Magic the Gathering Art FOUND! Breaching Hippocamp Concept Sketches NOW AVAILABLE!

Recently, while doing a great deal of organizing and cleaning I discovered some concept sketches from the second Magic the Gathering card I ever worked on, the Breaching Hippocamp. I had thought these lost, destroyed, or in the ownership of another, but I had them this entire time, safely tucked away in the completely wrong place. Now that they have surfaced, they are now available! This set of four pages are 7 x 5 and are drawn in ink on lined yellow notepad paper. Here are all of the pages together.

Breaching Hippocamp Concept Sketches

Each 7 x 5 ink on paper

I shared the process for making the Breaching Hippocamp painting ten years ago on this very blog. You can see how some of these concepts were used to create the finalized concept drawings for this monster. There are so many concepts here that I still love and hopefully, one day I will be able to utilize them for the starting point of something new. Here are all of the pages presented separately so you can get a better look at them. As I have mentioned before, these are available as a set. 

 

A better look at all four sheets of concept sketches

There are production notes on the back of each page. At the time of working on the card, it was simply called the Hippocamp. I often wonder if my depiction in the art led to the name change. Here is a look at the back of each page.

They are all signed on their fronts and have production notes on their backs

Lastly, here is a look at the final painting and the card these concept sketches led to. If you missed the links to my store above, you can check out these concept sketches here!

Breaching Hippocamp

Magic the Gathering - Theros

12 x 8.7 - Digital 

PRINTS available at OMA!

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

 

Breaching Hippocamp - in handy card form

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

Breaching Hippocamp Paint Alter

Due to my schedule and workload, I generally do not take on private commissions and only offer black and white ink and marker drawings on the back of Magic the Gathering's artist proofs. That said, occasionally, I find myself taking on a piece I would not otherwise accept. The first person to my table at Pensacon asked if I would do a paint alter extension of the Breaching Hippocamp Magic the Gathering card. This is something I no longer offer, but as they were first to my table, agreed to the price, and were fine with me doing it after the convention, I found myself with a paint alter needing to be done. It didn't hurt that this was the second card I painted for MtG, so it has a special meaning for me. Here is the altered card.

Breaching Hippocamp Paint Alter

 © 2022 Christopher Burdett

I have not traditionally painted anything since September 2016. Yes, that long. That was the completion date of the final Star Wars painting that I took on. Since then, I have been working digitally for any client work I accept. My books, which take up nearly all my time, are limited to black and white colored pencil, black ink, and white acrylic paint. Yes, I am still using white paint, but this was more involved than that. In fact, I was a little nervous about taking this on since it has been so long since I painted anything with actual paint. I was worried about something that I didn't need to worry about. I was amazed at how it all came back to me, even after a nearly six-year gap. I will be honest, one of my artist faults, if you want to call it that, is that I am not great at generating color from thin air. I look at a lot of color reference, and I have a workflow both digitally and traditionally that generates a color mess on the canvas that I can then respond to and work on top of. Even though I can not pull colors quickly or easily from the ether, I can match what I see and work with and from the color on a surface. In other words, it takes me a lot of work to (digitally) paint that sky initially, but I can quickly match it with paint and extend it. I am also not a big fan of working as small as the MtG cards are, but I find a way to make it work. In the end, I am thrilled with how the card turned out, and it almost - ALMOST, makes me want to do more. Here is the Breaching Hippocamp card before I got to work.

The card, before altering it - shows how much I extended the image.

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

Discounted Unclaimed Magic the Gathering Artist Proofs AVAILABLE!

Early in my convention days, with my first Magic the Gathering artist proofs, I would have a person interested in a card with a drawing pay when they returned to pick up their finished card. From time to time, the person never returned, and I was left with an AP with a drawing on the back and no home to go to. Eventually, I started requesting payment upfront, and cards were no longer left unclaimed at the end of a convention. It has been a while since I did an in-person convention, and as I begin to prep for events to start happening again, I have started digging through and sorting my convention materials. I came across these unclaimed cards, and I am now offering them 50% off to find a forever home. I even went back and did a little more work on the drawings to be more consistent with the quality I offer currently. If you have been wanted an AP with a drawing, this is the perfect opportunity to get one at a discount!

