The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT: July 2013

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Chronicle of the Righteous Process - Demons and Kitties

On Monday I shared with you the first part of the process and steps that went into making my good monsters for the Pathfinder supplement, Chronicle of the Righteous. Today I have for you the remaining two pieces from the book. One is a demon having a bad day and the other is a little black kitty. So that we are all on the same page, here are how the final pieces that appeared in the book turned out...

Angel Spell and Agathion Familiar

For the Angel Spell, production wanted me to show vines representing all four season wrapping around the demon as every last hit point was squeezed out of it. At this stage in my career I can read an art order and get a feel for which pieces are going to take longer then the others... and when I things like "many vines representing the four seasons" I will be putting more time into this piece compared to others. Not that there is anything wrong in this... it is just how things are and getting a feel for it allows yo to budget your time so much better. As always, I got to work on some thumbnails... some very sloppy thumbnails actually, but I made the demon red for clarity of view for my art director...

Angel Spell - Thumbnails

All I knew going into this was that I needed to have a spiky winter vine wrapping across the demons mouth... NOMS! Options "B" was picked and I moved onto the drawing...

Angel Spell - Drawing

To be honest I should have spent just a little more time on this drawing. The demon's right hand and muzzle are a little off and I had to correct this in the painting. If I was not working digitally this might not have happened or would have been a lot harder. Another reason to take your time and do things right the first time! It is our craft and our job to do this right and if it takes a little longer to make sure things like the hands and face are perfect... then so be it. If the hands and faces are off in a piece then the whole piece is going to be off. Viewers always look to the face and hands.

Once I had the approved drawing the painting came together in eight easy steps (not really, because I had to stop half way through it and fix the face and hand)...

Angel Spell - Process

For the Agathion Familiar all I had to do is channel the inner spirit of our little bad black kitties. The only thing I had to do was give them violet eyes, white markings, and dial down the evil by about 110%...

Agathion Familiar - Thumbnails

Option "C" was picked for its attitude and I got to work on the final drawing...

Agathion Familiar - Drawing

Compared to the Angel Spell this piece was a piece of cake. While the Angel Spell may have required more time to complete this piece came together very quickly, so it all evens out in the end. Here are the eight easy steps (and many hours of work) that it took to back a very sassy kitty cat familiar...

Agathion Familiar - Process

That about wraps it all up. Demons wrapped in vines take awhile to paint and you need to make sure you draw it right the first time and cat monsters do much quicker if you have convenient reference in your house.

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, July 29, 2013

Chronicle of the Righteous Process - Feathered Friends

Back in June I brought you my contributions to the Pathfinder supplement, Chronicle of the Righteous, a book containing good leaning monsters. Today I have for you part one of the process steps that went into making these monsters. Since there are five of them I figured it would be best to split them up across two days, so the second half will show up on Wednesday.

Starting things off are a bunch of feathered friends... Tannagar, Shei, and Angelic Familiar. So that we are all on the same page, here are how the final pieces that appeared in the book turned out...

Tannagar, Shei, and Angelic Familiar

These all came together pretty much in the same set of step, just like the rest of my work, but since they are on a white background... or rather a transparent background I have to build the image up slightly differently. Once I have an approved drawing to work from I use the lasso tool to make a silhouette of the image that all other layers are masked to. This allows me to be a sloppy as I want to be without worry about the outer edge of the figure. This does not mean that the silhouette remains untouched and unchanged. I will go back and add or subtract from it through out the painting process to make sure the image works. Here is a graphic that hopefully will help explain it better...

Image breakdown with mask layer on bottom

For me, this works very well for creating an isolated figure that needs to be separate from the background. But as I always say, you need to find what works well for you and this method might not. I know there are many other ways to go about creating an image like this.

Since these are all very similar in the process and the only elements that are different are the images I think we will just fly through them and if anything needs to be pointed out I will mention it... other then that... lots of things to look at...

Tannagar - Thumbnails

The original thumbnail for option 'B' did not have the normal sized owls in it. They were a request by production so that you could get a feel for just how big Tannagar was. I added them and resubmitted and they really do help the image a lot.

