The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT: Alien

Showing posts with label Alien. Show all posts

Friday, April 9, 2021

Stop Me if You Have Heard This Before - The Return of the Arcona Rumor Monger

Okay, so a funny thing happened since last Friday when I shared what had to be the final instance of my Arcona Rumor Monger painting being reused in a Star Wars game product. Well, since last week, it came to my attention that the art was used once again for the Convincing Demeanor card, but this time in the Diplomat Agitator Specialization Deck from 2015. It may have taken six years for me to learn this, but better late than never. At this point, I am assuming that this art is in every single Star Wars product released by FFG. That is a joke for the folks in the back. It is great that the art has been so well recieved that it found a use in so many products. It is the painting that keeps giving and giving. Here is a look at the much-repeated incarnation of the Arcona Rumor Monger art as the Convincing Demeanor card.

Convincing Demeanor

Diplomat Agitator Specialization Deck

I wonder if I had known at the time of this pieces creation how often it would see print if I would have done anything differently. In all likelihood, I would have likely stressed over the piece and not enjoyed myself. That is the way of things.

If, for some reason, you are trying to complete your collection of my work in print, here is the cover of the Colonist Performer Specialization Deck so that you might purchase the correct one.

Diplomat Agitator Specialization Deck - For all your colonist performer needs

Lastly, here is the original illustration for the Arcona Rumor Monger. At this point, I am not sure that this will be the last time I will be sharing this one with you. Exactly how many times was this piece used?

Arcona Rumor Monger

Balance of the Force - Star Wars Card Game expansion

9.8 x 7.6 - Digital

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

Friday, April 2, 2021

Colonist Performer Specialization Deck - The Return of the Arcona Rumor Monger... Wait, WUT?!? AGAIN????

If you think you have seen this post before, in some ways, you have, and in some ways, you haven't. My Arcona Rumor Monger painting that I created for the Star Wars LCG is above and beyond the most reused image that I have ever created. At least to my knowledge. It has been on cards, in books, in decks, and likely more than I will ever know. Every time I think I have found them all, another one will surface. The specialization decks for the Star Wars RPGs are where they seem to be more common. This particular usage is from 2015. I have known about it since 2019, but I haven't had a chance to share it here yet. Of all the images I have made in my two decades plus career that this is the image that keeps getting reprinted is a bit funny to me. It is nearly a direct self-portrait and is the first of my Star Wars work that points in the direction that all the subsequent work followed. Here is a look at the much-repeated incarnation of the Arcona Rumor Monger art as the Convincing Demeanor card.

Convincing Demeanor

Colonist Performer Specialization Deck

If you look carefully, you can see the digital sketch of my giant map of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia behind the card. You can also see my production checklist with all of the completed elements marked off in orange highlighter. The text is likely a section of my book that I was proofreading when I took these pictures of the card and the deck cover. A strange little slice of a moment in my life and the creation of my book is in the background of these images.

If, for some reason, you are trying to complete your collection of my work in print, here is the cover of the Colonist Performer Specialization Deck so that you might purchase the correct one.

Colonist Performer Specialization Deck - For all your colonist performer needs

Lastly, here is the original illustration for the Arcona Rumor Monger. I need to make the time to tell you about all of the Easter eggs that I have put into this image and many of my other Star Wars paintings. That will need to wait for another day.

Arcona Rumor Monger

Balance of the Force - Star Wars Card Game expansion

9.8 x 7.6 - Digital

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 13, 2021

Rancor - Star Wars - Process

Five years ago to the day, I worked on a Rancor painting for the Jabba' Realm expansion to Imperial Assault. Today, I am sharing with you the process and steps that went into making that painting. It is a little hard to believe that I made this painting five years ago, that it has sat in my blog queue folder all this time and all that I have done in these past five years. It feels like yesterday, and it feels like twenty years ago. To start things off, here is the final painting for the Rancor.

