Wednesday, June 29, 2022

AND Even More Recent Artist Proof Drawings

Today I have for you recent artist proofs that I added drawings to. If you are interested in getting any of these for yourself, just follow the links to my store. This time around, I revisited some popular cards. The Stinging Lionfish and the Shifting Shadows got some love and attention. I present you with a derpy lionfish and a judging lizard.

This slightly derpy lionfish pleases me to no end. I hope those that receive some of my less than typical monsters enjoy them as much as I do. RAWR!

This lizard trusts you about as far as it can throw you. And it is a tiny lizard!

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, June 27, 2022

Coming to Gen Con 2022 - The Grand Tote Bag of Ethra VanDalia!

I am happy to share the first of several surprises I have in store for Gen Con 2022 in August. I present to you with the Grand Tote Bag of Ethra VanDalia that you will be able to obtain for FREE!

The Grand Tote Bag of Ethra VanDalia will be available at Gen Con 2022!

Dear Wife had another fantastic idea for Gen Con, a tote bag for the books! You can never have enough bags to carry things at a convention, and I am thrilled that we now have a stylish and functional bag to hold all your Grand Bazaar items. 

If you are wondering how to get your hands on one, well, first, you need to be at Gen Con. After that, there are two easy ways to get one... for FREE: 1) Purchase all three of my books and both pins 2) Purchase one of the remaining sixteen copies of the deluxe edition of the books. It's that simple! Here is what you get with each of those options.

Purchase the hardcover of the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDaila, the 5th Edition D&D stats guide, the coloring book, and both pins ($80), and get the tote bag for FREE.
 
Purchase the deluxe edition of the books ($150 - while supplies last), and get the tote bag for

We will only have limited supplies of tote bags at Gen Con, so you will need to act fast. If this takes off, it might be something we will continue, but it will depend on how popular they are in the event. Judging from my recent other conventions, I feel they will be. Here are a couple images of the items bagged up - please note that all the books fit entirely inside the bag; they are peaking out so you can see them.

Bagged up and ready to go! At Gen Con, the books will be prebagged, signed, and ready to go!

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, June 24, 2022

Interstellar Express Part 1 - Planetary Concepts

Over the past several years, I have been fortunate to work on an educational game at my day job. While we don't do as much of this type of work as I would like, it is an excellent change of pace that allows me to use skillsets not usually used at my day job. What started as a work retreat brainstorming session in 2018 resulted in two versions of a game based around a space fairing train, planet-hopping, and many aliens. There is a lot of me in this game, and I was the lead on the visuals, design, naming, and production. It was definitely a group project, and there has been a TON of coding, animating, and work going on, but I got to establish the look and feel for the game. It has been a fun project, to be sure. The majority of my involvement wrapped up in late 2020. There is likely still more to be done as various aspects of the project conclude. 2020/2021 really did a number on a lot of things, and this project is no different. What was to be one game has ended up being two, and each has to now do things a little differently. But that is a whole other conversation. Let's jump in and get to the fun stuff! I present you with Interstellar Express.

Interstellar Express space screen
Final art by Lee Bretschneider

I plan to spend Fridays here on the blog sharing different aspects of my work on the game. When it is all said and done, I have eight weeks' worth of work to share, ranging from concept work to final production assets. Starting things off today, I have concept work for planets and environments. As the game focuses on a space train that visits planets, we needed to have different and exciting locals to visit. I tried to give them all a theme and a look, so they were quickly differentiated and unique. Nearly all the environments relate to aliens I designed. While all the planets made it into the final game, not all of the aliens did. I will talk more about this when I share the alien concepts. I had a tight turnaround for the concepts, so I sat down and had to churn things out. Here are planetary concepts followed by the environments that relate to them. I should also mention that each planet has an attraction, which is the point of why you are visiting that planet, that I also had to design.

Concepts for the Bug World, Dinosaur World, Bizarre/Generic Alien World, and Ocean World

Bug World environment and attraction concepts

It should be noted that while there are clearly options for the planet designs, the environmental concepts were more along the lines of, "this is what you will be getting if this planet is included in the game." The final environment assets are based on the look and feel of what I established in these designs and evolved to better fit the rest of the art I was making for the game. I tried to include two to three options for attraction.

