Monday, January 30, 2023

NEW ARTIST PROOFS! Bribe Taker, Egg Token, and Monstrous War-Leech

I have been a bit behind on things, but I am slowly catching up. One of those things was to get the new borderless version of the Bribe Taker artist proofs up on the store. While that has been on the back burner, three other artist proofs have arrived. Now that I had four new proofs that needed to be processed and put on the store, it was well past time I took care of it!

New Magic the Gathering Artist Proofs are NOW AVAILABLE!
Borderless Bribe Taker, Egg Token (finally!!), and Monsterous War-Leech (both standard and foil!)

In addition to the borderless Bribe Taker, I am now offering artist proofs of the Egg Token and the standard and foil versions of the Monstrous War-Leech. The funny thing about the Egg Token, it was first released as part of Commander 2019 and was reprinted in Double Masters 2022. But neither of these sets resulted in artist proofs coming to me. It is only now, on its third printing in Dominaria United Commander, that APs are finally coming to me. Better late than never!

Here is a look at all the final art for the above listed cards. You will also find links to their corresponding prints if that is something you are interested in.

Bribe Taker
Magic the Gathering - New Capenna Commander
14 x 11 - Digital 
Art Director - Dawn Murin
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast
 
Egg Token
Magic the Gathering - Commander 2019
12 x 8.7- Digital 
Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson
 © 2019 Wizards of the Coast
 
Monstrous War-Leech
Magic the Gathering - Dominaria United
14 x 10.2 - Digital
Art Director - Zack Stella
 © 2022 Wizards of the Coast
 
Hopefully, it will not be too long until the Unfinity artist proofs arrive, and I can offer up Blufferfish APs. These new 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 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, January 27, 2023

Codex: Unearthed Arcana - The Return of Wolfbane and Silver Arrow... Wait, WUT?!?!

There are a handful of third-party modules and supplements that feature reprints of some of my work, the second of which I am sharing today. I have been aware of them for a while (as most seem to have been released in 2017), but I recently tracked them all down as best I could to see what was used and if I could obtain a copy. Unfortunately, these particular products do not have physical versions or are no longer available. That said, I investigated to see if I could get details and screenshots of my work in the various products. Today I have the second of these 5E supplements, Codex: Unearthed Arcana. To start things off, here is a look at the cover. 

Codex: Unearthed Arcana. This appears to be a collection of additional content that has been compiled. I think, but I am not really sure.
 
This is where it gets a little weird. As far I can tell, I have a single piece reprinted in this book, but that piece was not made for Wizards of the Coast for use in Dungeons & Dragons. The piece in question, Wolfbane and Silver Arrow, was created for Paizo Publishing for use in Pathfinder. In 2010, when I was working a lot with Paizo, this was one of three pieces I painted for Pathfinder Chronicles: Classic Horrors Revisited. Jump ahead seven years, and it is now in a third-party supplement, and jump ahead another six years, and I am now sharing it with you. Here is that old, old, OLD piece I did for Paizo, Wolfbane and Silver Arrow.
 
Wolfbane and Silver Arrow
5x5 - Digital
© 2010 Paizo Publishing

I have no idea how the licensing works with WotC, D&D, and third-party products, but it seems very odd that it would include work done for another gaming company. I have no idea how this came to be, if it was kosher, or how they got a print-ready file, but here we are and there is nothing to do about it now. Here is a look at my art on the page of this product.

Wolfbane and Silver Arrow hanging out, being ancient art, from another company.

To make things more suspect, here is an image of the credits from the supplement. I never have, and I mean NEVER, represented myself professionally with my name smashed together uncapitalized. One would think that they simply grabbed the art and my user name off something like DeviantArt and thought that would be good enough. But I don't know any details of how this art ended up here. I kind of wish I did, but as this is work for hire, I have no ownership or copyright related to this image. Here is a look at the credits page, and you will see that my name is not the only other odd entry.

So many questions and so few answers. A mystery for the ages.

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, January 25, 2023

Infected By Art Volume 11 Selected Work

I am happy to announce that I have been selected for inclusion in Infected By Art Volume 11. I love IBA, and it is a real honor to be included with many other great artists and their work. You can see a complete list of the art included in IBA 11 on their website. As I said, lots of great work! Regarding my work, A World of Stories, from the upcoming The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle, was selected.

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

You can never know what will or will not make it into a juried event, and it is always interesting to see what does make it through the selection process. If you are curious, here is everything I submitted for consideration in IBA 11. It is not lost on me that none of the client work I did for Magic the Gathering made it in, but my work for my book did. Continued evidence that I am headed on the correct path for me.

Congrats to everyone that made it in, and a huge thanks to the jury and to Bill Cox for all his work in making IBA a reality. I can't wait to see the completed book firsthand!

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, January 23, 2023

2023 Convention Annoucments (Part 1)

Gen Con 2022 mega display as a featured artist.

