A Recent Artist Proof Drawing

Today I have a recent artist proof 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, I added a little aquatic monster on the back of a Gudul Lurker. A little water dog friend to take around in your pocket. 

As a side note, this was the last artist proof drawing at the old price point. I have had to increase my rates over the past two years to adjust for demand and time spent doing these. The rates hit their final point at Gen Con, and the increase did not slow demand, so all prices for drawings are now at that same level. With the rise does come more time and effort put into the drawings. It is not only a raise in cost; it will be a raise in quality too.

An aquatic monster doing aquatic monster 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

A World of Stories - 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 is the first completed large environmental piece for book two and will be the first large plate in the book. The piece I am currently working on will play against this one as we step back several thousand years to follow the epic story of a farmhand as they leave home and travel to the Grand Bazaar in its early days. A World of Stories was meant to be part of book one, but there wasn't the time, and in the end, or space to include it. I had thought it would have to wait till book three, but as I laid out and organized book two, it found a home. It all worked out for the best because this piece had to wait. I was given time to rethink it and make changes to bring more of a narrative and tie it into the other larger pieces in the book. It is also nice to finally show off what is in the sky above the world of Kiervis and the Grand Bazaar. Namely, one of the moons of Kiervis and the close planetary neighbor, Errish, and her moons. The world of the Grand Bazaar is indeed a world of stories, and book two will focus on one of them and open the door for many more. I present to you A World of Stories.

A World of Stories
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
16 x 20 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - SOLD
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

A World of Stories - Drawing 

16 x 20 - Pencil on paper
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

 

This is the first of three larger pieces I am currently working on. Once they are completed, I will move back to a pair of connected character illustrations, which will be followed by the first of two huge pieces that I have planned for the book. Always more to do, but as long as I stay focused, they will all get completed. Here is a look at the sketch for A World of Stories to show where it began.

A World of Stories - 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.

 

A World of Stories - 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

Interstellar Express Part 8 - Hotshot

Today, I am concluding my posts focused on my work from Interstellar Express, the educational game I art directed and made many assists. This week I am sharing some of the art I created for the stripped-down version of the project. Let's get back to the Interstellar Express Hotshot!

There were concerns that all the aliens, planets, environments, and neat stuff were too much and would distract from the project's purpose. To that end, we made a second version that was extremely limited and focused nearly entirely on the assessments. This called for a new intro screen, UI, and visual elements. Out are the train, planets, environments, interactions, and story. The larger complete version is still happening, but the Hotshot became a priority before 2020. I present you with selected art from Interstellar Express Hotshot.

The new launch screen features a selection of aliens and the Hotshot text I made.

I created a background, UI, and related elements to bring this slimmed-down version to life.

Upon completion, you get an interactive photo booth where you can select backgrounds and aliens to create a photo of some happy aliens.

And that brings us to the end of my work on the Interstellar Express project. It is always a possibility that there will be a need for additional assets in the future, but it has been nearly two years since I created any significant art for this project. Hopefully, it will launch in the not too distant future. When I hear anything about this happening, I will be sure to share it.

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

Dungeons & Dragons - Spelljammer Adventures in Space

The newest Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Spelljammer Adventures in Space, was released last week, and I was lucky enough to have contributed two pieces to the book. I was provided with a concept for the new direction they were taking the Aartuk and got to design two different versions of this monster, an elder and a warrior. For those of you unaware, the Aartuk is a plant creature in space, and can now shoot things out of 'mouths' on the tender neck flesh when it raises its center head. Neat, right?! This was a fun pair to work on as I tried to make them different but also from the same species. Here are the final paintings for the Aartuk Elder and Warrior.

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

As with all my D&D pieces, even though the final are digital, there are original drawings available. These are no exception, and I was pleased with how the drawings from this book, turned out. Here are the drawings for the Aartuk Elder and Warrior.

Aartuk Elder

Spelljammer Adventures in Space

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

AartukWarrior

Spelljammer Adventures in Space

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Lastly, Here are some bad photos of the two monsters from the book. They printed great, and I couldn't be happier with them.

Aartuk Elder and Warrior in handy dandy book form!

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

Monstrous War-Leech - Magic: the Gathering - Dominaria United

I am thrilled to share with you a new Magic the Gathering art! This time around, it is for Dominaria United. I was asked to depict a massive leech monster about to devour a dead animal in the swamps of Dominaria. Upon the leech rides a Homarid, as you would only expect in the swamps of Dominaria. If you remotely know me, I am more than happy to make a giant monster doing giant monster things. I present to you the Monstrous War-Leech.

 

Monstrous War-Leech

Magic the Gathering - Dominaria United

14 x 10.2 - Digital

Prints available at OMA!

ARTIST PROOFS available over on my web store!

Art Director - Zack Stella
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast

I had more time in my schedule when this piece rolled around, so not only did I have time for a tonal study, I was able to spend more time on the drawing and fully render it. 

Monstrous War-Leech - Drawing

Magic the Gathering - Dominaria United

14 x 11 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Zack Stella

Original - SOLD
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast

Monstrous War-Leech- Tonal study

Magic the Gathering - Dominaria United

14 x 11 - Pencil and paint on paper

Art Director - Zack Stella
Original - SOLD

  © 2022 Wizards of the Coast

In the coming weeks (or months), I will share the steps and process of making this piece. Until then, here is a look at the final card.

 

Monstrous War-Leech in handy dandy card form.

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

Interstellar Express Part 7 - Environment Tiles

Today, I am continuing my posts focused on my work from Interstellar Express, the educational game I art directed and made many assists. This week I am sharing the art for the environment tiles I created. Let's get back to the Interstellar Express! 

Interstellar Express space screen

Final art by Lee Bretschneider

One of the features that I was most looking forward to making for the game is the environmental tiles. That said, I am still unsure if any of this work will be in the finished game. These tiles are to be used as part of a mini-game reward at different points in the game or at the end for a final treat. The tiles are meant to be flexible enough to be arranged in any order to create new and unique environments. Aliens will be placed around the scene, and the user will need to find them all. Each environment includes a tile that has no obstacles, one that has short obstacles, one that has tall obstacles, and one that is the space train station. I have arranged the four tiles and then a sample arrangement of a scene. I present you with the art for the environment tiles of Interstellar Express.

The generic alien world with its rolling hills and rocky brush.

The bug world with its mega flora.

The bird world with its towering trees and fields of clouds.

The elemental world with its steam geysers and icy outcroppings.

The lava world would not be complete without lava.

The lost desert world has a few cactuses.

The ocean world with its giant sponges and aquatic plants.

The robot world is a maze of long abandoned machinery.

The shapes world had mostly 90-degree angels and not much depth.

The space dinosaur world has plenty of ancient plants to enjoy while you search for the train stop.

Lastly, the train depot world has a lovely fountain and will likely never be used.

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