with the original. I think I came up with a much better solution for his hand gesture and over all it feel more like an orangutan and less like Dr. Zaius. Anyway... I think it is at least a better drawing and that in addition to having fun while drawing was the goal!

That is all for another 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

creatura libri sketchbooks 1 and 2 now available (supplies limited!)

2011-11-28T07:59:00.005-05:00

Just in time for the holidays! I have a limited number of my sketchbooks, creatura libri and creatura libri 2 available on a first come first serve basis! This time around I am shipping to folks outside the US, but outside the US will need to pay extra for shipping (contact me for additional shipping fees).

I have a couple different price points to fit your needs:

Your very own copy of creatura libri OR creatura libri 2 (please specify) with shipping to anywhere in the US: $20 (additional fees apply to those outside the US)

Your very own copy of creatura libri OR creatura libri 2 (please specify) featuring an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch on the first page with shipping to anywhere in the US: $25 (additional fees apply to those outside the US)

SPECIAL DEAL! Your very own copy of creatura libri AND creatura libri 2 featuring an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch on the first pages with shipping to anywhere in the US: $40 (additional fees apply to those outside the US)

Send an email to: My Yahoo Account and I will send you my paypal info. If you need to send cash or a money order I will provide my home address, but I prefer Paypal. Supplies are limited and it will be on a first come first serve basis. Please specify which book(s) you would like to purchase and if you would like sketches when you email me.

You too can own your very own copy of creatura libri and/or creatura libri 2! Both featuring over 30 pages of drawings of creatures, monsters and all things tentacled!

Just look at them tentacles... those claws! And just in time for the holidays! Grandma will love it!

You like lizards? We got loads of that! Think of how proud your mother will be when you give her both books!

Be the envy of your friends and enemies by owning a copy of creatura libri and/or creatura libri 2 with an original sketch by me gracing the first page!

That is all for another exciting day 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

Fresh from the drawing table... Hobgoblin!

2011-11-23T08:20:00.004-05:00

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Hobgoblin! The first time through it was really hard not to pick the Hobgoblin for 'H'. At the time I felt I had already done a lot of humanoid monsters so I went with the Hydra over the Hobgoblin. Now that I am making a second pass I can be sure to remedy the situation. I present to you my version of a Hobgoblin...

Hobgoblin
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Better equipped then Goblins and more organized then Bugbears the Hobgoblin is a real threat to the world of man. I continued with some of the anatomical arrangements I established with the Goblin so that they are visibly of a similar genetic stock. The Hobgoblins are much bigger and stronger then its more diminutive Goblin cousin. I really wanted to portray the Hobgoblin as a much more well organized professional soldier so I made sure his weapons and armor were well made and in good shape. It all came together when I found a great photo reference image I had (but didn't know I had) of an archer aiming high... the rest was super fun monster drawing time.

If you missed any of the second round of monsters, A-Z, you can see them here: Ankheg, Beholder, Cockatrice, Demon(Juiblex), Earth Elemental, and Giant(Hill).

If you missed the first round of monsters, A - Z, you can see them here: Axebird, Bugbear, Chimera, Dragon, Ettin, Frog(Giant), Goblin, Hydra, Imp, Jacklewere, Kobold, Lizardman, Manticore, Naga, Owlbear, Purple Worm, Quasit, Rust Monster, Shambling Mound, Troll,Umber Hulk, Vampire, Wasp(Giant), Xorn, Yeti, and Zombi.

That is all for another Wednesday on the blog! Since there is a holiday here in the States tomorrow I most likely will not be back to the blog until Monday. Until then...

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

My life as a crappy artist - Cyvus Vail

2011-11-21T08:16:00.004-05:00

You of course remember Cyvus Vail from episode 18, Origin, from season 5 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I designed it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is Cyvus Vail...

RAWR! I am an old demon... *COUGH* ...fear me!... *COUGH* ...I need a nap...

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around Cyvus Vail was the lucky winner. Here are the original "designs" for Cyvus Vail from 2004...

Wait? What the? This is just a photo of an old man with funny ears... what gives?!
© 2004 Almost Human

This "design" was done during a period in which I was not allowed to draw on paper at the effects house I worked at. I was to only make my "designs" using photo manipulations using Photoshop. In this case I was backed into a corner and was given a photo of a really old man and was made to give him funny demon ears. Oh, I guess I blacked his eyes out and gave him a weird skin tone since it was a black and white photo. I did have a little fun coming up with some funky patterns for his skin...

RAWR! I am mottled! ...and completely rejected as an option...
© 2004 Almost Human

I guess Cyvus Vail is best described as a very old demon mafia boss. He is hooked up to IVs of vital fluids all the time and appears weak, but he still holds much power. Cool right? How much cooler would he have been if he had some cool patterns? I bet LOADS more cooler! Unfortunately, just as I was being made to only use photo manipulations for all my design work the show's production head decided that all demons are RED. Bright, glaring, and with no modeling ...FIRE ENGINE RED. Go back and watch, a TON of the demons at the end of season 5 are all BRIGHT BRIGHT RED. Cause, you know, demon are red. So I painted a lot of bright red demons at the end of season 5. ...and Cyvus Vail was one of them. All that aside, here is my chance to actually finally draw a design for Cyvus Vail...

Taking Cyvus Vail back!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

RAWR! I am now hand drawn! Feels good to finally be able to draw this guy. It may be pretty much the same character, but at least I was able to do it my way this time and have some fun drawing a creepy old demon that to me looks a tad like Bill Nighy. Beady eyes and a broad mouth... maybe it is just me. I thought he would look good in a big furry collar. I made sure to keep the next IVs going in the wrong way. ...even though my wife would have preferred me to correct it! On to the next art albatross that I carry around my neck...

Here are a couple extra bonus images from Cyvus Vail. Here is the BRIGHT RED makeup I painted that I mentioned above. With this makeup, there was a face piece, cowl and a paint of ears that more form fitted the actor and allowed less muffle hearing. After I painted it our hair person laid down the fine white hair that completed the look. You might notice I added some modeling to the makeup with a darker tone even though production demanding we didn't. I could not see sending out a flat even painted makeup to be then be put on the actor, it would have looked so bad...

Here are more of my pattern variations that were all rejected for the more desirable fire engine red complexion. No big loss in the end I guess, some of these may have been a tad too much and may have looked silly... but a little pattern would have been fun...

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you 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

Hymns and Wretched Offerings to the Golden Ones - Now Available!

