Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Ankheg

Today, I have for you another, and the last to my knowledge Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures release of a D&D monster that I updated for 5th Edition. If you know me and this blog, you know my love of the Ankheg and that it was one of my favorite assignments when doing the design push for 5E D&D. Having always been a fan of it and then illustrating it for the second 4E Monster Manual, the Ankheg has always held a special place in my monster heart. My work with it for 5E only secured its place in my top D&D monsters. With the prepainted miniature coming out last year, it is nice to see an unpainted version showing the entire monster. To start things off, here is the illustration of my redesigned Ankheg.

Ankheg

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

While I have designed many monsters for D&D, the Ankheg remains a favorite, and to see it made into another miniature fills me with a great deal of happiness. Designing miniatures was my first work in the tabletop gaming industry and remain a joy of mine. As mentioned above, while the first 5E miniature follows my illustration of the Ankheg, this new version shows the entire monster as it proudly stands entirely above ground. Just look at that abdomen! Here is Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures version of the Ankheg in all its glory.

 

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Ankheg

As it is a favorite, I could not let them all live forever in a plastic bubble. I made sure to acquire two of these plastic beasties so that one could stay in the package and so that one could breathe free and be part of my miniature display. It also gives a better view of the entire monster.

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Ankheg

Out of the confines of its packaging

Lastly, here is a look again at the prepainted Ankheg miniature from last year. Still love the job they did on this one. RAWR!

Prepainted Ankheg Miniature

 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

Ankheg Miniature

I have been waiting for this one for so long. I figured it was only a matter of time. Given enough sets of miniatures, the good folks at Wizards of the Coast would see fit to produce a miniature based on my design of the Ankheg for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Well, it finally happened, and to make it even better, the miniature is based on my painting of the Ankheg that I created of the 5th Edition Monster Manual. The Ankheg is a special monster for me and my work on Dungeons & Dragons. It was the first monster that I painted for the second 4th Edition Monster Manual, I was asked to redesign it for 5th Edition, and finally, I painted it for the 5E Monster Manual. And now, after all that time, a miniature has been made of my version of this iconic monster. Here is my painting of the Ankheg.

Ankheg

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This is still one of my favorite pieces that I have painted for D&D. For me, it just hits all the right notes. A giant monster that is an insect, it's kind of crazy and weird, there is some nice action with the piece, and it is an isolated figure. I love a good isolated figure piece, and it is what I have loved about D&D Monsters Manuals since I was a child. That bold image of a monster on the page with nothing to stand in the way of your imagination building the world the monster lives in. Here is how the miniature of the Ankheg turned out.

Ankheg Miniature

I am so happy with how this miniature turned out. Not only were they faithful to my painting, but it is a large miniature. As much as I love miniatures, I love large minis the best. After so many years of hoping, it is really satisfying to finally see this monster made real in plastic.

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

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

Kraken Miniature

I recently found out that a rather large miniature was made that is based on one of the monsters I illustrated for the 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. The monster I am talking about is none other than the mighty Kraken. I was able to get my hands on one and boy, it is impressive! The Kraken was designed for 5E by the super amazing creature designer Brynn Metheney and I was brought in to illustrate it for the book. I was also asked to rework the head as part of the assignment. Brynn gave this creature an amazing head, but production wanted something a little different in the end. It was a real honor to be able to illustrate one of Brynn's designs and it is still one of my favorite pieces from the Monster Manual. I never thought they would make a miniature of this particular monster so it was a huge surprise to see that they had. Here are some images of the miniature in all its glory...

I am really impressed with all the detail and how much it really matches the designs and illustration. The sculpture did an amazing job. ...and ALL THOSE TENTACLES!!!!

It just looks great from every angle!

YASSSSSS!

The miniature even comes with some little sandbars, a boat and oars, a treasure chest with removable lid, and a skeleton clinging to a ships wheel atop a pile of gold.

I think this is all pretty cool to say the least! Still trying to figure out how and where to display this one since it is WAY bigger than any of my other miniatures. There are worst problems to have! If you want to compare and contrast, I am including my illustration and detail sketches that I created for the Monster Manual...

Kraken

Digital

5E Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Kraken - Detail Sketches

Pencil on paper

5E Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual

© 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

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

Icon of the Realms: Elemental Evil Miniatures

Today I am sharing four of the miniatures from the newest expansion to the Icons of the Realms miniatures, Elemental Evil, for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. While I was not involved in any way with the creation of the miniatures, they are all based on the monster that I redesigned for 5th Edition D&D. Always thrilling to see something that I had a part in creating turned into a three denominational object in the real world. Here are some images of the miniatures and my designs for comparison. I am really happy with how they all turned out!

Salamander

Icon of the Realms: Elemental Evil Miniatures

My illustration for the Monster Manual and the miniature

It is the little details that really stand out.

The Salamander's crest is made of translucent plastic for a nice glow effect. RAWR!

Fire Snake

Icon of the Realms: Elemental Evil Miniatures

My illustration for the Monster Manual and the miniature

Fire Bat

Note that the bat's skeleton is sculpted in negative on the underside and then painted. IMHO I think that is a great solution to the challenge of the design.

Icon of the Realms: Elemental Evil Miniatures

My concept design and the miniature

Griffon

Icon of the Realms: Elemental Evil Miniatures

My concept design and the miniature

My hat off to all involved in producing these miniatures. They turned out great and I can't wait to see more from this line of miniatures... especially the miniatures based on my 5th Edition monster designs! RAWR!

