The newest Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerun, was recently released, and I can finally share my work on this book... sort of. I was lucky enough to have produced three pieces for the book. But, due to events outside my control, sections of the book were removed during production, and with the sections so went two of my pieces. That means that I can only share one piece with you today. Hopefully, in the future, those pieces will find a home and I will be able to share them. Of my pieces, the Phaerimm was the lucky one to make the book. While it was not an entirely new monster for me, I was aware of its existence, but I had never worked with or played with one before. So that was a treat for sure. Before sharing the final paintings for the Phaerimm, let's have a look at the book you can find it in.
Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerun
For those unfamiliar with the Phaerimm, it is an abomination that looks like a flying sunflower cornucopia with arms and a needle-toothed maw at its center. You know, the type of thing one would find in the Forgotten Realms. Here is my final painting for the Phaerimm, as well as the preliminary drawing.
Lastly, here is the monster in the book for all to see. An interesting side note, backgrounds are now included with the monsters I have been creating lately. So there is more context to the monster, and it isn't simply sitting in a white void on the page. This meant that I needed to supply the creature, separated from the background. Make of it what you will, it was a new aspect to the process that I will elaborate on when I share the entire production process.
The Phaerimm on the page for all your Phaerimm needs.
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
Today on the blog, I wanted to point out several artist campaigns that I think you all might be interested in. It features fantastic art, writing, and more by incredible artists and writers, and if you have not already checked them out, you should do so NOW!
The encounters in this book will provide you with a wealth of beast
storyline starters, designed to lead your players on a series of
challenges, quests, and plot hooks tied to the common wild animals of
your settings.
It’s a given that players enjoy slaying
terror-inspiring monsters and battling antiheroes of ill repute. Still,
these dangerous settings of epic plotlines are also filled with smaller
adventures and side quests that can be just as impactful to the player’s
gaming experience.
Designed to be used in any setting or RPG game system you desire, the
encounters within this book are entirely narrative in nature, allowing
the Game Master to use the encounters in any ruleset of their choosing.
In rare instances, we have inserted simple 5e mechanics (suitable for
2014 or 2024) that can be easily adapted to your system.
I have known Aaron for many years, and I love his work, so let's pitch in and make this a reality!
Have you been wanting something that is distinctly high fantasy, in a
queer normative world, with a plot that wraps around a romance arc?
If so here is my humble pitch to you, if you are a reader and fan of fantasy and mm romance.
Prince Rowyn was considered weak as a dragon, a secret that couldn’t
leave the palace and mandated an elusive life. Remaining out of the
public eye kept everyone safe. His twin sister was the face of the
dragon monarchy, and he would remain in the shadows. He’d long come to
peace with such a life; there was comfort in solitude and routine.
Then whispers of war reached the shores.
Every
nation on edge, it landed on Rowyn to decide whether to build an
alliance with the enigmatic dragon king of the south - or to send
someone else in his stead. The decision was on his shoulders. He
couldn’t possibly handle such a task, could he?
His worries faded
into the background when he met the king’s guard, a human bearing a
mystery in one hand, and an accusation in the other. One who challenged
what he thought was true, invoking a sense of justice Rowyn had no
choice but to follow.
To make this alliance, he’ll have to step
outside of the shadows he coveted, unravel a harrowing mystery, and lean
into the arms of a stranger-turned-friend—perhaps something more.
Yukimi is great and, like me, is compelled to both create art and write. I hope you take the time to check out the campaign!
Written by John Booth (Collect All 21! Memoirs of a Star Wars Geek - The First 30 Years) and featuring stunning art by Matt Kish (Moby-Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page),
"The Legacy of Mo'Roh" is a 20-page system-agnostic adventure that can
be slotted into an existing RPG campaign or run as a single-session
one-shot. It's a malleable story that's easily adaptable to a range of
fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and monster settings.
Graphic design pro Carmen Dotterer worked magic in packing a handy
and readable layout into a classic zine format (5.5"x8.5"). We were
really pleased with the look and feel of our small sample print run -
full-color, 80lb satin finish interior pages and a full-color, 100lb
satin cover, all staple-bound - and we'd like to order and deliver more.
