The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT: Deb Freytag

Showing posts with label Deb Freytag. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Tools for the Job - Star Wars - Process

Today on the blog I have for you the process and steps that went into a not so recent Star Wars character illustration produced for the Imperial Assault expansion, Jabba's Realm. The assignment called for an Aqualish to be selecting the right weapons for a pending mission. This was my first chance to illustrate an Aqualish and I had a blast doing it. Before we have a look at the process, here is how the final illustration turned out...

Tools for the Job

Star Wars Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

As always I started with reference photos and thumbnails. I wanted to do the bird's eye view composition from the beginning, but decided to do some more straight forward compositions too. It does not hurt to cover your bases. The size and limitations of the final card did have an effect on what I was going to do. The Imperial Assault cards tend to be VERY tiny. Here is how the thumbnails turned out...

Tools for the Job - Thumbnails

Speaking of photo reference, here for your enjoyment are some of the images I was working with to create this illustration...

Tools for the Job - Reference photos

Photos by Achsa Nute

Thankfully thumbnail "C" was the winner since, as I said before, it was the one I wanted to do from the beginning. It was now time to get started on the final drawing. Not much to share about the drawing, I drew it, scanned it, and turned it in. If I remember correctly, there were no notes or changes needed. Here is how the final approved drawing turned out...

Tools for the Job - Drawing

Star Wars Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm

17 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - Available soon

Time for painting! This one came together fairly quickly. Not drama or issues that I recall. The focus is all on the figure an the weapons, so the rest is kind of loose with all the detail on the subject. A quick and straight forward painting does not make for an exciting story on the blog. Hopefully the images can tell a better story of how this being created. Here are some images of the painting coming together in ten easy steps...

Tools for the Job - Process steps

Please understand that the image looks more like the final image throughout the process, the photos I take during the process just do not do the painting any favors. Here is an animated progression of the painting so that you can better see the steps coming together...

Tools for the Job - Animated process

If you may or may not have noticed I made sure to put this Aqualish in some orange. Because Aqualish always look great in orange. Ponda Baba now and forever! Here again is how the final Tools for the Job illustration turned out as well as the final production card. If you missed it last year, the art was used on a different card which allowed it a bit more room to breath and show itself off. Always nice when that happens,

Tools for the Job

Star Wars Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

Tools for the Job in handy dandy card form

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

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

Monday, October 2, 2017

Fool Me Once - Imperial Assault - Ahsoka Tano Ally Pack

Last week I had a piece of art spoiled in the upcoming Ahsoka Tano Ally Pack from Star Wars Imperial Assault. I was pleased to see this piece surface because I originally painted this piece back in April of 2015, and the project that it was intended for ended up being canceled. While I assumed it would surface eventually, you never know how long it will take. Two and a half years is not too bad of a wait. While I should not talk about what this piece was initially for, I will say it will be used in Imperial Assault, so it is nice it still found a home in the same game. Here is how the now-named Fool Me Once card turned out...

Fool Me Once

Star Wars Imperial Assault - Ahsoka Tano Ally Pack

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original available on my store!

Fool Me Once - Drawing

Star Wars Imperial Assault - Ahsoka Tano Ally Pack

17 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

I was really excited about this piece at the time. Some of that excitement was for the intended usage of this art. Though that is no longer happening, I am still happy to see this piece getting used. If you were wondering, yes, all the graffiti on the walls does say stuff. In the final, I did obscure the graffiti a bit, but the original painting is still all legible. Some of the stuff on the walls reads, "Yavin 4 was an inside job", "Down with the Empire," and "Hunt or be hunted." This piece featured a bunch of Trandoshans, which is always lovely, and the opportunity to put in a bunch of other aliens. A win/win in my book! I ended up producing several additional pieces of art related to this that were going to be used in various other levels of production. Can't really talk about them, but here they are...

Fool Me Once - Hero figure

Star Wars Imperial Assault

6 x 9.3 - Digital finish over Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Fool Me Once - Full figure drawing

Star Wars Imperial Assault

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

Lastly, here is an image of the art in use on the card. There was a *LITTLE* cropping of the picture, but you get the idea. I heard through the grapevine that this art may be appearing in another SW game where you will be able to see more of the entire image, which is always nice.

