The Last of the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia Bookplate Drawings

After selling out of all available Deluxe versions of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia at Pensacon in February, I knew that I needed to get to work completing the remaining bookplate drawings. In addition to the Hardcover, D&D stats guide, coloring book, and an exclusive clamshell case, the deluxe version of my book come with a bookplate that is signed, stamped, and numbered (only 100 of them) and features an original drawing. Creating 100 of these has been a lot of work and one that I didn't fully anticipate to be as time-consuming as it ended up being. Thankfully, after one final push, they are all not completed. That means the last 21 available deluxe versions of my book are ready to go to forever homes! Here are some images of the remaining bookplates.

21 bookplates awaiting their stamps

Currently Available Grand Bazaar Originals and Books

 

Drawn, signed, stamped, labeled, and numbered!

Currently Available Grand Bazaar Originals and Books

Here are a few close-up images of the bookplates. These are fun to work on, but when I need to get through more than twenty, it can become a chore - but one I will gladly do again with each book I complete.

Monsters and beings come in all sizes and shapes in the Grand Bazaar.

Currently Available Grand Bazaar Originals and Books

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

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

Recent Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia Bookplates

I have been taking a little blog break as I posted my 100 days of Dungeons & Dragons. Hard to keep all the plates spinning sometimes, and it is easier to focus on the least involved venture for a while and let the other sit on the back burners. I think I am due a bit of a break, mainly since I have run this blog since 2009, but that is neither here nor there. 

Today I am sharing a selection of recent Grand Bazaar bookplates that I had at IX in October. Since this was the first time the books would be in the wild, I knew I needed to get some bookplates ready ahead of time. While I may have been a little overzealous in getting twelve completely, I was surprised with how many deluxe versions sold at IX and in the following weeks. No complaints will be coming from me. The only regret is that I have not shared these with you sooner - which is where the first paragraph of this post comes in.

Before my next event, I will need to draw some more of these, but I have a few months to worry about that. For now, here are some images of the plates.

 

Each deluxe version of my book comes with a signed and numbered bookplate that features an original drawing and stamp. With only 100 deluxe versions available, your opportunity to get one decreases all the time. 

 

The Smokestack is one of my go-to images for the bookplates. They are fun to draw, and I love any excuse to use the Shaper stamp. 

 

Sometimes I like to draw characters that are briefly mentioned or will be mentioned in the future. 

 

Things in jars and bottles are a mainstay of the Grand Bazaar and for bookplates.

 

A little guest appearance of Sister, who will be making her debut in book three.

 

This was easily my favorite of this set of bookplates, and it was the first to go at IX. Don't worry, there will likely be another Ethra or two on bookplates before we reach the end. 

 

Like the Smokestack, the fan-favorite of the Gray Wanderer has adorned many bookplates.

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 Summoner Update and Sneak Peek

At the very end of August, I was in the grove again. Making art for the next installments of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia and getting things done. IX was ahead of me in October, and there was a lot to be done. I shared the state of things about the Grand Bazaar and beyond at the time and was very optimistic about what was happening. While IX was a success and everything I planned came to fruition, unfortunately, the thing that once again suffered was making time to work on the books. This has been a reoccurring pattern since the beginning of 2020, and while I thought I had moved past it, I have not. The piece I had finished the linework on at the end of August has sat untouched until this week. Thankfully, I have pushed forward with it, and I am once again working on it. Life continues to throw things my way, but the black render is underway. My plan is to have this piece and a smaller second piece completed by the end of the year. Come hell or high water, this is happening. It only takes me sitting in my chair and working. Something that used to be so easy and since 2020 has become increasingly difficult. I hope to share the completed Summoner with you soon, but for now, here are some glimpses at it coming together.

This is where Sister was at as of August 30th. She sat this way for nearly two and a half months.

 

I had to get a bit done on the mid and backgrounds, but once there was enough established, I felt comfortable moving to the figure. ...FINALLY!

 

The figures are going to be back, and side lit. Thankfully I have plenty of reference images to work from when I planned this piece over ten years ago.

 

I have progressed past this point, but I can't show all the image just yet. Need to leave a little for later. As long as I can continue to sit in my chair and work, I will hopefully have something to share with you sooner than later.

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

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

The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia Update and Sneak Peek

A lot is going on with the Grand Bazaar these days. I am more or less back on a regular production schedule working on the images for the next books. On top of that, a lot is happening behind the scenes to be ready for IX in October and conventions, in general, moving forward. This includes finishing new work, getting prints ready, and even making better publicity images of the books. My entire convention setup and appearance is changing, and that is requiring a lot of new construction, organization, and planning. At least by IX, I will be able to share that with you. 

Until then, I can leave you with a pair of sneak peeks at the piece I am currently working on. This is an illustration I planned out over ten years ago but never moved forward with it beyond shooting reference and creating the digital sketch. I have carried it around trying to find a home for it for a decade and finally realized it was always meant to be in the Grand Bazaar. I made some updates to the sketch and prepped it got production. I completed the linework for it over the weekend. I will begin rendering it this week. For now, here is a glimpse at a bad day in the Grand Bazaar.

