Yuan-Ti Broodguard 2D Miniature

Today, I have another recently released 2D miniature based on one of my Dungeons & Dragons paintings. Well, techinquely, I have two, but it is the same monster in two poses. As with the others, this is a monster that already received a 3D mini (not one, but TWO minis so far), so now we have more minis, and that is a truly wonderful thing. This time around, it is the Yuan-Ti Broodguard that I designed and illustrated for Volo's Guide to Monsters. Here is how the final illustration for Yuan-Ti Broodguard turned out.

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

Volo's Guide to Monsters

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

If you want to seek out the set this miniature is in, here is an image of the packaging. The 2D Yuan-Ti Broodguard can be found in the Snake Den set of the D&D Idols of the Realms line of miniatures. 

Snake Den

The 2D minis are very high quality, and the printing is excellent. There are bases for all miniatures, which are arranged by size. Here are both versions of the 2D miniature of the Yuan-Ti Broodguard. Do you have a favorite?

Yuan-Ti Broodguard 2D Miniature - option 1

Yuan-Ti Broodguard 2D Miniature - option2

I mentioned that this particular monsters already has two 3D miniatures. I beleive there was a size issue with the first relelase and they have since corrected this oversight with a second, larger version. Here are the 3D minis for the Yuan-Ti Broodguard.

Yuan-ti Broodguard Miniature - sized small

Yuan-ti Broodguard Miniature - sized medium

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

NEW Yuan-ti Broodguard Miniature

If you are saying to yourself there is already a Yuan-ti Broodguard miniature out there and that I shared it here on the blog, you are correct. Today I am sharing the NEW Yuan-ti Broodguard miniature that was recently released. I am sure some are wondering why we need a new Yuan-ti Broodguard miniature, and I will address that, but first, let us look back at my original Yuan-ti Broodguard painting that I created for Volo's Guide to Monsters.

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

Volo's Guide to Monsters

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

BEHOLD! It is a miniature, and it looks awesome and is based on my illustration. For those wondering why there is a new version of this monster, I guess they are correcting the mistake of making the original Yuan-Ti Broodguard mini too small. The version that came out in 2017 was a tiny or small-scaled mini, and the monster is more of a medium-sized monster. Here is a look at the new and improved Yuan-Ti Broodguard miniature.

Yuan-ti Broodguard Miniature - Sand and Stone

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Lastly, I want to share an image of the previous miniature version. It turned out great, if not a little small. This original version did have its tongue out like my painting, but no tongue is perfectly fine too. Maybe seven years is enough time to warrant a new version of any miniature. I have it on good authority that this is not the only one making a return appearance as a new miniature. But more on this another day.

Yuan-ti Broodguard Miniature - Tomb of Annihilation

© 2017 Wizards of the Coast LLC

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

D&D Monster Cards - Volo's Guide to Monsters - Return of the Gazer and Yuan-Ti Broodguard

Within the past two years, give or take, a D&D Monster Card deck was released for Volo's Guide to Monsters. Included in this deck are two of the monsters that I painted for Volo's Guide to Monsters. Where are the rest, you ask? That is a story or another day. That said, I think these are really cool sets. If I could still make the time, let alone be near other humans, to play Dungeons & Dragons, this is precisely the kind of accessory that I LOVED as a DM. Quick and easy monster access. No flipping pages, no marking up a book to find what you need, you can simply pull the cards ahead of time and have them on the ready for encounters. The cards have images of the monsters and stats on the back—an all in one go-to source. Okay, enough up selling the product. I have mentioned before that while being in a book is fantastic, there is just something extra special about having my work as a miniature or a card. Maybe because it is a singular focused incarnation. I am really not sure, but I do love holding them in my hands. With the release of Volo's Guide to Monsters Monster Deck, my Gazer and Yuan-Ti Broodguard ger their own cards. Here is a look at the deck box and the cards.

 

Volo's Guide to Monsters Monster Deck

 

Gazer

 

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

The Gazer was a personal favorite from my work on Volo's, and I am always happy to see it make the rounds. It has not been in two books, a miniature, and now a card. Seems like I am not its only fan. Here again, is the final art that I created of these two monsters.

Beholder Gazer

Volo's Guide to Monsters

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

Volo's Guide to Monsters

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin 

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

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

Yuan-ti Broodguard Miniature - Tomb of Annihilation

The Tomb of Annihilation miniatures set for Dungeons & Dragons was recently released and it looks like one of the pieces in the set is based on one of my monsters from Volo's Guide to Monsters, the Yuan-ti Broodguard. Here is a look at the miniature...