2011-11-18T07:59:00.004-05:00

A little while ago I told you about Jim Pavelec's upcoming book, Hymns and Wretched Offerings to the Golden Ones (there was a cool kickstarter and everything!). Well the book is not out and it is totally awesome! While I Illuxcon I was able to get my copies and it is jam backed with lots of great art and verse. It is even now available on Amazon!

The cover of "Hymns and Wretched Offerings to the Golden Ones"

Since the book is now out I thought I would share with you the pieces that I contributed to the book. Jim did an open call for demonic themed art and I was more then happy to submit work that I had that would fit the bill. In the end I had three pieces in the book and I am still thrilled to be part of Jim's project. Enough talk, bring on the monsters...

As a reminder, here is a short list of the other artist that contributed to the book: Allen Williams, Allison Theus, Davi Blight, Jim Pavelec, Kim Feigenbaum, Mike Corriero, Mike May, Shreya Shetty, William B. Hand, Sam Araya, Paul Komoda, and Bob Eggleton. With a list like this, what are you waiting for? Go out and get yourself a copy today!

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

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

Terrors of the Silt Sea - Process

2011-11-16T08:06:00.005-05:00

Before I left for Illuxcon I shared with you the Oasis Beast that I did for the Dungeon Magazine article, Terrors of the Silt Sea. I promised that I would share with you some of the work that went into this piece once I was back and settled and that day has come! I was working on the Oasis Beast and another D&D piece at the same time and both required me to design a brand new monster and compose it in an illustration. To save time with feedback and approvals I went ahead and did some concept designs and some thumbnail compositions using my favorite concept...

Oasis Beast Concepts
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast
Option 'C' was really talking to me and I had my figures crossed.

Oasis Beast thumbnails
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast
The monster says RAWR!I was on the fence between 'B' and 'C' and so was production. The decision to go with 'C' was made and I moved forward.

I had an overall idea of what I wanted to do with the piece so before I did the thumbnails I went outside in my armor and had the wife take some photos of me reacting to a horrifying monster. I used my three favorite poses for the thumbnails and thankfully my favorite was in the option selected. I moved forward with the final drawing. As I have mentioned innumerable times before, the drawing phase is my favorite part of the whole process. I always wish I had a little more time to spend working up the drawing. Working out issues and fleshing out the design I completed the final drawing and submitted it...

Oasis Beast drawing
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast
The Oasis Beast has all the teeth in Athas. There are now no more teeth for the other monsters to have.

Once approved it is now time to paint! Again, I had previously put some thought into what I wanted to do with the color before beginning so I knew where I wanted to go with the piece. There is always an ebb and flow to a painting and things don't always end up where I thought they would when I begin, but that is usually for the best. Here is a process progression of the painting. One of these days I will be more vigilant to document the 'magic' that happens between image 2 and 3 when it goes from the under painting to a more finished painting. In the meantime...

Oasis Beast painting process progression (HUZZAH! ALLITERATION!)
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast

After a period of time greater then an hour and less then four weeks I finish the painting. I must really keep better notes on the time spent on a painting so I give people a definite number when they ask. In most of my work there is a cool down time I build into my personal deadline so that I can finish the painting and put it away for several days to a week so that I can get a fresh look at it before turning it in. I usually catch little things that need tweaking and sometimes I will catch that big glaring issue I missed earlier because I was too close and too familiar to the piece. Thankfully I seem to hit the nail on the head every step of the way with this piece and when I turned in the final it was approved right away...

Terrors of the Silt Sea: Oasis Beast
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast

Another monster to add to the monster zoo in my head. If you have any questions regarding the steps I take or the process in which I work, please feel free to ask!

That is all for today, 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

Fresh from the drawing table... Giant (Hill)!

2011-11-14T07:56:00.006-05:00

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Giant, and to be more specific, a Hill Giant! 'G' offers up a lot of monsters and I knew it was only a matter of time before I needed to do a giant, so I figured no time like the present. Big and hulking monsters are some of my favorites (after monsters with tentacles, of course) and the giants offer that up in spades. I present to you my version of a Hill Giant...

Hill Giant
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

I was really looking forward to drawing a big dumb hulking giant. Once again I debated long and hard about reinventing the wheel on this one or to go with something a little more traditional. I considered a lot of ways to go really weird with it, but in the end pulled back on the design. The other giants most likely will have some crazy things going on with them when I get around to doing them. What really sparked this guy along was a piece of photo reference from another project that I never used. I really wanted to use this version of a pose but is just did not work out so I held onto it... and it finally found a home! RAWR!

If you missed any of the second round of monsters, A-Z, you can see them here: Ankheg, Beholder, Cockatrice, Demon(Juiblex), and Earth Elemental.

If you missed the first round of monsters, A - Z, you can see them here: Axebird, Bugbear, Chimera, Dragon, Ettin, Frog(Giant), Goblin, Hydra, Imp, Jacklewere, Kobold, Lizardman, Manticore, Naga, Owlbear, Purple Worm, Quasit, Rust Monster, Shambling Mound, Troll,Umber Hulk, Vampire, Wasp(Giant), Xorn, Yeti, and Zombi.

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

The Project That Never Was (Part 4)

2011-11-11T11:27:00.003-05:00

Continuing my coverage today of a big project that I worked on back in 2008. The project died before it ever saw completion and the work I produced for it has remained sealed away every since. ...until NOW. Please keep in mind while I can now share my work I can not divulge any other details regarding the project. If you missed them, you can see catch up on PART 1, PART 2 and PART 3.

In this fourth installment of turnarounds and I have for you the last variationsof the 'Devil Dude'. I produced the most variation and did the most work on 'Devil Dude', I guess he was a Jack of all trades and abilities. Before I say to much, bring on the monsters...

'Similar to the rest but slightly different Devil Dude' Turnaround
© 2008 Wizards of the Coast

'Super Beefy Armor Devil Dude - Now with ring hook action' Turnaround

That is all for the 'Devil Dude'. I for you nothing but new and crazy monsters that I worked on for this project. Be patient, they will be along in the fullness of time...

That is all for another exciting week on the blog! See you back here on Monday! Until then...

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

Illuxcon 2011 - Wrap Up

2011-11-09T08:01:00.003-05:00

I am back from Illuxcon 4 and getting back into the groove of work. First and foremost I would like to extent huge thanks to Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire for everything they do to make Illuxcon happen. Their hard work and effort allows us all to have an amazing and memorable 4 days of Illuxcon. Illuxcon 4 was by far the best yet and that is saying something with how amazing the previous two years were.