Meeting our funding goal would make this happen.
All original art and text in this project was created by humans, not AI.
I am a big fan of John's writing, especially about Star Wars, so I am extremely excited to check out this project. I hope you take the time to check out the campaign!
That's all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here next week! Until then..
For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com
This past weekend was Infinity Con Gainesville 2025. This was the second and my first IC Gainesville. I had a scheduling conflict last year and wasn't able to attend till this year. The venue for ICG was AMAZING! The space was large and well lit and offered up loads of space for all the great vendors, artists, and guests that were in attendance. This was the type of event I would have gladly attended and would have pored over the boxes of comics, old toys, and records. But alas, I had to be at my table and was not able to take in as much of the show as I would have liked. I was part of two panels, the first, a solo panel on Saturday, was about my career, and the second, on Sunday, was a trio of panelists discussing world-building. I had a great time sharing the Grand Bazaar with new people as well as reconnecting with convention friends and artists. MANY thanks to David and his entire team for making it a fun weekend. I did manage to take a few, but not many, images of the con.
My booth at Infinity Con Gainesville 2025.
The Infinity Con team takes good care of me, and I am forever appreciative.
A look at my booth before I got started.
Just a little bit of a glowup!
Friday night allowed me some downtime before the show, and I spent that time in my sketchbook.
A look at the entirety of the show from the VIP balcony.
The 501st brought everything they had... and then some.
These are the Droids I was looking for.
Grogu was enjoying himself as well.
This was an interesting display of Pokémon/Squid Games mashup.
At some point on Saturday, this little unicorn appeared on the floor in front of the booth. I assumed it was dropped, so I left it, hoping that its owner would return to find it. Eventually, the folks across from me came over and picked it up and placed it at the corner of my table, again, hoping that it would be reunited with its owner. By teardown on Sunday afternoon, it was still hanging out at my booth and has since returned home with me. I guess I have a unicorn now.
And that which was, must be undone. In a flash, the two days were over, and it was time to head home.
Again, thanks to David and the entire ICG team, those set up around me at the show, and to all those who came to my booth!
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
Infinity Con Gainesville is THIS WEEKEND, and I will be there as a guest! Infinity Con Tallahassee is a great event and we have a ton of fun, so we are bringing that energy to Gainesville this weekend. I will have nearly all of the Grand Bazaar with me, so you can expect books, art, enamel pins, and a lot of new art! I will have some surprises for the show as well!
We are looking forward to introducing Gainesville to the Grand Bazaar. I hope to see you there!
I recently made several small monster pieces to have with me at conventions. I will have all five at Infinity Con Gainesvillethis coming weekend. These are all fun little pieces using pencil, marker, ink, and paint. Similar to the larger pieces I had planned to bring to Gen Con earlier this year. These are priced to sell, so I hope they find their forever homes. Feel free to reach out if one of them catches your eye.
I am still SUPER swamped, so I have for you another unreleased piece from many moons ago.
First and foremost, I can not tell you anything about this work or the project it was created for. I would love to, but I can't, so please do not ask or try to guess.
Continuing from the last post in the series back in October, I am sharing some design work that never went anywhere. As mentioned before, this was a project that I was really excited about, but the pay was criminally low, I did a ton of work on it, and it never went anywhere. Not sure I can saw much more about it, other than I still have all the art I made for it and likely will forever. I would have been cool.
Leading up to IX 2025 last month, my friend, Allen Panakal, whom I have mentioned many times here on the blog, reached out regarding an artist proof trade. I, of course, took him up on the trade. You do not have to ask me twice about trading art with my friends. The theme was Star Wars, so I decided to recreate my favorite piece of work done for the FFG Star Wars games, the Yoda from the card game. I didn't know what Allen had in the works for me, so I was over the moon when he presented me with a Boba Fett based on the print he had available at SDCC and Gen Con this year. I missed out on the print by missing Gen Con, but I ended up with something MUCH better. I have Allen's proof framed on a shelf just to my right of my drawing table, so I can always see it. Here is a look at the proofs.