Tannagar - Drawing

Tannagar - Process

Shei - Thumbnails

You might notice that option 'A' is taller then the other two. This was another production request. They felt that she was a little to short in the legs so I lengthened her and resubmitted.

Shei - Drawing

Shei - Process

If the left hand looks a little weird in the process step by step that is because near the end of painting Shei I felt the hand was just in the wrong position and maybe the wrong size. To deal with that I had to adjust the masking silhouette layer as well as the painting layer. This will sometimes create very weird looking effects when it is all finished.

Angelic Familiar - Thumbnails

Angelic Familiar - Drawing

Reference is your friend. Wings are complicated and can look instantly wrong if you are not careful. I looked at a lot of birds in flight to make sure I got these to look and feel correct.

Angelic Familiar - Process

That is all for the process that went into these. I will have the remaining two for you on Wednesday!

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 26, 2013

Horusians

The toned monsters continue to appear... they are growing stronger, faster, more aggressive... as if they mean to take over... THE WORLD. Or not. Anyway... this time around I revisited the Horusians that I did for the most excellent blog, The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe REDUXE Edition (OHOTMU Reduxe). This piece was generally well received and was said to be the favorite of the all the alien redesigned by many people. I like it a lot too so it only seemed logical that I give it some toned paper love and here is how it turned out...

Horusians

9 x 12 - Pencil on toned paper
Original - SOLD

It is hard to go wrong when pulling from the rich and layered imagery and design of the ancient Egyptians. ...well, you can, that is besides the point. I did this piece originally before visiting London when I could see real artifacts of Egypt so I would have done things a little different, but this is an alien... so it all works out. Also, this was the second of my warm up / practice toned paper pieces. I was feeling really good about the new paper after the Turtle Frog but once I finished this one I knew I was making a smart choice to move onto the paper for when I want to make a more finished drawing... RAWR!

For those attending Gen Con you will have a chance to see the Horusians in person and even buy him and take him home with you! Give the Horusians a good home!

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 24, 2013

Lubash the Ogre - Process

Way back in April I brought you Lubash, the wily Ogre, from the updated Village of Hommlet article from the March issue of Dungeon Magazine (issue #212). Looks like it has only taken me till July to share with you the process that went into this piece. To start things off let's have a look at how the final Lubash turned out...

Lubash the Ogre - The Village of Hommlet

Those who are connected with my on Facebook are probably all too familiar with this image since it is my current avatar. I knew from the moment it was done that it was becoming my new avatar... one because I was happy with how it turned out, and two, I had a lot of fun posing for the reference and there is a lot of me in Lubash. Did I say something about reference? Yes I did! Because I shot reference with dramatic lighting first and foremost with this piece. Since it was a monster portrait I knew what I wanted to do and the look I was going for. I shot the reference I knew I needed to make sure this piece hit the mark.

Once the reference was shot I got to work on some thumbnails to flesh out my ideas... I say ideas, but I really had one I REALLY wanted to do...

Lubash the Ogre - Thumbnails

Yeah, option 'A' was the piece I wanted to make... from the moment I got the assignment. Sometimes that happens and when it does it can be hard to get it out of my mind and to work up some other options. Cause you never know, that first awesome idea might just be crap. I had a good feeling that it would not be crap and I had my fingers crossed. Production ended up picking 'A' so it all worked out! With an approved thumbnails it was time to get started on the drawing...

Lubash the Ogre - Drawing

RAWR! Lubash is starting to take shape! I revisited my reference and pulled a lot of myself into the piece and worked up the final drawing. My, that skull tied to his beard is cool... look at all those marks, he must have killed a lot of people and must be a real monstrous ogre. I was so proud of myself for thinking of adding that detail... Only thing is, production didn't really notice it in the thumbnail. It was not until the final drawing that it stood out... and they thought it stood out too much and would be distracting and I was asked to remove it before moving onto the final painting. No worries, that is how it goes sometime. Also, since they didn't use it it is still my idea and I can use it on another project or on one of my own pieces! Now that I had a more or less approved drawing it was time to get to painting...

