Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Star Spawn Seer - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for one of my contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse. This first contribution is the Star Spawn Seer. The Star Spawn are established monsters, but I was asked to give them a little bit of a new polish and a little bit of new life. Here is the final painting for the Star Spawn Seer.

Star Spawn Seer 
Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse
 11 x 14 - Digital  
Art Director - Emi Tanji
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

While these are established monsters, and I was asked to update them, there was still a bit of direction from production and a lot to work with. It was described as:

"This creature’s roughly humanoid appearance is a thin disguise that obscures its otherworldly horror. In this shot, the seer is making a grand gesture, leading a sermon promising a great beyond to an offscreen audience. 
The seer’s body appears as a MALE HUMAN covered in tumorous skin growths with that raise the skin in strange whorls reminiscent of BRAIN WRINKLES. Inky tentacles and eyes made of star stuff appear to be poking out from the shadows between the wrinkles. Its figure is bloated, like a drowned body, and its hands are large and webbed. 
The seer is wearing an open purple robe fit for a noble or high priest. It is holding a STAFF that appears to be a blend of flesh, bone, and chrome."
That is a lot to play with and to make a fun monster. It was time for some thumbnails, so I made my best Star Spawn Seer impression, and my wife took lots of images of me. I knew what it needed to look like. The photoshoot allowed me to work out the physicality of the monster and figure out how it acted and took up space. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted.
Star Spawn Seer - Thumbnails
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

There was something about each one that I liked, so no matter the end result, I would be happy to move forward with any of them. It turns out that 'B' was the winner, but production wanted to adjust the staff, so it showed off more. I was told that the staff designs were well received, which is always nice to hear. I made the requested modifications and submitted a revised thumbnail.

Star Spawn Seer - Revised thumbnail
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This revised version hit the mark and was accepted. It was now time to move closer to the painting. I always do a final traditional drawing for every project to work out the details and to give myself a tangible product from the assignment. Here are the two stages of the Star Spawn Seer drawing, the mid-stage line art and the final rendered drawing.

Star Spawn Seer - Line art
Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse
 11 x 14 - Digital
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC
 
Star Spawn Seer
Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse
11 x 14 - Pencil on paper
Original - SOLD
Art Director - Emi Tanji
© 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without comment, and it was time to start painting. This was one of those paintings that, in my head, should go quickly and be (hopefully) relatively painless, but you never know. A lot of the color choices were made for me, and I had excellent lighting reference, so it was a matter of sitting down and getting to work. Which I did. And it would turn out to be a straightforward process. Here is the painting for Star Spawn Seer taking shape.

Star Spawn Seer - Process
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

With many of these monster paintings, the hard work is done in the design and drawing phases of the assignment. Doing the photoshoot, creating the thumbnails, addressing any feedback, and creating the drawing(s) are the points that I need to spend a lot of time and brain energy on making things and being creative. Not that this doesn't happen when I paint, but it often doesn't. There are happy accidents and things that need to be fixed or corrected, but at the end of the day, the painting stage is sitting in the chair and working on it until it is done. Thankfully, after all these years, knowing when it is done has gotten easier. Yes, I still have to think and work very hard to make a finished painting, but if I did my job correctly, most of the heavy lifting has already been done, and it is not time to simply 'make it in color now.' Here again, is the final painting for the Star Spawn Seer.

Star Spawn Seer 
Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 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

Monday, March 28, 2022

Hidden in Plain Sight - Star Wars Easter Eggs

Now that my 50 days of Star Wars posts have ended on social media, it is time to talk about the little narrative and Easter eggs that I dropped into some of my work done on the games. While there are nods, winks, and other personal things in many pieces, these five works are all directly tied together. To be more accurate, the first three are part of a narrative while the other two point to them. Please understand that initially, my art director was aware and onboard and even helped out with clearing things and giving me the first approval. After that, I had fun and made sure I didn't do anything that would ruffle feathers or cause issues. So, to get things started, here are the images we will be talking about.

 
 
These three are from the card game center around the events at a specific bar on Nal Hutta, or is it on Coruscant? These pieces are A Droids Task, Armed to the Teeth, and Arcona Rumor Monger.

