Dungeons & Dragons - Candlekeep Mysteries - Part 1

I got my hands on a copy of the Candlekeep Mysteries, the newest gaming supplement for Dungeons & Dragons, yesterday. This means I can now share with you four new D&D monster paintings and four new drawings associated with the paintings. I worked on this book in 2020 as I was working on getting back on the art horse and generating pieces again. When this assignment came along, I felt much better about making art and decided to take on a few more pieces than I had been taking on the previous projects. I settled on four pieces, and it was the perfect number. I have the first two pieces for you today, and be sure to come back on Friday to see the other two! Here is a look at the book to get things rolling.

Candlekeep Mysteries

These first two monster paintings are a pair. The assignment was to design and create a parent and child construct. I designed paired versions in the thumbnail stage so that they felt related to each other. The Skitterwidget is the parent, and the Kiddywidget is the offspring. These were a blast to design and paint, and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. Production was pleased with all of my creations for the book, but I heard that they especially liked how these two mechanical critters turned out. Here is the final painting for the parental unit, the Skitterwidget.

Skitterwidget

Candlekeep Mysteries

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Since the final painting for this piece is digital, the only original for it is the drawing. As mentioned in more recent D&D releases, I have begun fully finishing my drawings for my client work. Here is how the drawing for the Skitterwidget turned out.

Skitterwidget - Drawing

Candlekeep Mysteries

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

If you are interested in this piece, please know that this particular drawing has some slight damage. As mentioned before, my cat got into my flat file and, unfortunately, had too much fun with a couple of my drawings. This was the second of the two drawings damaged. A small bite is taken out of the top of the paper. Other than that, the drawing is intact. Here are a couple images of what the damage looks like.

Just a little taste of the paper.

Next up is the Kiddywidget. Of all of the pieces for this assignment, this is my favorite by far. I really like how this juvenile design turned out, as well as the color palette and paintwork on the final. The Skitterwidget was painted first, so I could play off of that and soften things and lighten the overall look of the construct. Here is the final painting for the Kiddywidget.

Kiddywidget

Candlekeep Mysteries

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Again, the only original for this creature is the drawing. As stated dozens, if not more, times here on the blog, the drawing is my favorite part, and it was a joy to working on this one. Here is the final drawing for the Kiddywidget.

Kiddywidget - Drawing

Candlekeep Mysteries

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2021 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Lastly, here is a look at the two Widgets in the book. They printed beautifully, and I hope that in the fullness of time, they might become miniatures. I hope players have a lot of fun interacting with them!

 

Widgets in book form! I am not sure what I expected, but I imagined them hanging out on different pages. They look great together.

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

Mystery Project Phase Two Process

I have been teasing here, and on my social media platforms process images of a mystery project, I am working on. While I can not talk about who the project is for or what the images will be used for, I can show process images. Instead of showing the entire image, I chose to provide a little slice of things. I have previous shared some process images of the first of three pieces associated with this project. With the second piece completed, I wanted to share a selection of images from it coming together. It is now time to work on the third and final image, and I hope to have that one completed very soon.

Mystery Project Process

17 x 14 - Colored pencil and acrylic on paper (digital color finish)

© 2021 Christopher Burdett

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

D&D Monster Cards - Epic Monsters - Return of the Kraken, Morkoth, Sibriex, and Hellfire Engine

Within the past two to three years, give or take, a D&D Monster Card deck was released for Epic Monsters. Included in this deck are four of the monsters that I painted for various Dungeons & Dragons books. With the Epic Monsters Deck's release, my Kraken, Morkoth, Sibriex, and Hellfire Engine, get their own cards. This is the last such deck of monster cards I am aware of. Only time will tell if there will be more. Here is a look at the deck box and the cards.

 

 

Epic Monsters Deck

 

 

Kraken

 

Morkoth

 

 

Sibriex

 

 

Hellfire Engine

 

The Kraken and the Morkoth have been made into miniatures. The Sibriex miniature should be released sometime this month. I am still awaiting the Hellfire Engine to become an official miniature. Here again, is the final art that I created of these three monsters.

 

 

Kraken

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

 

Morkoth

Volo's Guide to Monsters

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

 

Sibriex

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Hellfire Engine

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

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

Stinging Lionfish - Magic: the Gathering - Process

I have for you today the process and steps that went into my Stinging Lionfish painting that was for the Magic the Gathering set, Theros Beyond Death. Of the three pieces created for this set, I believe this was the fan-favorite. My fish painting for Magic seems to be some of my most popular creations for the game. I am not sure why, but they seem to be the ones that receive the most fan love. Hopefully, this trend will continue. Here is how the final painting for the Stinging Lionfish turned out.

 

Stinging Lionfish

Magic the Gathering - Theros Beyond Death 

14 x 10.2 - Digital 

PRINTS available at OMA! 

All of my Magic the Gathering Artist Proofs!  