If you have not heard yet there was a big announcement about the future of Illuxcon... Illuxcon 5 in 2012 will be the last Illuxcon... in Altoona. Illuxcon 6 in 2013 will be held in Allentown, Pa in the newly renovated Allentown art museum! The future looks bright for Illuxcon! Hope to see you there!

If you missed any of my Illuxcon 4 posts you can use these convenient links...

Illuxcon 2011 coverage Day 0

Illuxcon 2011 coverage Day 1

Illuxcon 2011 coverage Day 2

Illuxcon 2011 coverage Day 3

Illuxcon 2011 coverage Day 4

Another successful snipe hunt! Tom Kuebler does it again with his amazing sculptures.

That is all for today, 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

Illuxcon 2011 - Day 4

2011-11-07T08:02:00.004-05:00

Illuxcon Day 4! For all things there is a beginning and an ending and unfortunately Day 4 is the last day of Illuxcon 2011. Since no workshops or lectures were scheduled, artist were at their booths and everyone was having a chance to talk to them and pick their brains on all their secrets and pro tips. Also, the day was set aside for students and the public to come to the Illuxcon. The exhibit hall was absolutely packed and there was a lot of energy in the room even though everyone was moving a little slow due to repeated late nights. Day 4 is the last chance to see so much amazing art in person so I made sure to try to take as much in as possible and I think others were on the same quest. As the day turned to evening people reluctantly began their long journeys home. The show finally came down and everyone split into groups to have dinner. Everyone met back up at the Ramada for the last good-byes and well wishes. Now all that is left is to head home myself and I have a long day of airports and airplanes ahead of me. Here are the pictures of the day...

I picked up a Sam Burley original. A really nice little oil piece of a great looking sky.

Some of Jordu Schell's awesome beasties. I am pretty sure the one on the right says, "RAWR!"

The event hall was bustling with activity.

Shadowcore representing at Illuxcon 2011! Left to right, Chris Rahn, Mike Sass, Me (Christopher Burdett), Anna Christenson, and Tyler Jacobson.

Jordu Schell working on an awesome maquette.

Thomas Kuebler's Baba Yaga would love to give you a hug!

The show begins to come down...

First to arrive and last to leave... Ralph Horsley finishes up on the last row of the gallery.

One last look of the gallery before leaving, the end of Illuxcon 4, now to patiently wait till Illuxcon 5!

That is all for today and Illuxcon 2011! Time to travel home, see you back on the blog later in the week! Until then...

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

Illuxcon 2011 - Day 3

2011-11-06T09:03:00.006-05:00

Day 3! Today is a day of photos... I do not have the time unfortunately to write a lot today. The night are late and the mornings are early. But it was another day of lectures, demos and workshops. A lot centered around Petar Meseldzija and his amazing work. ...but I gotta run so here are some pictures!

Painting demo and lecture by Petar Meseldzija in the auditorium.

Petar Meseldzija at the easel talking about not being afraid of the paint.

Petar Meseldzija begins to mix the paint and find the color and value he is looking for.

Petar Meseldzija's demo got extended when the Art Director's volunteered to move their talk to another room so that Petar could keep working. Here is his demo piece after he was all done.

Jesper Ejsing's WALL OF ART! So much candy for the eyes!

Jesper Ejsing adding to my Monster Manual 2! WOOT!

I brought my book of Petar Meseldzija's drawings I received for my birthday to get signed.

Not only did I get a signature, but Petar did a sketch!

The sea of art at Illuxcon 4!

The award ceremony this year was at the Ramada this year and really nice.

A group of us got together and did some sketching and drawing while we socialize. This was my drawing.

That is all for Day 3 at Illuxcon, see you back here for Day 4! Until then...

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

Illuxcon 2011 - Day 2

2011-11-05T09:20:00.005-04:00

Day 2 of Illuxcon 2011! The long one... Day 2 has become one of, if not the longest, fullest days at Illuxcon. Not only is it the first day of the workshops, demos, and lectures but also ends with the Showcase event back at the Ramada. This year's selection of workshops and lectures so far have been really outstanding. I never even got to look around the exhibit gallery on Day 2 because I was so involved with all the great lectures. The day started out with an art director and artist group critique of work submitted by attendees. Just like last year this was an outstanding and informative event on how to take your work to the next level. Always great to see informed and experienced people talk about art. The rest of the day's events were a mix of how to go about advancing your work, how to find your voice, and make the most of the work you create. There was also a very interesting presentation regarding WiPNation and the online community they are building. The night culminated in the Showcase event where 50 of us got to show our work and talk to everyone. Just as last year, the people set up in the Showcase were a great mix or students, emerging artists, established artists and veteran artists. I had a really great time and had a experience that topped last year's. My sketchbooks were again a big hit and I spent the evening drawing monsters! The festivities continued into the wee hours, though after such a long day I was not up to much, but I have some photos to share...

The live group critique is about to start! The world famous Jon Schindehette was this year's narrator.

At the WiPNation presentation Jon Schindehette got responded to my excessive photographing.

Here we see Jon Schindehette posing with one of our beautiful Shadowcore one sheets. Just look how happy he is to now have one!

I am all set up and ready to go for the Showcase! Fellow Shadowcore members Anna Christenson

and Mike Sass were set up to my right and across the isle from me. As you can see I had a pair of doors to my back, there were my escape route since the world famous Sam Flegal boxed me in with all his great art on my left!

I mentioned above I drew a lot of monsters...

...I of course forgot to take photos of them all...

...but I did manage to snap a couple of photos...

...so that I have a record of some of the monster of Illuxcon 2011!

Pajamas with feet party... Only at Illuxcon! I felt so let out without a pair of my own... not really.

That is all from Day 2 of Illuxcon 2011! I will see you back here tomorrow for all the events and happenings of Day 3! Until then...

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

Illuxcon 2011 - Day 1

2011-11-04T08:06:00.005-04:00

Day 1 of Illuxcon 2011! Even though Day 1 is mostly a set up day it was completely filled with so much awesome I almost hurt myself with an AWESOME OVERLOAD!!!!... or something like that. Throughout the day artist were arriving by land, sea, and air and with them their art. It was so great to be able to see folks I have not seen since Gen Con, the Illustration Master Class, or Illuxcon 2010. I look forward to catching up with them over the weekend. Of course there are all the new faces and the people I have never met in person to get to know as well. I took over 80 photos of my adventures of Day 1, though not all of them turned out I really had to narrow it down for the blog today. I think I will let the images do the talking for today...