 
 
These two pieces, one from the RPG and one from Imperial Assault, point to the others directly. As I have said, there are others that I have put things in for my amusment, but these are interconnected. These pieces are Heated Tempers and Outer Rim Smuggler.
 
Now for the fun stuff. While these three were created in a different order, this is how I envisioned the series of events. We are not talking about a massive complete story, just little hints of something happening if you know where to look.

If you look at the pad that the Rodian is giving IG-88, it has some Aurebesh (the Star Wars written language) on the screen. It reads Rik's. And yes, that is a nod to Casablanca. IG-88 is being tasked to go to Rik's for something... I wonder what? I wonder why? Let's continue...

We are now outside a place called Rik's. The sign also reads 'live music food drinks' and looks like a popular place to go. That Rodian doesn't look too happy about the Besalisk with all those guns. I imagine the sight of IG-88 will do that to you. Perhaps this individual has a bounty on their head, and they thought the IG unit was there for them. I don't believe that the mission was to go after a random Besalisk; maybe there is more to it. Let's continue...

Once inside Rik's, we weave through the dark warren of hallways and rooms until we find the target! It looks like IG was sent to meet up with an Arconan that has some information that needs to be transferred directly. It must be sensitive for all parties to want to do this in person. You can see a sign for Rik's on the wall in the background, and the Arcoan has a pad listing Rik's. 

Nothing profound, but a little fun for me when working on these pieces. It gave me the chance to work on a narrative that is mine that could fit within the work I was doing for others. This also allowed me to work on non-linear storytelling that I seem to enjoy and that can be read in The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. Let us continue...

While this piece is not directly related, it takes place (for me) on Nal Hutta, and there is a lot written on the walls and columns that connect back. I was asked to blur the text in the final version, I got word that Disney was cracking down on people putting naughty things in Aurebesh in licenced works. I wasn't doing anything nefarious, but I complied and blurred things digitally. If you ever see the original painting you will be able to read it all much more clearly. If you look closely, you will be able to find Rik's mentioned several times, as well as "Down with the Empire," "Hunt or be hunted," and "Yavin 4 was an inside job." It is a bit of world-building and some fun. 

Lastly, you will see a bumper sticker for Rik's on the engine housing of this A-Wing. That pilot must really like to hang out there. One last little tip of the hat to the above pieces. There are plenty of other things I could share, but after a point, I think there will be diminishing returns. If you have a chance, give my Star Wars pieces another look and see you can find anything hidden in plain sight.

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

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

There and Back Again... Again, AGAIN: 730 + 4 Days

This past Friday, March 18th, was the second anniversary of working from home due to the COVID19 pandemic. We attempted to return not once but twice in the past two years, only to find ourselves working from home as Delta, and then Omicron circled the globe. Now, 730 days plus four more, I find myself back in the office for part of the week. Mietze is not happy about this move since, for most of his life, he has had me at home every day to see to his every need. And I can't say I am a fan either, but I have been living at work for over two years now, and it is time to get some of the stress, responsibility, and computer equipment out of the house and back to the office where it belongs. 

While these types of steps do need to happen, and it should be a sign that things are improving, if there is one thing I have learned over the past two years is you can't trust anyone else with your safety. I will continue to err on the side of caution for my peace of mind and the safety of those I interact with outside of work. The good thing is that I am once again around part of my collection and can enjoy it during the workday. Everything seems to be as I left it. So, until they send us all home again when the next variant comes through, I am back at the office.

March 22nd, 2022 - Back in the office again, again... AGAIN.
Looks like everything is where I left it.

That's all for another exciting Tuesday. See you back here next time! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Monday, March 7, 2022

Infinity Con 2022 Guest Announcement

I am happy to announce that I will be a special guest at Infinity Con this June 4th and 5th in Tallahassee, FL. Infinity Con in 2019 was a blast, and the virtual event in 2020 was a lot of fun, but I am excited to be back to an in-person event finally, especially since it will be a two-day event this year. I hope Tallahassee is ready for the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia! I will be bringing all of the book, art, and more with me. I will share more details as they come available.

 
Come see me and many others at Infinity Con this coming June 4th and 5th!

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