Art Director - Dawn Murin 

© 2020 Wizards of the Coast

 

The assignment called for an enchanted fantastical lionfish. For me, this felt like a straightforward painting. In my part of the world, the lionfish is a dangerous and destructive invasive species, and I have encountered them in the wild several times. I pulled from my personal reference photos that I took to begin my work on some thumbnails. The card focuses on this individual monster, so it was all about creating an interesting composition while featuring the fish. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted.

 

 

Stinging Lionfish - Thumbnails

© 2020 Wizards of the Coast

 

Thumbnail 'D' was selected, but I was asked to make the fins look and feel more like the fish in thumbnail 'A.' Personally, I still lean towards option 'A' as my preferred thumbnail, but that was not meant to be. I updated option 'D' to address the revision notes and submitted an updated thumbnail.

 

Stinging Lionfish - Updated thumbnails

 © 2020 Wizards of the Coast

 

This new thumbnail was approved without any further comments, and I was ready to create the final drawing. As stated before, I was too busy when I worked on this piece to create the drawing and the tonal study. So this drawing ended up being the only traditional original for the assignment. And when it came time to paint, I had to work out the values on the fly. Here is the final drawing for the Stinging Lionfish.

Stinging Lionfish

Magic the Gathering - Theros Beyond Death

14 x 11 - Pencil of paper

Original - SOLD
 © 2020 Wizards of the Coast

 

The drawing was approved, and it was time to paint! As previously mentioned, this felt like it would be a straightforward assignment, and it was for the most part. You will notice that the patterning evolved while I was working on it. The original plan for the fish's markings felt off to me as I was painting, and I updated them as I worked. They soon felt more fitting with the animal and the world it lived in. Here is the Stinging Lionfish taking shape.

 

 

Stinging Lionfish - Process

 © 2020 Wizards of the Coast

 

I believe that I was asked to increase the amount of enchanted starfield on the fish after I originally submitted it. Due to how I work that evidence to show just how much I increased the amount has been lost. All I have is a vague memory of adding more, and that updated didn't take long or require much effort. When it was all said and done the fish was approved and I moved onto the next assignment. Here again is the final painting for the Stinging Lionfish and the final production card. 

 

 

Stinging Lionfish

 PRINTS available at OMA! 

All of my Magic the Gathering Artist Proofs!

 © 2020 Wizards of the Coast 

Stinging Lionfish in handy dandy card form

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

Mystery Project Phase Two

I have larger blog posts planned, but they are taking a bit of time to compile, and I have a couple things on my plate. To that end, the post I had wanted to share today is not ready. In its place, I have a quick update on the mystery project I shared recently. The first of three pieces for the project is completed, and I have moved onto the second. This happy little bubbler is doing important space stuff. The drawing took a little longer than expected, so I am a little behind where I would like to be with it. I will need to give it some extra attention so that I can begin rendering it. Still, plenty to do on it, but it is taking shape. There will be more on this in the fullness of time.

 

Mystery Project Process

17 x 14 - Colored pencil on paper 

© 2021 Christopher Burdett

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

Line Up Droid Model Animation Cell

Something a little different today on the blog, I have mentioned that I possess an extensive Star Wars collection. The collection has been used as a reference during my work on the Star Wars game properties. Beyond that, it was enjoyable to collect, and I have a small part of it on permeate display at my day job office and in our library at the house. I no longer collect, but from time to time, a piece crosses my path that I can not say no to. Today, I am sharing such a piece that I was able to be at the right place at the right time to acquire. 

 

 Line Up Droid Model Animation Cell circa 1985

This is an model animation cell from the 1985 Droids Animated Series. It consists of a sheet of paper with photocopied line work and notes, a hand painted aniamtion cell that is stapled to the paper, and various production notes in pen and sharpie. While this is, in and of itself, a very unique item, for me, it has a connection to the Mandolorian series. 

While it would be hard to prove, either way, I am reasonably confident that this idea and the initial design was the starting point for the ferry droid seen in the final episode of the first season of Mandolorian. It is known that Dave Filoni had a long history of pulling from the long history of obscure creations and unused concepts in the Star Wars universe. I am sure Filoni is more than versed with the original Star Wars animated series, and when the time came, he pulled this concept into modern productions.  

No matter the history and current life of this idea, I am pleased to own it and will be framing it for display once the pandemic has ebbed. Here is a selection of images of the model cell.

 

Line Up Droid Model Animation Cell closeups

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

Aradani Studio's PPE Decorative Armor

Last year I shared with you a Kickstarter by the good folks over at Aradani Studio. The campaign focused on the creation of two designs of decorative PPE mask covers. The campaign was funded, and in the fullness of time, I received my unpainted High Elf Warrior mask, and I couldn't be more excited by the quality and look of this fantastic piece of art. I painted mine up and got it ready for use. It has been a little while since I painted on a 3D object, and it was enjoyable to flex those art muscles again. Here is a look at the finished paint job on the PPE armor.

 

Aradani Studio's PPE Decorative Armor painted by yours truly.

Since I have a big head, I got a large model, which fits like a dream. It perfectly fits over the appropriate facial PPE and allows a little of the inner monster out while staying safe in the time of global pandemics. I could not be happier with this, and painting it was a joy. Here is a monster wearing a monster mask.

 

RAWR!

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