Dinosaur World environment and attraction concepts

With the Dinosaur World, I envisioned a planet where dinosaurs were never wiped out by a meteor. What fell from space was nearly hollow and weighed very little, and became a destination for visitors as the dinosaurs developed space travel and an interest in the surfer culture of Earth.

Bizarre/Generic Alien World environment concepts
 
Bizarre/Generic Alien World attraction concepts

I wanted to have some fun and make a generic alien world so that I could do some weird and different shapes and forms. While it lacked the focus or real-world hook that the other planets had, I thought it would be something distinct and cool.

Ocean World environment and attraction concepts

The fully submerged concept won out, and it went toward more ocean and less aquarium.

Concepts for the Bird World, Shapes World, Robot World, and Lava World
 
Bird World environment and attraction concepts

This was one of the first environments I created the final art for, and after I had made all the other art, I went back and redid the art. I will share more on this when I share the finals, but sometimes you have to go back and start over to improve it.

Shapes World environment and attraction concepts

The Shapes World offered many exciting challenges and options to play with. The alien designs offered up the chance to do something very different with the planet, at the same time making some nods to the art world.

Robot World environment and attraction concepts

The Robot World was another of the first environments that I created the art assets. It pained me that the robot aliens didn't make the cut for the final game, but their world still has a place.

Lava World environment and attraction concepts

The Lava planet, and especially the lava aliens, were a big hit with the client, and it all got a lot of extra love and attention.

Concepts for the Elemental World and Desert World
 
Elemental World environment and attraction concepts
 
Water, ice, and steam make up the world of the elemental aliens. Sadly, they, too, are not in the final game. A giant snowman made it into the game, so that is at least something. 
 
Desert World environment and attraction concepts

I never had an alien design for this world, only the concept for a weird planet of sand and vaguely Egyptian structures. This was the first environment I created and remains one of my favorites. The Tasty Swirly was also a big hit with the client.

Concepts for the Train Depot World

While the environment for the train depot was created, the planet view was never made. As development progressed, it became clear that it was an unneeded asset, and you would never have an opportunity to see it in-game. I thought the designs were interesting, and I would have liked to see them completed, but that is the way of things.

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, June 22, 2022

MtG Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Commander - Return of Shifting Shadow and NEW Artist Proof

I learned, upon their arrival, that my Magic the Gathering card, Shifting Shadow, has been reprinted in the recently released set, Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Commander (Upgrades Unleashed), which means new artist proofs. Intitially created for Commander 2017, this has been a popular card for me, and I am happy to see its return - especially as my inventory of artist proofs for its first release is running low. For those interested, I posted about the process and steps that went into creating this painting. Here is a look at the final art for Shifting Shadow.

Shifting Shadow in handy dandy card form.
© 2017/2022 Wizards of the Coast

These new Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Commander artist proofs are now on my store for those interested. All artist proofs are available with and without an original drawing. All of the details and information are on my store. 

All artist proofs are signed and numbered and can include an original drawing on the back. 

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, June 20, 2022

Canister with Stone Skin - The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

I am thrilled to share another new piece from The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. This illustration is for Book Two: The Completed Circle. This piece is one of the supporting images for the book section dedicated to the Bumbling Assistants. The comedic sidekicks to the hero are a pair of befuddled Yote that are found wandering the wilds. Still, their presence in the original story is highly suspect due to them not existing when the story was written. Ethra will reveal a possible solution, a mysterious and curious object, a crumbling statue of a figure in pain only known as a Stone Skin.  I present to you the Canister with Stone Skin.

Canister with Stone Skin
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
9 x 12 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - Available on my store
© 2022 Christopher Burdett
 
Canister with Stone Skin - Drawing 
9 x 12 - Pencil on paper
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

This was the third of six smaller pieces I wanted to finish before moving to larger, more involved works in book two. Each section of book two will have at least two supporting pieces of art. They will help flesh out the section and add context to things in and beyond the Grand Bazaar. The main art for the first three sections of the book are completed, so it only seemed natural to complete the supporting pieces as well. With them finished, I have moved on to much larger pieces that will keep me in the chair drawing for a while. Here is a look at the sketch for the Canister with Stone Skin to show where it began.

