Friday, March 31, 2023

Gallery Nucleus Spring Sale - INCLUDING ARTIST PROOFS!

Gallery Nucleus is having an art sale! Starting April 1st, you can get artwork there for 20% off with the code SPRING20. The sale only lasts until April 4th at midnight PST, so be sure to check it out!   

Why am I mentioning this? The sale includes the remaining artist proofs from the Magic: The Gathering in Miniature Show that was in January. I have two cards available, and for the next four days, you can get them at 20% off using the code SPRING20.

• Sale begins: April 1st 
• Sale ends: April 4th, 11:59 PM PST
What is on sale: Artwork. (NOT art prints.) Disney artwork is not included in the sale. Artists should definitely highlight their artwork in their posts. 
How does the sale work?: Use code SPRING20 at checkout.

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, March 29, 2023

Another Recent Artist Proof Drawing From February ... at the end of March

Today I have one final February artist proofs that I added a drawing to its back. If you want to get any of these, just head to my store. I don't feel like I have had much to share here on the blog recently, but I am very behind in sharing these artist proof drawings. Some of that is because I am doing a lot more of them, and I have had several big announcements regarding now offering color and finding extra Portent proofs. That aside, at the end of March, I am sharing the last of the February cards. At this rate, it will be May before I am done with sharing March proofs. I suppose there are worse things. Today's card answers what Yoda would look like in Magic the Gathering.

What if Yoda lived in a Magic the Gathering world?
He would be a blue card in Ravnica.

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 27, 2023

Yote Portrait - 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. I say new, but this was completed in early December 2022. While I am currently focused on large pieces for the book, I have been fitting in smaller pieces to help me feel like I am moving forward in production. If you are familiar with the first book, you know that each chapter begins with one or more 'man of the street' hot takes on the subject of the chapter. It will be no different in book two, but now you will have a face to go along with the words at the beginning of each chapter. This was something I had wanted to do for book one, but one of the things that fell by the wayside just to get the book across the finish line. Now I have been able to make it a reality for book two. I am immensely enjoying making these smaller pieces. They are quicker to complete, add a slice of worldbuilding, and give a face to a name and species. Going to start off with the first one that I finished, though after this, I will likely share alphabetically to stay on brand. I present you with a Yote (name and/or chassis number to come later).

Yote
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
5 x 5 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - SOLD
© 2022 Christopher Burdett
 
Yote - Drawing 
5 x 5 - Pencil on paper
© 2022 Christopher Burdett
 
These are by far the smallest pieces created for the books. More and more, I find myself working larger and larger. There is something really lovely about a 5 x 5 image, and I have already framed them all up. They look great in a frame an will make a nice addition to my conventions later in the year. For now, I am focused on making more of them and moving ahead on big illustrations. Here is a look at the sketch for the Yote to show where it began.
 
Yote - Sketch 
Digital
© 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, March 24, 2023

Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Mighty Dogopus 21 Years Later

Between 2002 and 2003, nineteen episodes of Andy Richter Controls the Universe were created. Unsurprisingly, the show starred Andy Richter. Surprisingly, I worked on a single episode, and I got to design the mighty Dogopus. Here is the first, last, and only design I did for the Dogopus.

Dogopus
 Andy Richter Controls the Universe
8.5 x 11 - Ink on paper with digital finish
2002

You might be thinking, "funny, I watched all of the episodes of that show and have no memory of any Dogopus." And you would be 100% correct because there was never a Dogopus made. As with a lot of the work I did while in LA toiling away in the entertainment industry, it never got past the design phase. In the end, it was deemed too expensive for such a quick gag in the show that it was cut, and they went with something cheaper. We even were going to reuse some tentacles from another project to lower the cost. Sadly, it was not meant to be. It is doubly sad because I was lined up to puppeteer the Dogopus during filming, which would have been a lot of fun. Godspeed, Dogopus! May you never be forgotten.

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, March 22, 2023

COLOR MtG Artist Proofs Drawings NOW AVAILABLE!

I am thrilled to announce that I am now offering COLOR artist proof drawings! There has been a lot of interest over the years, but there have been several obsticles standing in the way. I am happy to say that I have worked out the wrinkles, and that color is now an option when purchasing one of my artist proofs. I have been slowly gearing up for this annoucemnt for the last couple of months as I worked out materials, processes, and more. I am excited by the results so far, and I have been looking forward to finally sharing the work. To start things off, here are two of the first color cards I produced.  

Chewbacca having a not-so-good day on Bespin with his pal C-3PO.

BB-8 also not having a good day on Jakku, but it is Jakku after all.

