The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT

Monday, December 16, 2013

Jabba's Gang

I shared with you a bunch of sneak peaks of this piece. If you follow me on Instagram or my Facebook Fan Page you got to see some video clips as well. Now that is is all done I am happy to share with you the final illustration. I present you with, Jabba's Gang...

"Jabba's Gang"

11 x 14 - Pencil on toned paper
Original available for sale over on my Web Store!

Star Wars and its many alien species mean a lot to me as I have mentioned here on the blog many times. I have really been wanting to do some personal exploration with the characters and creatures that are near and dear to me. This is hopefully the first of many explorations. The creatures of Jabba's Palace REALLY resonate with me and the Klaatu, Barada, Nikto, and a Gamorrean Guard where an easy choice to be first on the drawing board.

These might not be the last time you see these menacing fellows. To facilitate this possibility I made sure to get a scan of the drawing when the line work was all done and before I started on the rendering...

"Jabba's Gang" - line work stage

11 x 14 - Pencil on toned paper

I made sure to take LOTS of images of the drawing as I worked on it. Trying to get into a better habit of doing this. Hope it shines a little light on how I approach a drawing and do about rendering an image. If you are wondering, I do start with a light print of my rough digital sketch on the paper. I work out the composition and different elements on the computer and make sure all my alien ducks are in a row before proceeding onto the final draw and render. Here is the drawing coming together...

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, December 13, 2013

And now for something completely different...

From time to time I find it interesting to compare and contrast my monster work and my other work. My other work refers to my day job as a graphic designer and maker of pretty pictures. If you ever wondered what I did during the day before I am making monsters all night... well, here you go...

These are all from an app aimed at middle school students and I did these at the beginning of the year. The students take samples of the water and looking at different conditions in the environment. There are five different locations that the students will take samples from and they very from wilderness to farm lands to urban areas...

By the end you can see things are not looking good for the little fishes. These were all based on aerial images of an actual river in central Florida. I took a lot of pleasure in thinking of this as an updated version of River Raid. I sometimes really wish more things like this came my way... but when they do, they are really fun. There was also a cross-section that had several different variations that explained different actions with water and the environment... like evaporation...

These are all just a little different from a tentacled monster. Takes all kinds... These are all copyrighted by a bunch of people... but I am not sure all who, so please play nice and don't take them.

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, December 11, 2013

Loathsome Catoblepas - Magic the Gathering Process

While choosing what to post today I skipped over a bunch of older content that has been waiting in the queue to be posted and jumped ahead to something I have really been eager to post... the process to my very first Magic the Gathering card. The mighty Loathsome Catoblepas has the honor to be that card and so that we are all on the same page, here is how the final piece turned out...

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Magic the Gathering - Theros
PRINTS available at OMA!

The preproduction for a MtG set is impressive and a really well thought out and thorough style guide is provided to the artists before production begins. If the answer to your art question is not in the style guide then there should be enough information in it to make a very well informed guess. In the style is a nice one page profile of the concept work for the Catoblepas. I was tasked to make a Catoblepas monster based on the concept art, but make it bulkier and meaner as it stands its ground. Seemed straight forward... so I got to work on some thumbnails...

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Thumbnails

See any issues yet? Moving on... Option "A" was picked, but there were a couple notes and I made adjustments to the thumbnail. This updated thumbnail was resubmitted...

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Updated Thumbnail

I received a note or two as I given approval to move forward onto the drawing stage. So far so good, right? Moving right along! Now for the drawing...

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Sketch

See it now? Yeah, the Catoblepas actually does not look like the Catoblepas. Totally my fault... I misunderstood the usage of "based on". I am use to "based on" being VERY loose and allowing a good deal of latitude for change and exploration. My bad. Now that I had something more tangible... as in a finished drawing, it was a lot easier for all parties involved to see where I was going wrong and send me down the right path. The important part of the style guide is that it is there for a reason and it is to be used! This is why there is a thumbnail and sketch phase to production. Problem detected and actions taken to resolve...

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Updated Sketch

A few quick fixes later and I had an approved drawing that was a ton better and a lot more inline to the concept for the Catoblepas. Only thing left to do it get started on the painting...

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Process Steps

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Process Steps Continued

In eight quick and easy steps you can have your very own Catoblepas... or not. I have mentioned that some of my paintings seem to come together much quicker then expected... but no painting that I have done recently tops the Catoblepas. This piece came together extremely quickly and I was a little uncomfortable by that speed and ease. After all, this is a Magic card... my first, and I felt there should be a lot of laborious work filled with self doubt (more the usual) and uncertainty (again, more then usual). Nope... I just started painting and all the pieces fell into place. Whom am I to complain (trick question!)... anyway, it came together and was approved and that is all that counts in the end sometimes. Again, here is how the final piece turned out...

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Magic the Gathering - Theros

I will mention that when I finished the piece I was very happy with it, but after a couple of months of reflecting on it I began to really dislike how this piece turned out. Thankfully, in time that dislike passed and I like how this piece turned out and I don't think I would change a thing about it now.