I am a little behind on a lot of things. One of the things I would like to catch up on is announcing some of the conventions I will be appearing at this year. While I can not share them all yet, I can share with you that I will be returning to Gen Con in Indianapolis this August 3-6 and to IX this coming October 18-22. You will find me in the art show at Gen Con and the Showcase at IX. With production in full swing on book two, I have decided to be part of the Showcase for the coming few years until the book is completed and I can share the bulk of the new work. I will have new art and a few surprises at both events, so do not worry that I will not have lots to share! These are only the first two events for this year I will be participating in, so there will be more announcements soon.

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, January 20, 2023

Magic: The Gathering in Miniature Show - THIS WEEKEND!

The show is now live and these pieces are now available!

As mentioned in December, I will be part of the Magic: The Gathering in Miniature Show, taking place at the Nucleus Gallery in Alhambra, CA. From January 21, 2023- February 5, 2023, 149 artist proofs from 41 different Magic artists featuring drawings and paintings on their backs 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. If my facts are correct, those signed up for Gallery Nucleus' Patreon will get early access to the proofs on Friday afternoon, followed by those on their mailing list. This info is secondhand, but I would trust it. I will have three pieces in the show.

Beholder #3 - AVAILABLE!
Acrylic on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Beholder #1 - AVAILABLE!
Ink and marker on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Beholder #2 - SOLD
Ink and marker on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Pictured above are the three proofs I will have in the show. There will be an opening reception for those in the Los Angeles area. Finally, I would like to extend a huge thanks to Donny Caltrider for inclusion in the show!

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

Monday, January 9, 2023

2022 - Okay, Now What?

I found my voice on this blog when I did the first year in review post in January of 2010 when I reflected on the events of 2009 - and everything that led up to that critical year—after that, doing a yearly review of my main takeaways and lessons learned became the norm. I have been very late in posting them a time or two, but throughout all the ups and downs, they have been an overview of my career. It is that time again; frankly, I do not know where to begin.

A World of Stories
This is one of the large pieces I completed in 2022 and is part of book two of the Grand Bazaar series.

The Ghosts of the Past Still Linger


I have spoken and written at length regarding everything that has transpired from early 2020 through 2022. It has been an unprecedented upheaval in life, art, career, safety, peace of mind, and on and on, and some of us have weathered these turbulent seas better than others. I believe I physically managed this time well, but mentally, emotionally, and artistically I have not. It has taken a lot of work to return to a shadow of my productivity at the end of 2019. Granted, I was finishing up my first book of the Grand Bazaar series, and I had completely cleared my schedule and was focused on getting it finished with 110% of my time and energy. I am a couple of years away from being in that position again. So it is premature to expect that I maintain that level of commitment, especially with all the changes in my life over the past three years. Things are very, very different now, for me, than they were in 2019. I am reasonably confident many of you out there feel the same. But that does not change the fact that no matter how much I work to the contrary, I feel like I am two years behind and slipping ever more behind.

The first thing I should point out is that I am 100% working on my schedule for my work. I make the deadlines, and I move them as needed. I set my workload and determine what has priority. I am in charge, and I am the client and the artist. This alone is one of the main reasons I have weathered as best as I have. If I were wholly reliant on client work these days, I would have had multiple major burnout crises over the past two to three years. Thankfully I have a day career that supports me and my art life, and in these past three years, I have absolutely looked to it to get me through uncertain artistic times.

My studio/office is in all its glory!

The Studio


With all that has been going on, I continue to make art. In 2022 I completed a pair of large pieces, several smaller pieces, and many tiny pieces for the second book of the Grand Bazaar. But more importantly, I now have a dedicated studio to make art. I knew that moving work spaces would affect my ability to make art, but I was not prepared for how much impact it would have. For years I have followed the adventures of other artists who moved their studios and had always been shocked by how long it seemed to take. Surely, there were other factors, other reasons, and things unknown to the outside world that caused these moves to take so long and be disruptive. Nope. A studio move takes forever and dramatically impacts your ability to make art. It was around a six-month process from the contractors starting the work until I moved in and started making art.

In the end, though, it is like magic when it is all done and set up again. Since starting to work in the studio, I have been able to create more, faster than I have in a while. I have completed one of my favorite pieces and can't wait to share it with you in the coming weeks. I have also begun finding new ways to get work done when I am not in the studio (there are many reasons I have done this and not simply to be constantly working), and those efforts are paying off. Simply put, I am more focused and productive than I have been in a couple of years, which is nice - to say the least. I am still figuring out a way to balance my time, make the most of my work time, and learn how to be happy with the amount of work I can complete, no matter how much or little. It is the start of something new, something big, and I can not wait to see what I can create in my studio.

 Lizardman to Lizardfolk
The results of twenty years of time and practice.

