Friday, December 30, 2022

Art Vs Artist and Top Nine 2022

One final blog post for 2022. This marks post 105 for 2022 as well. This is not the lowest number of posts for a year, but it is certainly not the highest. I will speak more about 2022 in the coming weeks, but I will say it has been another challenging year to make art - for innumerable reasons. But as I have said, that is for a convertions another day. For now, I will leave you with the 2022 year-end art vs. artist and the top nine images from this past year on Instagram. There is some crossover, but not much. 

Art vs. Artist 2022

Instagram Top Nine 2022

That's all for another year on the blog. I will try to have my year-in-review post up before the end of January, but that might be a hard goal to reach. I will see you back here in 2023! 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 23, 2022

You Know, Some Recent Artist Proof Drawings

Today I have more recent artist proofs that I added drawings to their backs. If you are interested in getting any of these for yourself, just follow the links to my store. This time, I drew a diverse grouping of monsters with a fish, a card, and a demon dude.

Stinging Lionfish has been a popular card lately.

A cat was requested on the back of the peacock. Looks like the kitty got its claws into that bird.

Last but not least, is a monster demon dude. And to be honest, I don't recall which card it is on, but that is why the store keeps all these things backed up.

That is all for another exciting Friday on the blog. See you back here next week, maybe! 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 21, 2022

2022 Holiday Card - May holiday greetings come from near and far!

Another year and another holiday card. After some discussion regarding the theme of this year's card, we decided to go in a different direction than previous years. It is still a monster, but this time it is a SPACE monster, so it is totally different. This happy fellow brings glad tidings from space and hopes you may join him on his adventures. I present you with May holiday greetings come from near and far!  

May holiday greetings come from near and far! - 2022 Holiday Card
9x12 - Pencil and acrylic paint on paper
© 2021 Christopher Burdett

Lastly, here are the card exterior and interior so you can get a feel for what it looks like in its entirety. This was another fun piece to make, and I hope it was enjoyed by all! I should start thinking about what I want to do for next year, but that will likely not happen until October or November.

2022 Holiday Card exterior
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

2022 Holiday Card interior
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

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, December 19, 2022

The Gathering is the Magic Clip: "Christopher Burdett - I don't care about the knight tell me about the DRAGON!"

At Gen Con, I had an excellent opportunity to speak with the folks behind the upcoming documentary about Magic the Gathering, The Gathering is the Magic. It was a lot of fun and always a good time to talk about art, monsters, and more. They have been sharing clips from the film on social media, and I have already been one of the featured clips. I am happy to share a second clip that dropped last week.

The Gathering is the Magic - A documentary about how Magic the Gathering brings people together, fosters friendship and inspires with art and storytelling.
 
This time, I talked a bit about my love of monsters, why I like monsters, and what monsters mean to me. I think I can talk endlessly on this subject, but here are two minutes. I can speak of metaphor, symbolism, and more, but at the end of the day, for me, monsters are about 100000x cooler than the heroes. But that is my view of things, and I have made a career of it! Enjoy the clip, and check out what else The Gathering is the Magic has been sharing!

Tell me about the DRAGON. I do not care about the knight.

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

Friday, December 16, 2022

D&D Starter Set: Dragons of Stromwreck Isle - The Return of the Kobold Sorcerer and Fire Snake

It recently came to my attention that the newest Starter Set for Dungeons & Dragons, Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, features a return of two of my monsters. I try to keep an eye out when there are new D&D releases that I didn't directly work on because you never know when a familiar monster might make an encore appearance. To start things off, here is a look at the front of the box for this new Starter Set.

D&D Starter Set: Dragons of Stromwreck Isle is now available wherever games are sold and even in some big box stores. 

This time, the monsters making a return appearance were the Kobold Sorcerer and the Fire Snake. I like both of these a lot, and it is fun to see that they are getting some additional D&D love. I hope they make the adventure fun for all the players. Here is a look at the final paintings for the Kobold and the Fire Snake.

Kobold Sorcerer
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Emi Tanji
© 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Fire Snake
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Daniel Gelon
© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Lastly, here are a pair of images of the pieces printed in the Starter Set. I think they both printed beautifully, even if the photos of the pages don't show it. I hope this particular Kobold gets its own miniature one day. The Fire Snake already has, but I would love to see how the fire dragon spell would look as transparent plastic in miniature. One can hope...

Kobold Sorcerer and Fire Snake for all your Kobold Sorcerer and Fire Snake needs!

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 14, 2022

Dragon Playmat and Mouse Pad CLEARANCE

UPDATE: ALL items are SOLD, Thank you!  

I am down to my final Rhaegal and Viserion playmats and my final Rhaegal and Viserion mouse pads. As they are the last and final I will ever have available, I have HEAVILY marked them down and am ready to be done with them. This is the perfect chance to get a last-minute stocking stuffer for that special dragon lover or as a treat for yourself. Head to my store to get yours today before they are gone forever.

Dragon Playmat and Mouse Pad CLEARANCE!