Ralph Horsley begins to unload his all his amazing work. Once again Ralph had his massive box of awesome shipped over. So much amazing stuff to see!

The exhibit hall is primed and ready for the show! Soon all of this will be absolutely covered in amazing art.

Chris Rahn figures out how best to set up all the great looking work he brought.

The front row of the exhibit hall as boxes and people arrive. Jon is porting a really sharp ArtOrder shirt.

In the fullness of time the exhibit is beginning to take shape!

The front row is coming together slowly but surely.

I made my first purchase of Illuxcon 2011! A Ralph Horsley drawing I have had my eye on how awhile now that he did for Dungeons and Dragons.

More and more begin to appear! So much amazing work!

Chris Seaman, Jim Pavelec, and John Stanko taking a much needed break from the awesomeness to let the mind cool down.

Illuxcon 2011 has officially begun! Things are a moving and a groven!

If Day One is any indication Illuxcon 2011 is going to be the best one yet!

That is all for Day 1! Onto Day 2 and the Showcase event tonight, see you back here tomorrow for all the details! Until then...

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

Illuxcon 2011 - Day 0

2011-11-03T10:15:00.004-04:00

Day 0 of Illuxcon 4! IT BEGINS! Well… I should say it begins with a long day of airports and plane trips. I will never complain about the wonder that is manned flight, but there were so unexpected delays that had me arriving to Altoona later then planned. Past year I had many adventures on Day 0 and arriving so late I thought I missed everything and everybody. Just as I had given up and planned to go have dinner by myself and run some errands, who should walking in as I was walking out, none other then the world famous Ralph Horsley. Moments later Chris Rahn (fellow Shadowcore member!) joined the scene and we were all off to get some dinner! Altoona offered up some really tasty sushi, a pleasant surprise. Now that is the Illuxcon I know and come to expect. More and more folks began to arrive after dinner. It is already shaping up to be an outstanding event!

Everyone is planning on heading over to the event center to start setting up at noon on Day 1. I can't wait to get over there and start documenting the transformation and all the amazing art! Through out the day more artists should be arriving and that means the day is just going to get better.

Though this year's Day 0 was low key I do have some photos to offer...

My luggage arrived and appears intact. Always a huge relief, I hope there are not unpleasant surprises to discover when I unpack.

I have a spot on one of the couches in the lobby that I like to sit while I check email and write my blog posts (like I am doing RIGHT NOW). It has the best internet reception in the whole hotel and the squishy couches are comfy. I also have a good view of everyone coming and going.

I took this moments before Chris Seaman, Aaron Miller and Jim Pavelec arrived. I also missed getting a photo of a Jim landing a spectacular blow to Aaron's arm.

One last view from the couch. You can see my power cord leading to my computer. Since I was trying to keep my carry on bag light I packed the adapter and o course ran my battery down at the airports. There is a super secret plug behind the couch!

That is all or Day 0 of Illuxcon 2011! I will be heading over shortly to begin Day 1, see you back here tomorrow for my coverage! Until then...

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

Bound for Illuxcon 4 & Meeting Notes

2011-11-02T06:00:00.005-04:00

On my way to Illuxcon 4 today in Altoona, PA. I have a very early flight to kick things off and will arrive in Altoona early this afternoon. This will be my third visit to Altoona and Illuxcon and I am really looking forward to it. I hope to see a lot of friends, amazing art, and hopefully learn a thing or two. I will as always try my best to post each day recapping all of my misadventures. Because of this crazy day o travel that I have ahead of me, some meeting notes have stopped by to once again save the day.

As always, before you pass judgment, this is how I take notes in meetings and you should not think I am not paying attention. Active hands means active brain... or something... anyway, on with the monsters...

Oh, how original, I drew a monster…
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Skeptical fish frog is skeptical…
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

See you in Altoona for Illuxcon 4! Until then...

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

ImagineFX issue #74 & 75

2011-10-31T08:00:00.005-04:00

I have apparently popped up in the last two issues of ImagineFX, more or less. Issue 74 had the big write up about this year's Illustration Master Class where they featured some of their favorite pieces created at the class. Additionally, there was a little section on page two about the 'Best of the Rest' that had thumbnails and links for other artists... I kind of was included in this...

So very close... It is the thought that counts and it is nice to be included!

Mistakes happen and any press is good press, right? Anyway... long story short, that is not my work shown above my name and that weird shortened url under my name goes to my blog, not my website or the blog post about my IMC painting. The link to that blog post you ask? Well just click this handle dandy LINK and you can read all about my IMC painting. Added bonus, here is that painting again for the curious...

Haggling
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

If you check out the CD that comes with issue 75 you might see a familiar face looking back at you from the FXPose section...

RAWR! FIRST!

That wacky trio of bug monsters were featured as the image of the day on the ImagineFX site awhile back at that got them a round trip ticket to the CD to be featured along with two other pieces.

Non interactive version for your viewing pleasure.

If you have a chance, check out these issues, there are loads more in them then just me! ...or so I am told...

That is all for today! I will be back hopefully on Wednesday with Illuxcon coverage starting up on Thursday! Until then...

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

Terrors of the Silt Sea

2011-10-28T08:04:00.006-04:00

Today on the blog I am pleased to finally bring you a new piece for Dungeons and Dragons! Not only is it for Dungeons and Dragons, but it is for their Dark Sun campaign setting! I was tasked with designing and illustrating a brand new Dark Sun monster and it was right up my alley. The article appeared yesterday in Dungeon Magazine issue 195. On with the monster...

Terrors of the Silt Sea: Oasis Beast
© 2011 Wizards of the Coast

This was a real treat for me. I am always most happy when I get to have some fun and create something brand new for a project I really enjoy. This was the first time working on anything for Dark Sun so that was an added bonus. When I read the art order and it described the creature as a horrific combination of an angler fish and a lizard I new the Art Gods were smiling upon me. Again I seem to have depicted a hapless hero just moments before his death... just the way I like my heroes. I will bring you my thumbnails, concepts, and drawings from this project after I return from Illuxcon.

As a side note, this was my first, and thankfully has not been my last opportunity to work with Kate Irwin over a WoTC. Thanks to Kate for getting me involved with this assignment, I had a ton of fun!

Thanks is all for another exciting week on the blog! I will be back next week as usual... plus I will have complete coverage of Illuxcon 4! Until then...

