Aostletic Portrait - The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

I am thrilled to share another new piece from The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. This illustration is for Book Two: The Completed Circle. This is another piece I completed in the final days of 2022, and again, this will be a character portrait that accompanies one of the short blurbs at the beginning of a chapter. I shared more about these with the first post focused on these portraits. With most of these, I have an idea regarding their voice and placement in the book, but the fun part is that it is not set in stone and may turn into something very different from what I first planned. This particular being looks content in answering questions, so they may have a lot to share. This is one of the fun parts of my process. I present you with an Aostletic (name and career to come later).

Aostletic
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
5 x 5 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - Available on my store
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

Aostletic - Drawing 

5 x 5 - Pencil on paper
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

 

These are the smallest pieces created for the books. There is something charming about a 5 x 5 image, and I have already framed them all up. They look great in a frame and will make an excellent addition to my conventions later in the year. I have completed the first planned set of them, and I will likely begin making more of them soon. Here is a look at the sketch for the Aostletic to show where it started. Once I have shared all of this first batch, you might notice some Easter eggs in the backgrounds.

Aostletic - Sketch 

Digital
© 2022 Christopher Burdett  

 

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

Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dictionary - The Return of the Mind Flayer Tadpole

I have seen a lot of talk online about the new book out from DK, Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dictionary. People were talking about how much art was in it and how older pieces were making a repeat appearance. That got me thinking that I have made a lot of D&D art since 2006, and I wondered if any of my art was there. After picking up a copy, my hunch was correct, and I do have a piece of art in the book. To start things off, here is the cover of Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dictionary.

Dungeons & Dragons: The Legend of Drizzt Visual Dictionary

In 2016 I had several pieces released in Volo's Guide to Monsters, one of them being the Mind Flayer Tadpole. The piece was well received and had a nice creep factor that resonated with a lot of people. As Drizzt hails from the Underdark, it is not surprising that there is a large section of the book devoted to Mind Flayers. If you are talking about Mind Flayers, you will eventually get to their reproduction cycle, and with that, you will speak of their tadpoles. And if you are talking about Mind Flayer Tadpoles... well, you know, you use the art available for that. Here is my final art of the Mind Flayer Tadpole originally created for Volo's Guide to Monsters.

Mind Flayer Tadpole

9.1 x 10.1 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I have always liked this piece, and it is great seeing it out in the world again, especially since this is one of my many self-portraits in D&D. Hard to believe this is piece is seven to eight years old now (while it came out in 2016, I would have painted it in 2015). Time flies when you are making monsters. Finally, here is a photo of the painting in the book.

Mind Flayer Tadpole on the page in the book.

 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

Rediscovered Art Now Available - Legends of the Five Rings

With the completion of my studio last year and my return to conventions, I have been digging through many files, boxes, and art and doing a great deal of organizing. With all this comes the resurfacing of older art and art that I had assumed was gone. To be fair, in the lead-up to the release of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia in 2020, I had cleared out client work and non-Bazaar stuff from my convention setup and filed a lot of older art away. With the chaos of the following years, a lot that was filed away became forgotten. This means I am now making works available that were lost but are now found. I will share some of this work on the blog as it returns to my store. To start things off, I have for you the last four drawings that I produced for the Legend of the Five Rings card game.

Niiro no Oni

12 x 9 - Pencil on paper

The Shadow's Embrace
© 2012 Alderac Entertainment Group 

Hida Kaiji

12 x 9 - Pencil on paper

Seeds of Decay
© 2012 Alderac Entertainment Group

Determined Challenge

12 x 9 - Pencil on paper

Seeds of Decay
© 2012 Alderac Entertainment Group

Hida Kaiji

12 x 9 - Pencil on paper

Aftermath
© 2013 Alderac Entertainment Group

Here are some images of the final digital paintings and production cards for the pieces above. L5R was always a fun game to work on, and it allowed a lot of freedom with the art. Unfortunately, I was never able to fit as much L5R work into my schedule as I wanted to. These four are the last of the original art for the game that I still have. Once there are gone, so passes my involvement with the game.

If you are interested in the original drawings for any of these pieces, head to my store!

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

CanvasRebel Interview

I was recently interviewed by the good folks over at CanvasRebel, and that interview is now live. I shared some thoughts on art and things of an artistic nature.  If you have the time, be sure to follow the links to give the article a read. There is a lot, and I mean a LOT of content, over there, so you might find all sorts of interesting content. But be sure to go click on my interview!

My CanvasRebel interview is now available!

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

Gallery Nucleus Spring Sale - INCLUDING ARTIST PROOFS!

Gallery Nucleus is having an art sale! Starting April 1st, you can get artwork there for 20% off with the code SPRING20. The sale only lasts until April 4th at midnight PST, so be sure to check it out!   

Why am I mentioning this? The sale includes the remaining artist proofs from the Magic: The Gathering in Miniature Show that was in January. I have two cards available, and for the next four days, you can get them at 20% off using the code SPRING20.

• Sale begins: April 1st 

• Sale ends: April 4th, 11:59 PM PST

What is on sale: Artwork. (NOT art prints.) Disney artwork is not included in the sale. Artists should definitely highlight their artwork in their posts. 

How does the sale work?: Use code SPRING20 at checkout.

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

Another Recent Artist Proof Drawing From February ... at the end of March

Today I have one final February artist proofs that I added a drawing to its back. If you want to get any of these, just head to my store. I don't feel like I have had much to share here on the blog recently, but I am very behind in sharing these artist proof drawings. Some of that is because I am doing a lot more of them, and I have had several big announcements regarding now offering color and finding extra Portent proofs. That aside, at the end of March, I am sharing the last of the February cards. At this rate, it will be May before I am done with sharing March proofs. I suppose there are worse things. Today's card answers what Yoda would look like in Magic the Gathering.

What if Yoda lived in a Magic the Gathering world?

He would be a blue card in Ravnica.

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

Yote Portrait - The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

I am thrilled to share another new piece from The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. This illustration is for Book Two: The Completed Circle. I say new, but this was completed in early December 2022. While I am currently focused on large pieces for the book, I have been fitting in smaller pieces to help me feel like I am moving forward in production. If you are familiar with the first book, you know that each chapter begins with one or more 'man of the street' hot takes on the subject of the chapter. It will be no different in book two, but now you will have a face to go along with the words at the beginning of each chapter. This was something I had wanted to do for book one, but one of the things that fell by the wayside just to get the book across the finish line. Now I have been able to make it a reality for book two. I am immensely enjoying making these smaller pieces. They are quicker to complete, add a slice of worldbuilding, and give a face to a name and species. Going to start off with the first one that I finished, though after this, I will likely share alphabetically to stay on brand. I present you with a Yote (name and/or chassis number to come later).

Yote
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
5 x 5 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - SOLD
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

 

Yote - Drawing 

5 x 5 - Pencil on paper
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

 

These are by far the smallest pieces created for the books. More and more, I find myself working larger and larger. There is something really lovely about a 5 x 5 image, and I have already framed them all up. They look great in a frame an will make a nice addition to my conventions later in the year. For now, I am focused on making more of them and moving ahead on big illustrations. Here is a look at the sketch for the Yote to show where it began.

 

Yote - Sketch 

Digital
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

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