If you saw my post last week regarding the five additional Portent APs that I added color drawings, then you have seen some of the more recent color work. After completing these, and then seeing how well they were received, I knew that I needed to offer the color option for everyone. Here again, are some of the Portent drawings that I had available.

If you are interested in Star Wars images, I am more than ready to make some drawings for you!
But other monsters are good too.

Head to my store to see all of the Artist Proofs I have available. Under each listing is the option for black and white or color drawings. The black and white versions are a mix of marker and ink with paint as needed, and the color versions are marker, ink, and paint. If you have any questions about any of this, feel free to leave your questions below, email me (head to my website for that), or reach out to me on social media. Some cards are in low supply, so be sure to get yours today!

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 20, 2023

Drogon Tattoo

In 2010 I painted the three dragons from A Game of Thrones for the card game for the first time. This, of course, included Drogon, and in 2011, the cards were released featuring my paintings. They were a fan favorite immediately, with Drogon becoming the top favorite. Sometime after that, I was approached by Mat McCarthy regarding usage rights for a tattoo. As this was work for hire, that is all out of my hands; I gave him my blessing. For years I have been reluctant to design tattoos or have people use my art in such a manner. It had everything to do with not feeling comfortable with art I do not think it is my best to be permanently put on someone's body. As my skillsets improved over the years, my no-tattoo stance has softened. I am still not designing them, but my existing art is available - but you need to contact me first, and I would like images of the final results. To start things off, here is the final art for the first Drogon painting that I created.

Drogon
10 x 8.3 - Digital
Art Director - Zoe Robinson
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

If I dug through enough messages and emails, I could figure out when Mat approached me, but that is irrelevant to the story. Mat wanted Drogon on his body, and I was finally at a point I could give him my blessing. This was years ago, but as of 2016, Mat had a significant amount of the tattoo finally created. Mat shared the images again, which is how I finally saw them. He shared that the piece is still not completed. I think it looks fantastic all the same, and he agreed that I could share the images of his tattoo. Without further yammering on my part, here are the images of the Drogon tattoo.

Images courtesy Mat McCarthy

Many thanks to Mat for the use of the images and for liking this piece enough to get it over a good bit of his body. It is an honor and very humbling.

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, March 17, 2023

Kickstarter Roundup - Sideriadis, Barnum, Reynolds, and Dahlinger

Today on the blog, I wanted to point out several current (and one upcoming) Kickstarter projects that I think you all might be interested in. They feature fantastic art by incredible artists, and if you have not already checked it out, you should do so NOW!

First up is Jon Sideriadis' Astromythos: Lair of the Spider Lord. Jon shares:

Set in the world of Astromythos, Lair of the Spider Lord is a new 5e adventure book in which Stars and black holes vie for control of the universe. Players can also choose any 5e-compatible race and class when building their characters for the adventure. This 5-part story is packed with new game content and lore based on the ground-breaking new series by award-winning author and illustrator, Jon Sideriadis. 

Rekindle your campaign with a fun but powerful story in this astromythic dark fantasy that takes players from levels 10 to 15. The book includes 28 new creatures, 24 new items, 15 new maps, 5 new spells,  and many new cosmic and terrestrial worlds:

  • Face black hole monsters, star spiders, living volcanoes, asteroids, meteors, and evil human star-slayers.
  • Explore the heart, lungs, and guts of living mountains.
  • Survive spider-infested asteroids and moon-castles.
  • Fight your way through the blood and bones of fallen giants.
  • Sneak past treacherous trap-door spiders, and howling moon-pigs.
  • Slay the Spider Lord and bring balance to this world so you can return to yours.

After completing this adventure, players will advance to level 15. The adventure starts on a Planet called Zós and ends in space. Zós is a Planet much like Earth, and can be easily modified to function in other campaign settings. All you need to know about the setting is contained in this book. This book may also be used to create exciting new homebrew content for any of your other 5e-compatible campaigns.

Jon is a fantastic human, world builder, monster maker, and storyteller. This is a project not to miss out on and an excellent expansion of his world. This is another great project from him, and I would like to see it made a reality.

Next up is Joanna Barnum's Elemental Jack-O-Lanterns. Joanna shares:

I'm Joanna Barnum, I'm an artist, and I celebrate Halloween all year long. I'm a little obsessed with jack-o-lanterns. Something about them taps into the purest joy of my inner child- I can't help but smile when I see one! For the past few years, I've been making watercolor paintings inspired by my love of Halloween and pumpkins.

Just in time to usher in the “Spring-O-Ween” season, I've created this collection of Elemental Jack-O-Lanterns celebrating the four classical elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. I've painted them as watercolor originals, and am now creating prints, enamel pins, and stickers of the designs. I'm also collaborating with Sihaya & Company on a collection of glittering scented candles inspired by my artwork!

