The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT: 4-lom

Showing posts with label 4-lom. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

4-LOM - Star Wars: Galactic Ambitions - Process

Today I have for you the steps and process that went into my 4-LOM character card for the Star Wars LCG. I felt it was fitting since the piece sold at Gen Con a few weeks ago. I have shared a little about receiving the assignment for this piece when it was first announced and I shared some of the ups and downs of my varnishing woes and how it relates to this piece. While I love these stories there is no reason to cover old ground. Here is how the final 4-LOM painting turned out...

4-LOM

Star Wars LCG - Galactic Ambitions

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original - SOLD

Since I had such a short deadline for this piece I hit the ground running and needed to get some thumbnails done super quick. I dug out my 4-LOM figures and shot reference of myself and the figures to get the ball rolling. The assignment called for 4-LOM smashing through a door and firing off its concussion rifle. Pretty straight forward... and it needed to be with only days to spare to get it all done. Here are the how the thumbnails turned out...

4-LOM - Thumbnails

I have not looked at these thumbnails since I turned them in and I am really liking option "A". I might have to revisit that thumbnail for a drawing when I have the time. Obviously, option "B" was selected and after being asked to add more bleed I was approved to get started on the drawing. It seem like no matter how much bleed I add and no matter how strictly I work with the approved templates I never seem to get it right. I am just no good at working with templates or more bleed is purposefully being requested so that the piece can be used elsewhere at a later date. Anyway, here is how the final drawing turned out...

4-LOM

Star Wars LCG - Galactic Ambitions

17 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original for sale over on my web store!

The drawing was approved and I was all set to get started on the final painting. You might notice something a little off in the drawing. I thought it was correct at the time, but I must have been getting lazy and not watching what I am doing. The curve of the doorway and face above it are in no way symmetrical. I REALLY should have addressed this in the drawing, but I didn't notice it or, like I said, I got lazy and blew it off. It could have been I was dealing with a 5 day deadline for this painting and I was cutting every corner I could. When you look at painting coming together, notice is step four when I painted in the curve of the doorway, this is when I went in and redrew the curve and the face to make sure it was correct. While this was a bit further along then it should have been, at least I caught it relatively early. Here is the painting coming together in 15 easy steps...

4-LOM - Process steps

This piece came together VERY quickly because it had to and I used every trick I could to make sure it worked and got finished. The fact that it is snowing outside came about as I was working on the piece. I thought it would be fun and allowed me to add steam and smoke to make the image more interesting for myself. It is the little things that make it fun for me. Here is an animated progression of the painting so you can better see the steps in the process...

4-LOM - Animated progression

Here again is a look at the finished painting, glad it has found itself a new home!

4-LOM

Star Wars LCG - Galactic Ambitions

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

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

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Me vs. Varnish - Varnish: 1 / Me: 0

Today I have for you the ups and downs of working with traditional materials and how the day was saved by my dear wife, Achsa...

When my paintings are approved by a client or I decide a personal piece is finally finished I ready them to be varnished so that they can then be framed. Varnishing is suppose to be a fairly straight forward process and something I have been doing for a little while now. Mostly varnishing has all been happening behind the scenes without much issue or concern. That all changed recently.

I was a little behind in varnishing my paintings and was tackling several all at once when it all went horribly horribly wrong. I still do not know what actually happened, but the varnish ended up streaked, drippy, and pretty much unacceptable. It seemed to happen when I was not looking. It went from completely fine to ruined in a blink of the eye. I was trying to stay positive about all of it and make the best of it, but in the end, the varnish was ruining these paintings. It was not necessarily obvious when you looked directly at the painting, but a little cross light showed the extent of the problem...

Everything is perfectly fine, nothing to see here...

This is when Achsa stepped in to save the day. Thankfully I was using a removable varnish (Liquitex Soluvar - Gloss) which meant that there was some hope of fixing the situation. Starting with the least precious of the paintings, Achsa attempted to smooth out the rippled areas of the surface, trying to be as noninvasive as possible...

Using a solvent (mineral spirits), Achsa brushed down the ripples and imperfections in my horrible varnish application.