Rancor

Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm Expansion

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

This was the second time I was asked to paint a Rancor for the Fantasy Flight Star Wars games. This time the Rancor needed to be depicted living its best life on its homeworld of Dathomir. That meant lots of red and lots of RAWRs. I have been more than acquainted with the Rancor since the summer of 1983, and it is a real treat to paint this particular Star Wars monster.

While I talk a lot about my process, always beginning reference, I am not able to share that reference. Much of it is pictures of me in my underwear, and no one needs to see that. When it comes to my work on Star Wars, I can employ my extensive collection of Star Wars toys to carry the bulk of the heavy lifting. It is not every project that you can open a box and have instant perfect reference for an assignment. While I have an idea for compositions and images in my head, when I use the toys as reference I can build little dioramas to better work things out, or I can position the figures into dozens of poses and arrangement as quickly as needed. Here is a look at some of the many photos that I used for reference for this painting.

Rancor Reference

With the reference collected, I can begin on thumbnails. I look at all my options, see what which are speaking to me, determine which work best for the assignment, and decide which I would like to actually paint. Typically, there are three to four winners, and they move onto becoming thumbnails. While some of the references is used nearly as is, some will be combined with other elements, edited, or in some way changed to make it work better. You must be aware that the reference is not perfect. While something looks correct in the real world, once it becomes a drawing or painting, it can begin to look awkward or wrong. Here are the four thumbnails that I submitted for this assignment.

Rancor Thumbnails

Option 'D' was selected, but I was asked to make some changes. For one, the planets/moons in the sky were too large and too dominant and they needed to be made smaller. The other issue was that the figure was crowding the chrome of the card that it was eventually going to be on. One of the problems with most of my work on the Star Wars properties was that I wanted all of my paintings to be up close and in the art's action. Most of the Star Wars games had many borders, numbers, information, and elements that cut into the art or overlapped it. This meant that there needed to be a lot of padding, especially at the top of the image, for the card's chrome to overlay. This meant that many of my thumbnails were updated to pull back from the subject matter and add a lot of padding around the figures. Here is my updated thumbnail, and you can see how much more room there is now around the Rancor.

Revised Rancor Thumbnail

This updated thumbnail was approved without further With an approved thumbnail, it was time to work on the final drawing that would be the blueprint for my painting. As mentioned many many times before, this is my favorite part of the process, and it often feels like the part I have the least time for. I have done things differently in my process over the past year to change that a little. But that is for another day and another assignment.

Rancor

Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm Expansion

17 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

The drawing was approved without comment, and that meant it was time to start my painting. By this point, I had produced several traditional paintings for Star Wars, and some of the fear had begun to ease when beginning one of these pieces. I was still somewhat worried that I would ruin it all, but I was experienced enough to know what to do if I did ruin it. Here is a look at the process of the Rancor painting coming together from thumbnail to final approved painting.

Rancor Process

I got the painting to the point that I thought was done. It felt like it hit all the marks and with knowing how the painting would be used and printed, I figured I had all my bases covered. Here is the first version of the Rancor painting that I turned in.

Rancor Version 1

I don't remember any comments about the Rancor itself, and I don't see any difference in the painting - though I likely touched it all again, production wanted more done to the foreground and background. They wanted more pop, more detail, and they wanted it all to have more more more. I did as they asked because I am a professional, and you meet the requests of the client. I went back to the painting and pushed and pulled the background more. I added a lot more to the foreground and middle ground. For the most part, I just touched everything in the painting one more time to give it all a little more attention. As mentioned, I am not sure I did much or anything to the Rancor, after all, it is the star of the piece and got a ton of love and attention already. Here again, is the final painting of the Rancor that I submitted and was approved.

Rancor

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Original - SOLD

Now, let us have a look at the final production card that my art appears on. It is a good thing that all that additional work that I did on the card really got to shine in the card and really made a difference to how the art looked. Oh well. It is out of my hands, and I did what I was asked to do.

Rancor card in a handy dandy form

The art was reused in another of FFG's Star Wars games a year or so ago. You see a bit more of the art, but it was printed so very, very small on the card. The extra work goes pretty much unseen here as well.

