RAWR!
That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here in early January! 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 20, 2017
Blog Holiday Break
It's the end of the year. It's the holidays. It's super busy. I have a ton of things going on. All that said, I need to take a blog break for the next 2 weeks to catch my breath, get some stuff done, try to relax, and get geared up for all the work I have a head of me in 2018. I hope you all have a great rest of the year and that your new year festivities go well! I will see you in early January again here on the blog with lots to talk about. Here AGAIN is a monster eating a computer ... because I like to have an image in my posts ... and I did not have time to come up with something new...
That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here in early January! Until then...
For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com
That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here in early January! 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 18, 2017
Good Bye Deviant Art: Update
A month ago I shared with you the straw that broke the camel's back in regards to my usage of Deviant Art. Not unexpectedly, DA has an archaic process to delete your own account. After going through the list of questions regarding the reason for deactivating the account, multiple verification that you in fact want to deactivate your account, you then have to wait an entire month before DA will actually remove all of your content from their servers. Well, it has been a month and it now looks like all of my content has FINALLY been removed. This all took far too long, but thankfully it is over. People will now have to come to my blog or website to steal my work from now on. I wish I felt better about all this, but I fear too much damage has already been done and I have simply killed the patient in an attempt to stop the bleeding...
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
So long and good bye...
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
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Pensacon 2018 Guest Announcement
I am happy to announce that I will be returning as a guest to Pensacon this coming February 23-25! This will be my third time as a guest at Pensacon and I could not be happier to return. I LOVE Pensacon and have had an amazing time these past two years attending. Not enough good things can be said about Pensacon and I hope to see you there!
The panel list has yet to be announced, but I expect to be a part of a few panels. I will update with the schedule here on the blog once it is posted. Again, if you are in the gulf coast area and want to have a super fun con experience then I highly recommend Pensacon!
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. There will be no post on Friday due to the Star Wars holiday, I will 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
I will see you at Pensacon February 23-25, 2018!
The panel list has yet to be announced, but I expect to be a part of a few panels. I will update with the schedule here on the blog once it is posted. Again, if you are in the gulf coast area and want to have a super fun con experience then I highly recommend Pensacon!
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. There will be no post on Friday due to the Star Wars holiday, I will 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
Monday, December 11, 2017
Announcing My New Mailing List!
If you attended Illuxcon in October this is not new information, but for everyone else I have set up my very first mailing list. If you would like to be the first to hear everything that is happening in The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia as well as major updates in my art career then I strongly suggest that you sign up for my brand new mailing list!
If you want to see things first, get special previews, secret tidbits, and find out about major advancements in the Grand Bazaar project... then you know what to do, MAILING LIST! Be the envy of your friends and enemies by signing up for this most excellent of mailing lists and be in the know on all kinds of monstery goodness. RAWR!
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
If you want to see things first, get special previews, secret tidbits, and find out about major advancements in the Grand Bazaar project... then you know what to do, MAILING LIST! Be the envy of your friends and enemies by signing up for this most excellent of mailing lists and be in the know on all kinds of monstery goodness. RAWR!
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 8, 2017
Looking Back: Bloodspear Orc Archer - Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures
Today I am looking back at a miniature design produced for the Dungeons
& Dragons miniature game ten years ago that I have neither shared
nor was it ever actually made. The assignment was to design an Orc archer for the miniatures game. Ten years on, of course,
we can see that the miniature was never made. Here is a look at the never produced Bloodspear Orc Archer...
This design was created at the same time I created the unfortunate Orc Raider. In fact I worked on a whole bunch of Orc miniatures all at the same time and only the Orc Raider saw production. The Orc Raider was easily one of the most despised miniatures I ever designed. People just did not like how the mini turned out and I got to hear all about it. I wonder if any of these other Orcs would have been looked upon better if they had been made. Here is a look at the full turnaround of the Bloodspear Orc Archer...
I was really happy with how this and another archer turned out. I was really excited to work on some archers and was looking forward to seeing them as minis. Alas, that never happen. But I still have the drawings... kind of. This piece, much like ALL of the Orc minis that I designed went through a lot of revisions when it came to the face and postures. Not sure if I was misunderstanding the reference I was given, that things were changing on the production end of things as I was working on these, or that I was dealing with the fact I was doing fully rendered drawings instead of sketches as I worked on this... or all of the above. Here is a look at the various stages that the Bloodspear Orc Archer went through before being approved...
My goal with a lot of my work was to have a great looking drawing at the end of it. These minis were no exception. Unfortunately, since I was creating fully rendered drawings instead of sketches, when there were changes I did not have the time or energy to completely redraw everything. Instead I would draw new parts on new sheets of paper and then digitally composite them on and may digital edits. This left me with a single great drawing for the side and back views, a great drawing of the front that looked different than the other views, and multiple sheets of paper with a pair of legs on one, a head on another, and an arm on a third. At some point there may be a collector that is really into this and will think it is pretty cool, but I still wish I had ended up with a clean perfect final drawing of the approved front view. Oh well. At least I got to design a cool Orc archer!