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

Dungeon & Dragons Monster Manual - Wereshark - Redesign

All good things come to an end and today brings the last monster I redesigned for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. We are down to almost the end of the alphabet with the wily, Wereshark. Here is how the final concept turned out...

Wereshark - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Were-Anything can go horribly horribly wrong very quickly, especially with today's sensibilities and design styles. While I was interested in the Wereshark I knew it was going to be a rough one (or at least had a very high potential to be). The initial direction was to have the Wereshark be a large shark monster with arms and legs. While interesting... uh, yeah... I got to work on some thumbnails and tried my best. Here are how those original thumbnails turned out...

Wereshark - Thumbnails

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Yup, sharks with arms and legs. While now bad, I actually like some of these a lot, these just don't feel 5th Edition D&D to me. Production acknowledged this too and we talked about a new direction. Sometimes you just need to see how something will look and then move on from there. I was asked to approached the Wereshark as it being more of a man with shark characteristics rather then a shark with man characteristics. The idea of it being a drowned pirate also came up and I  really liking where this new direction was leading. I got to work on some new thumbnails...

Wereshark - Revised Thumbnails

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Some of these are awkward, but I was trying to cover the gamut of safe to not so safe. "A" was the winner, obviously. Sometime I wish I new I had hit the mark and could stop there... but you never know, and you never know it one option just looks way better when compared to the others. It was now time to work up the drawing for the Wereshark...

Wereshark - Drawing

9 x 12

Pencil on Paper

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Original Drawing for sale over on my web store!

The drawing was approved and we were heading down a much better path for the Wereshark. It was time for the color comp and I was asked to make sure to play up the shark coloring and patterning to make sure it really sell the SHARK in Wereshark. Here is how the final turned out...

Wereshark - Final Redsign

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

The Wereshark was approved and the last monster was all finished up. At this point I moved almost immediately into illustrating the Monster Manual. With the conclusion of the design phase it marked the last chance I had to work with Jon Schindehette on D&D. Jon has since moved on to other exciting projects, but it was an amazing treat to conclude our time working together with redesigning monsters for D&D.

A HUGE THANKS to Jon Schindehette for all the monsters and direction during the design phase of 5th Edition!

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

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

Dungeon & Dragons Monster Manual - Water Weird - Redesign

Another week and another new monster that I redesigned for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons! This time around, it is the crazy water elemental monster, the Water Weird. Here is how the final concept turned out...

Water Weird - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

The Water Weird is one of the monsters from the original Monster Manual that I am really looking forward to redesigning for my personal redesign project. Obviously, when the Water Weird came across my desk for 5th Edition, I was VERY eager to take on. Of course, this now means I will have to come up with more ideas when I get around to designing the WW for myself. As with all the monsters, I got started with some thumbnails to get my ideas flowing...

Water Weird - Thumbnails

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

The Water Weird is one of those monsters that I could just sketch and sketch. I had to limit my submission to six, or it would have just gotten out of hand. Option "B" was the winner in the end, and it was time to flesh out the design with the final drawing...

Water Weird - Drawing

9 x 12

Pencil on Paper

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

The drawing was approved without comment, and I was ready to move onto the final color concept. Every step of the way, the Water Weird was a really easy monster to work on. Here is how the final color version of the Water Weird turned out...

Water Weird - Final Redesign

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

The final color comp was approved, and another monster was all done. I was really excited to work on the Water Weird, and the entire process went quickly and smoothly. I am not sure I would have desired a situation that would have resulted in more stories, but as excited as I was to work on this monster it just felt like it was over very quickly. 

A HUGE THANKS to Jon Schindehette for all the monsters and direction during the design phase of 5th Edition!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday for another new monster! Until then...

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

Dungeon & Dragons Monster Manual - Stone Golem - Redesign

Not only is this post concluding another exciting week of new monsters from the design phase of 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, but it is also Halloween! What better way to celebrate today's post then with the VERY spooky Stone Golem! ...wait, WUT?! Here is how the final concept turned out...

Stone Golem - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Stone Golem. Golem of stone. Made of stone Golem. Going into this one I was given some very specific direction from production. They had something in mind for how they wanted the Stone Golem to look and feel. Needless to say I had a bunch of my own ideas too. So I of course submitted a thumbnail that represented what they had asked for, some that abstract off of that idea, some of my ideas, and a mixed match version of all of the above. Here is how the thumbnails turned out...

Stone Golem - Thumbnails

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Not surprisingly, the thumbnail that was inline with what they had asked for was the one picked. Production wanted a statue like construct they could have an Egyptian like feel to it... and they is what I gave them. Option 'C' was the winner and I knew it would be from the beginning... but you just never know and you will get surprised every so often, so never quit experimenting and trying to work outside the expected. With an approved thumbnail is was time to get drawing on the final concept...

Stone Golem - Drawing

9 x 12

Pencil on Paper

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Original Drawing for sale over on my web store!

This was a pretty straight forward conversion from thumbnail to drawing. I added detail and made sure it all looked good. The final was approved without comment and I was good to move forward to the final color comp...

Stone Golem - Final Redsign

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

 
The final color comp was approved without comment and another monster was squared away. Only a couple monster left! If nothing unexpected happens we will be coming to the end of my monster work on the 5th Edition Monster Manual next week.

A HUGE THANKS to Jon Schindehette for all the monsters and direction during the design phase of 5th Edition!

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

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