A NEWER Aarakocra Miniature

I have another recently released miniature based on my designs and illustrations that has also already been turned into multiple miniatures. If you had guessed it would be an Aarakocra, then you are most definitely correct! And yes, this is ANOTHER totally new and different Aarakocra mini. They can't seem to stop making them and I have zero issue with this. Here is the final illustration for the Aarakocra that I painted over a decade ago.

Aarakocra

 Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition Monster Manual

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

The Aarakocra is one of those monsters that means a great deal to me for a number of reasons. This is one of the many monsters I designed for 5th Edition, the species appeared in the movie, they have made a ton of miniatures of them, and they have reprinted the art many, many times. It means a great deal that this monster and the art I did for it are still kicking around after over a decade. Here are some images of the new mini.

The NEWEST Aarakocra miniature for all your newest Aarakocra miniature needs.

Lastly, here is an image of the original Aarakocra mini so you can see how it has evlved for the past eleven years.

 

The original Aarakocra miniature was made for the Icons of the Realms line of minis from 2014. 

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

NEW Aarakocra Miniature

I have another recently released miniature that is based on my designs and illustrations that has also already been turned into mulitple miniatures. Last week it was the Spectator, but today is the return of the Aarakocra. Again, I am speaking losly with the word 'new,' when this mini came out this past October. And yes, this is ANOTHER totally new and different Aarakocra mini. They can't seem to stop making them and I have zero issue with this. Here is how the final illustration for the Aarakocra turned out.

Aarakocra

 Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition Monster Manual

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

I have said it here before, I have a few D&D monsters that mean a great deal to me, each for their own reasons. The Aarakocra is one of those monsters. Anytime I see new minis, the reuse of my art, or other artists take on the monster it is a good day for me. And even though there are a lot of Aarakocra minis and I love them all, this is by far my favorite and really holds true to my original designs and painting. Here are some images of the new mini.

The NEW Aarakocra miniature for all your new Aarakocra miniature needs.

 

Lastly, here is an image of the original Aarakocra mini so you can see how it has evlved for the past ten years. I will add that this is the last of my miniatures posts for a while. There are more minis coming, but there are some months away and I have no more save to post. So I will have to come up with something new to post of Fridays for a while.

The original Aarakocra miniature made for the Icons of the Realms line of minis from 2014.

 

 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

ANother NEW Aarakocra Miniature

AGAIN, if you are saying to yourself there are already several Aarakocra miniatures out there and that I shared them here on the blog, you are correct. Today I am sharing ANOTHER NEW Aarakocra miniatures that was 'recently' released. Let us start things by looking back at my original Aarakocra painting that I created for the 5th Edition Monster Manual.

Aarakocra

 Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition Monster Manual

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures release of the Aarakocra Paladins is a two-pack of Aarakocra miniatures. I think the miniatures looks excellent and are very dynamic. Here is the unpainted Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures release of the Aarakocra Paladins.

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Aarakocra Paladins

 

As I have stated above, the Aarakocra has already been made into several miniatures. It was a prepainted mini that was part of a standalone miniatures game that is now no longer in production, and again recenly, it was made into a pair of fighter minis. Here is the Aarakocra from that earlier line of minis.

 

Aarakocra - Miniature

Icons of the Realms

2014 

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

NEW Aarakocra Miniature

If you are saying to yourself there is already an Aarakocra miniature out there and that I shared it here on the blog, you are correct. Today I am sharing one of several NEW Aarakocra miniatures that was 'recently' released. Let us start things by looking back at my original Aarakocra painting that I created for the 5th Edition Monster Manual.

Aarakocra

 Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition Monster Manual

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures release of the Aarakocra Fighters is a two-pack of Aarakocra miniatures. I think the miniatures looks excellent and are very dynamic. Maybe one of these days I will be asked to revisit this monster and I will be able to paint one in the middle of the action. Here is the unpainted Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures release of the Aarakocra Fighters.

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Aarakocra Fighters

 

As I have stated above, the Aarakocra has already been made into a miniature. It was a prepainted mini that was part of a standalone miniatures game that is now no longer in production. It seemed interesting, but I never played it. It was an early way to get miniatures based on 5th Edition versions of the monsters, though. Here is the Aarakocra from that early line of minis. 

 

Aarakocra - Miniature

Icons of the Realms

2014 

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 Campaign Case: Creatures - The Return of the Aarakocra

I have been keeping my eye on the Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Case: Creatures for a while. It was released last year and I had a hunch that I likely had at least one monster in there. Recently I was looking at some images online of the monsters that come in the set and a familiar face was staring back at me. My feathered friend, the Aarakocra, was confirmed in the set, so that meant I needed to get my hands on one to see what else might be in the set. Here as a reminder is the final painting that I did of the Aarakocra for the 5E D&D Monster Manual.