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

My life as a crappy artist - Keeper of the Name

2011-10-26T08:01:00.005-04:00

You of course remember the Keeper of the Name from episode 21, Peace Out, from season 4 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I designed it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is Keeper of the Name...

RAWR! I am the Keeper of the Name! My MOUF is full of sharp TEEF and it is sewed up so I don't tell SECRETS!

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around the Keeper of the Name was the lucky winner. Here are some of my better original designs for the Keeper of the Name from 2003...

I have done some bad drawings in my day... but seriously, this one takes the cake.
OUCH! This one hurts to look at, can't believe I am showing this off.
© 2003 Almost Human

I must of had my eyes closed when drawing the above design. Apparently, getting a head form that was even remotely symmetrical was beyond me eight years ago. After completing this design I was openly mocked, ridiculed, and otherwise belittled by my supervisors so I attempted a second pass at the design...

The whole idea behind the Keeper of the Name was that it knew and held the name of the Woman (I will talk about her another day). The Woman's true name was her only weakness and would expose the horror that she truly was. To insure that the name was safe it was only known by one creature... you guessed it, the Keeper of the Name. Keeper was a big strong fighting monster that had its mouth sewed, bolted and otherwise locked shut to help with keeping the name secret (how did it eat?). If that was not enough, this guy was in another deminsion and you had to get past an army of Centaur Bugs (I will talk about them another day) and a High Priest (I will talk about him another day). Once defeated the Keeper's head and Angel returned to do the whole Clash of the Titans reveal and let the Woman's true name be heard by all. All that aside, here is something... newer, for the design of the Keeper of the Name...

RAWR! I am a more believable form! Anyway... With this new pass I thought it would be interesting if to try to keep the mouth closed that some of its larger horns had been driven through the the front of the skull and out through below the chin. Also, who would use cords and leather straps? USE METAL to keep the mouth shut! If it is so important make sure you really gotta work to get that thing open. I liked the two big rings on either side of the jaw so I kept those. Not sure how much better of design it is, but it is sure as heck a better drawing compared to my first attempt. On to the next art albatross that I carry around my neck...

But that is not all for the Keeper of the Name! I have some production photos I can share with you and a little more story of the misadventures of the Keeper of the Name...

Here we see the Keeper of the Name in his MC Hammer pants along with the High Priest (I will talk about him another day) on set next to a statue of a Centaur Bugs (I will talk about them another day) with the head of the Woman (I will talk about her another day). This was a really fun set to be on and there was lots of stuff you could accidentally break if you were not careful.

This is the severed Keeper of the Name head I had to make. It was really fun and I still really liked how it came out. It is sitting in a bucket in the makeup trailer on the studio lot. I had to do some last minute paint work on it before it was shot because the paint job on the monster was changing before it was shot as well. I had to take care of the suit repaint work too. ...much to long and uninteresting of a story to get into.

RAWR! I am now a sad turtle! Sad turtles are not scary...

After all the deign work, sculpting, molding, casting, fabrication, paint work, AND that it was film and done... the powers that be decided they didn't like the mouth and that they wanted something easier to cut open so weeks later we had to redo everything with a new monster face. So a new make up and new severed head was made and all close up and reveal shots were all reshot... with a sad turtle...

That is all for an exciting day 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

A day or two to catch my breath...

2011-10-24T08:45:00.004-04:00

I hit post 450 last week here on the blog, it kind of just snuck up on me. I have been doing my best to post three times a week here on the blog through the worst of deadlines, while I was on vacation, and even through when I have been sick (most of the time). Of course then there are those times when I am at a convention or event and for some reason I feel the need to post everyday of said event... Well, I think it caught up to me finally.

You may have noticed I missed posting this past Friday. I think I just need a day or two to let the blog part of my brain cool down a bit before I jump back into it all. With Illuxcon 4 right around the corner which means blogging nonstop for the entire event I am going to need the blog brain in full tip top shape. I have plenty to share with you and I have lots of exciting stuff hopefully coming out of NDA very soon, so fear naught for the future of the blog. I just need another day or two to recoup.

In the interim I suggest a recent article over on The ArtOrder all about blogs.

Fear naught! I will be back later in the week with new content! Until then...

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

Fresh from the drawing table... Fungi(Violet)!

2011-10-19T08:13:00.005-04:00

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is some Fungi (Violet)! 'F' did not have a lot to offer in the first place and after Frog (Giant) the two remaining choices are the Flightless Birds and the more interesting (for the moment) Fungi (Violet). I will eventually have to get back to those Flightless Birds but for the time being I have an alternative. I present to you my version of Fungi (Violet)...

For the record it was years after the fact that I released I had been reading this entry incorrectly. For years it was the VIOLENT Fungi... because it was a monster and that made a whole lot more sense. There will always be a part of me that is a little underwhelmed to see the VIOLET Fungi... just not the same. Since the Fungi (Violet) likes to grow on dead organic material I found it the perfect excuse to draw a dessicated corpse of an slain adventurer. Unfortunately, the 'monster' of this drawing is secondary to that. Oh well... that is what you get when you are a purple fungus.

If you missed any of the second round of monsters, A-Z, you can see them here: Ankheg, Beholder, Cockatrice, Demon(Juiblex), and Earth Elemental.

If you missed the first round of monsters, A - Z, you can see them here: Axebird, Bugbear, Chimera, Dragon, Ettin, Frog(Giant), Goblin, Hydra, Imp, Jacklewere, Kobold, Lizardman, Manticore, Naga, Owlbear, Purple Worm, Quasit, Rust Monster, Shambling Mound, Troll,Umber Hulk, Vampire, Wasp(Giant), Xorn, Yeti, and Zombi.

That is all for today, 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

The Project That Never Was (Part 3)

2011-10-17T10:32:00.005-04:00

Continuing my coverage on the blog today of a big project that I worked on back in 2008. The project died before it ever saw completion and the work I produced for it has remained sealed away every since. ...until NOW. Please keep in mind while I can now share my work I can not divulge any other details regarding the project. If you missed them, you can see catch up on PART 1 and PART 2.

In this third installment of turnarounds I have for you more variations on the 'Devil Dude' theme. The 'Devil Dude' Continues to grow and evolve as he get more battle damage, bigger muscles and a bad attitude. Before I say to much, bring on the monsters...

I will bring you some more 'Devil Dudes' soon. There are other monsters in store for you as well, though I did a lot of 'Devil Dudes' I did a lot more other bigger, fun monsters. Those will be along in the fullness of time...