Joanna does amazing water color work, and this is another exciting project for her. If you are not familiar with her work, you really should check it out. She brings the spooky season to her work all year long.

Next, we have Wayne Reynolds' RPG Saints Sketchbook. Wayne shares:

The RPG Saints Sketchbook collects 80 sketches by me, fantasy artist Wayne Reynolds, into one beautiful, hardcover book. I have been working on drawings of saints, in the mode of RPG characters for several years now, and have had many requests to collect them into some kind of book. This is that book!

The book features 80 drawings of RPG saints, and will be approximately 172 pages long. 

Each sketch was created in pencil, and I would like to print the book in full colour to get the very best image fidelity. Printing in colour also means we get the best paper quality.

The book is hardcover, and features a cover design embossed in metallic foil. It will be A5 in size.

There is a lot more to discover about this campaign over on Kickstarter, and you should really check it out. Wayne is an amazing artist, and I am particularly excited about this one. If you don't know Wayne's work, you are missing out on a lot! 

Last up, we have Sarah Dahlinger's Astra Fauna: Expeditions, a project that will launch soon. Head over to Kickstarter to get notified when the campaign goes live. Sarah is an awesome creature, and alien designer and maker, and this book will be super awesome. It follows five alien scientist as they document strange life. SOunds so much fun! Sarah has shared on Facebook:

It'll be 93 pages and is PACKED with art, and I mean PACKED. I mean, I'm the sole artist and when I scroll through, I'm like, "daaammmn, that's a lot of art". It's a little shocking and exciting to see it all together.
 
I like the stories too. Although they are about scientists, they are unofficial retellings of their expeditions. They deal with love, loss, identity, fear, bravery, discovery, and SCIENCE!

If you are not familiar with Sarah's art, you need to fix that now. This is another one I am super excited about! The campaign will launch soon, but head over there now so you do not miss anything.

That is all for another exiting 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, March 15, 2023

FIVE EXTRA Portent Artist Proofs with FULL COLOR Drawings NOW AVAILABLE!

*UPDATE* And they are all sold! Thanks, everyone!

I have sold out of the original signed and numbered edition of 50 Portent Artist Proofs from the Magic the Gathering set Commander 2018. But I did discover I had FIVE extra proofs! To celebrate this discovery, I have drawn full-color mixed media drawings on their backs. Using marker, ink, and acrylic paint, I have created a two-up Portent recreation on cards Extra 1 & 2, Bossk on Extra 3, a dragon on Extra 4, and Wicket the Ewok on Extra 5. All of these proofs are now available on my store!

These are the LAST and FINAL Portent artist proofs from Commander 2018. There are no more hidden extras. Get one of these before they are gone forever. Here is a look at the cards and the art.

Extra cards 1 and 2 with a Portent recreation on their backs (SOLD)
 
Extra card 3 with Bossk on the back (SOLD)
 
Extra card 4 with a dragon on the back (SOLD)
 
Extra card 5 with Wicket the Ewok on the back (SOLD)

These were super fun to create. I have been practicing a lot to figure out how best to work at this size with this media. I wonder where this will lead to? For now, here is a look at just the art on the backs of the artist proofs.

Marker, ink, and acrylic paint make up the above images

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 13, 2023

NEW ARTIST PROOFS! FOIL Egg Tokens!

I have new artist proofs available! While the Egg Token from Dominaria United Commander has been available since January, the Egg Token from Double Masters 2022 is now available, and this time around, there is a FOIL version. Behold! Eggs that are tokens, and one in which is foil.

New Magic the Gathering Artist Proofs are NOW AVAILABLE!
New Egg Tokens (including a FOIL version for the first time) from Double Masters 2022!

Here is the final art for the Egg token. In addition to artist proofs, there are prints available for all my Magic the Gathering art.

Egg Token
Magic the Gathering - Commander 2019
12 x 8.7- Digital 
Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson
 © 2019 Wizards of the Coast

I am not sure what artist proofs I will receive next or how many out there I will be receiving. It seems that some of my cards are now in reprint rotation, and that means a surprise could arrive in the mail any day. I do hope that the Unfinity proofs come soon. Blufferfish proofs will be a fun addition to the menagerie.

 
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, March 10, 2023

Yup, More Recent Artist Proof Drawings

Today I have several (not so) recent artist proofs that I added drawings to their backs. If you want to get any of these, just head to my store. These proofs are from the beginning of February. I am still playing catch-up on the blog and life, so we continue to be a little behind on things. And I currently do not have the time to invest in more involved posts. But that is neither here nor there. Today's selection covers the gambit of Star Wars, dinosaurs, and giant rhino people.