Canister with Stone Skin - Sketch 
Digital
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

As a bonus, I have some images of the rendering process of this piece so that you can get a better idea of it taking shape.   

Canister with Stone Skin - Process
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

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, June 17, 2022

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Death Tyrant

Today, I have for you another Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures that is based on design work I did for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. I was completely unaware of this one until a friend let me know, and I was thrilled to see what they came up with. This time around, it is the Beholder Death Tyrant that got the complete Nolzur treatment. This wasn't the first time the Death Tyrant has become a miniature, but this one is undoubtedly very cool looking. To start things off, here is the design of the Death Tyrant that I produced back in 2014, leading up to the release of 5E.

Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign
© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

I have always loved the Beholder and all of its many iterations, variant, and history in D&D. So it was an honor and a treat to get to work on designing some of them. I knew the floating eyes would always be an issue with making a miniature of this particular monster, so it has been fun to see how that problem has been solved in the two miniatures based on my designs. Here is a look at how the Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures version of the Death Tyrant turned out.

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures Death Tyrant Miniature

I love everything about this miniature. If I had the time and energy to paint minis anymore, I would certainly have this one high on my list. But a simple miniature was not good enough for the mighty Death Tyrant; there is also a Death Tyrant paint kit with everything you need to paint it. Maybe, one day, I will have a chance to paint this one.

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures Death Tyrant Miniature Paint Kit

 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, June 15, 2022

MORE Recent Artist Proof Drawings

Today I have for you recent artist proofs that I added drawings to. If you are interested in getting any of these for yourself, just follow the links to my store. This time around, I was asked to draw a collection of characters from the first season of the Mandolorian across the backs of four cards. While I have done one or two of these in the past, I do not make a habit out of doing them. They take much longer than a single image on a card, and right now, time is a dwindling resource. That said, there is now a disclaimer on my store that I no longer offer these. This may change later, but for now, they are no longer available. The person that got this one was the last lucky individual to get one for the foreseeable future. I present you with the Mandolorian, IG-11, Grogu, and Kuiil.

Four Magic the Gathering artist proofs combine into a Mandolorian season 1 collection.

All four cards individually for a better look at each.
 
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, June 13, 2022

Monsters of the Multiverse - NOW with MORE MONSTERS!

I finally got my hands on a copy of Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse late last week when my comp copy arrived from the good folks at WotC. It is a great looking book, and I was interested to see how the four pieces I created for it were printed. Much to my surprise, I had a few additional monsters in the book, eight to be exact. To get things started, here is a look at the book.

Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse 
for all your Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse needs!

When working on projects, I never know what the finished product will be or the scope of the content. I knew Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse was a new monster book, but I didn't know if it was more like a Monster Manual or something containing lore, character content, and monsters. While there are some new playable monster races to pick from, this book is a collection of existing and new monsters. If I still had time to play, this would be a definite purchase. It compiles multiple books' content AND includes new content, which is a win/win in my book. Here are the new monsters I painted for Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse.

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

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

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

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

Here are my monsters from previous books that have been collected and updated. The one thing that I noticed when looking at the book and monsters that spread across six to seven years of my career is that they, to my eyes, appear consistent. They are made by the same hand in the same style and maintain the same quality. This might not seem like much, but it shows that I have hit a workflow and artistic maturity that allows me to produce quality work consistently for my client. Only WotC know what other adventures these monsters will take, but when and if they do, I will share it with you!

Choker
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin 
© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Sibriex
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin
© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Hellfire Engine
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin
© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Eidolon
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin 
© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Hydroloth 
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes 
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin 
© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Beholder Gazer
Volo's Guide to Monsters
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Morkoth
Volo's Guide to Monsters 
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Yuan-Ti Broodguard
Volo's Guide to Monsters
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin 
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

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