My contribution to the trade - Yoda.
Allen's contribution to the trade - an AWESOME Boba Fett
I couldn't be happier and am still thrilled that Allen reached out to me for the trade. I am not sure why I haven't done more things like this.
That's all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here on the blog next week! Until then...
For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com
While at IX last month, I was able to get my copies of this year's Infected by Art. I always look forward to getting my copies at the event, and it has become a bit of a tradition in that respect. This year marks the release of volume 13 of IBA, and once again, I have a piece included. The Airship from the upcoming The Completed Circle got a full page in IBA #13, and I think it printed great. Here are images of the book, my art in the book,and my art.
In many ways, I am still processing IX 2025. This was the eighteenth year, and I have been attending since year two. A long time to be involved in multiple cities at multiple locations. Post-COVID life and conventions have been weird, and it feels like it still hangs in the air at events, but this year's IX felt different. There was an energy, an excitement, a feeling, and a vibe I haven't felt in easily five years. This year, it felt like it did before COVID. And it was truly and completely wonderful.
I wish I could put my finger on it, but it was all different for me this year in all the best ways possible. For me, this was a FANTASTIC event this year. I brought everything that I could. The entirety of the Grand Bazaar was on display, and it was all very, very well received. Yes, sales were up over the last few years at IX, but it was much more than just that. I felt like I was connecting better with people. I had a thousand amazing conversations about art and life. I saw so many friends and my heart was refilled. We met so many new people, and people who have been on the fringes of our bubble were brought in. As much as IX is about art, it is also about friends, community, and fellowship. You are among your peers, mentors, coworkers, and patrons for a week, and it was the best time I have had there in a good long while. Not that IX is in any way lacking, but the car troubles of two years ago, the lingering gloom of the COVID years, and the state of the world have had their effects on things. But this year it was all gone for me. I was in a wonderful art bubble for a week, and I want MORE.
I have said it before, and I will continue to say it, IX is a one of a kind event and you owe it to yourself to attend. Do not worry about showing, just go. Be a part of the workshops and panels, tour the galleries, and talk to EVERYONE. There is no other event that gives you this much time and access to working artists. I am already looking ahead to next year.
Here are some images and thoughts regarding this year's IX!
The main section of my booth at IX.
For those who do not know, the rug at IX in my booth is from my studio.
So a portion of home is with me at IX.
Before it looks like the first photo, it looks like this.
Across from the main section of the booth is a second part where I stand with smaller items and my books. I have done similar setups, but nothing this size, and I loved the arrangement. It allowed me to look at my art all week, which is really important for me from time to time. And it allowed me to display everything I brought with me. IX grants me the space to do this, and I couldn't be happier to use it all.
Here is a little video of the booth to get a feel for how everything was set up.
After making a big splash last year in the Showcase, Mietze has arrived at the Main Show.
What started out as a bit of a joke last year has become a well-received experience. Mietze's work really resonates with people, and he was sold out by Friday. Hopefully, he will decide to create a new series moving forward.
A little about the artist.
Now, for a little look around the gallery. I once again did a poor job of photographing everything, but others have taken up that job after I had it for so many years. This is the view to one side of my booth.
And a look out from the other side of my row.
And a look from the front of the fourth-floor gallery I was in this year.
And one more view of the gallery.
The second-floor gallery was amazing... and I apparently took this single photo.
The Warren went to a forever home!
Some of the artist proofs I did at the show this year, with the owl being my absolute favorite.
And just like that... it was all over and the gallery was cleared.
Another amazing week in the books and another awaiting us next year.
Sunday night is a bittersweet time. It is the last time for most of us to really hang out and socialize, and it is the last time we will see one another for six to twelve months. So we laugh, shout, sing, party, and celebrate the week, art, and the ups and downs of a life as an artist. While IX might be galleries full of amazing art, this photo is what makes IX so special. Until next year!
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