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, December 12, 2022

Welcome to My Studio

The cat is out of the bag after this past weekend, so I would like to formally share a look at my studio. Over the past six months, we finally made a dream a reality. This is something we had talked about for seventeen years, but it took COVID, lockdown, and finally working entirely remotely. Something needed to happen because working from the kitchen table had finally gotten old after two years. Not to mention I needed a better-dedicated space to make my art. 

The last six months had a lot of ups and downs when it came to getting the studio finished, but in the end, it all turned out better than I had hoped. For those wondering, we did hire people to do the work since this was all out of our skill sets. There were a lot of plates to keep spinning in all of this as we were working to have the studio completed before I had to have my office at the day job emptied. Management was super supportive and accommodating as they gave me as much extra time to get my personal items packed and moved. That move was in September, and since then, I have been working on getting things fully set up, moved in, unpacked, and back to work. It was easy to get settled into the day job work, but to start making art again took a little bit of adjusting. I am glad to say I am adjusted, and art is being made in the studio! That is enough talk about the studio; here are some images of it.

The left side of the studio is where the work takes place.

The right side of the studio is for display and storage.

The ceiling remains open giving vertical space, access to some additional storage, and a nice space to hang some ships. More will be added in the fullness of time.
 
There had been some concern about where my action figures would go. Well, that has been taken care of.
 
Here are two images that should give a better impression of the entire space.

Lastly, next to my drawing table are two shelves that contain everything I have worked on for the gaming industry and beyond. Just a few items over the past seventeen-plus years.

Here are some additional images of the studio taking shape, including these first images of what it looked like before the work began. The space had been hit by termites a while back, and we had been treating it since. 

This space had the potential; we needed only to unlock it.

Jump ahead to after a lot of work has been done. The moment the walls were up, the space began to change. The space also felt bigger once the walls were in.

I tried not to look at the progress at the end of each day, but it was hard to resist as things took shape.

After months of work, the space was ready to move into. After all that work by others, it was time for me to start my work. It was more involved and took longer than I expected, but it is the way of these things. Here was the space right before I moved everything in. I had moved some of my contributor copies out, but there was still much to do. 

White walls and plenty of space, soon I will fill it with things that please me.

It has already proven to be a great space to work in, and was something I did not know I was missing. I now have a private space to think, read, make art, and work. I look forward to making a lot of art here.

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 9, 2022

Aartuk Elder Miniature

Today, I have for you a miniature based on one of my illustrations. I painted a pair of Aartuk for Spelljammer Adventures in Space. This is kind of a twofer, as the miniature is for the Aartuk Elder, but its pose is more in line with the Aartuk Warrior. Either way, it turned out great, and I am thrilled to see another miniature based on my work. To start things off, here are my paintings of the Aartuk.

Aartuk Elder
Spelljammer Adventures in Space
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin
© 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC
 
Aartuk Warrior
Spelljammer Adventures in Space
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin
© 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I do love a nice looking miniature, so I am really liking what the Aartuk Elder has going for it. This would be such a fun piece to put down on the gaming table for the players to interact with. Is it a friend or a foe? You better role well! I can't wait to see which of my illustrations is next to become a mini. In the meantime, here are some photos of the Aartuk Elder miniature.

The Aartuk Elder miniature for all your Aartuk Elder miniature needs. 
 
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, December 7, 2022

The King is Dead. Long Live the King!

For over seventeen years, my trusty Cintiq has been by my side through thick and thin, the ups and the downs, the easy pieces, and the extremely difficult ones. Throughout the majority of my career, this has been the most consistent and reliable piece of equipment that I have had. I am not sure if these were built to last seventeen years, but I can tell you that the other computers, connectors, and operating systems never made it easy to keep this Cintiq going. I had to use an old computer and a series of dongles to use it for years. 

But sadly, we finally reached a point of no return. The older computer was so old that basic functionalities were slowly being phased out, and there wasn't an update to the OS in years. The computer was finally the final nail in the coffin. Without a computer with very old drivers and enough dongles to connect it, this mighty Cintiq has now become nothing more than a doorstop. Not the ending fitted to a device that I created so, SO, SOOOOOOOOOOO much on, but it is the sad fate for a lot of electronic devices.

This Cintiq has seen many things - horrors and wonders from beyond space and time.

The king is dead. Long live the king! With a new computer at my side, it was only fitting to be paired with a new Cintiq. It was long overdue for a full update to my system, which finally happened over the past few months. After reaching a stopping point in my workflow last week, it was finally time to set everything up. Migration to the new computer started at about 90 hours but eventually reduced to a couple of days. Then there was getting settings, logins, and preferences all back up and working as needed. After all that, I am happy to say that my new Cintiq, with its fancy ergonomic stand, is powered up and working.

It will take some time to adjust to the new Cintiq, but I think it will work fine.

