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

ANOTHER Water Weird Miniature

I have another miniature for you that is based on my work on Dungeons & Dragons. In June, I shared with you the first time this particular monster got turned into a mini, and now it has received the treatment again. Now, jump ahead, and at some point since June, a pre-painted version of the Water Wierd has been released to go with the previous unpainted version. Here is my final design for the Water Weird.

Water Weird - Redesign

Digital over pencil on paper

Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

This particular monster has evolved a bit since it left my hands, but I think it looks great for it. I always pictured this monster as being a bit... smaller. But big monsters are great. I imagine my belief that they are smaller monsters comes from the illustration for them in the original Monster Manual all those years ago. Here is the new painted version... and it is a more blue than the unpainted version.

The unpainted Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Water Weird

 That is 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

NEW Eidolon Miniature

Today, I am pleased to share a new miniature based on an illustration I did for Dungeons & Dragons back in 2018. While the mighty Eidolon has received two miniatures to date, this is the first to include the shattered brazier in my painting. To start things off, here is my illustration of the Eidolon.

Eidolon

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The Eidolon is a spirit or undead force that inhabits inanimate objects, such as a giant statute that was originally depicted on the original D&D Player's Handbook cover. While the statue on the cover of the PH has been a known image for decades, it was such an honor to design and illustrate it, standing up and getting ready to make the player's day a whole lot more interesting. Here is the new Eidolon miniature in all its glory.

The new Eidolon is larger than its predecessor.

 

Oh! But that is not all. They also made an official miniature depicting the statue from the cover of the Player's Handbook. It is cool to see this original version as a miniature after all these years.

Player's Handbook Cover Statue in plastic form!

Finally, all the different versions of this statue and the Eidolon.

They turned out beautifully!

That is 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

The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons - The Return of the Kobold Sorcerer

I recently realized I had a piece make an encore appearance in a recently released Dungeons & Dragons book. The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons was released a year ago and features a piece initially published in 2022 for Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse. This time around, the wiley Kobold Sorcerer has been republished. To start things off, here is the final painting of the Kobold Sorcerer.

Kobold Sorcerer

Originally from Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Emi Tanji

© 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This is one of my favorite recent pieces. It is always fun to see the ones I like to get a chance to be seen by more people. When The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons was announced and released, I thought it would be fun to work on. It is nice to see that, in a tiny way, I did contribute to it. Here is a look at the book's cover so that you can hunt it down to complete your collection of my works.

The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons

Recently, it has felt as if most of my reused work has been very old work that I am not necessarily thrilled with seeing again, so it is great when it is one that I still like and holds up - granted, this piece is only two years old, so you would hope that this is true. Lastly, here is a photo of the art in the book. It printed great, and there is some fun layout in the book for sure.

Kobold Sorcerer in handy dandy book form!

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

Cranium Rats in Disguise Miniature

Another week and another new miniature to share (though this is the last one for awhile). This time around, we have the Cranium Rats in Disguise mini that is based on my, you guessed it, Cranium Rats in Disguise illustration that I created for the D&D supplement, Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse. I got to design and illustrate this new monster, so it is doubly fun to see it now as a mini. Here is my final illustration for the Cranium Rats in Disguise.

Cranium Rats in Disguise

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Emi Tamji

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The miniature holds true to my design and turned out beautifully. I was secretly, and not so secretly, hoping that this one would get a miniature, and I am thrilled that it did. This was one of my favorite pieces for D&D in a while, so it is wonderful to see it in plastic. Here are some photos of the completed mini.

Cranium Rats in Disguise miniature front/back

Cranium Rats in Disguise miniature

That is 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

Razorvine Blight Miniature

Glad to finally have some new miniatures to share. This time around, we have the Razorvine Blight mini based on my, you guessed it, Razorvine Blight illustration that I created for the D&D supplement, Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse. I got to design and illustrate this new monster, so it is doubly fun to see that it is now a mini. Here is my final illustration for the Razorvine Blight.

Razorvine Blight

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Emi Tamji

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The miniature holds true to my design and pose and turned out beautifully. I began my career in gaming nineteen years ago when I started designing miniatures for the WotC game Dreamblade, and I have been hooked on minis ever since. So I am nothing but happy when I see one of my designs in plastic. It is truly a gift and a joy every time. Here are some photos of the completed mini.

Razorvine Blight miniature front/back

Razorvine Blight miniature

That is 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

Water Weird Miniature

I haven't had any new miniatures to share lately, but it would appear that this situation has changed. It is always wonderful to see a mini that is based on my designs or illustrations, and this one has been long awaited for a decade. I redesigned the Water Weird while working on the design push for D&D 5E. It was a fun one, and I hoped that it would eventually become a mini. It took ten years, but here we are. The monster has evolved a little bit from when I worked on it, but it is still recognizable to me. Here is my final design for the Water Weird.

Water Weird - Redesign

Digital over pencil on paper

Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

The store only had one copy of this monster so it is staying in the package and going with the rest of my miniature monsters. Here are some photos of the mini in the packaging. It turned out great, and it is wonderful to see another monster in its tiny plastic form.

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Water Weird

I will have more minis in the coming weeks. Next week is a bit of a mess, and I am not sure which days will get a post. I know Wednesday for sure will happen, Monday is not happening, and Friday is up in the air currently. But all will be made clear next week. SO, in the weeks after next week, be sure to look for more miniature posts here on the blog.

That is 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

Wanewort - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for the second of two (three, but more on that another day) contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, The Book of Many Things. I saved my favorite for last. While I haven't been actively working to get our cats into gaming art, but when the opportunity arose I made sure to get our cats into D&D. This will not be the last time you see the cats either, I have on good authoridy that little gray Zemo may be seen on something Magical later in the year, or next year. For now my familiar, ornage Mietze is only in D&D. Here is the final painting for Wanewort (and her cats).

