Pokémon Go Ten Years Later

I have mentioned Pokémon and Pokémon Go a few times here on the blog. And yes, I am a few weeks ahead of the actual ten-year anniversary mark for Pokémon Go, but I feel like I have a significant announcement to make. Over this past weekend, I reached the level cap of 80 in Pokémon Go, and as I said, just shy of a rather big anniversary for a mobile app. I have been playing the app since its release in July of 2016, and I play it every day. In fact, I have played it more, longer, and more consistently than any other game in my life. But I do not see it only as a game, as it is an integral part of my daily routine. Because every morning I get up and walk for 2-2.5 hours and cover 7-10 miles while playing it, every day.

Scitro, Valor trainer - level 80

For those who care about such things.

I do more than just walk and play Pokémon Go. That time in my day is both for physical activity as well as mental. I work on my book while I walk, switching over to the notepad to type out notes and ideas. I problem solve, world build, and ponder and ruminate. It is me time in every way. I watch the world wake up, the sun rise, the turtles awaken, and catch a lot of Pokémon. I have also been hit by cars, bitten by dogs, threatened, followed, and have been victorious in reclaiming gyms. After a decade, it is a bigger part of my life than a lot of things. Which is all very strange to me now. Because when I started playing ten years ago, it was only so that I had a distraction and maybe some motivation to walk more. It excelled in both. 

Pokémon hit it big when I was in college. And while at the time I had a bunch of cards and loved the idea of it all, I never did anything more with it all. I never watched the show, and I honestly never played a single game - I liked the idea of it, and as a college student, I had no one to play against. I saw the animated feature in 2000 and the 2019 live-action Detective Pikachu movie, but that is it. I just love the monsters and the idea of the game and universe that I have spent the last ten years playing this game every day, and now I have some pretty awesome Pokémon.

For the record, my favorite Pokémon is the Garchomp. I have one that is a shiny, 4*, fully maxed, can mega evolve, and has two charge attacks. This one Pokémon single-handedly got me to level 80.

Garchimp, I choose you!

In normal and, of course, Mega form.

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

Gen Con: August 17 - 20! Artist Alley Table 27!

Gen Con is right around the corner! Once again I will be returning to the Gen Con Art Show in Indianapolis for the best four days in gaming (and gaming art). This year will be bigger and better than ever since this is Gen Con 50, and if I am not mistaken, is nearly sold out. I will be stocked up with paintings, drawings, prints, sketchbooks, artist proofs, playmats, and hopefully a surprise or two! I will be at Table 27 in the Artist Alley and here is a map so you don't get lost...

Remember... RUN! Don't walk to the Gen Con Art Show!

Be sure to come by Table 27 to see me!

If you are attending Gen Con be sure to come by the Art Show (I will be at Table 27) to see all the amazing artists that will be attending this year... because there will be a ton of them! Just like last year all the artists will be handling their own transactions, so no long lines and no multiple step process to get your hands on some art.

My booth at Gen Con 2016... RAWR!

I am planning to bring the Pokémon with me again this year. They were a huge hit last year and hopefully they will be well received again. I better start practicing drawing some legendary Pokémon!

Pokémon display from last year ... which will be the Pokémon display for this year

I hope to see you at Gen Con this year! It is always a ton of fun and is usually full of surprises. If you missed it, I will be at Table 24! ...taaaaaable 27.... RAWR!

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

Original Reimagined Pocket Monster Drawings at Gen Con!

I have something spacial planned for Gen Con 2016. All four days of the convention, I will be creating reimagined Pokémon monsters for those attending. Set at an affordable price point, I will create for you a one of a kind reimagined Pokémon of your choice! Each drawing is roughly 4 x 6 and will be pencil, marker, and paint on Bristol board. Here are some examples of what to expect...

Reimagined Pokémon

(Roughly) 4 x 6 - Pencil, marker, and paint on Bristol board

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

I even made a custom display for my table (Table 40 in the Artist Alley) that will hopefully catch people's attention. The display samples will be available for those attending Gen Con, or I can create a brand new drawing of their choosing.

Table display with real life sample drawings! RAWR!

Not sure how well this will do, I may be drawing like crazy all convention or there will be cobwebs on the display by Sunday... we shall see. Here is a better look at the four sample drawings that  I will be starting with, if I have any down time I am sure I will be making more at the convention and sharing them with you via the interwebs.

Reimagined Bulbasaur

(Roughly) 4 x 6 - Pencil, marker, and paint on Bristol board

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Reimagined Charmander

(Roughly) 4 x 6 - Pencil, marker, and paint on Bristol board

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Reimagined Pikachu

(Roughly) 4 x 6 - Pencil, marker, and paint on Bristol board

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Reimagined Poliwag

(Roughly) 4 x 6 - Pencil, marker, and paint on Bristol board

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Gen Con starts this Thursday, August 4th and through Sunday, August 7th. I will be at Table 40 in the Gen Con Artist Alley all fours days, I hope to see you there! I will do a full recap on the blog once I return home and I have fully recovered.