Aarakocra

 Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition Monster Manual

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

I am impressed with how the set turned out. It all comes in a nice outer box with an interior box that features a handle. It is well designed and full of monsters, something that interests me a great deal. Here are some photos of the various level of box strata.

After finally reaching the monsters and pouring over them all I soon realized that at the end of the day I only had the one monster in the set. But I am happy to see that the Aarakocra was included and representing my contribution to the game.

RAWR! I'm an Aarakocra!

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

Aarakocra Returns as a Dungeon & Dragons Metal Print

I recently noticed a Facebook link for a company that produces metal prints. They have a licensing agreement with Wizards of the Coast and produce D&D metal prints. My curiosity was piqued, so I followed the link and saw what they had to offer. I would be lying if I had secretly hoped to see some of my work and then... there it was.

Aarakocra Metal Print

Having seen (and loved) the D&D movie and the awesome job they did with Jarnathan, I was not surprised to see that they had used my Aarakocra art for one of their print offerings. Not only did they use the painting I created for the Monster Manual, but they also used the supplemental drawings that I produced. Here is a look at the art I created for the game.

Aarakocra

 Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition Monster Manual

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Aarakocra - Detail Sketches

 Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition Monster Manual

9x12 - Pencil on paper

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

I enjoy collecting books, cards, miniatures, and everything else my art appears on and in. So I had to pick up one of these metal prints. I think it looks great, and it looks even better on the wall in the studio.

Aarakocra metal print on the wall in the studio

The one odd thing was that there was the following message in my receipt email. While I know that as work for hire, WotC can do anything and everything with the work that I created. This is not an issue, it is the way of things. I assume that the company that produces these metal prints must work with some artist directly in some capacity, but the fact that this went out to the very person who made the art and will never see another dime from its use is somewhat ironic.

But the world is weird and there is not much to be done about it. I tried to reach out to the company about the working of the email but encountered a very dumb chat-bot (it said as much), and I gave up. Cool metal print all the same, and the art looks great on 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

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Aarakocra

Recently finding the Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures release of the Eidolon opened the flood gates of a ton of miniatures based on my designs and illustrations that I was completely unaware of. I am not sure if I found them all, but I certainly found enough. I will be sharing them with you over the next few weeks. To start things off, I have for you a lovely miniature based on my designs and work on the Aarakocra that I updated and illustrated for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Looking at the miniature again, it is possible the pose what pulled from the illustration of the Aarakocra from the D&D supplement Princes of the Apocalypse by Claudio Pozas. The Aarakocra first became a miniature in 2014, but this updated version is a lot more to my liking. To start things off, here is the illustration for the Aarakocra.

Aarakocra

 Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition Monster Manual

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures release of the Aarakocra, it is part of a two-pack of miniatures. The other mini in the set is a Harpy. As previously mentioned, I think this miniature looks excellent and really breaths a lot of life into my design. I never had the opportunity to show it in action. During the design phase for 5E, it was all about getting the design across, and when it came time for the illustration in the Monster Manual, I was asked again to present it more or less in a strong standing pose. If I had to do it over again, I might have pushed for something more dynamic. Here is the unpainted Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures release of the Aarakocra.

 

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Aarakocra

As I have stated above, the Aarakocra has already been made into a miniature. It was a prepainted mini that was part of a standalone miniatures game that is now no longer in production. It seemed interesting, but I never played it. It was an early way to get miniatures based on 5th Edition versions of the monsters, though. Here is the Aarakocra from that early line of minis.

Aarakocra - Miniature

Icons of the Realms

2014

Lastly, here is the final concept design that I did in the design phase of 5th Edition. This particular monster when through several iterations before it got to this point. Some of which needed to be killed with fire. But that is the way of things.

Aarakocra - Final Concept

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

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

D&D Monster Cards Challenge 0-5 - The Return of the Monsters

Back in 2018, a deck of monster cards was released featuring the monsters found in the 5th Edition D&D Monster Manual. That means that a bunch of my monsters got to see use in handy dandy card form. Unlike some other products that saw the reuse of my work, these cards clearly credit me as the artist, which is very much appreacited. I am still very happy with the work I did on the Monster Manual and the concept phase of getting 5th Edition up and going, so it is nice to see this art getting another use. Here is the packing for the cards as well as the cards featuring my art.