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
Bloodspear Orc Archer
9 x 12 - Pencil on paper (multiple sheets)
© 2007 Wizards of the Coast LLC
This design was created at the same time I created the unfortunate Orc Raider. In fact I worked on a whole bunch of Orc miniatures all at the same time and only the Orc Raider saw production. The Orc Raider was easily one of the most despised miniatures I ever designed. People just did not like how the mini turned out and I got to hear all about it. I wonder if any of these other Orcs would have been looked upon better if they had been made. Here is a look at the full turnaround of the Bloodspear Orc Archer...
Bloodspear Orc Archer Turnaround
9 x 12 - Pencil on paper (multiple sheets)
© 2007 Wizards of the Coast LLC
I was really happy with how this and another archer turned out. I was really excited to work on some archers and was looking forward to seeing them as minis. Alas, that never happen. But I still have the drawings... kind of. This piece, much like ALL of the Orc minis that I designed went through a lot of revisions when it came to the face and postures. Not sure if I was misunderstanding the reference I was given, that things were changing on the production end of things as I was working on these, or that I was dealing with the fact I was doing fully rendered drawings instead of sketches as I worked on this... or all of the above. Here is a look at the various stages that the Bloodspear Orc Archer went through before being approved...
Bloodspear Orc Archer variants
9 x 12 - Pencil on paper (multiple sheets)
© 2007 Wizards of the Coast LLC
My goal with a lot of my work was to have a great looking drawing at the end of it. These minis were no exception. Unfortunately, since I was creating fully rendered drawings instead of sketches, when there were changes I did not have the time or energy to completely redraw everything. Instead I would draw new parts on new sheets of paper and then digitally composite them on and may digital edits. This left me with a single great drawing for the side and back views, a great drawing of the front that looked different than the other views, and multiple sheets of paper with a pair of legs on one, a head on another, and an arm on a third. At some point there may be a collector that is really into this and will think it is pretty cool, but I still wish I had ended up with a clean perfect final drawing of the approved front view. Oh well. At least I got to design a cool Orc archer!
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 6, 2017
Krampusnacht
Last night was Krampusnacht and I couldn't let it pass without looking back to the Krampus drawing I did in 2013 for the Children of Yuletide show. I really enjoyed working on this piece and I am still really happy with how it turned out. I am actually kind of shocked I still have the original! Here is a look at Krampus in all its glory...
Since last night was Krampusnacht we made sure to take appropriate measures and leave alcohol in our shoes. You gotta make sure the monsters are satisfied!
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
© 2013
Since last night was Krampusnacht we made sure to take appropriate measures and leave alcohol in our shoes. You gotta make sure the monsters are satisfied!
Photo by Achsa Nute
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
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Art of Kaladesh Book
I am still playing catch up with many things that should have been on the blog months ago. On top of everything this post was suppose to be up yesterday. I guess when you are months behind another day won't hurt. More on this another day...
Today I have for you a look at a Magic the Gathering art book that came out earlier this year. Recently the good folks at Wizard of the Coast have been making these REALLY nice art books around each Magic the Gathering wave. I have been lucky enough to to be featured in two of them, which is nice. I have a history of missing out on these types of things, they either stop be the time I show up or start after I leave. Not this time! The Kaladesh books contains a TON of the amazing art created for the two Kaladesh expansions. These books are great since you can see the art much larger than you would on the cards.
I was really happy with how my work looked in the book. Two of my pieces made it in and I could not be happier. The Salivating Gremlins got the 3/4 spread treatment and the Narnam Cobra got a half page. Not sure I have much more to say. If you have a chance to get your hands on the book I highly recommend it! Here are some images of the pages for your viewing pleasure...
That is all for another Tuesday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday! Until then...
Today I have for you a look at a Magic the Gathering art book that came out earlier this year. Recently the good folks at Wizard of the Coast have been making these REALLY nice art books around each Magic the Gathering wave. I have been lucky enough to to be featured in two of them, which is nice. I have a history of missing out on these types of things, they either stop be the time I show up or start after I leave. Not this time! The Kaladesh books contains a TON of the amazing art created for the two Kaladesh expansions. These books are great since you can see the art much larger than you would on the cards.
The Art of Magic the Gathering - Kaladesh
I was really happy with how my work looked in the book. Two of my pieces made it in and I could not be happier. The Salivating Gremlins got the 3/4 spread treatment and the Narnam Cobra got a half page. Not sure I have much more to say. If you have a chance to get your hands on the book I highly recommend it! Here are some images of the pages for your viewing pleasure...