 

There will be a few beings having very, very bad days in book three, In the Black.

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 Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia - A Year Later

A year ago this week, my shipment of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia arrived. Two massive stacks of books were on a truck and finally at the end of their long journey from China. It was the end of one chapter and the start of the next. It was a shining moment in an otherwise dark time last year as the global pandemic raged. It has been a year, and some things are different, and others are very much the same. The pandemic still rages because of human failings, but the book has slowly gotten out into the world. Not in the way that I imagined it would at the beginning of 2020 when the Kickstarter launched. I still haven't participated in any in-person conventions or events since February 2020, but with IX only a month and a half away, maybe I can be in the same place with my books and showing them to people finally. To celebrate the first anniversary, I did a new photoshoot with the book.

 

The available selection for the first book in The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia series. 

 While there is the main hardcover, there is also a 5th Edition D&D compatible stats guide for all the monsters in the book, a coloring book, and finally, a deluxe edition that contains all of the books, an exclusive clamshell case that holds all of the books, and a signed and numbered bookplate that features an original drawing. These deluxe editions are limited to only 100 copies.

Here are some of the images from last year of the books arriving. It was touch and go for a moment as they were unloaded, but the driver knew his palette jack and truck and got them on the ground in one piece.

 

Two massive piles of books that we ended up unstacking and restacking by hand to do a count and inventory check. 

Here are more images from the new photoshoot for the book. The previous images were fine, but I knew they could be better. I had been kicking this job down the road for a while due to deadlines and life, but it finally all came together. Will these be the last time I take pictures of these books? No. There will always be more.

The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

The Stats Guide 

(Collected Guide of Reference Statistics and Cataloged Research Calculations pertaining to the Beings and Beasts of the Grand Bazaar of Ethra)

The Grand Coloring Book of Ethra VanDalia

Deluxe Clamshell Edition

Lastly, I have a new video featuring a look at the inside of the book. A little sneak peek of what the first book has in store for you. To see more, head to my store for details, images, and buying options.

 

A look at The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia - A book 20 years in the making

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

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

Recent Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia Bookplate Drawing

Remember when my book's Kickstarter began as a global pandemic decided upon us all just over a year ago? Yeah, those were fun times. Thanks to Jon Schindehette at ArtOrder, my book was published and released in the middle of the pandemic. That was only this past August, which feels closer to ten years ago. Out of the ashes of 2020, there are some things that I am really proud of, and The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia is one of them. I wanted to share with you another recent bookplate that I created for one of the 100 limited edition deluxe versions of my books. I had plans to draw all 100 in one go, but after the 55 required for the fulfillment of the Kickstarter, I needed a break, and I have been drawing as they sell. We are up to 65 (actually 66, I am keeping number 100) copies of the deluxe versions gone, and I may take the time soon to draw the remaining plates. That is a whole lot of talking to share a drawing, so here a recent Grand Bazaar bookplate.

Drawn, signed, stamped, labeled, and numbered!

Currently Available Grand Bazaar Originals and Books

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

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

Returning to the Grand Bazaar!

Monsters and Merchants was only the beginning!

I am thrilled to announce that I have begun work on the next two books in The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia series. While some of the prep work started before the launch of my Kickstarter in February, with the pandemic, the new normal, and more life events than I can shake a stick at, I took some time off from working on the books. Jump ahead six months, I am at a point to begin working again, and with that, I am sharing what I am working and what I have in store for the Grand Bazaar. 

Moving forward with the books, the even-numbered books will be smaller self-contained books that focus on a specific topic, event, or subject - while still giving plenty of information regarding the Grand Bazaar. The odd-numbered books will follow the larger continuing story arch(es) and focus on the Grand Bazaar as a whole, and larger events unfold. This will allow me the freedom to explore smaller aspects of the Bazaar that won't fit in a book like Monsters and Merchants and still maintain the larger stories of the Grand Bazaar.

Needless to say, these books take time to create, and they will receive as much or as little time as they require. Once complete, they will once again be crowdfunded on Kickstarter with the help of Kickstarter. With all that out of the way, let's have a closer look at what is in store for the next books.

The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia  Book Two - The Completed Circle

The Completed Circle revolves around an ancient tale of adventure that originated in Thrakka. Much of the story has been lost to the years, but Reginald Blatherskite created a new translation of the remaining pieces during his full and well-documented career with the Impure Husk. The book follows along with the annotated translation of the ancient tale while giving a glimpse of the early years of the Grand Bazaar. Are you ready to follow a young Thrakese boy on an adventure to save the world? - or that is at least what the remaining pieces of the tale seem to suggest. There will be familiar voices in this book writing about various aspects of this ancient tale and its relation to the Bazaar of their time.

 

The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia  Book Three - In the Black 

Picking up where the events of Monsters and Merchants left off, In the Black journies below the Grand Bazaar and the dangers and wonders that exist just below the surface. Many of the voices from the first book will return and well as some new voices to share their perspective on the events surrounding the uncertain future of the Grand Bazaar. 