Rancor reprinted as part of the Out Rim game, making it even smaller.

Do not get me wrong. I did as I was asked, without complaint or concern, and it did result in a visually more complex painting that could be considered better. I only wish that the extra work was visible to those playing the game. Oh well, it is all a little late now!

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, August 10, 2020

Star Wars Outer Rim - The Return of the Rancor

I have for you today another instance of my Star Wars work showing up on another Star Wars product. This time around, I have for you Star Wars Outer Rim from 2019. I was alerted to it at Gen Con 2019 when people were remarking that my Rancor was in it. The Racor in question was initially painted in 2016 and saw use in the 2017 release in the Jabba's Realm expansion for Imperial Assault. Let's dive in and have a look at Outer Rim.

That's a nice big box with some lovely space battle action.

Ah! Now we are getting somewhere. There is a card with a tiny little image on it. Let's get closer!

There we are! That little red bit on the card is my Rancor painting. Oh well, My work has been printed smaller.

Lastly, here is the original Rancor illustration. Look how happy she is stomping around on Dathomir playing with the Sith Witches and having a grand time. Not all cooped up in the corner. Nobody puts Rancor in the corner.

Rancor

Imperial Assault - Jabba's Realm Expansion

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

Original - SOLD

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

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Hunter in the Night: Star Wars LCG - Process

Way back in 2016, a card that I painted in 2015 was released in the Star Wars LCG expansion, Meditation, and Mastery. Jump ahead to 2020, and I now have the time and energy to look back at this piece and talk about what went into making it. This assignment for Hunter in the Night was to depict a scared Chadra-Fan fleeing from a cloaked figure on the moonlit streets of Mos Eisley or some other city on Tatooine. Since this was an objective card, the final image would be a long narrow sliver of a scene. I have painted one of those before, and since that one was digital, it was not an issue. Since I was painting this one traditionally, I didn't want to paint a strangely sized painting that would be hard to frame and scan. I reached out to production to check that it would not be an issue if I painted the image to the dimensions I wanted, as long as everything they needed was within the cropping area that would be on the card. In the scheme of things, as long as the client is getting what they need and want, the actual size and area of the painting really does not matter, but it is good to have open communication so that they are not surprised at the end. First, here is the final full version of Hunter in the Night.

Hunter in the Night

Star Wars LCG - Meditation and Mastery

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original available on my store!

I, of course, started things off with a reference shoot and thumbnails. This was an enjoyable piece since I could dig deep into my collection of Episode One toys and use several Star Wars Micro Machines pieces as environmental references. Star Wars toys turned into a Star Wars painting for the Star Wars card game. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted for this assignment.

Hunter in the Night - Thumbnails

While we are on the subject of reference and photoshoots, here are some of the images that I took and made to use in the creation of this painting. This first image is of the Star Wars playset I used as a reference for the nameless city on Tatooine depicted in the painting (it is TOTALLY not Mos Eisley, *wink wink*). These playsets were invaluable since they are based directly on the background seen in Episode One, and they help address perspective and lighting. I took many of these images with several playsets and merged them together for the final reference collages.

Hunter in the Night - Reference image

Speaking of reference collages, here are the three final reference images used to create the thumbnails and eventually, the drawing and painting. These are a combination of still from Star Wars, playset images, photos of myself acting out the aliens, and action figure reference. I created something like this for nearly all of my Star Wars assignments, and to one degree or another, I use this technique for all of my work. At this point in my career, since I have done so much of this, I often work up the ideas and forms while I freehand the thumbnails from my head. The environmental pieces for The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia were all created from scribbling and sketching in my head. This is only possible after years of working with loads of reference and observing the world around us.

Hunter in the Night - Reference collage

After the thumbnails were completed and submitted, production selected option 'C' without any notes. This meant I was ready to flesh out the final drawing based on the selected thumbnail. I add details, make adjustments, and get the image to where it needs to be so that I can paint it. Here is the final drawing for Hunter in the Night.

Hunter in the Night

Star Wars LCG - Meditation and Mastery

17 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original available on the store!

