The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT

Friday, July 27, 2012

My life as a crappy artist - Sahrvin Demon

You of course remember the Sahrvin Demons from episode 9, Harm's Way, from season 5 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I was on the design team for it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is a Sahrvin Demon...

The Sahrvin Demon is on the left the one on the right we will address another day since I am solely responsible that that visual atrocity...

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around the Sahrvin Demon was the lucky winner. Here is my original design for the Sahrvin Demon from 2003...

RAWR! I am a demon of the desert so I of course have a head wrap and bad skin.... and quills... desert things have quills, right? RAWR! MY, look at that impressive signature... you must be a really good artist....
© 2003 Almost Human

Okay... so they wanted two desert demon clans, one male and one female and they were going to be feuding or something. Fair enough... My art director at the time did a really cool design of a demon in a very large head wrap, goggles, and more wrapping around the neck so you could just see this horrible mouth. Production loved it and approved it... they just wanted us to loose the wrapping and goggles......... AND so begun a really protracted redesign of the demon with production disliking everything that was sent to them. They obviously already approved a design and we were being dumb and difficult be giving them the wrong stuff........ JUST TAKE THE GOGGLES AND WRAPS OFF! Fun fact, I was not originally on the design team for the demon but I really wanted to be. So I did a bunch of designs on my own time and brought them in to try to convince my boss that I could do more then just photo composite in photoshop. Eventually, I was brought on this demon and that is when I created the above image. This and one by another of our artist is what finally got approved. All things aside, here is something... newer, for the design of the Sahrvin Demon...

Taking the Sahrvin Demon back!

The motivation to go ahead and do this redesign was I thought it would be a good way to test out doing a time lapse video. If you missed it, you can see it HERE! I wanted to do a desert demon creature, but I wanted it to feel a little more natural and realistic, instead of a generic demon with a vague head wrap. I got some reference and thought about desert animals so this thing ended up with a reptile / bird deak face. Not sure if it is really scary, but I like it better and it was fun to draw... and made for a good time lapse test. And the turban thing is a lot better designed and thought out!

I painted a LOT of Sahrvin Demon makeups. Not only were there a bunch in the episode, but they popped back up later in the season. One of my tasks was to paint the armies of makeups that were often called for. Multiples, repeaters, and anything were there was to be more then one makeup artist applying a makeup. Here are some additional images from set and the shop of the Sahrvin Demon army. RAWR!

This is why you do not use a flash when photographing a makeup... YIKES!

Complete turnaround of a Sahrvin Demon makeup in all its glory.

The Sahrvin Demon army is ready to deploy to set with face pieces, cowls, hand appliances, and teeth (in the turquoise container). Everything you need for a demon invasion!

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

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Sahrvin Demon drawing time lapse test

Friend and fellow artist Justin Peterson recently posted a time lapse video of him drawing on a cover of one of his trade paperbacks. I thought that it looked a fun and interesting way to share his process with everyone and was instantly interested in doing one too. I was able to get some time together over the weekend to do a test to see how it would turn out and what it would involve to make time lapse videos of my drawings. This is how that test turned out...

This video is 21 minutes of drawing time sped up 850%. I started with a light sketch to map out placement and to make the video more interesting. The creature is a Sahrvin, a demon I designed for the 5th season of Angel which I will be sharing with you in its entirety on Friday.

I am really happy with how this turned out and how easy it will be to make more of them. Due to file size limitations I will most likely have to record in 30 minute blocks and then move them from my phone to the computer and begin again. Once Gen Con is behind me I hope to be able to record an entire drawing start to finish. I hope you find this as interesting as I do, it has definitely given me some insight on how I draw! I can't wait to do more of these!

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday for more of the Sahrvin demon! Until then...

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

Monday, July 23, 2012

The Rising Tempest

Late last year I was approached by the good folks at Fantasy Flight Games to help out on the newest supplement for the Deathwatch RPG, The Rising Tempest. They needed a new monster for the Warhammer 40K universe designed and I was put to the task. I am always happy to be able to design a new monster for a project. To make this more interesting the assignment called for me to produce drawings as the final art (a bonus!). The drawings were to be rough and sketchy as if done as field notes with some spot art elements to be added in. I handed over the elements and the design team at FFG put them all together. The book arrived in the mail on Friday so I can now share it with you! Here is my contribution to The Rising Tempest, the Ghanathaar...

Ghanathaar (disguised)

Ghanathaar (revealed)

These were the the two main creature designs that I was asked to produce. After these were all set I did some quick detail spot art elements that would be added in to make a sketchbook/field note book type graphic...

Ghanathaar (spot art elements)

The wild scribblings of a deranged madman? Here is how the final pieces all came together in the book...