On a side note, there are a lot of cascading effects of getting a new computer, like all of the other equipment you have been nursing for years, finally reaches its limits. Here is an example of a dongle chain that has kept a piece of equipment going for over twenty years. It finally has reached its end as well. It was a huge surprise to find out a replacement device would be around twenty dollars. The old one cost many times that much over twenty years ago. It was quicker, easier, and cheaper to replace it rather than try to extend the dongle chain. In a day or two, my entire computer setup will be replaced and updated. First time in a LONG time, but it should keep me set for the foreseeable future.

Dingle dongle

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, December 5, 2022

Magic: The Gathering in Miniature Show

I am thrilled to announce that I will be part of the Magic: The Gathering in Miniature Show, taking place at Nucleus Gallery in Alhambra, CA. From January 21, 2023- February 5, 2023, a collection of Magic the Gathering cards with drawings and paintings on their back will be on display. After that, for the following year, the cards will be available online through the gallery. There is a press release and a show page for the gallery that has all the information, previews, details, and artist list. I will have three pieces in the show, and one has already been previewed.

Beholder #3
Acrylic on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

I did a series of Beholder pieces for the show. One is in ink, one is in marker and ink, and the fully painted piece above. I will share the other two cards closer to the show. Check out the links to see more art, the artists participating, and everything related to this fantastic event. And if you are in the area, there is also an opening reception. Finally, a huge thanks to Donny Caltrider for inclusion in the show!

That's all for another exciting Monday. 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 2, 2022

The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia at PAX Unplugged this Weekend!

If you attend PAX Unplugged this weekend and stop by the Hit Point Press booth 3631, you can get your hands on The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia! I am not attending, but the book is. Hit Point Press has limited copies of the illustrated novel and the 5R stats guide available. I had a great time talking with the folks from HPP at IX this year, and now we are testing the waters by offering my books at their booth. I am excited to see where this leads, and I hope it gets my world in front of many more people. Here are some images that were sent to me of the books in the booth.

Be sure to stop by booth 3631 to check out all the fantastic books available at the Hit Point Press booth.

That's all for another exciting week on the blog... a surprise second post of the day. 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

20% OFF HOLIDAY SALE Ends Tonight!

My holiday sale ends tonight at midnight (EST)!

EVERYTHING on my store is 20% off when you use code Ethra! You heard me right, get 20% off art, artist proofs, books, and everything else when you use the code Ethra! You have until midnight Friday, December 2nd, to take advantage of this discount. Do not miss this chance to get a discount off gifts for friends, family, and yourself at 20% off.

And, ALL orders will receive an Ethra Crest or Construct Guide enamel pin for FREE!

Head to my store and use code Ethra to save 20% storewide!

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, November 30, 2022

More Recent Artist Proof Drawings

Today I have more recent artist proofs that I added drawings to their backs. If you are interested in getting any of these for yourself, just follow the links to my store. This time, I added an angry Bribe Taker on the back of a Bribe taker and a conky Lathnu Sailback on the back of a Lathnu Sailback

And don't forget, the holiday sale continues! EVERYTHING on my store is 20% off when you use code Ethra! You heard me right, get 20% off art, artist proofs, books, and everything else when you use the code Ethra! You have until midnight Friday, December 2nd, to take advantage of this discount.

The Bribe Taker gnashes its teeth at the prospect of taking some bribes.

Conky Lathnu Sailback doing important conky Lathnu Sailback things.

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, November 28, 2022

20% OFF SALE Continues with CYBER MONDAY and BEYOND!

The sale continues! EVERYTHING on my store is 20% off when you use code Ethra! You heard me right, get 20% off art, artist proofs, books, and everything else when you use the code Ethra! You have until midnight Friday, December 2nd, to take advantage of this discount. Do not miss this chance to get a discount off gifts for friends, family, and yourself at 20% off. 

Remember to use code Ethra to get that in on that discount action.  

AND, starting over, the next TEN orders will receive an Ethra Crest or Construct Guide enamel pin for FREE!

Head to my store and use code Ethra to save 20% storewide!

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

Friday, November 25, 2022

20% OFF BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

EVERYTHING on my store is 20% off when you use code Ethra! You heard me right, get 20% off art, artist proofs, books, and everything else when you use the code Ethra! You have until midnight Friday, December 2nd, to take advantage of this discount. Do not miss this chance to get a discount off gifts for friends, family, and yourself at 20% off. Remember to use code Ethra to get that in on that discount action. AND, the first TEN orders will receive either an Ethra Crest or Construct Guide enamel pin for FREE!


Head to my store and use code Ethra to save 20% storewide!

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, November 23, 2022

Blufferfish in the Wild

During IX, I sold both drawings related to the Blufferfish from the Unfinity set of Magic the Gathering. The toned paper value study found its forever home with Matthew Vercant and now can be seen at Just Games Rochester. Matthew was kind enough to send some images to me of the framed piece on the walls at the shop. I think it looks great, and it is wonderful to know it will be surrounded by people enjoying games.

Images courtesy of Matthew Vercant

Finally, here is a photo I took of Matthew with the Blufferfish at IX. If I can remember, I try to get photos of people and the art they purchase. I like to have the images for my records and to share. Good to know that the Blufferfush is going to a good home and will be seen by many.

Thank you, Matthew!

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