That is all for another 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

Meeting Notes on the run...

2011-10-14T09:13:00.002-04:00

I am post from my super secret birthday location today. Making this quick and dirty since there is much to do and little time to do it. To make this happen some more meeting notes showed up to help out on the blog again. RAWR!

As always, before you pass judgment, this is how I take notes in meetings and you should not think I am not paying attention. Active hands means active brain... or something... anyway, on with the monsters...

If there is one thing my doodle monsters know how to do it would be exhaling little puffs of cartoon smoke from their snoots.
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

I wonder how this one would get food to its mouth... I think it is wondering the same thing. Luckily or it the tusks are seasonal and he bulked up ahead of time and will not need to eat during tusking season.
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

That is all for another exciting week on the blog! See you back here on Monday! Until then...

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

Fresh from the drawing table... Earth Elemental!

2011-10-12T10:32:00.005-04:00

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is an Elemental, and to add some alliteration, an Earth Elemental! 'E' still offers some interesting monsters and I knew once I got to it a second time it needed to be an Elemental. Not only does the Earth Elemental nicely drive home the use of 'E' but it also offers up the chance to do something big and hulking! I present to you my version of an Earth Elemental...

Since Elementals are summoned I imagined that if you used a summoning circle or other magic marked upon the ground that it would become part of the summoned Elemental. The circle would just rise up, tearing from the ground as rock, soul and the very living earth would form up around it making a massive earthen juggernaut that would fight until destroyed completely or dispelled my the creator. No matter what, it will hit you with its rock fists and you will cry.

If you missed any of the second round of monsters, A-Z, you can see them here: Ankheg, Beholder, Cockatrice, and Demon(Juiblex).

If you missed the first round of monsters, A - Z, you can see them here: Axebird, Bugbear, Chimera, Dragon, Ettin, Frog(Giant), Goblin, Hydra, Imp, Jacklewere, Kobold, Lizardman, Manticore, Naga, Owlbear, Purple Worm, Quasit, Rust Monster, Shambling Mound, Troll,Umber Hulk, Vampire, Wasp(Giant), Xorn, Yeti, and Zombi.

I will hopefully see you back here on Friday, a lot going on, but I will do my best to get something up on the blog! Until then...

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

Monsters of Gen Con have their day

2011-10-10T10:02:00.004-04:00

For a number of reasons this is going to be a busy week for me so I think it will be a week of drawings here on the blog. There are some exciting things on the horizon, but for this week the blog is going to be black and white.

Gen Con has come and gone months ago but I still have a couple of monsters sitting around that I drew while at the convention. One of them you may have seen as a photo of my sketchbook, but the other has yet to make it's debut. They both seem to have one eye, pointing legs, and tentacles...

That is all or a busy Monday, see you back here for a busy Wednesday and some more drawings! Until then...

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

Yes, Virginia, there are meeting notes

2011-10-07T08:26:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post today since there is far to much wackiness to deal with. From the back pocket I have some more meeting notes. When in doubt grab those little monsters on little sheets of yellow paper.

As always, before you pass judgment, this is how I take notes in meetings and you should not think I am not paying attention. Active hands means active brain... or something... anyway, on with the monsters...

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday for more blogtastic fun! Until then...

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

Dungeons of Golarion: marks on paper

2011-10-05T07:56:00.005-04:00

Back in July I shared with you the work I contributed to the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Dungeons of Golarion gaming supplement. I mentioned I would be sharing some of the work that went into the assignment and it just so happens that today is that very day. Since most of the time, effort, and focus goes into the opening illustration I will mostly be talking about it.

If you remember my post about the process that went into Undead Revisited, then the only thing that will be new is the images. Over the last three years I have been slowly fine tuning and honing a production process that best works for me. This involves thumbnails, shooting reference, loose sketch, refined drawing, and finally the painting. So naturally the first step was to work up a very loose personal thumbnail to get an idea of the direction I am going...

RAWR! I am nothing but scribbles!

This opening piece depicts the iconic dwarf, Hursk, battling a group of nasty dwarf ghouls in a mine. Part of me always wants to make it as bad as I can for the hero, but since the hero has to live to see another adventure I will give him just a little advantage. ...but only enough to keep the flicker of hope alive. Once I have worked out a thumbnail that I think will work I shoot a WHOLE bunch of reference with lots of options, angles, lighting, etc because you never know what you will need and what happy accident you will discover once you review the photos. This time around I will not be sharing any reference photos... sorry. Once I have the thumbnail and reference photos I work up a loose sketch getting all the piece put together...

If a dwarf cuts the head off a ghoul in a mine and there is no one around, does it make a sound?

I usually work with all the main elements on different layers as I move them around to find the best placement and arrangement. Sometimes this is a really quick and easy stage and sometimes it is not. I solve most of my issues or problems that come up in this step. It is refined enough to see where things aren't working and loose enough that I can work on it quickly. Depending on the time constraints and client wishes I will produce up to three of these so that there are some options. Most of the time I will have a favorite and most of the time the client agrees. Once there is an agreement on the sketch it is time to get to drawing...

As mentioned many times before this is my favorite part and there is still a part of me that wishes I could just turn in a more finished drawing and call it done. But alas, color paintings are what my clients like to see so the drawing does not get the extra time and attention I would pour into it if it was a finished item. Once the drawing is done the next step is the painting, but that is another process and I have shared those step here on the blog several time before... HERE, HERE and HERE...

Here is the drawing that went into the nasty dwarf ghoul that also accompanied the section I illustrated. There are some fun photos of me posing for this drawing that I will not be sharing with you either... sorry. You will just have to use your imagination and enjoy the drawing.

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

Talisman: The Dragons (Part 4)

2011-10-03T07:51:00.006-04:00

All good things must come to an end and so to does the life of a dragon. Today I bring you my final installment of work from the newly released expansion to Talisman, The Dragons. With this final installment I bring you one possibility for life after the death of a dragon.... becoming a feared and horrible, Dracolich! RAWR! I am made of BONES! Enough talk, bring on the dragon...

This was the very last dragon that I made for this expansion and I was really trying to have a lot of fun with it. That fun was mostly centered around trying to come up with an interesting pose that was different then the other dragons I had already done as well as find an interesting lighting scheme. As I am sure I have mentioned before I am a huge fan of sunset and the colors and light that that time of day produces. When given the opportunity I find myself setting my scenes at sunset and I thought the Dracolich lent itself to it as well. Looking back at it now I think I could have tweaked a few things, but over all I like how it came out. Big skeleton dragon, what more could you ask for?

