The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT: Force and Destiny

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Viper Probe Droid - Star Wars - Prcoess

Today I have for you the process and steps that went into a piece I first shared with you in July of 2015, the Viper Probe Droid for the Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit. This was the first Star Wars piece that I painted traditionally and will always be a favorite for mine for that fact. Before we explore the process, here is the how the finished Viper Probe Droid turned out...

Viper Probe Droid

Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit

9 x 12 - Acrylic and pencil on board
Original - SOLD

Thankfully there is a ton of great reference out there for the Probe Droid so this was in many ways a still life exercise. The droid did not have to be doing anything special since it a spot illustration. I wanted to make sure it looked good and that I actually finished the painting. I got started with some thumbnails, as I always do. This was a very straightforward piece so I only provided two options. Both of these options would have been fun to do, but option "A" definitely feels more ominous since the viewer is looking up at the droid. Here are the final thumbnails...

Viper Probe Droid - Thumbnails

Option "A" was obviously the winner and I was cleared to move onto final drawing. To ensure that I captured all the detail I made sure to create my drawing at 100% the final resolution. This was not necessary when working digitally, but I knew that if I blew any of my drawings up for their paintings that they could loose their tightness and detail density. This has since required me to work on a larger size of paper for all of my drawings associated with my paintings. While this seems like a no brainer, it was not obvious to me when I first started my first tests at painting traditionally. All that said, here is the final drawing for the Probe Droid...

Viper Probe Droid

Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit

11 x 14 - Pencil on Paper
Original - SOLD

The drawing was approved without notes and I was all set to begin painting. As mentioned above, this was in many ways a still life exercise. I had my reference and it was a great way to explore the materials as I relied on an object and images in front of me to guide my painting choices. This is not the norm, most of the time, no matter how robust my reference is, I have to bring a lot of painting to life using my imagination and the things I have previously observed or practiced. Here is the Probe Droid coming together in twelve easy steps...

Viper Probe Droid - Process Progression

After establishing a lot of the overall values and local color for this piece I worked from top to bottom. Very straight forward and at times meditative. Here is the progression of the painting in a handy dandy animated form to better show the steps and the painting taking shape...

Viper Probe Droid - Animated Process

Here again is the final Viper Probe Droid painting as well as a scan from the book it appears in...

Viper Probe Droid

Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit

9 x 12 - Acrylic and pencil on board
Original - SOLD

Viper Probe Droid in handy dandy book 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, July 29, 2015

Viper Probe Droid - Star Wars - Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit

Another new Star Wars painting arrives just in time for Gen Con! While on Monday I shared with you the first piece of card art that I traditionally painted for Star Wars, this is the very first traditionally painting that I did for the Star Wars games last year. While the timing was bad for me to do anything new for the core book of Force and Destiny, I was able to contribute to the Game Master's Kit. I present to you my Viper Probe Droid...

Viper Probe Droid

Force and Destiny Game Master's Kit

9 x 12 - Acrylic and pencil on board
Original - SOLD

Reference is your friend and I shot all my own for this one... because of my collection of probe droids. I am really really happy with how this piece printed. I never know just how well my work will print and I am even more clueless now that I have started working traditionally. I hope this is a preview of things to come because if all my paintings are going to print this well I will never have anything to complain about. Here is a scan of the page my painting is on...

Viper Probe Droid in handy dandy book form

Next stop for this painting will be Gen Con! If you are attending Gen Con 2015 be sure to stop by the art show and say hello ...and maybe buy something! I hope to see you in Indianapolis for the best four days in gaming. RAWR!

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, the next posts will be coming from Gen Con 2015 and I will do my best to cover all the comings and goings of Gen Con 2015! Until then...

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