D&D Monster Cards Challenge 0-5

 

Definitely some of my favorite monsters and paintings of monsters that I have done for D&D. Here are better images of all the paintings featured on the cards.

Aarakocra

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Ankheg

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Fire Snake

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Salamander

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

 

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

Into the Jungle - The Return of the Aarakocra

Thanks to the internet I continue to discover where my work has been used in subsequent products with my clients. This time around I have for you the choose your own adventure style Dungeons and Dragon book, Into the Jungle from 2018. This book sees the return of the Aarakocra created initially for the 5th Edition Monster Manual in 2014. Here is a look at the new incarnation of the Aarakocra.

Aarakocra

Into the Jungle

8x11 - Digital

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast

The Aarakocra has surprisingly made its way around over the past five years. If you are interested in picking up a copy of Into the Jungle, which looks to be a really fun book, here is the cover that sports a gorgeous Chris Seaman cover.

Into the Jungle, for all your into the jungle needs.

Lastly, here are the original illustrations for the Aarakocra. It is the first monster in the 5th Editon Monster Manual if you go looking for it.

Aarakocra

 Dungeons & Dragons - 5th Edition Monster Manual

8x11 - Digital

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

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

Dungrons & Dragons - Dungeonology

Earlier in the week I went down a rabbit hole of discovering a bunch of my work illegally being used on items for sale (another story for another day). In the process of finding all of the stolen artwork I did learn that some of my work was being used legitimately on projects I did not know about. I discovered that I was credited on the Dungeons & Dragons book, Dungeonology. Dungeonology came out in 2016 and while I was aware of its existence I had no idea some of my work was actually in it. Learning that I had a credit in it I rolled the dice and ordered one to see if in fact the credit was accurate and because I collect things with my work in it. The book arrived and I began paging through to find my reused work. While it was easy enough to spot my name on the first page under contributing artists, finding my art turned out to be a little more difficult. I searched through the entire book twice with no luck in finding anything that looked like mine. Maybe my name being in the book was an error? Maybe my work had originally been in there but it was removed along the way due to edits? Maybe I was not looking hard enough? Well, I began looking through the book a third time, carefully scouring each page, flipping through each supplemental mini book, and unfolding every flap, edge, and map in a the quest for something made with my hand. Here is what I found...

The cover of the Dungeonology is so shiny and fancy!

Looks like just another normal page with no sign of my art...

...but what's this? A secret flap? An extra bit of content and information!

Looking closer... what's this?

FINALLY! I drew that feather!

As far as I can tell this is my only art in the book and I think it is awesome and hilarious. I am eternally grateful for the professionalism for everyone over at WotC and the team on Dungeons & Dragons. It would have been so easy to no give me credit for this, after all it is just a little feather on one page. I have not been given credit plenty of times with other companies, so it is so wonderful when things like this happen. If you are wondering why I had drawn a feather for D&D you just need to look back to 2014. When working on the 5th Edition Monster Manual the artists were asked to supply detail pencil sketches for their monsters so that production can use them as part of the layout of the book. One of the sketches that I did for the Aarkocra was... you guessed it! ...a feather.

Aarakocra - Detail Sketches

9x12 - Pencil on paper

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

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

Dungeons & Dragons - Monsters and Heroes of the Realms - Coloring Book

The Dungeons & Dragons - Monsters and Heroes of the Realms Coloring Book was recently released and I go my hands on a copy over the weekend. Turns out that some of my work created for the 5th Edition Monster Manual was adapted for use in the coloring book! A surprise to me, but never the less pretty neat. Here is a look at the cover...

Dungeons & Dragons - Monsters and Heroes of the Realms Coloring Book

While I had nothing to do with the creation of this actual product, someone converted my paintings into line art so that they can now be colored. My pieces that are used in the coloring book are the Kraken, Aarakocra, and the Salamander, all favorites of mine for different reasons. Really fun to see them turned into line art for coloring. Now to deal with the temptation to color them like I painted them. Here is a look at the coloring pages of my monsters...

Kraken coloring book page

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Aarakocra coloring book page

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Salamander coloring book page

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

There was an unexpected credits section in the back of the book. Not that I was surprised that the original artist got credit, but that there is a thumbnail of the coloring page, the artist that created the original art, and the original publication of the art. They went that extra mile and that is really neat. There is also a mini color gallery featuring some of the original art used in this book, but none of my color pieces were used in this mini gallery. Here is a look at one of the credit pages...

Coloring book page credits page sample

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That is all for another exciting Tuesday 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