Lubash the Ogre - Process

I had a very clear idea and some really strong reference to work from so this piece really came together quickly. I may say that a lot it feels... but this one really did just seem to paint itself. After drawing / painting out the beard skull it was smooth sailing to the finish line. I can't say enough about having good reference. It helped this piece SO much. Posing in a strong direct light with a back light showed me everything I need to know to make this piece work. Granted, I was not married to the reference, but having it showed me the path and allowed me to deviate when necessary for the sake of the piece... rather then blindly stumbling down an unknown path trying to figure out what I was doing a long the way. REFERENCE! Use it people! Anyway... Once the piece was finished and turned in I was ask to make a vignette out of it. Apparently making it a vignette at the end reduced a lot of problems faced along the way for production and it was a lot better for them. I was all too happy to make the requested modification and the piece was done.

Here is how the piece finally turned out once vignetted...

Lubash the Ogre - The Village of Hommlet - Final

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, July 22, 2013

What's in the box?! 2013 Edition...

Looks like John Doe is up to his old tricks again and sent me a strange box that no doubt contains the head of a loved one... OR it might be something totally different and not creepy like in years past... as in 2012, 2011, and 2010. With Gen Con only a few weeks away I have a good guess at what this box could contain...

The unsuspecting cardboard box... what mysteries do you contain to tantalize or haunt us?

It is not a head at all... but a mighty stack of books!

HOLY CRAP! creatura libri 4, AND there is a DRAGON on the cover... I am a marketing GENIUS!

Just look at all those monsters! Page after page of monsters!

32 new pages that are just crammed full of monsters! RAWR!

creatura libri 4 will be available for purchase starting at Gen Con in August followed by Illuxcon in September, after that, remaining copies will be available to the general public. If you missed any of my previous sketchbooks I will have copies of creatura libri, creatura libri 2, and creatura libri 3 available at Gen Con as well. Please be aware that supplies will be limited for the first two books. As before, creatura libri 4 has space in the front so that I can personalize it with an original drawing if you so choose.

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 19, 2013

Toned Frog Turtle

The toned monsters have begun to appear in greater numbers. Kind of... You might remember the wily Airport Frog Turtle that I worked on while traveling to the Illustration Master Class. The Frog Turtle was the first of my monsters that I tried out taking to a more finished state on toned paper and here is how it turned out...

Frog Turtle

9 x 12 - Pencil on toned paper
Original - SOLD

When I compare the original and the toned version it is funny how much more finished the toned version feels to me. The original was a totally finished drawing for me at the time, not anything I would do differently or add/subtract. It is a finished drawing. Now I do the toned version... and my feelings change a bit. Not in a bad way, I am just getting a better feeling for my drawings and what I can do with them.

When I decided I was going to start up these toned drawings the Frog Turtle (or Frotle... or Turg?) was the first and clear choice. I really liked how it turned out and it just seemed 'right' for the first test run. I think I chose correctly! RAWR!

For those attending Gen Con you will have a chance to see the Frog Turtle in person and even buy him and take him home with you! Give the Frog Turtle a good home!

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

Thursday, July 18, 2013

A preview of things to come!

We interrupt this Thursday with a special blog post...

This never happens, but I have a chance to show you what I am working on RIGHT NOW for an upcoming article of Dragon Magazine! Looks like the folks over at WotC were so happy with my sketch of a Neogi that Steve Winter (Producer of Dragon and Dungeon online, writer, game designer, and owlbear wrangler) tweeted the drawing yesterday. Which means I can now share it with you! The Neogi is riding an UMBER HULK!

Neogi

Having a piece approved is always nice... and the goal of every painting, but having production share the drawing of the not yet completed painting is a compliment on another level altogether. Thanks to Steve and Kate, really happy to hear that you all are digging this piece! No pressure on me now to make sure I do a really good job on the painting!

There will be more on this in the fullness of time... later in the year.

That's all for a unexpected Thursday blog post, see you back here tomorrow for some more RAWRS! 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 17, 2013

The Anatomy of Elemental Evil

The July issue of Dragon magazine is out and I am happy to share with you my second contribution to this issue. If you missed the first, check out the post on Monday! Dragon #425 features the article, The Anatomy of Elemental Evil, and the wife had very little involvement with the reference of this one. I summoned my inner Elder Elemental Eye in the Plane of Elemental Chaos and this is what I came up with...

