Chucklehead 2D Miniature

I mentioned last week that I would have more of the monsters I painted for Dungeons & Dragons making a return appearance as a new miniature. What I did not know, on top of some of my monsters getting updated miniatures, was that some of the monsters were getting 2D acrylic miniatures too! I stumbled upon the line of D&D acrylic miniatures by accident and was thrilled to see so many of my monsters included in the various sets. To start things off, I have for you the 2D mini of Chucklehead. I painted Chucklehead for The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, and here is how the final painting turned out.

Chucklehead

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Now that I know there is a line of 2D acrylic minis, I have been looking into all of the sets. If you want to seek out this set, here is an image of the packaging. The 2D Chucklehead can be found in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight Set 2 of the D&D Idols of the Realms line of miniatures.

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight Set 2

I find these to be very fun. They are very high quality and the printing is excellent. There are bases for all of the miniatures, and they are arranged by size. Here is the 2D version of Chucklehead.

Chucklehead 2D Miniature

I find it interesting that the pose of the 2D image is flipped from the 3D miniature. I guess this is an easy way to make them different and unique. You can compare the 3D mini to the 2D. I like them both and would always go for a 3D piece in the end, but the appearance, color, and detail are all superior in the 2D mini. To each, their own, and more minis are fine by me. 

Chucklehead Miniature

 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

Chucklehead Miniature

I am thrilled to share with you today another miniature inspired by my illustrations for Dungeons & Dragons. This time around, it is a pre-painted miniature of Chucklehead from The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. To start things off, here is my painting for Chucklehead.

Chucklehead

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I had a feeling that this particular monster would end up a miniature. He seemed to stand out in the adventure, and who doesn't want a miniature of a goblin with a caramel apple head? The miniature is interesting in that its pose is neither represented in my illustration nor the concept art for Chucklehead. It was usually a direct pull from the art or a more neutral pose in past miniatures. It is interesting to see him have a little more action going on. Here is the miniature for Chucklehead. 

Chucklehead Miniature

 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

Chucklehead - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for my contribution to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. This contribution is none other than the goblin with a caramel head, Chucklehead. Chucklehead was described as a little goblin with an apple head. There was also a piece of concept art provided as a starting point for this little monster. Here is the final painting for the Chucklehead.

Chucklehead

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

With the concept art and a brief description of the character, I got to work on some thumbnails. There was a lot to work with, and I was excited to do something fun with Chucklehead. He was described as:

"This goblin works in the Goblin Market, trading toys to visitors. He has a toffee apple for a head, with the sugared glaze chipped away to form a jagged mouth and eyes. His apple flesh is bruised and rotten, and he has a maggot companion who lives inside his head."

This was enough to get my head spinning with ideas for this piece and a chance to breathe some personality into this character. It didn't hurt that characters like Warduke and Zarak were being introduced in this supplement, and as they were favorites of mine from the 1980's toyline, I wanted to see if I could have some fun and combine them all. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted.

Chucklehead - Thumbnails

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I will be honest, I really, and I mean REALLY wanted to paint option 'A.' Chucklehead holding some action figures of Warduke and Zarak would have been the BEST. But sadly, it was not meant to be. Even though the character was described as trading toys with customers, Production wanted something more reserved. They wanted Chucklehead to be more of a stern boss and not depicted holding or touching toys. As much as it crushed my dreams of painting a Warduke action figure, I knew what needed to be done and got to work on new thumbnails that better fit what I was being asked to create. Here are the revised thumbnails for Chucklehead.

Chucklehead - Revised thumbnails

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

While I was not thrilled with these new thumbnails, they were what was asked for, and option 'B' was selected. With a thumbnail chosen, it was time to get started on the drawings. I got some additional reference together and got to work. Here are the two stages of the Chucklehead drawing, the mid-stage line art, and the final rendered drawing.

Chucklehead  - Line art

 The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Chucklehead  - Drawing

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original - AVAILABLE

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without comment, and it was time to start painting. I will be honest, even with reference, even with thumbnails, even with a drawing, I was not happy with the look of Chucklehead's folded arms. This character has weird long arms with some unique anatomy, but even taking that into consideration, it still felt off to me. Even though it was approved, I knew I needed to make things right going into the painting. This meant shooting more reference and reworking the drawing as I began the painting. You will notice the new arm arrangement happening in the early stages of the process. Here is the painting for Chucklehead taking shape.

Chucklehead - Process

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Once I fixed the arms, the painting was straightforward. The concept art for this character was in color, so I had a lot of the work done for me regarding what color clothes and skin he should have. I wanted to make sure the entire piece had a green cast to it. It felt like it worked with this piece. The painting was approved without comment, and the arms change was never brought up. Sometimes you need to get in there and make things right because if you don't, you will definitely hear about it. I wish I had the time to have done more for this book, but if I only had one piece to do, I am glad it was this one. Here again, is the final painting for the Chucklehead.

Chucklehead

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

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

Dungeons & Dragons - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

The newest Dungeons & Dragons supplement, The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, was released yesterday, and I was lucky enough to have contributed a piece to it. For this book, I was asked to illustrate a goblin whose head is a caramel-covered apple named Chucklehead. Chucklehead was already designed for me, but I got to flesh the character out and breathe a little life into him. This was one of two D&D projects I was working on at the same time earlier this year. I ended up with more pieces on the other project and only one for The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. If I had known how amazing this book would be, I would have taken more on, but alas, my only contribution will be Chucklehead, and to be honest, if I was to only paint on monster for this book, I am glad it is Chucklehead. Here is a look at the final painting for Chucklehead.

Chucklehead

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

As with all my D&D pieces, even though the final is digital, there is an original drawing available. A keen eye will notice some changes between the drawing being approved and the illustration being completed. I will go over those changes and why they happen in the coming weeks when I share the process and steps for this painting. I will also share all of the thumbnails and the alternate directions I wanted to take this piece. Here is the drawing for Chucklehead.

Chucklehead  - Drawing

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original - AVAILABLE

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Lastly, here is a look at Chucklehead in the book. It printed beautifully and looks so good with the texture and patterns that they added behind him. A miniature for Chucklehead is already works and should be out sometime in October. When I get my hands on one, I will be sure to share it here!

Chucklehead in book form!

That is all of 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