A Second Look at Older Work - The Dreamblade Damsel in Distress

I have been sharing these posts, looking back at older work, for a while now, and they will become a more common occurrence on the blog in the new year as I transition away from art creation to writing on my next book.

Today, I am sharing a miniature design that I did for the now long-dead miniatures game, Dreamblade. Dreamblade will always be near and dear to me, as it was the first game I ever worked on and one of the times I felt most free as an artist working in the gaming industry. This is the "Damsel in Distress" design for an unproduced set of the game.

Unreleased Damsel in Distress - © 2006 Wizards of the Coast

 

Damsel in Distress turnaround - © 2006 Wizards of the Coast 

This was one that was outside my wheelhouse, but I ended up still liking it in the long run. It did go through some revisions early on, but in the end, it came together quickly. I always enjoyed the details and design of the garment. Not a fan of the trope of the distressed damsel, but the game mechanics would have likely flipped those expectations on their ear.

That's all for another exciting Friday 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

Vampyre (Vampire) Rock in the Papers in 1999

Strangely, I, apparently, have only ever mentioned the project that launched my entire career here on the blog. I shared the trailer and a few thoughts and details in 2017. To catch you up to speed: In the summer of 1999, which was also the second to last semester for me at university, a low-budget vampire movie was filmed here in Tallahassee, FL, mostly using students from the film school as crew and a little bit of money from Roger Corman (yes, that Roger Corman). The writer and director of this vampire movie was Andy Ruben, who had recently begun teaching at the university in the film department. Andy has made films of varying notoriety. He brought in a couple of people from LA, whom he had previously worked with, and that included the person handling the special effects makeup for the film. After a series of perfectly timed events, I found myself working for free on a movie making monster effects and drawing some storyboards. One thing led to another, and when I graduated, I left for LA and did my time in the industry. And we know how that turned out.

"Vampyre" Rock in the papers with zombie face in the upper left by me.

Jump ahead twenty-six years, and over the weekend, two copies of the local newspaper's coverage of the film's production came into my possession. I swore I had one around here somewhere, but I haven't seen this in many, many years. A strange time capsule and a reminder of the unlikely beginning of over two decades of making monsters. While I was not mentioned in the article (because why would I be?), the face next to the title of the article is the very first piece of makeup effects I ever created. The face cast was brought from LA as a raw foam cast. I added details, texture, paint, and finish to the face, and I think that I may have made it into the film. Which, by the way, I finally saw, for the very first time, earlier this year. Andy gave me a copy of the movie in 2017 after we reconnected online after I tracked down his YouTube account. Eleven days after he gave me the movie, he passed away suddenly. Needless to say, it took a little while to get around to finally watching it. It was an amazing time capsule and reminder of that wild summer. I am so glad to have finally watched the results of all of our work.

Some of those mentioned were missnamed - oops!

I often wonder where everyone who worked on Vampire Rock ended up. How many are living the LA dream still? Who have we lost? What new adventures did they make for themselves in the last twenty-six years? I know the answers to a few from that summer of vampires. I hope everyone found what they were looking for, because I know I did. It just took a few twists and turns to get there.

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

Quelled Woofettes - 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 and is the next chapter art in the book. We find ourselves reunited with the once mighty Woofettes that fly through the skies in an airship. Now, he is bound and chained deep under the lair of the Basilisk in the Warren. How did such a fate befall this once mighty being? Will anyone, CAN anyone, lend aid and rescue this tortured soul? But you must remember one thing: The Woofettes are known for the loud outbursts and volatile nature, but it is when they are still and quiet that you know your life is likely nearly over. 

Quelled Woofettes
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
11 x 14 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper

Original - Contact me if interested
© 2025 Christopher Burdett

 

Quelled Woofettes - Drawing 

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper
© 2025 Christopher Burdett

 

Here is a look at the sketch and tonal study for the Quelled Woofettes to show where it began.

 

Quelled Woofettes - Sketch 

 Digital 

 © 2025 Christopher Burdett

 

Quelled Woofettes - Tonal study

 Digital 

 © 2025 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. This one came together a bit more normally compared to some of the other recent pieces. I worked top to bottom on the figure and then the background. I needed to set the value structure on the figure before I could balance the environment. 

Encounter at the Poisoned Dagger - Process

© 2025 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

Star Spawn Seer Miniature

Today, I have for you a miniature based on one of my illustrations. I updated and painted the Star Spawn Seer for Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse. I have been biding my time for this one. Not sure why I figured it would eventually become a miniature, but I have expected one to be made since I painted this one. We can add this to the growing number of miniatures based on my work, where I used myself as the reference. To start things off, here is my painting of the Star Spawn Seer.

Star Spawn Seer

Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Emi Tanji

© 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This one looks great and is nice and awkward and gross. You can't go wrong with that. I always find it interesting to see what had to be changed and what comes directly from my painting. Here are a pair of images of the miniature so that you can compare them to the illustration.

Star Spawn Seer

Ghost Light

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

Recent Magic the Gathering Artist Proof Art

Today, I have a recent Magic the Gathering artist proof that I added art to its back. All available artist proofs and art options can be found on my store. This one was a commission from IX last month. While the Raphael was interesting, they wanted their namesake turtle. I present my art on the back of a Magic the Gathering card.

A Michelangelo for a Mike!

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

The Current State and Future of the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

As 2025 nears its end, I wanted to update you all on the state and future of the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. If you are part of my mailing list, you already know what I am about to share. 2025 has been a productive year, and the most productive in a while. The long and the short of it is that I have only two remaining large pieces to complete for the book. Here is a look at the production board as of a few days ago.

The current state of production in the Grand Bazaar.

While there is a lot going on, focus on the left two-thirds of the production board, that is book two. You can see the remaining two question marks that are placeholders for the main art for the last two chapters of the book. Let's make this easier to look at.

A cleaner view of things.

With the work completed for book three obscured, you can see just how much has been happening on book two. We are close now, and if you have spoken to me recently in person, you know just how close we are. 2025 has brought us a long way toward the goal. Don't believe me? Here is a look at the production board in February of this year.

Production as of February 2025.

A lot of question marks were replaced this year, and the year is not up. But let's go back to the beginning, let's have a look at where I was five years ago when the production of book two began.

And finally, the state of production five years ago, in September 2020. 

So, what does this all mean? Well, I have two remaining chapter starts to make. One of those pieces will be completed in the month of December. Depending on how this month goes, both remaining pieces of art could be done this month. But I have already scheduled the second to be completed at some point before the end of January 2026. And upon the completion of that second and final piece of art?

I will begin writing Book Two, The Completed Circle, no later than January of 2026. And, barring any national or global cataclysmic events, The Completed Circle will be arriving in 2027. I hope you are ready, it will be an adventure!

I welcome you back to the world of the Grand Bazaar in 2027 with book two, The Completed Circle.

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