Salivating Gremlins
Narnam Cobra
That is all for another Tuesday 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 1, 2017
Looking Back: Hellborn Legionnaire - Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures
Today I am looking back at a miniature design produced for the Dungeons & Dragons miniature game ten years ago that I have neither shared nor was it ever actually made. The assignment was to design a new armored mutated demon for the miniatures game which I assumed would mean it would eventually make its way into the RPG. Ten years on, of course, we can see that neither of these things happened. Here is a look at the turnaround for the never produced Hellborn Legionnaire...
The assignment was fairly open ended: weird mutated demon, weird weapon, horns, misshaped body. Sounds good to me! I got to work on an initial version... back then I still had not gotten my head around thumbnails so I was still doing fully finished and rendered drawings for preliminary sketches. A lot of wasted time, but it sure did help with my speed and skill set. I do not advice this method of improvement. Here is the first version of the Hellborn Legionnaire...
Needless to say it did not hit the mark. I totally misunderstood the description of the new weird weapon, the body masses needed to be pushed more and made more extreme, and the horns need to be clearly on the demon's head and not look like they are part of the helmet/mask. All valid and all will help make this more interesting for sure. It would have been quicker and easier to have addressed with thumbnails, and I may have explored different avenues, but I didn't. As I have mentioned here on the blog before I was really self conscience about my skill set and abilities not too long ago and the idea of sending in sketchy concepts terrorized me. I felt like I would loss the job if I turned in a rough sketch. This is of course crazy thinking... but I did not know better and no one I was working with told me otherwise. Here is the second version of the Hellborn Legionnaire...
This version was very well received. Thankfully. It was approved without comment and I was given the go ahead to complete the turnaround. I love doing turnarounds and miss it a lot sometimes. Something so meditative about doing the back view, I know the silhouette and some of the major elements, but there is this huge space that I can fill with all kinds of detail. But I digress... Here is a look at the FIRST version of the turnaround for the Hellborn Legionnaire...
After the turnaround was all said and done, and approved if I remember correctly, there was an issue with the design. Someone in production realized there would be a molding undercut issue if the design went into production as is. I was asked to rotate the weapon arm outward so that the piece could work in a two art mold. These things happen. It would have been nice if it was caught earlier, but it wasn't. I ended up just drawing new weapon elements and adding them onto the original drawings digitally. Here is a comparison of the two versions of the turnaround...
No idea why this one never saw the light of day. It would have been a near little guy. No matter, I had fun designing it and I have the drawings to show for my time and effort. They all can't made!
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
Hellborn Legionnaire (Final) Turnaround
9 x 12 - Pencil on paper (multiple sheets)
© 2007 Wizards of the Coast LLC
The assignment was fairly open ended: weird mutated demon, weird weapon, horns, misshaped body. Sounds good to me! I got to work on an initial version... back then I still had not gotten my head around thumbnails so I was still doing fully finished and rendered drawings for preliminary sketches. A lot of wasted time, but it sure did help with my speed and skill set. I do not advice this method of improvement. Here is the first version of the Hellborn Legionnaire...
Hellborn Legionnaire Versions 1
9 x 12 - Pencil on paper
© 2007 Wizards of the Coast LLC
Needless to say it did not hit the mark. I totally misunderstood the description of the new weird weapon, the body masses needed to be pushed more and made more extreme, and the horns need to be clearly on the demon's head and not look like they are part of the helmet/mask. All valid and all will help make this more interesting for sure. It would have been quicker and easier to have addressed with thumbnails, and I may have explored different avenues, but I didn't. As I have mentioned here on the blog before I was really self conscience about my skill set and abilities not too long ago and the idea of sending in sketchy concepts terrorized me. I felt like I would loss the job if I turned in a rough sketch. This is of course crazy thinking... but I did not know better and no one I was working with told me otherwise. Here is the second version of the Hellborn Legionnaire...
Hellborn Legionnaire Versions 2
9 x 12 - Pencil on paper
© 2007 Wizards of the Coast LLC
This version was very well received. Thankfully. It was approved without comment and I was given the go ahead to complete the turnaround. I love doing turnarounds and miss it a lot sometimes. Something so meditative about doing the back view, I know the silhouette and some of the major elements, but there is this huge space that I can fill with all kinds of detail. But I digress... Here is a look at the FIRST version of the turnaround for the Hellborn Legionnaire...
Hellborn Legionnaire Version 1 Turnaround
9 x 12 - Pencil on paper (multiple sheets)
© 2007 Wizards of the Coast LLC
After the turnaround was all said and done, and approved if I remember correctly, there was an issue with the design. Someone in production realized there would be a molding undercut issue if the design went into production as is. I was asked to rotate the weapon arm outward so that the piece could work in a two art mold. These things happen. It would have been nice if it was caught earlier, but it wasn't. I ended up just drawing new weapon elements and adding them onto the original drawings digitally. Here is a comparison of the two versions of the turnaround...
Hellborn Legionnaire Turnaround Comparison
© 2007 Wizards of the Coast LLC
No idea why this one never saw the light of day. It would have been a near little guy. No matter, I had fun designing it and I have the drawings to show for my time and effort. They all can't made!
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
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