Fool Me Once in handy dandy card form

In the coming months, I will share the process and steps that went into this piece and additional thoughts regarding making it. If you are lucky, I might even share some silly photo reference of my being all the aliens!

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

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Remaining Contributions to Jabba's Realm - Imperial Assault

On Monday I shared with you Tools for the Job, a painting I did for the new(ish) expansion to Imperial Assault, Jabba's Realm. This was not the only piece that I had in this new expansion, but it was the only piece I had not previously shared. I had two additional pieces in the expansion, one new that I had already shared and another previous piece that made an encore. To start things off here is my favorite of the new work that I created for Jabba's Realm, the Rancor...

Rancor

Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm Expansion

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

I really enjoyed this one. Not only was this my second opportunity to paint a Rancor for the Star Wars games and it was the first chance to paint a Rancor on Dathomir. A win/win if I do say so. This art may have been cropped and flipped in the final card, FFG did feature it a lot on their website. Here is a look at the final card for the Rancor...

Rancor in handy dandy card form

Lastly, my Salacious B. Crumb painting my an encore appearance in Jabba's Realm on a pair of cards. The art was flipped and production pushed the background back a bit, but these things happen and are to be expected. Here are the new cards for Salacious B. Crumb...

Salacious B. Crumb in new handy dandy card forms

My Salacious B. Crumb painting is still one of my favorite pieces that I did for the Star Wars games and I am glad to have any opportunity to post it. Glad to see that it is still thought well enough by the folks at FFG to see print again. Here is my original painting of Salacious B. Crumb...

Salacious B. Crumb

10.6 x 7.9 - Digital

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, July 31, 2017

Tools for the Job - Jabba's Realm - Imperial Assault

Today I have for you a new Star Wars piece that technically is not that new, I just have not shared it yet. This piece was released as part of the Jappa's Realm expansion for Star Wars Imperial Assault that came out in December of 2016. For some reason I am just now getting around to actually sharing it. Maybe because Gen Con is right around the corner and it will be making its debut there, who know. Anyway, here is Tools for the Job...

Tools for the Job

Star Wars Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

Tools for the Job - Drawing

Star Wars Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm

17 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - Available soon

This was an interesting one. The main reason I jumped at this piece was because it needed to have an Aqualish in it and I had yet be asked to do an Aqualish focused illustration. The struggle with many of my Star Wars assignments is that they need to have very specific elements usually crammed into a very thin areas do to the bleed requirements and chrome restriction of the cards they will eventually be on. This one was no different. As you can see from the final production card, all the important information just barely makes into the image...

Tools for the Job in handy dandy card form

In the coming months I will share the process and steps that went into this piece as well as additional thoughts regarding making it. If you attending Gen Con 2017, be sure to stop by Artist Alley table 27 to see this painting first hand!

That is all for another exiting 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

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Chewbacca - Imperial Assault - Process

This one is definitely a bit overdue. Today I have for you the process and steps that went into my Chewbacca painting that was created for the Winter Organized Play Kit of Imperial Assault. I first shared this piece with you last October and I painted in in March of 2015. Here is how the final painting turned out...

Chewbacca

Imperial Assault Winter Organized Play Kit

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

This was a really exciting piece for me. Not only was it the first time I got to paint Chewbacca, it was the most prominent character that I have been asked to paint, AND I was going to attempt the painting traditionally. I will never paint Luke, Han, or Leia, but I definitely can paint a Chewbacca. There was a little stress going into this piece since it was such a recognizable character and I was going to paint traditionally. In the end it all worked out, obviously. To start things off, I got to work on some thumbnails...

Chewbacca - Thumbnails

The piece called for a strong and powerful Chewbacca fighting some Stormtroopers. There needed to be some defeated troopers in the scene as well. As you can see thumbnail option 'C' was the winner, but there were things about all three that I liked. Looking back now, 'C' is by far the best, though I still like some of the action in 'A'. With a selected thumbnail I got to work on a finalized drawing...

Chewbacca - Drawing
Imperial Assault Winter Organized Play Kit

17 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Original for sale over on my web store!