While the attempts to smooth the surface were effective, they were not perfect. After several passes to simply refinish the surface of the varnish, Achsa decided that if the problem was to be addressed that she would need to remove the varnish completely and start over.

More images of Achsa working on the surface layer of the varnish.

While I don't think I would have been able to do it myself, Achsa removed the varnish from the paintings without any real concern or issue. This was done while I was not around to witness it or to freak out about it. Once the varnish was removed from the surface of the painting and it had dried Achsa reapplied the varnish to the paintings in a better more controlled process, which turns out to be far superior to whatever I had been doing. A quick glance a the painting's surface can show the difference...

Everything that was wrong is right again...

Achsa has stepped up to take on varnishing duties for my paintings. She jokes that I did a bad job so that she would do it for me, but there is no way I would intentionally risk multiple paintings to get out of something I was already happily doing. In the time she has been varnishing my paintings the quality has greatly improved and all of my paintings are now in better hands.

Fixed and with a fresh application of varnish, 4-LOM is now framed up and finished.

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

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

Monday, January 11, 2016

4-LOM - Star Wars LCG: Galactic Ambitions

Late last week the newest deluxe expansion, Galactic Ambitions, to the Star Wars Living Card Game was announced. It just so happens that in the announcement article that both of my cards appearing in this set were spoiled! I will be sharing one with you this week and one with you next week. First up is the mighty bounty hunter droid, 4-LOM...

4-LOM

Star Wars LCG - Galactic Ambitions

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original - SOLD

4-LOM

Star Wars LCG - Galactic Ambitions

17 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original for sale over on my web store!

I received this assignment when I reentered the country after having been in Italy and German for close to two weeks last summer. I had already worked on a piece for Galactic Ambitions (look for it next Monday) and had long since turned it in before the trip to Europe. 4-LOM was a straggler and had a ridiculously tight deadline, something around five days from start to finish. I almost didn't take the assignment until I saw it was for 4-LOM. Any other droid, save for IG-88, R2-D2, or C3PO, would not have gotten that type of attention from me with only five days for thumbnails, drawing, and full painting. It came together, thankfully, very fast and I made the deadline with time to spare. AND, I am really happy with how the piece turned out.

4-LOM in handy dandy preview card form!

That's all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

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

Friday, November 27, 2015

2015 Holiday Cards NOW AVAILABLE! Plus FREE US SHIPPING on ALL STORE ORDERS!

My NEW 2015 holiday cards is now available over on my web store! This year features a BOUNTIFUL wish of holiday greetings. Send a very special holiday card to your friends, family, and enemies! Each pack includes 12 cards and envelopes. If that is not enough, from now until December 4th you can use the discount code RAWR! to get FREE shipping in the US on ALL orders!

NEW! 2015 Bounty Hunters Holiday Cards

Get yours NOW and use the discount code: RAWR! to get free US shipping until December 4th!

christopher-burdett.myshopify.com

While over on my store those with an eagle eye may notice the MANY new original drawings and paintings that I added yesterday. I will be posting a full list of all new art on Monday! One of the new pieces I can tell you about now is the drawing that I did for this year's holiday card. Just feast your eyes on all this bounty hunter holiday fun...

2015 Bounty Hunters Holiday Card

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original available on my web store!

Get yours NOW and use the discount code: RAWR! to get free US shipping until December 4th!

christopher-burdett.myshopify.com

If you missed my holiday cards from previous year or want to send a mix of monsters and bounty hunters I still have packs of my 2013 and 2014 holiday cards available still! Get yours today!

Krampus Holiday Cards

Get yours NOW and use the discount code: RAWR! to get free US shipping until December 4th!

christopher-burdett.myshopify.com

Belled Kreep Holiday Cards

Get yours NOW and use the discount code: RAWR! to get free US shipping until December 4th!

christopher-burdett.myshopify.com

Again, use the discount code: RAWR! on my web store to receive free shipping in the US until Friday December 4th. Loads of original art, prints, shirts, and books to choose from. Don't let this opportunity get away!
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