The drawing was approved without notes, and it was time to start painting. Here is an animated process for this painting coming together. While it was a straightforward piece, some was pushing and pulling along the way to hit the right tone and to get the color where it needed to be for a night scene.

Hunter in the Night - Process

The painting was approved, and another one was wrapped up. I submitted two versions of the file to the client; one was the image at full size, and the second of the cropped version for the card. I believe that I could have simply submitted the cropped version, but I was being generous and allowed them access to the entire painting that I painted. Here again, is the whole painting for Hunter in the Night.

Hunter in the Night

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Original available on my store!

As you can see, the final crop for the card omits much of the painting. While I could have painted what you see on the card, I didn't want to create an image with these dimensions, and some of my favorite aspects of the painting are not visible on the card.

Hunter in the Night with intense cropping action in handy dandy card form

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

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Star Wars Process - Bossk

I have waited a long time to share the process for this painting. At times I considered never sharing it. Four years on, I am comfortable sharing it and talking a little more about this piece. I have talked a LOT about this piece over the past four years, and this will likely be the last time I mention it.

For those that know me, I have a particular love for Star Wars, specifically the monsters and aliens in the Star Wars universe. I watched the original Star Wars movie in the theaters when it was released, and it changed everything for me. I was only three years old, but it had a profound impact on my career and passion as an artist. The cantenna scene specifically had a significant effect on my young mind. I didn't know what I was seeing, but I wanted to make it. I have spent my life making monsters, I continue to make monsters. The work that I have done on the Star Wars games is some of my favorite client work and something I am still proud of to this day. Through the game art, I was able to be a part of Star Wars and create my own little corner of that universe. It is something I will also be thankful for FFG for giving me that opportunity.

Of the monsters and aliens in the Star Wars universe, my favorite character and alien is Bossk. The reptilian Trandoshan bounty hunter instantly caught my eye, and though he only was in the Empire Strikes Back for seconds, I was forever in love. The character has since been fleshed out in cartoons, books, comics, and games, and I have enjoyed every second of it. I perused the opportunity to work on a Bossk piece for some time, but the time was always off. FINALLY, it all came together, and I was able to create an official Bossk painting. Here is the final version of my Bossk painting.

Bossk - Final Version
X-Wing Nationals Tournament Alternate Art
16 x 12 - Traditional with digital edits and finish

The narrative of the painting is that Chewbacca was the prey that got away. Out of all of Bossk's successes, the hunt that never resulted in a kill was his pursuit of Chewbacca. You might think that this narrative is a little hollow in the image, well things have a way of changing along the way. With every piece of art I make, it starts out with reference. Such as this image.

Reference Photo

Photo by Achsa Nute

This is but one of the many images of me making my best Bossk impression. I wanted to make a connection between Bossk and the holo image of Chewbacca. Now that I had reference, it was time to work on some thumbnails.

Bossk - Thumbnails
Digital

These thumbnails were well received, but there were some requests and some issues with templates, cropping, and final card arrangement. I needed to move the composition around a little and make it a little more dynamic. Here is the revised thumbnail.

Bossk - Revised thumbnail
Digital

This updated thumbnail was approved, and I was given the go-ahead to move forward with the final drawing. To this day, this is one of my favorite drawings that I created for the Star Wars games, which is why it is the only drawing that I have kept. Here is the final drawing.

Bossk - Drawing
X-Wing Nationals Tournament Alternate Art
17 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original - NFS

The drawing was approved, and it was time to paint. I created this piece a little larger than I usually worked at the time. I wanted to give it the size and attention is deserved now that I was finally painting Bossk. Here is an animated process of the painting coming together. As with most of my paintings, I work back to the front, leaving the main elements to the end. There is a rather pronounced jump in the image of the painting at the end, this is a result of the photos of the painting while working on compared to the final scan of the painting.

Bossk - Painting Process

Here is the final scan of my Bossk painting. I was pleased with it, and it was everything I had hoped to do with the painting and the character. The painting was approved, and I moved onto other work.