The Elephant in the Room


I have not publicly spoken about the rise in image-generating AIs that are unethically built on the illegal wholesale theft of millions of pieces of art and artists' entire careers. Add to that copyright violations, IP theft, and on and on. It has already harmed artists and the art world. But what troubles me more than the theft of our art and work is the anger, hatred, and weaponized ignorance toward the artists. We are being portrayed as money-grabbing elites hell-bent on gatekeeping the knowledge of making art a secret because we, and we alone, have all the arcane power to make art. Well, I am here to share that arcane power. I am breaking the artist code, and I will now tell you all what it takes to be an artist...

DRAW MORE.

That is it. That is what I was told and what I did. And I got better. Nothing anyone does that is worth anything has come from zero work or effort. Do you want to play the guitar? Time and practice. Do you want to be a doctor? Time and practice. Do you want to be a plumber? Time and practice. Do you want to be an artist? Guess what? Being an artist is no different, and it takes time and practice. I am sorry, that is it. That is the big secret. We all can be artists. We only need to put in the time and work to get better, just like EVERY OTHER thing in the world. And before you think that artists are rolling in money, you should really look into how badly we are paid and how the rates haven't changed in about a hundred and fifty years. The kicker is, of course, the army of angry men that haven't drawn anything since kindergarten who want to tell the artist community how artists think, learn, and where our inspiration comes from. Dunning-Kruger would be so proud to see their theories playing out in horrific real-time.

The evolution of Ethra VanDalia.
Also, the results of nearly twenty years of time and practice.

I plan to share some thoughts and insight on how I think about making art and where my inspiration comes from in the coming weeks (hopefully). In the meantime, since artists are now gatekeepers as well,  you can peruse hundreds of posts about my career, making art, process breakdowns, and much much more here on the blog that I have freely taken the time to share with anyone out there. The one thing I have been trying to teach here on the blog since 2009 is that we all can do this. We all have a voice to share; it only takes time and practice. I am not the artist I was in 2009 when I started this blog. Look! Look at my posts from the start of the blog till now. I have worked my ass off over the last fifteen years to be where I am now—effort plus time. There is no magic. Like all the other artists out there, I was too stubborn to give up and kept pushing.

Not to beat a dead horse, but here are MORE examples of what time and practice lead to. No magic, no quick and easy tricks. It is all about having a stylus in hand and working to be better. It is not always fun, it is work, and you must do it if you want to be an artist. Draw more. Draw daily.

Looking Ahead


I feel like this post was shorter than others in the past. Maybe it is, maybe not. I said what I needed to, and I could write another blog post if I missed anything. I think the core of my takeaway this year was that I am still living in two times, the past of 2020/21 and the present. I need to let go of the past and live and work in the present, at least a bit more than I already do. As horrible as 2020 was, some of my artistic life's most important, most significant moments took place that year. I need to focus on that, remember that, and take that energy into tomorrow. Book two of the Grand Bazaar is wholly planned. I know what I need to do, what to make, and what to write, and I only need to be at the table working to make it a reality. So moving forward, I need to be in my chair working. I have a dedicated space for it now, which feels like magic. 

That's all for another exciting Monday on the blog. I will be taking a little break here on the blog, but I will be back very soon! Until then...

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

Friday, January 6, 2023

The Return of the Lizard King - The Return of the Lizardfolk

There are a handful of third-party modules and supplements that feature reprints of some of my work, the first of which I am sharing today. I have been aware of them for a while (as most seem to have been released in 2017), but I recently tracked them all down as best I could to see what was used and if I could obtain a copy. Unfortunately, these particular products do not have physical versions. That said, I investigated to see if I could get details and screenshots of my work in the various products. Today I have for you the first of these 5E supplements, the Return of the Lizard King. To start things off, here is a look at the cover.

Return of the Lizard King with what I assume is the Lizard King that has returned.

As far as I can tell, I have a single piece that has made an encore appearance, and that is the Lizardfolk that I created for Volo's Guide to Monsters in 2016. It is not lost on me that 2016 was seven years ago, but it seems like I was working on this painting yesterday. This was, is, and will likely continue to be a favorite piece of mine and a full-circle moment for me with D&D. Here is my final painting for the Lizardfolk.

Lizardfolk
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin
© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I have no idea how the licensing works with WotC, D&D, and third-party products, but it is fun to see stuff pop up in unexpected places. At least I was credited, so I could learn that my work was in the supplement. Here is a look at my art on the page of this product.

Lizardfolk on the page in the Return of the Lizard King. You might notice that they flipped the painting but did not address my signature, which is also now flipped. Oh well...

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, January 4, 2023

Even MORE Recent Artist Proof Drawings

Starting the year off on the blog with 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. These were done some time ago but were sent to Japan, and they took their time getting there, bouncing back and forth across Florida. I was asked to draw Grogu and a cool dragon. Hopefully, I did just that.

Not my first, and likely not the last Grogu I have drawn on the back of a card.

It is always nice to be asked to have fun and do something 'cool.' This time around, it was a cool dragon that was asked for and I had a lot of fun working on it. This was the first full bleed black background I did recently, and I liked it so much that I have been doing them with other recent drawings. But more about that another day.

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