The Anatomy of Elemental Evil

Okay, let's see... tentacles, CHECK... LAVA tentacles, DOUBLE CHECK! I love the assignments that after reading the art description the only question I have is, "Does the column need to have tentacles, or is the column MADE of tentacle?" After all those Mephits and this Elder Elemental Eye I have taken care of more then my share of lava and vapor. Funny how things come across my desk in waves... kinda like Trandoshans... but I digress. Hey look, that thing has LAVA TENTACLES! That's pretty cool!

As always, I would like to thank Kate Irwin for involving me on this project and for her art direction! In the coming weeks I will have for you my thumbnails, sketches, and a process step by step breakdowns for this pieces.

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, July 15, 2013

Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest

The July issue of Dragon magazine is out and I am happy to share with you one of my contributions to this issue. Dragon #425 features the article, Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest, and the wife was nice enough to let me have a slime creature eat her face off. Without any further explanation I present to you a slime monster in a chest...

Eye on the Realms: Forgotten in a Chest

At the time it seemed like a totally logical series of events... get assignment for a slime creature eating the face off of a thief then turning to the wife and asking her if she wanted to get killed in D&D. She has expressed interest in modeling for and appearing in my illustrations... I come to find out that this was NOT what she meant. Silly me! I could not have done this piece without her laying on the kitchen floor, and I think that is what really matters :)

As always, I would like to thank Kate Irwin for involving me on this project and for her art direction! In the coming weeks I will have for you my thumbnails, sketches, and a process step by step breakdowns for this pieces.

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday for more new monsters! 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 12, 2013

A New Challenger Appears...

I have been drawing on the same paper (Bienfang Graphics 360 Marker Paper) with the same stylus (Prismacolor black colored pencils) for about 8 or 9 years now. LOVE this paper and pencil combination. A 1000 monsters have come to life on this paper with these pencils. This is not all changing... but a new challenger as appeared to get my attention and time... TONED PAPER! It is not like I didn't know it existed, but for some reason I just didn't think it was right for me. Well, at the Illustration Master Class this year my eyes have been opened and I see a new path for some of my work. I have been frantically practicing and experimenting with the new papers and I am happy to share with you one of my finished drawings...

Horned Demon

9 x 12

colored pencil on toned paper

What does this all mean? For one I now have a more finished drawing that I feel in and of itself is a finished piece. I think all of my other drawings are finished... but I am not sure that is felt by all of the public. I feel that these pieces on toned paper are, to me at least, much closer to a finished piece of Art (big 'a') and has gotten me thinking about future options and opportunities for my work. This also means I will have two originals for any of my drawings I take to a finished toned state... the toned drawing and the black and white sketch/drawing. Similar original products at different price points. Hopefully this mean that my work will be ending up in more people's hands as well. So if you have been wanting to own my originals, now is the time to act! I am going to have a lot of my drawings and sketches with me at Gen Con and Illuxcon and they will be reflecting my new pricing! I will leave you with the black and white version of the demon drawing...

Horned Demon

9 x 12

colored pencil on paper

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

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Icetromper - Process

Today I have for you a look at the process and steps that went in the Icetromper that I shared with you back in March. You might remember that the Icetromper was part of the Desolation of Hoth expansion for the Star Wars card game. Before we get things started let's have a look at the final Icetromper to refresh our memories...

Icetromper

This process should be familiar with anyone who frequents the blog, but with each painting there are unique events and unexpected... um, hiccups(?) along the way. The Icetromper is no different and had a rather interesting hiccup in production, but I will get to that in time.

I am very knowledgeable of the Star Wars Universe, but I can't know about everything. Case in point... the Icetromper. I have not played the video game for which they were created for so this was a new critter to become familiar with. After a little research I felt comfortable with what these beasts look like and I was ready to get started. As always, I started with thumbnails...