Yuan-ti Broodguard Miniature - Tomb of Annihilation

© 2017 Wizards of the Coast LLC

It is a tiny little miniature, but it looks great and has a ton of detail. Always neat to see miniatures based on my work, or at least used my work as reference for the miniature. Here is a look at my illustration of the Yuan-ti Broodguard that appeared in Volo's Guide to Monsters so you can compare the two. RAWR!

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That is all for anther 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

Yuan-Ti Broodguard - Volo's Guide to Monsters - Process

The monsters are in charge of the blog, and they have decided to share with you the process and steps that went into making the five paintings that I contributed to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Volo's Guide to Monsters. I hope you enjoy it!

The Yuan-Ti Broodguard was a weird one. It is a skinny weird reptile with really big paws and claws. While I am all about the reptile monsters, this one just had a weird shape that took me some time to get my head around. Most of my monsters tend to lean towards the beefier end of body shapes, this one needed to be rather lithe. Here is how the final Yuan-Ti Broodguard turned out...

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The shape of the back/neck area is important to this monster for quick identification, and because it was prominent in the reference art, I was given. In fact, I was given a side view of this monster and then needed to figure out how it looked from the front. In the end, I think it all worked out after a reference photo shoot and some experimentation in thumbnails. Here are how the Yuan-Ti Broodguard thumbnails turned out...

Yuan-Ti Broodguard - Thumbnails

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Option A was the winner, and looking back now it is still the clear winner. The exaggerated anatomy reads well, and there is a bit of character in there. I was given the go-ahead to move forward with the final drawing...

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Kate Irwin

Original - SOLD

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved, and I was given the go-ahead to start the painting. With all of these Volo pieces, the painting went quickly, smoothly, and there were no issues or concerns. Which is always nice. I just got to sit back and have fun making pretty monsters. Being an isolated figure helps out a lot too. Here is the paint work for this piece coming together...

Yuan-Ti Broodguard - Process steps

I work out the lighting in the reference photo shoot I do before ever starting the thumbnails. From the very beginning, I have an idea of what I want to do with the final image. I knew this one would work well with up lighting and made sure my reference photos were shot that way. I know some folks fly by the seat of their pants through an assignment. I just can't work that way, I have a plan from the beginning. Granted, there can and often change along the way, but that is to improve or correct things as they take shape. To better show how the painting developed, here is an animated progression of it taking shape...

Yuan-Ti Broodguard -Animated process

While there is a fair bit of pushing and pulling of form and value the painting was extremely straight forward. I get into a zen state when working on isolated figures as I work the large forms and then lay in all the detail work. I just want to make a really pretty monster for these types of pieces, and hopefully, I did. Here again, is how the final painting turned out...

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 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

Volo's Guide to Monsters - Dungeons & Dragons - Part 2

Today I have the remaining two pieces that made up my contribution to Volo's Guide to Monsters, the newest gaming supplement to Dungeons & Dragons. If you missed the first three, I shared them on Monday. Here are my remaining illustrations from Volo's: the Morkoth and the Yuan-Ti Broodguard...

Morkoth

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I think the Morkoth might be my second favorite piece from the book. How can you go wrong with all those tentacles and that nasty beaked face? The Morkoth got a visual update for the book, and I was thrilled to be tasked with taking the new concept work and turning it into a finished illustration. I love that the Morkoth collects things and carries it around on their backs. One of the bits of Morkoth treasure depicted in the concept art was a chair, I thought that was hilarious and such a great idea, so I had to be sure to include a chair on the back on my Morkoth (top left corner).

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The Yuan-Ti Broodguard was an interesting one, it needed to be lithe and lanky. I have mentioned a dozen plus times here on the blog, I prefer big and beefy monsters. This does not mean that I was not happy to take on the Broodguard, it just means I had to fight some of my natural tendencies. I thought giving it some dramatic up lighting would work well for this one. Give it an additional layer of interest. Hopefully, it worked.

Below are the drawings that went into these illustrations. Since I was working on five pieces and I didn't think I had the time needed to do these traditionally the painting are digital. It would have been nice to have paintings of all of these, but the final pieces did end up way better by me doing them digitally. At least there are the drawings, get them while you can, they are going fast...

Morkoth

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Kate Irwin

Original - SOLD

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Yuan-Ti Broodguard

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Kate Irwin

Original - SOLD

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Monday, tomorrow is a Holiday, and the blog will be resting 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