Chaac - Gods and Goddesses - Process

Today I have for you the process and steps that went into making my Chaac painting that I first shared with you in February. Chaac was part of the Gods and Goddesses anthology produced by Michael Publishing, LLC. In the original post I talk a bit about how I first came to learn about Chaac while touring the Yucatan in 2014, today I will be focusing on the process of the painting. Here is how the final Chaac painting turned out...

Chaac 
11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board
 Original available over on my web store 
© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Since this was more or less a personal piece that was going to be used for the anthology I had complete freedom to do what ever I wanted to do. This streamlined my process a little, but it still followed the same steps I always do. I started off everything, of course, with a thumbnail. Since I knew exactly what I wanted to do, the thumbnail was a digital sketch that I worked out a single compositions until it was how I wanted it, rather then the three or more options I would give to a client. Here is how the thumbnail turned out...

Chaac - Thumbnail 
© 2016 Christopher Burdett

You might notice the various boxes on the image above, these are the various crop marks and bleed areas for the final image. The final art needed to be 9 x 12 with a little bleed, but I like to work at 11 x 14, so I made sure while I was working on the thumbnail that I took into account for the needs for the anthology and the my own personal needs. Now that I have everything worked out in the thumbnail it was time to create the finalized drawing...

Chaac 
14 x 17 - Pencil on paper 
 Original available over on my web store 
© 2016 Christopher Burdett

This was a fun one to draw, but as with most things I work on these days, there was just not enough time to really linger on the drawing. I needed to get it done so I could move onto the painting. Here is the painting coming together in twelve easy steps...

Chaac - Process progression 
© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Mayan Gods were described as having both animal and human characteristic. Keeping that in mind, I also wanted to pull influences from the sculptures made to represent him. I imagined a monstrous deity that was part man, part animal, and part earth or stone. I saw the sculptures in the Yucatan as more of a literal representation rather then an abstraction or iconic portrayal. Chaac is often described as having armor made of water or simply having blue armor, so I really wanted to include this element. I pulled the rest of the color and visual elements from what I witnessed in the Yucatan.

Here is an animated progression of the painting to better show the painting coming together...

Chaac - Animated progression 
© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Once again, here is the final painting for Chaac...

Chaac 
11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board 
 Original available over on my web store 
© 2016 Christopher Burdett

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

Chaac - Gods and Goddesses

In 2014 I had the opportunity to visit the Yucatan and while there to visit several ancient Mayan ruins. Since that visit I have been wanting to make a piece in response to the things that I saw and experienced. Namely a piece centered around the Mayan God of rain, thunder, and lighting, Chaac. Thanks to the new art anthology, Gods and Goddesses, being put out by Michael Publishing, LLC I had the extra motivation to finally get a Chaac piece completed. Here is my take on Chaac...

Chaac

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board
Original available over on my web store

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Chaac is fresh off the work station and still needs to be varnished and framed before it is available. If you are interested, drop me a message or email and we can talk. Here is the pencil drawing that I produced leading up to the painting...

Chaac

14 x 17 - Pencil on paper
Original available over on my web store

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

From the first moments I laid eyes on the profile of Chaac at Uxmal I knew I needed to make a piece of Chaac art. I saw Chaac at other locations, but Uxmal had the most and the best Chaac sculptures that I saw in the Yucatan. Corners of pyramids and buildings had Chaac running up them, the facades of buildings had Chaac on them, there were even bits and pieces of Chaac all over the ground (especially his distinctive nose). My take on Chaac is a mix of what I saw first hand in the Yucatan, read in books, and my personal voice. Here are but a few of the many images of Chaac I took while visiting Uxmal...

Images © 2014 Christopher Burdett

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