Pokémon Go Ten Years Later

I have mentioned Pokémon and Pokémon Go a few times here on the blog. And yes, I am a few weeks ahead of the actual ten-year anniversary mark for Pokémon Go, but I feel like I have a significant announcement to make. Over this past weekend, I reached the level cap of 80 in Pokémon Go, and as I said, just shy of a rather big anniversary for a mobile app. I have been playing the app since its release in July of 2016, and I play it every day. In fact, I have played it more, longer, and more consistently than any other game in my life. But I do not see it only as a game, as it is an integral part of my daily routine. Because every morning I get up and walk for 2-2.5 hours and cover 7-10 miles while playing it, every day.

Scitro, Valor trainer - level 80

For those who care about such things.

I do more than just walk and play Pokémon Go. That time in my day is both for physical activity as well as mental. I work on my book while I walk, switching over to the notepad to type out notes and ideas. I problem solve, world build, and ponder and ruminate. It is me time in every way. I watch the world wake up, the sun rise, the turtles awaken, and catch a lot of Pokémon. I have also been hit by cars, bitten by dogs, threatened, followed, and have been victorious in reclaiming gyms. After a decade, it is a bigger part of my life than a lot of things. Which is all very strange to me now. Because when I started playing ten years ago, it was only so that I had a distraction and maybe some motivation to walk more. It excelled in both. 

Pokémon hit it big when I was in college. And while at the time I had a bunch of cards and loved the idea of it all, I never did anything more with it all. I never watched the show, and I honestly never played a single game - I liked the idea of it, and as a college student, I had no one to play against. I saw the animated feature in 2000 and the 2019 live-action Detective Pikachu movie, but that is it. I just love the monsters and the idea of the game and universe that I have spent the last ten years playing this game every day, and now I have some pretty awesome Pokémon.

For the record, my favorite Pokémon is the Garchomp. I have one that is a shiny, 4*, fully maxed, can mega evolve, and has two charge attacks. This one Pokémon single-handedly got me to level 80.

Garchimp, I choose you!

In normal and, of course, Mega form.

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

Revisiting - Runebound: Mists of Zanaga Expansion (Part 1)

I am still looking back while I make new things now. At the start of my career, I did a LOT of work from FFG. I think at one time, they were the on-ramp for many a gaming career. Back then, they had a lot of work to go around and soul-crushingly low pay rates to go along with said work. Talisman was the first project I worked on for them, but one of the next was on Runebound. I cannot tell you anything about the game, except that I painted three elder gods for it in 2009, and they came out in 2010. I have a copy of the expansion my three cards are in, but I haven't looked in the box since 2010. This is one of those three elder gods, and it is a snake.

Set the Deceiver

Runebound: Mists of Zanaga

4 x 6 - Digital

© 2010 Fantasy Flight Games

If you were wondering, I got paid a total of $100 for this work. That included thumbnails, drawing, and painting. That is a ton of work over many days for that money. Oh well. Live and learn. I think this is my favorite of the three I did, but you might have your favorite from the other two. I will share over the next two Fridays.

I have something extra for you. Here is the original drawing for this piece that I have never shared before. The drawing and the painting are both very small, especially compared to the size I work today. I am not sure if I have this drawing still or not, but I didn't sell many of these early pieces. That said, a quick search turned up MANY other drawings I didn't know I still have, but not this one. I was learning a lot about making art and painting sixteen years ago, and in this piece, I can see clearly what I was already getting right, what I was getting very wrong, and some things that I have never been able to escape.

Set the Deceiver drawing

 Runebound: Mists of Zanaga

Pencil on paper (paper size likely 9x12)

© 2010 Fantasy Flight Games

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

Revisiting the Monsters - Demon: Juiblex

In 2010, sixteen years ago now, I began a personal project to redesign most, if not all, of the monsters in the original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. That original MM had a profound effect on me and led me to eventually work on the game. While I was already working on the game when I began this project, it did prove useful as I have redesigned many D&D monsters in my career on the game. In the end, I completed over 100 drawings for the project and even had a gallery show featuring the work. 

I thought it would be nice to look back at some of my favorites. Today brings us back to my second pass through the book with the Demon: Juiblex. Enjoy!

Demon: Juiblex redesign (2011)
© 2011/2026 Christopher Burdett 

That's 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

Infinity Con 2026 Guest Announcement!

I am thrilled to announce that I will be returning as a guest to Infinity Con this coming July 11th and 12th in Tallahassee, FL. Infinity Con is a fantastic event, and it is always a joy to share my work with those in Tallahassee. Getting to sleep in your bed while also doing a convention is a treat. I will bring the Grand Bazaar with me again, so you can expect books, art, enamel pins, mystery print bundles, some new art, and more! I will share any additional details as we get closer to the event. Mark your calendars, and I will see you at the Donald Tucker Civic Center in less than a month.

Come see me and many others at Infinity Con this July 11th and 12th!

That's all for an 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

Gorgon Miniature

Today, I have for you a miniature based on one of my designs. I updated the Gorgon for the release of 5E. This is acutally the second release of a miniature for this design. An unpaintned version was released in 2021. This one is always a funny monster to me and is not the only time I have working on the Gorgon. To start things off, here is my design of the Gorgon. 

Gorgon - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Here are a pair of images of the miniature so that you can compare them to the design. 

Gorgon miniature

Monster Menagerie Revivisted 

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

Revisiting the Monsters - Beholder

In 2010, sixteen years ago now, I began a personal project to redesign most, if not all, of the monsters in the original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. That original MM had a profound effect on me and led me to eventually work on the game. While I was already working on the game when I began this project, it did prove useful as I have redesigned many D&D monsters in my career on the game. In the end, I completed over 100 drawings for the project and even had a gallery show featuring the work. 

I thought it would be nice to look back at some of my favorites. Today brings us back to the beginning with my second pass through the book with the Beholder. Enjoy!

Beholder redesign (2011)
© 2011/2026 Christopher Burdett 

That's 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

The Raccoon's Skull

A few years ago, I discovered the remains of a raccoon along my daily walk. I am unsure of its fate, but I would assume a car was involved. The body was a very short distance off the sidewalk in heavy brush. I covered it, marked the location, and allowed the elements to do their job. I watched over the remains, checking in on the status of the decomposition over many months. Finally, when the skull was free of organic remains, I harvested it and the jaw and brought it home. I cleaned the skull and got it ready to be reassembled. The skull sat as a pile of teeth, jaws, and skull for a while on top of my flatfile. Over the weekend, I finally removed this job from my mental to-do list and put the teeth I still had into the skull and assembled the jaw and got it ready for display. Now that it is all done, I thought I would share some images of it.

Raccoon Skull

Images © Christopher Burdett 2026

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