Ghanathaar art as it appears in the book

Here are the early sketches that I submitted for the approval process. It was nice to be only producing drawings for the assignment, though it was a little weird since they had to be rough and sketchy. But I was drawing, so it was all okay in the end!

Ghanathaar sletches

That is all for an exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday to see the first test of something new! Until then...

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

Friday, July 20, 2012

Where the pencils falls - Demon

Quick post today, much to do and always just a little less time needed to get it all done...

A lot of the time when I am drawing I have an idea, a plan, or a fully formed image in my head that I am trying to get out on the paper as best I can. There will always be the happy accidents, the unexpected details, the changes to make the image better but for the most part I know what I am doing and where I am going. Sometimes it is good to switch it up a bit and see if you can work outside the comfort zone. I have heard a lot of this lately and thought I should give it a try. I knew I was going to draw a monster head and I drew a general sketchy shape but as I worked to create the drawing I was just trying to see where the marks take me without thinking too much about it. A stray mark could suddenly become some new element and I tried not to judge the decisions and just let them happen. This is what I came up with when I was all said and done...

Demon

I most likely need to do more of this kind of thing to make sure I keep things loose and fresh. We will see where it takes me...

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

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

More recent life drawing

Before I left for IMC 2012 I had the chance to do some more life drawing. It was a real treat to get a chance to draw from life so soon after my first time after a very long hiatus. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to return since, my schedule has been rather full and it just has not worked out again. Here are some of the highlights from the session...

I wish I could have had much more time on all of these poses, but I take what I can get. Her warm up and short poses were really dynamic and offered some really interesting forms to draw, too bad those poses could only be held for a few minutes. I know I need to get back for sure, I hope my schedule will accommodate me... there have been just too many dragons to work on...

Speaking of work, I have been busy... really busy since returning from IMC last month and it looks like I will be that way through Gen Con. Seems like I have a lot of work just waiting to drop from the client so that I can share it and I am trying to be patient... but that means in the interim that the I have been draining my blog material reserves. I realized yesterday that I am about to run out of content that is ready to share here! YIKES! Looks like I will need to get my ducks in a row and see what I can come up with while I wait for projects to be released. I better get to it!

That is all for another exciting week 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

Monday, July 16, 2012

Monsters A-Z second pass complete!

If you have been following my blog for any length of time you should be familiar with my 'Fresh from the drawing table..." series where I re a classic Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual entry. As of last Friday I completed my second pass through the book and so marked the completion of 47 monsters. Since some letters only have a few or even just one entry there will less monsters each pass. Let's take a look at the second pass altogether...

Monsters A-Z the second pass

If you are keeping track the very first entry, the Bugbear, was posted on May 7th, 2010. I started with the Bugbear and not the Axebeak because I like the Bugbear better. The Bugbear is also the first of the current 47 monsters to see completion. Speaking of 47 monsters, let's have a look at what they all look like together, drawings that spread over 2 years worth of time...

Monsters A-Z the first 47

Now that I am done with two passes... WHAT NOW?! At this point I think I have resigned myself to completing what I began and will draw everything in the original D&D Monster Manual. I am just trying to decide what 'everything' will mean for me and how I would like to go about moving through the book hear on out.

Not only are there MANY entries for demons, devils, dragons, and giants - all of which will be fun to explore and create - but will I want to draw them in waves or in mass? And there is also the issue of the Dinosaurs... there are pages and pages of Dinosaurs in the MM. I LOVE Dinosaurs, but I do have my limits and that goes for the Demons, Devils, Giants and all the rest. I am still working out if I want to do another standard pass through the book or if it is time to just start with "A" and do the remaining and then move to "B". I have already completed my first new "A" entry and there is a "B" monster I would REALLY like to do, so as of right now it looks like a third A-Z pass is in my immediate future. I have resigned myself to the reality that eventually I will just be drawing "D" and "G" entries. I will finish what I start! It is just those completely invisible monsters that have me worried... here is a blank sheet of paper, isn't it scary!

I will be updating all the monster entries to show the following collections of links so that you can access all the monsters! Wave 3 will be beginning soon, I hope you are ready! RAWR!