Icetromper - Thumbnails

Thumbnail "B" was picked. There was some evolution with the card layout, chrome, and proportions for the art in the early stages of the SW card game. The Icetromper was one of those transition pieces for me... from the templates I had been using to the templates I am using now. Production sent back to me the chosen thumbnail in the template to show me what I needed to be aware of as I moved forward with the drawing...

Icetromper - Selected thumbnail in template

Now that the arrangement and placement was all worked out and approved I got stated on the final drawing. The drawing was really straight forward and since so much of the image was to be the frozen desolation of Hoth there was not a lot to draw besides the Icetromper...

Icetromper - Drawing

The drawing was approved quickly and I got started on the final. It came together fairly quickly and I turned it in confident in the image...

Icetromper - Final... or so I thought

Wow! That was quick and painless. Done and done! ... huh? Wait, what?

So, there was a little revision note on the final after I turned it in... They just needed the image rotated... juuuuuuuust a little bit. This is when I am SO thankful to be working digitally. They sent me back a visual guide so that I was aware of how much needed to be adjusted...

Icetromper - Final revision requests

So I got to work filling in all that red space. Here is a look at the process of the Icetromper including the final revision so you can get a feel of what was all involved with that level of revision to the final...

Icetromper - Process

I should count myself lucky. Most of what I had to fill in and deal with was sky... not figures, heavily detailed creature, or architecture. And of course I was not working traditionally which would have required a digital fix or heavy modification. I got through it and the painting was finished and approved. Here again is how the piece final piece turned out as well as the final production trading card...

Icetromper

Icetromper in handy card form

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, July 8, 2013

Fresh from the drawing table... Cerebral Parasite!

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Cerebral Parasite! I realize it has been a little while since I have done one of these after being so diligent about posting them weekly. I will try to do better... after Gen Con. "C" continues to offer up many monsters and this time around I went with something I had first not anticipated having a lot of fun with. I present to you my version of a Cerebral Parasite…

Cerebral Parasite

The Cerebral Parasite is described as being a microscopic parasite of the mind... but what is it wasn't? What if it was really big and if just could not be seen but still had a taste for brains? Microscopic is all well and good and some of our worst real world monsters are microscopic... but in a fantasy gaming world of high adventure... do you really want your hero dieing at the hands of an unseen brain parasite? I realize a huge invisible or undetectable monster with tentacles ready to NOMS your brain isn't necessarily better... but it has the potential to be more epic a death...

As a side note, if you are still reading this... This personal project of mine, to redesign EVERYTHING in the original D&D Monster Manual is going through some changes as I get a better feel for it and take a realistic look at what I am doing with it. While it is DEFINITELY continuing I am going to be going about it a little differently. Starting now I am going back to the beginning of the alphabet and will finish off all the remaining "A" monsters, followed by the remaining "B" monsters, and lastly the remaining "C" monsters. At this point I should have a better idea for the scope of the next step of this project I have given myself. More info on this as it happens! 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 5, 2013

The monster that waits...

Yesterday was a US holiday and today is that weird limbo day between holiday and weekend... so I was not sure I was going to get to the blog today. Well, with the help of one of my monsters I was able to make it happen. A monster I drew while waiting in line to see the most recent Tallahassee Roller Girls home bout arrived on the blog to save the day! 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, July 3, 2013

Alien Races - Rhunians to R'zahnians - OHOTMU Reduxe

I have recently contributed again to the extremely awesome The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe REDUXE Edition (OHOTMU Reduxe) blog. You will remember that this blog is redesigning, reinventing, and otherwise recreating all of the entries in the Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe. My previous batch of aliens can be found HERE. For me second contribution I tackled (big surprise) another group of aliens, I present to you my take on the Alien Races - Rhunians to R'zahnians...

Like the first set these were all incredibly fun to work on. It should be notes that took many liberties with the Rhunians... but what else am I suppose to do when I have to redesign a 300 foot tall pink man in his underwear... Here are some larger images of each of my redesigns so you can get a better look at the finals...

It was very enjoyable to get to work in this looser quicker style to finish these up. It has given me a lot of ideas on what else to do with this level of finish for my own work. Here is a look at the drawings and ink work that went into each of the alien redesigns...

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