The Art Order - Ghost From My Past - A Jeff Easley Homage

A really awesome call for art by Jon Schindehette just concluded. Jon, through Art Order and Infected by Art asked that artist inspired by the amazing art of Jeff Easley please express that inspiration in the form of a piece of new art. You can get all the details HERE. Jeff's work VERY MUCH inspired me as a gamer and an artists and I had to take part in this call for art. Here is my submission...

  Monstrous Encounter

9 x 12

Pencil on paper

© 2014 Christopher Burdett

The cover art for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual 2 had a profound effect on me. It in many ways is the piece that changed how I look at monsters and art. This giant is not just some simpleton, empty headed animal, or just a wandering brute that simply acts on its id and destroys and eats. This giant comes from an organized society of giant folk that have craftsmen, armor-smiths, weapon-smiths, tailors, and everything else you need to be a fully developed well rounded unique species. This giant is a clear and definite threat that is not to be easily fooled and in most cases will be a victor in one on one combat. THIS is a monster. THIS is a monster that could be the hero of its own story. THIS monster is WAY more interesting to me then some traditional human, dwarf, or elf hero character.

Also, this is a piece of art that absolutely blew my mind as a kid. I just could not understand how someone could have possibly created this. So much detail and thought seemed to go into every aspect of the painting. I could not draw anything like this, let alone paint it... whatever or however painting done. It was like I was looking at some alien language that I could understand but could not speak or write. I wanted to know that language. I can look at this painting all day, it still holds all the power and excitement that it did the first time I laid eyes on it...

The AD&D Monster Manual 2... where monstrous imaginings begin... RAWR!

I got a little caught up in drawing this piece and forgot to take a lot of process photos, but I do have a few to share...

  Monstrous Encounter - process images

© 2014 Christopher Burdett

You can see the rest of the submissions to this event over on Infected by Art. I would have liked to have done a dozen more of these, maybe in the fullness of time there will be a moment of two more to devote to a piece inspired by the like long body of work produced by Jeff Easley. Thanks, Jeff, for all the magic you created for all of us!

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