"Loathsome Catoblepas" in handy card form

I would be amiss in not including the toned paper drawing of this piece that I did. Still one of my favorite toned paper pieces... RAWR!

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Magic the Gathering - Theros

12 x 9

colored pencil on toned paper

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

Monday, December 9, 2013

Sketchbooks now available!

Are you in need of my sketches and drawings in a handy dandy book format? Then you are in luck! ALL four of my sketchbooks are now available, and there are several ways to get them!

creatura libri, creatura libri 2, creatura libri 3, and creatura libri 4 now available!

All the books are available directly from me...

Your very own copy of creatura libri, creatura libri 2, creatura libri 3, OR creatura libri 4 (please specify which one) with shipping to anywhere in the US: $20 (additional shipping and handling fees apply to those outside the US)

Your very own copy of creatura libri, creatura libri 2, creatura libri 3, OR creatura libri 4 (please specify which one) featuring an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch on the first page with shipping to anywhere in the US: $25 (additional shipping and handling fees apply to those outside the US)

SPECIAL DEALS!

Deal #1: Purchase any TWO books and get an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch in both books with shipping to anywhere in the US: $40 (additional shipping and handling fees apply to those outside the US)

Deal #2: Purchase any THREE books and get an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch in all three books with shipping to anywhere in the US: $55 (additional shipping and handling fees apply to those outside the US)

Deal #3: Purchase ALL FOUR books and get an ORIGINAL hand drawn sketch in ALL books with shipping to anywhere in the US: $70 (additional shipping and handling fees apply to those outside the US)

Send an email to: My Yahoo Account and I will send you my PayPal info. If you need to send cash or a money order, I will provide my home address, but I prefer Paypal. Supplies are limited, and it will be on a first come, first serve basis. Please specify which book(s) you would like to purchase and if you would like sketches when you email me.

If you prefer, you can always order any or all of the books directly from Lulu.com.

Speaking of sketches, here are some examples of what you could get in your books!

Just a sample of all the monster fun that could await you - RAWR!
all images © 2013 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

Friday, December 6, 2013

Sneak peeks while othervise busy...

I have been very busy yesterday dealing with car stuff, and it is bleeding over into today... so I just have a quick post of some peeks at something I am working on...

Okay... back to it... I am hoping it will all be resolved be sometimes Monday. Please enjoy these Star Wars drawing process shots in the stay... RAWR!

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, December 4, 2013

Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest - Process

Today I have for you a look at a piece I shared with you back in July for a D&D article, Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest. ...JULY?! Yikes, I am either way behind schedule with my posts or I have just too much to share with you... Either way, here is how the final illustration turned out to refresh your memory...

Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest

A hapless thief picked the wrong chest to break into... this is why you want to make sure to make EVERY saving throw. My wife is always interested in taking a more active roll in my illustrations as a model. I am sure she would like me to do something more with her then have her face eaten off by an ooze hiding in a box... but I could not have done this piece without her!

I had some general compositions in mind for this piece, so the first step was to get my wife suited up in my armor and shot a bunch of reference photos. Using this reference I fleshed out three thumbnails...

Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest - Thumbnails

Option A was the winner, but option C was a strong contender. In the end, option C was dropped since there was a chance it could have come off a little silly if not handled just right. Option A got the job done and there was not any chance that things could take a detour to wackiness. Now that I had a thumbnail it was time to get to drawing...

Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest - Drawing

The drawing was completed and approved without any issue or changes. That only means one thing... time to get to painting! In just eight easy steps you too can have a painting of your wife with her face eaten off by an ooze... or not...

Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest - Process steps

Since I don't do a lot of human... let alone female humans in my work I was a little concerned about how this piece was going to play out. I had a lot of great reference and in the end this piece came together really quickly. Much quicker then ever imagined actually. I love those pieces that almost paint themselves. Thankfully, the more I work, the more I paint, the more I draw... the more that the pieces seem to take on a life of their own and help me create them. I am not putting in less work, but rather the piece is almost starting to carry some of its own weight. Well... not sure if that makes any sense, but after these years of work it is a rather nice feeling. I just need to sit down with the painting and it will be okay and it will get finished.

Here is the how the final turned out again for your viewing pleasure... (RAWR!)

Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here 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, December 2, 2013

The Fishy Look

I am no closer to replacing my car, but I am ready to get back on the horse and get this old blog moving again. Today, I have for you a doodle that turned itself into a full drawing. ...or should I say that I was drawing without a goal and by the time the dust cleared I had this...

9 x 12

colored pencil on toned paper

Not sure what to say about this piece... TENTACLES! ...um, yes, I was was drawing some tentacles and lots of eyes and having a lot of fun and just didn't want to stop working on them. Usually how these things happen. Not sure why he feels the need to cover up his tentacle shame. I have some photos of the drawing taking shape...