 

SOLD OUT

 

SOLD OUT

 

 

SOLD OUT

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

Mythic Odysseys of Theros - Return of the Breaching Hippocamp

Recently, the Mythic Odysseys of Theros was released for Dungeons & Dragons. This supplement brings the Magic the Gathering world of Theros into the worlds and realms of D&D, which frankly is pretty cool. The new supplement is filled with Magic the Gathering art, which means there was a good chance I had a piece in the book since Theros was the first Magic set I worked on. As it would turn out, I do have a pice in the book. I believe it is only one, but it is hard to say for sure since I only looked at the book once so far. That's on me, but a lot is going on. Anyway, the Breaching Hippocamp that I designed and illustrated for Magic the Gathering - Theros is in  Mythic Odysseys of Theros as the main art for the Hippocamp in the monster section. There is some interesting cropping, but it is great to see this monster get some new life breathed into it as a D&D monster. Here is a look at the book and the original Breaching Hippocamp.

 

Mythic Odysseys of Theros

Standard and super special covers. Always nice that WotC sends out both.

 

The Hippocamp... RAWR!

 

Breaching Hippocamp

Magic the Gathering - Theros

12 x 8.7 - Digital 

PRINTS available at OMA!

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

The Breaching Hippocamp was the second Magic card that I was commissioned to do and was the first monster for Magic that I had the opportunity to design from the ground up for the card. Crazy to think that I painted this at the end of 2012. Where does the time go? I shared the process and steps that went into this piece back in 2014 and shared the concept designs that I submitted for it. I still really like some of the versions that were not accepted, and since WotC doesn't own them, I might need to do back and do something with them. I wonder how they would look visiting the Sunken Stalls?

That's all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Friday, since I will be offline 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

Breaching Hippocamp - Magic the Gathering Process

Today on the blog I have for you the process and steps that went into my second of two Magic the Gathering cards that I did for the Theros set, the mighty Breaching Hippocamp. I am a little overdue in sharing this, but I figured I better get to it now that the second set of the Theros block is upon us as well as the fact that it is now the year of the SEA horse... or is it just the year of horse... To get things started and to refresh everyone's memory, here is how the final Breaching Hippocamp turned out...

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Magic the Gathering - Theros
PRINTS available at OMA!

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

There was nothing in the style guide for the Hippocamp so the design of the creature was up to me. Designing creatures is what I like to do... so it was a real treat to get to design something for Magic. There were of course some global design elements of the set that I needed to be mindful of but the rest was in my court to come up with a Theros take on this legendary sea horse. The first thing I did was get to work on some concepts...

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Concepts

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

There are a lot of these I really like, and still like even today. I feel there is still a lot of potential with many of these designs... but that is another topic for another day. It turns out that I need not have done any concepts beyond my very first one since option "A" was the winner. Now that I had a design it was time to work on some color options and to start thinking about thumbnails...

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Color Concepts

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

If I remember correctly, all of the color comps were approved as options that would work, but there was an additional not of option "C" being a good fit to match the native merfolk. Now that I had a color scheme there was really no reason that there should not be some thumbnails happening...

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Thumbnails

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

I did options "A" - "C" before heading to Illuxcon back in 2012, but I had not submitted them yet. While at Illuxcon I had some time to talk about designs and thumbnails with the very talented and very generous Lar Grant-West. He gave me a lot to think about and suggested I try a direction that resulted in thumbnail option "D". When I returned home I submitted option "D"... and if I remember correctly, I ONLY submitted "D" with a note saying I have others if you would like to see them but I think this is the best... or something equally silly. "D" was selected with the note to make sure the fish horse was not to appear like it could be flying. Time for the drawing...

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Drawing

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

The drawing was approved without note and I was all set to begin on the painting. I was feeling good about this piece, but as I worked on it I realized there were some issues which resulted in some changes as I painted... which ultimately produced a better end product (IMHO)...

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Process Steps

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

In just 12 easy steps and many many hours of work, you too can have your very own Hippocamp that breaches. Once the head and forelimbs were sussed out with the oversight of my always helpful wife and then some end of painting tweaks and fixes advice from Lars Grant-West the rest of things worked themselves out. Remember, you should never turn down the help of others and a fresh pair of eyes on a painting can instantly see all the troublesome areas. We are not an island unto ourselves, seek out advice and help... no matter what level you are working at or how much you think you know. Again, here is how the final piece turned out...

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Magic the Gathering - Theros

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

I am happy to saw that a lot of folks have really responded well to this piece and it has even been described as (shudder) pretty. Not generally the first word that comes to mind when I think of my work to say the least. But I will take the compliment! Here is how the final production card turned out...

"Breaching Hippocamp" - in handy card form

I would be amiss in not including the toned paper drawing of this piece that I did... RAWR!