 

My production board - Mid September 2020  

Lastly, I wanted to share an image of my production board as it now looks. It is set up again and has the key art placeholders for The Completed Circle, as well as the pieces from In the Black that I am currently working on. While The Completed Circle is the next book, there are several pieces I have been waiting a LONG time to create, and while these pieces are destined for In the Black, I could not wait any longer to see them completed. After I finish the pieces I am actively working on, I will switch to pieces from The Completed Circle and switch back and forth until all prepped work in finished. Once everything is finalized on these pieces, I will move into full uninterrupted production on The Completed Circle. Again, these things take time. We are several years away from the next book being completed. I will be sharing the art as I go and giving glimpses of the writing as it takes shape - without giving too much away. No one wants to see these books completed more than me, and I will be making every effort to provide them with as much time as possible.

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

Earlier Ethra VanDalia Etching Surfaces

I was recently cleaning up files and organizing an archive for The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia when I discovered an even older scan of my original etching of Ethra from 1998 that I had forgotten I had. The zinc plate that ultimately became the first image of Ethra went through several iterations as we practiced different etching techniques. While I knew I had the final, I had completely forgotten that I had a scan of the plate early on, before the aquatint application, when the plate was mostly line work and scrapping. Here is the newly discovered scan.

Eathra Van Daillia Completes the Gems of Power
Etching on paper  - Test print before aquatint

11.7 x 17
© 1998 Christopher Burdett

To be honest, I am not sure how many people will find this interesting, but I was thrilled to find the file and have one more piece of the origins of this character and the world I have built. It does show off my questionable anatomy and forms that I liked to draw at the time and some smaller details that were lost in the final etching. Here again, is the final etching that I have shared previously.

Eathra Van Daillia Completes the Gems of Power
Etching on paper - Edition of 8 

11.7 x 17
© 1998 Christopher Burdett

Finally, if I am sharing the original, I need to share the comparison of nearly twenty years of progress honing my craft. I enjoy seeing other artists' comparison images, and looking at mine helps me remember the progress that I have made and why I keep working and pushing myself. 

 

Full circle. 1998 verses 2017.    

Currently Available Grand Bazaar Originals

 That's 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

New Grand Bazaar Bookplates & THANK YOU!

I had a busy weekend of drawing new bookplates for deluxe editions of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia that sold and packaging up hardcovers, stats guides, coloring books, and more. First and foremost, THANK YOU, one and all that have placed orders for my books! It means the world to me, and it is so exciting to see the Grand Bazaar heading out into the world. It has been such a long time in coming that I am a little speechless, and hard to believe that the book is actually done and in the world.  So, again, THANK YOU one and all for helping make this a reality. Here is a look at the new bookplates. With only 100 copies, there are fewer each day. If you want one, I feel you may need to act fast.

I had to use my convention dolly to take the books to the post office this morning. This is a first for me, and I welcome having this problem. I would not have been able to deal with all of this without finally getting a mailing scale and using online shipping services. I have been resistant for a long time, but now I wish I had done it years ago.

 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

The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia is NOW AVAILABLE!

At long last, The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia is now available for purchase! With all that is going on in the world, I am thrilled that this is happening only a month behind schedule. The book and the enamel pins are over on my store, and I have several options so that you can get the books and pins that you want. Here are all of the options available and some details on each product, and of course, welcome to the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia!

The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia Hardcover

The Grand Bazaar hardcover is the first book set in a world I first envisioned twenty-two years ago. The book features a red faux leather cover with embossed gold printing, 245 pages of art and stories, nearly 100 pieces of art, a fold-out map, and more! Take your first step into the Grand Bazaar with this book.

The Stats Guide

(Collected Guide of Reference Statistics and Cataloged Research Calculations pertaining to the Beings and Beasts of the Grand Bazaar of Ethra)

Want to take your Dungeons & Dragons game to the Grand Bazaar or want to bring some of the denizens of the Grand Bazaar into your game? Then the Stats Guide is perfect for you. This 84-page pocket guide contains all of the 5th Edition stats needed to use the monsters and beings from the hardcover into your game. The stats guide has been created as a book set in the Grand Bazaar and continues to world build and add to the story found in the hardcover.

The Grand Coloring Book of Ethra VanDalia

Do you like to color monsters and the world they live in? Then you will want to get a copy of the Grand Coloring Book of Ethra VanDalia. The coloring book features all of the main art from the hardcover as line art ready to be colored. Each page is backed with solid black to allow markers or similar wet media to be used without the need to worry about bleeding.

There are additionally several options to mix and match these books, or you can purchase all three books in one transaction!

Deluxe Clamshell Edition

Lastly, there is the Deluxe Clamshell edition of the books. All three books come in a special clamshell case. These are limited to an edition of 100, and each comes with a signed and number bookplate that features an original drawing. Over half of these sold during the Kickstarter, and once they are gone, they are gone.

Enamel Pins

Proudly wear the crest of Ethra VanDalia or show your support for the Yote and the Construct Guild with these high-quality enamel pins. Be the envy of your friends and enemies when you wear your Grand Bazaar pins!

That's all for another exciting Thursday 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