Given the option, I would likely draw Bossk and Ackbar whenever asked to make something Star Wars.

A rare two-up of a hatchling dinosaur on the back of two egg tokens.

Lastly, a Rhox on the back of a Bribe Taker.

I am working on some exciting things with my artist proofs, and hope to share it all with you soon. If it all goes to plan, I will be able to share some things with you in the next week or two. Fingers crossed!

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, March 8, 2023

Miracles - Burned Body Concepts Twenty Plus Years Later

While at Pensacon last month, I had the chance to cross paths with an actor I worked with over twenty years ago. One of the first makeup effects projects I worked on in 2002 when I returned to LA was for a show called Miracles. It was short-lived, and I wonder how many people watched it or even remember it, but I do because I worked on it. And when I wanted up to Skeet Ulrich with my DVD set to sign, he remembered it too. When Skeet saw the DVDs, he laughed and said, "Oh man!" We had a little chat and parted ways. Getting the DVDs signed, of course, got me thinking about the work I did on the show, and in particular, the work done for the first episode. To start things off, here is that DVD set all signed and ready for the "shelf of things I worked on".

Miracles - Another project that I worked on and have never watched.

If I remember correctly, Skeet Ulrich played a young priest or similar religious figure that is having a crisis of faith as he investigates, you guessed it, MIRACLES. I have never watched a single episode, so I am going off what I remember from over twenty years ago. For the first episode, I was asked to design a burned body found on a flight. No other damage or casualties, just a lone woman's body that was very, very burned. There is a twist, but I will leave that for those who want to watch the series. My part in all this started with designing the body. Dear Wife got to pose for reference photos on this one. Here are the designs that I produced.

Burned Body Concepts
Digital - 2002

The body is only seen on an autopsy table (if I remember correctly), so the end product was mostly a prop rather than a makeup or prosthetic. But it is still fun to work on something where the constraints of a living human's body does not interfere with making an interesting visual. In addition to the body concepts, I also produced a series of concepts for a healing sequence that was removed during the concept phase of the process. Or maybe it wasn't. I don't really know. I know we didn't make anything practical for this effect, so if it was used, maybe it was digital. This is another reason for me to watch it. Here are the healing concepts that I produced.

Healing Concepts
Digital - 2002

I also was tasked with making some organs, namely a pair of lungs, which you can see in the following photos. These were made by manipulating foam, coating them with an excellent and highly toxic chemical, painting them, and finally sealing them with silicone. I sadly do not have any other photos of the lungs as I was not yet recording everything we did at the shop. But I do have two pictures we took on set, and that will have to suffice. The figure on the right is yours truly as I worked on the set, finalizing the appearance of the body before filming. An extra dressed as a medical examiner stands across from me.

On the set of the first episode of Miracles with the burned body.

As filming progressed, they eventually needed to film the medical examiner cutting on the body with a REAL bone saw. I am sure the extra was a great guy, but he didn't make the body, didn't know what it was made of, or how to work with it. So through a series of events, I found myself in costume on set being filmed cutting on the body for the close-up shots. It was a lot of fun, I got to use a bone saw, and the body was not damaged in the filming process. Again, I sadly have no photos of myself in costume on set or of me working on the body. Hopefully, some of those moments ended up in the episode. And this would be another good reason for me to watch the series. Here is another image of the medical examiner on set with the body, in all its blurry early 2000s digital camera goodness.

Again, on the set of the first episode of Miracles with the burned body.

I did other work for the series, but I am still on the fence if I want to share any of it. I am not sure those designs went anywhere except the circular file as the series ended abruptly. We did some excellent work on the show, but it was not documented well, at least by me, so I do not have any images to share. Maybe another day, I will share some other bits and pieces from Miracles.

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

Friday, March 3, 2023

From the Vaults - Toned Paper Sketches

I stumbled upon a folder of sketchbook scans from a decade ago. I believe these were done as warm-ups and breaks while at the Illustration Master Class in 2013. As far as I can tell, I have never shared these. I have scoured this blog and can find no trace of them, so I will consider them unseen for ten years. I have never been able to manage a sketchbook for long. I either lose interest or move on to larger pieces that need my full attention. For most of my life, I have felt that if I have time to sketch, then I have time to work on a finished project. Yes, you do gain a lot from sketching, but those experiences for me have been worked into my process for making art. Hopefully, this means that I am not losing out on too much by not keeping this type of thing going. I think that is all I can say about these, save that some of these drawings would be very much at home in the Grand Bazaar.

All images copyright 2013/2023 Christopher Burdett

 That's all for another exciting week 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