More? Could you ask for more? Well, I guess you could... Since I only had one more dragon painting to share today I thought I might include the drawings to some of my favorite dragons from the set. You can see what has changed and what remained the same. I hope you enjoy them!

That is all for Talisman: The Dragons, but that is not all of the dragons. Keep in mind that three of the dragons that I produced for the set flew away to a later expansion(s) and will return one day. So be patient, there will be more dragons!

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

Talisman: The Dragons (Part 3)

2011-09-30T07:54:00.004-04:00

A dragon for every occasion! Today I have for you even more dragons that I produced for the aptly named new expansion of Talisman, The Dragons. It appears these dragons are continuing the trend from Wednesday, and are spitting all over the place. Naughty rude dragons, their mothers did not do a good job of raising them. Enough talk, bring on the dragons...

I really looked forward to working on the Plague Dragon, always fun to make with the gross textures, colors and forms. The idea that is was belching up a purple and green cloud of fly filled poison was fun. Then there is the Shadow Dragon... Personally, this is my least favorite of all the dragons I produced for this assignment. At least the final is printed small. I think it is impossible to love everything that you produce after it is all said and done and I think everyone has pieces they really like and don't like very much. The Shadow Dragon for me in in that latter category. They all can't be Zombie Dragons!

That is all for a very dragon filled week! I will be back here on Monday with the last dragon post! Until then...

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

Talisman: The Dragons (Part 2)

2011-09-28T08:03:00.004-04:00

The dragons continue! Today I have for you more dragons that I produced for the newest expansion of the Talisman board game, The Dragons. Today the dragons all appear to be spitting up their dinners. I guess they got out into the yard and ate some grass. Naughty dragons, now someone is going to have to clean that up. Enough talk, bring on the dragons...

After working on these for awhile I had to start coming up with new and interesting angles and presentations to stay engaged and excited about the piece. Don't get me wrong, it is totally awesome to have to paint 10 dragons, but if I had to paint all 10 in the same view doing the same thing it would have gotten old really fast. Some of these really lent themselves to being presented in different ways, like the Amber Dragon. Since I needed to show off that is had amber like wings with the bones of it's victims suspended in them that really lent itself to being back lit.

That is all for today, see you back here on Friday for MORE dragons! Until then...

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

Talisman: The Dragons (Part 1)

2011-09-26T07:56:00.004-04:00

I have for you a week of new work! The newest expansion for the board game Talisman, The Dragons, is finally out and I can now share with you all the work I did on this set. The name of the expansion should give you a clue to the what I have in store for you. In total I produced 10 dragons for the set, but I am told three flew away to future sets, but fear naught, they will surface eventually. Enough talk, let's get with the dragons!

I think I started working on these at least a year ago and I feel like I was working on dragons for months. There were so many and every time I turned around there were more! I could not look at a dragon for several months. After 10 dragons there are some I really like and a few I wish could have been a little more then they ended up. In the end I do think that the Zombie Dragon is my favorite. For all the obvious and not so obvious reasons...

See you back here on Wednesday for MORE dragons! Until then...

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

Fresh from the drawing table... Demon: Juiblex!

2011-09-23T08:03:00.006-04:00

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Demon, and to be more specific, the Demon Lord Juiblex! I knew when I got back around to "D" on the second pass I needed to do a demon or devil. There was a little part of me that still is crying out to do a dinosaur, I guess that means there will be a definite third pass. Of all the demons in the Monster Manual there was one that instantly jumped out at me, the massive pile of slime and eye that is in a constant state of exploding and reforming. I present to you my version of the Demon Juiblex...

The Demon Lord of slimes and oozes... Juiblex was just an excuse to have a whole lot of fun drawing a big mass of mess. It shoots jets of acid and filth out of it's body, which is covered in eyes, as it collapses in on itself and reforms. Yeah, why would any group of heroes even consider fighting with this thing? All I know is that it was really fun to draw.

If you missed any of the second round of monsters, A-Z, you can see them here: Ankheg, Beholder and Cockatrice.

If you missed the first round of monsters, A - Z, you can see them here: Axebird, Bugbear, Chimera, Dragon, Ettin, Frog(Giant), Goblin, Hydra, Imp, Jacklewere, Kobold, Lizardman, Manticore, Naga, Owlbear, Purple Worm, Quasit, Rust Monster, Shambling Mound, Troll,Umber Hulk, Vampire, Wasp(Giant), Xorn, Yeti and Zombi.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here on Monday for the arrival of... DRAGONS! Until then...

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

SHADOWCORE

2011-09-22T08:38:00.004-04:00

Shadowcore is HERE! Shadowcore is a new blog featuring the works of a very talented group of artists, and somehow I am part of this group! Here are the artist you can expect to see over on the Shadowcore blog: Adam Cook, Anna Christenson, ME, Christopher Rahn, Chuck Lukacs, Craig J Spearing, Eric Braddock, Eva Widermann, Kieran Yanner, Raven Mimura, and Tyler Jacobson. I am humbled and honored to be listed among such talented artists.

A huge thanks needs to go out to Craig Spearing for initiating all this and doing all the work to get it up and going. Even though Shadowcore has just launched I am really exciting about what it will become. Head on over and start following! You will not be disappointed!

That is all for today, see you back here tomorrow! Until then...

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

DZ Magz Issue 10

2011-09-21T08:00:00.004-04:00

I have an interview in the newest issue of DZ Magz. DZ Magz is a Flash based downloadable ezine that interviews and showcases a wide variety of artist and creative professionals. You can download for free issue 10 of DZ Magz on their website. Here are a couple screen captures of my section of the ezine, you will have to go and download it to see the rest...

DZ Magz Issue 10, now available!

Telling my secrets in two languages!

A big thanks to everyone over at DZ Magz for their interest in my work and for approaching me for the interview. To get Issue 10 or any of their back issues, for free, head on over to their website!

That is all for today, see you back here tomorrow for something exciting news! Until then...

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

Hymns and Wretched Offerings to the Golden Ones

2011-09-20T07:55:00.003-04:00

As mentioned last month the great and powerful Jim Pavelec is releasing a book project he has been working on for some time, "Hymns and Wretched Offerings to the Golden Ones". The Kickstarter for this book is ending in just 3 days, so if you want to take advantage of the Kickstarter incentives you better head over there and pledge your devotion and money! The link to the page is HERE.