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

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

Revisiting some Pocket Monster Redesigns

It feels like Pokémon is bigger than ever, especially with the release of Pokémon Go. Even I am talking about Pokémon Go here on the BLOG. All these Pokémon got me thinking, some about Pokémon at Gen Con, and some about Pokémon in my past.

Today, I thought I would revisit a pair of redesigned Pokémon that I did four years ago. It actually blows me away that it was four years ago, feels like just yesterday. Anyway, I was having some fun and playing around with some personal redesign work, and then these happened...

Charmander Redesign

9 x 12 - Pencil on paper 
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

Charmeleon Redesign

9 x 12 - Pencil on paper

© 2012 Christopher Burdett

The Charmander Redesign is still one of my favorite drawings. REALLY happy with how it turned out. Just look at that face! RAWR! Sadly, I only did these two at the time and never finished off the set with a Charizard. 

Be sure to stop by the blog on Monday when I will share with you some of my plans for
Pokémon at Gen Con 2016!

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

AR and VR Adventures

Today on the blog I am going to be comparing apples and oranges. While this is not always advisable, I am still doing it anyway. Recently, I shared with you the products of my work in Tilt Brush, the VR (Virtual Reality) painting program from Google. For the last couple of weeks I have been playing around (a lot) with an AR (Augmented Reality) app for smart phones, Pokémon Go. While very different, they are examples of where the VR and AR technologies are heading. Here is a look at some of my experiences with Pokémon Go and a reminder of what I am doing with Tilt Brush...

Pokémon Go gives me a world full of monster.

Which is very much like the world I try to make for myself.

Tilt Brush allows me to make virtual 3D marks to paint a monstrous form in space.

Now for the apples and oranges. These are two very different experiences and these technologies are really in their infancies. Both offer up a lot of potential and they are going to change and evolve in ways we can not yet imagine. All that said, give me more AR! I know VR will be powerful and will provide experiences vastly different then AR, I really am happier and more inclined to use AR. The VR I am using is limited by the physical space we have in the room where all the expensive equipment is set up and the user is tethered to said equipment by a cord. I know this will change in time, that is a given, but for now, I really don't enjoy the isolation of the headset and the disconnected feeling from the environment around me.

The current, and limited, AR experience that Pokémon Go is VERY inviting to me. I already walk a lot so the fact that I can walk around and see, capture, and collect various monsters is a win/win for me. AR can and will provide so much more in the future, but this little taste leaves me wanting more. There are exciting things on the horizon for both VR and AR, but the glimpses of AR's future is really exciting. It has already been done with Pokémon Go, but using this app makes me want to make my own experience where you can go around and interact with my monsters in the real world. Not necessarily getting that same spark of creativity when I use the current VR system. Tilt Brush is a tool and I can create with it, but I don't feel like it is a gateway to world building. AR feels like it can lend itself to building fantasy worlds that will mesh with our own in a new and unique way.

Of course, right now my interaction with VR is as a creator and my interaction with AR is as a user. These provide very different experiences, one is work and one is play. This can greatly effect opinions, and I am aware of it. But I still really enjoy the idea of AR.

VR and AR are both going to be useful tools and will allow different and equally useful experiences, but I think people will lean toward one or the other. I see it happening already. I am very much in the AR camp while some of my coworkers have built homes in VR town. I look forward to seeing what the futures holds for both technologies, but as long as I can run around and catch monsters in the real world I will be AR's biggest fan.

Say what you will, the gamification of activity goes a long way and for me moving around in the real world is by far the preferred place to be.

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

Pocket Monster: Charmeleon

Back in August I shared with you my redesign of the Pokémon, Charmander. Well, it looks like he has had some time to evolve and level up, because I have for you today the next stage of that little guys life cycle, the Charmeleon...

Charmeleon redesign
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

Look out world, this little guy is now a biped, next thing you know he will be growing wings. Another fun piece for fun, experimentation, and practice. Not sure how long it will take for this little guy to fully mature to his final stage, but be sure to know that when he does you will see it here on the blog! RAWR!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, I should have another post for you on Wednesday before I journey to Altoona and Illuxcon V starts! Until then...

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

Pocket Monster: Charmander

Pokémon was just hitting and getting huge when I was in college and I found it all really interesting… after all it was a game centered around collecting monsters and using them in combat. I never got into the game, but in those early days I was definitely a fan. I have seen a lot of Pokémon redesigns and inspired art over the years and have always wished I had a chance to give it a try. The art style is a little cuter then my work tends to be but I always say the potential to flesh out the Pokémon into more complex creatures. For no reason I can explain and even though I in the middle of two other drawings and two paintings I found myself redesigning a Pokémon this week. This is how it turned out… 

 Charmander redesign
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

 If you follow my Facebook Fan Page or Tumblr you may have seen this critter take shape over the week. I had to steal time over meals and during breaks to get it finished and not take time away from my work that is on deadline. For some reason I kept finding myself thinking about working on this drawing. It was super fun to work on and it came together really quickly. I think I will have to find some more time to at least work on next two evolutionary steps of Charmander. Hopefully they will turn out to be as fun!

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