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Magic the Gathering - Theros

12 x 9

colored pencil on toned paper

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on the Monday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Theros Prerelease

I was invited to attend the Theros prerelease this past weekend at a local gaming store, Gamescape. It was a really fun experience and was a great way to reconnect with the player side of Magic the Gathering... since I have not played Magic in 17 years. The player's excitement and energy surrounding the game was rather intoxicating and I eventually found myself playing a game after a very long hiatus. Also, after a very long wait, I was able to hold my first two Magic cards in my hands. I got to sign loads of my cards and meet a lot of local player and in general had a really fun time of it! Many photos were taken, and here are some of the highlights...

I was given a table to show off my work from Theros, peddle my wears, and sign cards.

My wife was a good sport and kept an eye on things as I wondered about in between signing cards.

It is almost time for the first round of the Prerelease to begin!

Let the games begin!

The wife is learning all about how to play Magic... which she compared to learning algebra. But I think she might have a future on the tournament level of play!

Thanks to Aras for showing her the game!

It was all too much, I had to get my hands on some cards!

PIZZA APOCALYPSE! What every Magic prerelease needs... a mountain of pizza.

This picture does not do justice to just how much pizza there was... and at the speed it disappeared.

I signed whole schools of hippocamps and herds of catoblepas... catoblepases... catoblepi...

One unexpected perk... I got to collect the cards created by my friends and art pals!

Even more cards by friends and art pals! ...now to get them all signed :)

It was only a matter of time... I found myself playing Magic after a 17 year gap. Thankfully I was playing a game of Two headed giant (a two person team plays another two person team) so I had a more experience partner.

I did pull one of my cards... so I guess I am playing black/green! RAWR!

It all seems so familiar and so different to be playing again... but I did not have too long to worry about it, a big dragon killed us in two rounds shortly after this picture was taken. I will need to get a little more familiar with Magic before I play again.

A huge thanks to Ben Bloodworth, everyone at Gamescape, and to all the players for making my first prerelease such a fun and exciting time! Fun times, memories, and I got to go home with some of my cards... I could not have wanted or hoped for better!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday for new monsters! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Theros - Toned Paper Magic the Gathering Drawings

With the prerelease for Theros beginning tonight I thought I would share with you today my toned paper drawings for the two pieces I have in the set. Not sure what else to add about these... I am really happy with how they turned out, especially the Catoblepas. It just exudes "RAWR!". That is always good in my book! ...oh, these are also still available if any one would like to own them! :) 

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Magic the Gathering - Theros

12 x 9 - colored pencil on toned paper

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Magic the Gathering - Theros

12 x 9 - colored pencil on toned paper

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

As a reminder, for those in the Tallahassee / North Florida areas, I will be attending some of the prerelease events for Theros this weekend ...starting TONIGHT at midnight! I am being hosted by the most excellent gaming store, Gamescape and you can get all the details over on their Facebook event page!

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

Magic the Gathering - Theros

Over the weekend all of the new Magic the Gathering set, Theros, was spoiled online. These means I can now share my other card from the set as well as both of my card's official names and stats!

My second Theros card that has been hiding under the waves of it's NDA is the Breaching Hippocamp. I am very happy to share this fishy horse monster (RAWR!). The Breaching Hippocamp was the second MtG piece that I was assigned and it was up to me to design and illustrate it! This of course is what I love to do best! Here is how it turned out...

"Breaching Hippocamp" - Magic the Gathering - Theros
PRINTS available at OMA!

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

Breaching Hippocamp

I am really looking forward to sharing with you the process that went into designing the Breaching Hippocamp. Not only because it was fun and I am really happy with how it turned out... but also because I did so much work! More about all this in the coming weeks!

You  may recall the Catoblepas that I was able to share with you a couple weeks back. Well, it is now officially the Loathsome Catoblepas and has stats as well!

"Loathsome Catoblepas" - Magic the Gathering - Theros
PRINTS available at OMA!

© 2013 Wizards of the Coast

Loathsome Catoblepas

I will be sharing the process for the Loathsome Catoblepas piece as well, though it is a lot more straight forward.

It is a real honor to be part of Theros and to be in a set with so many talented and amazing artists. Many thanks goes out to Jeremy Jarvis for including me on this set! I look forward to what the future holds with my involvement with MtG... but more about that on another day...

For those in the Tallahassee / North Florida areas, I will be attending some of the prerelease events for Theros starting this Friday night at midnight! I am being hosted by the most excellent gaming store, Gamescape and you can get all the details over on their Facebook event page!

If you can not make it I will be sure to take some pictures and share my experiences here on the blog, this will be my first time attending such an event and this should be a learning experience!

That is all for another very 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