Bossk - Original
X-Wing Nationals Tournament Alternate Art
16 x 12 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Original - SOLD

Three months after the painting was approved, I was asked to make significant edits to the piece. As a professional, I made these changes. I do not need to agree with the changes, but I need to do the best job I am capable of to ensure that the edits and changes are made to the expectations of the client. This is just the way of things. Here is an image of the parts of the painting that were still approved.

Bossk - Approved elements

Since it was such a profound change to the painting, I started over with thumbnails to ensure that the client and I were on the same page and in agreement with what needed to be done. It was agreed that Bossk needed to be in an interior location, possible in a cantenna without figures in the background, or simply against a wall. Here are the new background thumbnails for the painting.

Bossk - New background thumbnails
Digital

Option C was chosen. While it was a little bland, I went with their choice and moved forward with having Bossk against a wall. Here is the process of the background being added digitally to the painting.

Bossk - Edits Painting Process

While it is far from where it began, I made the requested updates and presented the client with the edits and changes they wanted. Here is the updated Bossk painting with a sterilized background.

Bossk - Background Version 1
X-Wing Nationals Tournament Alternate Art
16 x 12 - Traditional with digital edits and finish

After submitting the new version of the painting, I was told that the background needed to be a spaceship interior with windows showing space in the background. This was news to me, but again, as a professional, I moved forward with making additional changes to this painting. Here is the painting process for turning the wall into a spaceship interior.

Bossk - Contuned Edits Painting Process

For a third time, I submitted a final for this painting, and for a second time, it was accepted.

Bossk - Final Version
X-Wing Nationals Tournament Alternate Art
16 x 12 - Traditional with digital edits and finish

After all of this work, changed, and edits here is the final card produced using the painting.

Final Bossk production card

During the painting of this piece, I stood back and took a photo of my workstation. I was excited about this piece and really happy with how it was turning out. I could not wait to share it when it came out.

The painting on my workstation nearing completion.

And this ends the journey of my Bossk painting. May it now be put to rest, and we can all move on. I have spoken.

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, April 6, 2020

Smuggler Gambler Specialization Deck - The Return of the Arcona Rumor Monger... AGAIN

I have for you today another instance of my Star Wars work being reused on various other Star Wars products. This time around, I have for you the Smuggler Gambler Specialization Deck from 2015. This one totally slipped under my radar until last year when I ran across it. I hadn't the time to share it until now. The Smuggler Gambler Specialization Deck sees the return of the Arcona Rumor Monger that I originally painted in 2013 for the Balance of the Force expansion to the Star Wars Card Game. Here is a look at the much-repeated incarnation of the art as the Convincing Demeanor.

Convincing Demeanor

Smuggler Gambler Specialization Deck

This piece has made the rounds before having been used in the RPG and in another specialization decks. It seems to continue to be popular and may well be my most reused piece from Star Wars, if not all my client work. If for some reason you are hunting down the Smuggler Gambler Specialization Deck to complete your collection of my work, here is an image of the front of the packaging so that you can get the correct one.

Smuggler Gambler Specialization Deck - For all your smuggler gambler needs

Lastly, here is the original illustration for the Arcona Rumor Monger. You can have a look at the entire scene of me sitting at the kitchen table with a tub of cat food speaking to the camera.

Arcona Rumor Monger

Balance of the Force - Star Wars Card Game expansion

9.8 x 7.6 - Digital

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, October 11, 2019

Sure, Reprint Them ALL - Star Wars Allies and Adversaries

As I mentioned last week, I cleaned up my studio recently, and a bunch of items featuring my work surfaced. Granted, all of these items feature work that has already been used before, or in some cased, MANY times before. This time around, I have for you the Star Wars Allies and Adversaries, which reprints a bunch of my Star Wars work in one handy dandy volume. Nice to see it all again in print, and they did credit me this time around. I have powerful memories of making each of these pieces, which is interesting to me. When I look at the paintings, I remember very clearly working on them and what was going through my head when I was. I guess I did something right when I did these since so many keep being reprinted.