Here is a short list of the artist that contributed to the book: Allen Williams, Allison Theus, ME!, Davi Blight, Jim Pavelec, Kim Feigenbaum, Mike Corriero, Mike May, Shreya Shetty, William B. Hand, Sam Araya, Paul Komoda, and Bob Eggleton. I saw a working copy of the book at Gen Con and it was super awesome and can't wait to see the finished HARDCOVER book. That's right, there have already been enough pledges to ensure that the book will be hardcover.

The cover of "Hymns and Wretched Offerings to the Golden Ones"

There are many price points to pledge at and lots of great incentives to get if you take part in the Kickstarter in the next 3 days. What are you waiting for? Head over to the "Hymns and Wretched Offerings to the Golden Ones" Kickstarter page, NOW!

That is all for today, see you back here tomorrow! Until then...

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

Geek Night 2011 wrap up

2011-09-19T08:04:00.004-04:00

Geek Night 2011 has come and gone. A fun time hanging and drawing with Lee Bretschneider and Justin Peterson as we got to talk to the students of FSU about monsters, super heroes and thing with top hat and mustaches. Turn out was a little light compared to last year, but there was so much going on in Tallahassee Friday night that is not surprising. Still had fun and it was night to be back for our third year in a row. Enough talk, here are some picture from the night...

Geek Night 2011 table arrangement, now with 200% more signs.

A shot of us all lined up and ready to start the night. Lee Bretschneider was set up directly on my right and Justin Peterson was on the far end.

Lance the Fett and my wife take a break of all the Geek Night excitement.

I think Justin Peterson was the hit of the night with his fully digital set up. People could watch on screen as he worked on his Wacom Cintiq and then get a print out of anything he did that night. Justin always had a crowd of onlookers.

But in the end, we were no match for Droideka...

A big thanks to everyone at the FSU Union Productions for having us out again this year and to everyone that came out! I hope you all enjoy your sketch cards and that you had a fun time. I know I did! If you missed out on Geek Night, don't worry, it looks like I have another event coming up at the end of October again on the FSU campus! More on this soon!

That is all for today, it looks like I have a busy week on the blog ahead of me, lots to share! Until then...

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

Geek Night 2011 - TONIGHT!

2011-09-16T10:32:00.004-04:00

Tonight is the night! GEEK NIGHT 2011! If you are in north Florida stop on by the campus of Florida State University for fun and FREE sketch cards. Speaking of sketch cards here are some of the sketch cards that I have ready for folks coming out tonight...

Geek Night 2010 • Union Ballrooms
Friday, September 16 • 8:00 p.m. • Free for all ages

Aim for the giant red arrow and circle that appears on the HUD display.

I will be appearing again with the always talented Lee Bretschneider and Justin Peterson. We will all be doing free sketches and talking to folks. Hope to see you out there tonight. Just like the last two years you will also have a chance to win a free print! Plus video games, board games, and lots more geeky fun!

That is all for this week. I have a full day ahead of me before Geek Night. See you back here on Monday! Until then...

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

Directed Studies Week 2

2011-09-14T07:58:00.008-04:00

As I mentioned last week, I am conducting a Directed Studies class with a local art student. For my demonstration for the second week I took a piece of photo reference supplied to the student for an assignment last semester. That assignment was to create a character from the reference. I wanted to take that same reference and show how I go about using photo reference to help influence and improve my drawing. This is the end result of the drawing demo, a monkey man with a lot on his mind...

Giving my student the option, he asked that I create a character along the lines of the one that he did, a orator type figure, rather then one using a weapon. I opened one of my animal books and came upon a howler monkey and I let that be the reference for the monster side of the drawing. While letting the reference influence my choices I pushed and pulled the anatomy and altered the attire. Always looking to the reference to tell me how I should go about defining my forms. LOOK FIRST and then DRAW SECOND.... repeat. Here is the final drawing next to the supplied reference...

Figure reference and drawing.
LOOK FIRST and then DRAW SECOND

You should be able to quickly pick out where I stuck closely to the reference and where I did not once placed next to the reference... hopefully you could not when just looking at the drawing. Once completed I got out the drawing from week 1 in which the drawing was mostly influenced by the silhouette that I drew. While I was looking at animal reference the waste majority of the drawing was influenced by my experience and the symbols in my head. I put the two drawings side by side to show the difference in feel even in my own drawings when more reference is used...

Week 1 and 2 drawing comparison.
Image on the left is mostly out of my head while the image on the right is much more informed from reference.

If I was creating the image on the left for a project I would have gotten a photo of myself in the pose suggested by the silhouette before beginning the final drawing to help fill in the gaps and add a level of realism.

As a reminder, if you are in the Tallahassee area Friday night, I will be appearing at GEEK NIGHT 2011 on the Florida State University campus! Hope to see you there!

That is all for today, 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

Blood Bowl: Team Manager

2011-09-12T09:53:00.006-04:00

Starting the week off with something new! Many moons ago I was approached to work on a little game called Blood Bowl for the good folks at Fantasy Flight Games. I thought of orcs and goblins or even rat men... turns out I was assigned an elf. Not even a dead elf, but a hero to elf kind... Prince Moranion. Not really a monster but I was tasked to make him look awesome and I tried my best. Enough talk, on with the monster... er, I mean elf...

There is a little story on how this elf came to be mine, but I am not sure if that would be appropriate to mention here. All things considered it was a fun piece to work. The silliness on the forums speculating if it game would ever come out due to production delays is another matter. Not much to say other then that, this project went REALLY smoothly for me and it was over quickly. This was another project I got to see at Gen Con and was given permission to now show. I still have not seen the final production card, but I was told it definitely made it into the game.

That is all for today, 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

The Project That Never Was (Part 2)

2011-09-09T07:55:00.004-04:00

Back in June I brought you the first post about a big project that I worked on back in 2008. The project died before it ever saw completion and the work I produced for it has remained sealed away every since. ...until NOW. Please keep in mind while I can now share my work I can not divulge any other details regarding the project.

In this second installment of turnarounds I have the first of several variations on a theme. The 'Devil Dude' was one of the pieces I was able to have complete control over in the concept phase. It came together really quickly and seemed to be well received. Once designed I had to create a lot of specialized variations based off the 'Devil Dude' template. Before I say to much, bring on the monsters...

I will bring you more 'Devil Dudes' soon. Looking back I was a little surprised with just how many of these I created. They could have been awesome... oh well... Not every project can see the light of day and not everything that is begun can be completed.

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

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