There was a small tweak requested with the positioning of the bow caster after the drawing was submitted, but that was done digitally. Not even sure why it was requested or how much it actually changed the image, but I did it and it was approved. Now it was time to paint! In just eight simple steps I had myself a Chewbacca paint, not really...

Chewbacca - Process progression

While the background, stormtroopers, and bow caster were all straight forward and easy enough to paint, Chewbacca was a bit of a struggle. I am still more of a scale and skin kind guy and all that fur overwhelms me sometimes. Gotta make the masses of fur read as well as the strands and bits. Then there was the issue of getting Chewbacca's likeness right. In the end I very much like this piece and I think over all it definitely looks like Chewbacca. The second Chewbacca piece that I did for the LCG, in my opinion, looks a lot more like Chewbacca, but this one was a good first attempt. You will notice that that the shape of the head does change from the drawing and there is extra work put into the face to make sure it reads more like Chewbacca. I may have spent the same amount of time on Chewbacca's head and torso as I spent on the entire rest of the painting. Some artist would expect nothing less, but it was a little new to me at the time. As time moves on it has become more common. Here is an animated process of the painting coming together so you can better see the changes I have mentioned...

Chewbacca - Animated process

I looks like I took a image of my work space while I was working on this piece. The image was tucked in with the rest of my process images that I took while painting. This offers a glimpse of what my work space looked like back in March of 2015. Things have changed as much as they have stayed the same since then...

Work space while working on Chewbacca circa March 2015

Once again, here is the final painting as well as the final production card...

Chewbacca

Imperial Assault Winter Organized Play Kit

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

Chewbacca in handy dandy card form

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

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

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Rancor - Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm Expansion

While at Gen Con I had a new Star Wars piece spoiled and I am just now getting it on the blog. I am REALLY behind with getting new work up here. I need to rectify this. At Gen Con the newest expansion to Imperial Assault, Jabba's Realm was announced and with it so to was my art that accompanies a most excellent and sizable miniature. I present to you my art for the Rancor...

Rancor

Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm Expansion

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

This was a fun one. I was my second time painting a Rancor and this time I got to depict it on its home world of Dathomir. This piece was actually done earlier this year and was a rush piece since they wanted to have the set potentially out by the end of the year. It was kind of a blur to work on because there was a second piece I was working on at the same time. This second piece has yet to be spoiled. When I share the process for this piece I will do my best to recall all of the exciting ups and downs. Here is a look at the final card, you can see how much it got cropped as well as it getting flipped horizontally...

Rancor in handy dandy card form

Always interesting to get asked to do such a large image when in the end it gets snipped down to a sliver. This piece also made the rounds in September on the FFG website as part of the previews of the Jabba's Realm expansion...

Various graphic using the Rancor on the FFG website

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

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Chewbacca - Imperial Assault Winter Organized Play Kit

Just in time for Illuxcon! My Chewbacca painting has been spoiled over on the Fantasy Flight website. This marked the first time I was asked to paint everybody's favorite Wookiee and it was a very exciting assignment. I was asked to depict Chewie giving a bunch of Stormtroopers a very difficult time. Speaking of Stormtroopers, this is the first time I got to paint Stormtroopers as well! I present Chewbacca for the Imperial Assault Winter Organized Play Kit...

Chewbacca

Imperial Assault Winter Organized Play Kit

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

This piece was completed in March and it feels like a million years ago now in terms of painting. In the first full year of painting traditionally for clients and myself I produced 30 paintings. If I remember correctly, Chewbacca was number eight or nine, in the top ten for sure. This image of the painting is still a scan and not a photograph so needless to say, the actual painting looks SO much better in person. Really thrilled I will be able to bring this with me to Illuxcon!

This painting will be used as alternate art as part of the Winter In-Store Organized Play Kits for Imperial Assault. Each kit has only two copies of the card so hopefully it will be in high demand. Here is a look at the rest of the Winter Organized Play Kit...

Imperial Assault Winter Organized Play Kit courtesy of the Fantasy Flight Games website

A HUGE thanks to Deb Freytag for giving me this assignment and for the great art direction during the creation of this piece! Thanks, Deb!

That is all for a very special extra Tuesday post 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