My first 100 original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesigns (A - Z): Aerial Servant, Ankheg, Ant (Giant), Ape (Carnivorous), Ape (Gorilla), Axe Beak, Axe Beak (version 2), Baboon, Badger, Barracuda, Basilisk, Baluchitherium, Bear (Black), Bear (Brown), Bear (Cave), Beaver (Giant), Beetle (Giant) - Bombardier, Beetle (Giant) - Boring, Beetle (Giant) - Fire, Beetle (Giant) - Rhinoceros, Beetle (Giant) - Stag, Beetle (Giant) - Water, Beholder, Black Pudding, Blink Dog, Boar (Giant), Boar (Warthog), Boar (Wild), Brain Mole, Brownie, Bugbear, Buffalo, Bulette, Carrion Crawler, Catoblepas, Cerebral Parasite, Chimera, Cockatrice, Coutal, Crab (Giant), Demon Type III (Glabrezu), Demon (Juiblex), Demon (Manes), Devil (Ice), Dragon (Red), Elemental (Earth), Ettin, Eye of the Deep, Flightless Bird, Frog (Giant), Fungi (Violet), Giant (Hill), Goblin, Golem (Flesh), Hobgoblin, Homunculus, Hydra, Imp, Intellect Devourer, Ixitxachitl, Jackal, Jacklewere, Jaguar, Ki-Rin, Kobold, Lich, Lizard (Giant), Lizardman, Manticore, Mind Flayer, Minotaur, Naga, Neo-Otygugh, Nixie, Ochre Jelly, Ogre, Owlbear, Peryton, Pixie, Purple Worm, Quasit, Ram (Giant), Roper, Rust Monster, Sahuagin, Salamander, Shambling Mound, Treant, Troglodyte, Troll, Umber Hulk, Unicorn, Vampire, Wasp (Giant), Wight, Wyvern, Xorn, Yeti, and Zombie.

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

Friday, July 13, 2012

Fresh from the drawing table... Wight!

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Wight! In the original Monster Manual there were only one listing for "V" and I did the Vampire on the first past so we are jumping from "U" to "W" which has several listing. This time around I felt it was time to do something undead and that mean the Wight. You can't go wrong with undead fiends that hate the living that dwell in burial mounds and lost tombs of kings and the like. I present to you my version of a Wight...

When I think of Wights I think of Fellowship of the Ring and the trouble that the hobbits get into at the burial mounds (stuff that was not in the movie, FYI). I see Wights being the undead horror that is a cursed king or the spirit of a noble that still seeks to avenge his murder, but only has those foolish enough to wander into his crypt to attack. Smarter, deadlier, and more powerful then any Zombie but completely corporeal so you can hit them with weapons I see the Wights as a real and horrific threat to players.

As a side note, I have for a while now preached about using reference and have shared a lot of reference that I use here on the blog. When I about to start this drawing I realized I didn't have any reference and since I was out and about when I was to begin sketching I really didn't have the opportunity to get any. Then it hit me, one of the reasons I have been using reference so much was that when I found myself in situations like this I had the skills and knowledge to work out the image myself. For a moment I was a slave to the reference and was not relying on my own abilities. So I moved forward with what I knew and have learned over the last several years and drew this completely on the fly. I am really happy with it and it shows me that all my work and diligence in using reference has paid off... I think...

This completes my second time through the original Monster Manual! There were only one entries for "X", "Y", and "Z" so "W" is as far as I can go anymore. I will have some follow up thoughts on all this and some images to share with you next week and I will be going back and updating all the links on all the pages so no monster will be missed!

My first 100 original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesigns (A - Z): Aerial Servant, Ankheg, Ant (Giant), Ape (Carnivorous), Ape (Gorilla), Axe Beak, Axe Beak (version 2), Baboon, Badger, Barracuda, Basilisk, Baluchitherium, Bear (Black), Bear (Brown), Bear (Cave), Beaver (Giant), Beetle (Giant) - Bombardier, Beetle (Giant) - Boring, Beetle (Giant) - Fire, Beetle (Giant) - Rhinoceros, Beetle (Giant) - Stag, Beetle (Giant) - Water, Beholder, Black Pudding, Blink Dog, Boar (Giant), Boar (Warthog), Boar (Wild), Brain Mole, Brownie, Bugbear, Buffalo, Bulette, Carrion Crawler, Catoblepas, Cerebral Parasite, Chimera, Cockatrice, Coutal, Crab (Giant), Demon Type III (Glabrezu), Demon (Juiblex), Demon (Manes), Devil (Ice), Dragon (Red), Elemental (Earth), Ettin, Eye of the Deep, Flightless Bird, Frog (Giant), Fungi (Violet), Giant (Hill), Goblin, Golem (Flesh), Hobgoblin, Homunculus, Hydra, Imp, Intellect Devourer, Ixitxachitl, Jackal, Jacklewere, Jaguar, Ki-Rin, Kobold, Lich, Lizard (Giant), Lizardman, Manticore, Mind Flayer, Minotaur, Naga, Neo-Otygugh, Nixie, Ochre Jelly, Ogre, Owlbear, Peryton, Pixie, Purple Worm, Quasit, Ram (Giant), Roper, Rust Monster, Sahuagin, Salamander, Shambling Mound, Treant, Troglodyte, Troll, Umber Hulk, Unicorn, Vampire, Wasp (Giant), Wight, Wyvern, Xorn, Yeti, and Zombie.

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