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I was asked to illustrate Wanewort and her two cats. I knew this was going to be a good assignemnt becuase of the inclusion of cats. Cats make everything better - unless you are trying to make the bed. Wanewort was described as:

Intent: This monster illustration shows WANEWORT, an eccentric NIGHT HAG who works closely with a thieves’ guild called the Moonstalkers.

Action: WANEWORT is a NIGHT HAG with HALF-MOON GLASSES. She wears a knowing dastardly grin. She holds one CALICO CAT in her arms, and a GRAY CAT rubs up against her leg. She wears a dress, some scarves, and has a number of odd hag’s TRINKETS hanging off her clothes.

Mood: An ECCENTRIC, probably EVIL but nonetheless LOVABLE old woman who has more power than she lets on.

This is, of course, awesome, and something really fun to work on. You may have noticed that she is described as having a calico and a gray cat. The trouble is that we have an orange cat and a gray cat. I reached out to production to see if I could change the calico into an ornage and they agreed, opening my way to have our kitties in the book. You may have also noticed that she should have half-moon glasses and in the painting she does not. Yeah, well, I forgot them and didn't relize this omission until I was done with the painting. Every attempt to add them in and not mess up her expression failed and so I submitted the piece as you see it. Either the lack of glasses was never noticed, or like me, they decided it was fine without them. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted. 

Wanewort - Thumbnails

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Oh, did I fail to mention reference photos? I have to share my photo reference for the final painitng. With two cats, an apron, and a cape you too can have all the reference you need to make yourself a Nighthag. Mietze was not partcluarly happy about all this and Zemo was just wandering around.

 

Wanewort reference for all your kitty cat reference needs!

Needless to say that option 'C' was the winner and I was 100% on board for this one. I did like option 'A' a lot, but 'C' has a lot of personality. With the thumbnail approved it was time for drawing! Here is the Wanewort drawing.

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper

Original - NFS (I am keeping this one!)

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without any edit notes, and it was time to start on the final painting. Here is the painting of Wanewort taking shape.

Wanewort - Process

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This one was a dream to paint. I had great reference, I was painting my cats, and I was once again getting to be the monster. While my wife very much wanted to be the monster this time, I knew Mietze would not put up with her handling him this much. And, well, I wanted to be the monster. Compared to the other two paintings, especially the one I am not sharing, this one was quick, easy, and fun. Not that the other two were an issue, but... cats. Cats are fun to paint, espacially my cats. Here again is the final paitning for Wanewort.

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That's all for another exciting Wendesday 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

Boss Augustus - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for one of my contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, The Book of Many Things. I have always loved the concept of the Deck of Many Things. An item or items in game that allow the players to access great rewards and great calamity. In my early days of gaming I created a magical item for my players, the legendary Stick of Nearly Limitless Possibilities. I thought it would be really fun as there were some very crazy effects if the was unlucky with rolls. It was met with mixed feelings and sadly the stick (which I actually made) and the many pages of posibilites are lost to time. That was an unexpcted deteor... back to The Book of Many Things and my contributions. We will start with the more ordinary of my two pieces in the book. Here is the final painting for Boss Augustus.

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I was asked to design and illustrate Boss Augustus. Even though this is an illustration of a human male, I still approached it as if he was a monster - for better or for worse. Boss Augustus was described as:

Intent: This monster illustration shows BOSS AUGUSTUS, a HUMAN WEREWOLF who co-leads a lycanthropic THIEVES’ GUILD called the Moonstalkers. Secretly, he wishes to cure his lycanthropy and leave the Moonstalkers forever.

Action: We see Boss Augustus in his humanoid form: he looks like a MALE HUMAN in his 50s with beige skin and close-cropped black hair. There are subtle hints of his lycanthropy: for instance, he has a thick, somewhat unkempt BEARD. He is TALL and BEEFY. He wears a stoic, somewhat TROUBLED expression. He is dressed like a D&DROGUE crossed with a CRIME BOSS.

Mood: A powerful and respected leader

Definitly some angles to approach this one and to make it interesting. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted. 

Boss Augustus - Thumbnails

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

It is always interesting which thumbnail is selected. Sometimes I know which will be selected when I submit them - it just has to be THAT one that gets picked. Other times I am surprised by which is selected. For this piece I was hoping for option 'A' to get the nod, but this time aeound it was 'B." Not nessarily the one I would have chosen, but as I submitted it, I have to be prepared to take it to the end. 'B' was selected without any notes. Here is the Boss Augustus drawing.

 

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without comment, and it was time to start on the final painting. Here is the painting of Boss Augustus taking shape.

Boss Augustus - Process

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This is one of those painitng where you just need to sit with it and hold its hand until it is done. My natural tendancies with making art do not often lend themselves to depictions of humans, but I always do my best to make the human be the way the client needs it to be. One of my biggest issue with humans is that I never feel like I know when to stop - when is this painting going to be done?!?! With my monster work I just know when they are done - I get a feeling in my gut and I know that I need to do one last small detail pass and it will be done. With humans, humans that need to be normal and functional within society, it can be a lot more nebulous for me. Usually, my typical final small detail pass would make that human look like something not human, and that is not desired here. So I just need to sit with a painting like this and make sure that the face and hands are on point and then have some fun woth the atire and gear. But uinderstand that I gave this piece everyhign I would give any piece I was assigned. It being a human just makes it a little harder for me - which is good sometimes. To be challenged is to enbrace growth! Here, again, is the final painting of Boss Augustus.

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That's all for another exciting Wendesday 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