The Three Dragons - 2013 Illustration Master Class assignment

Over the last week and a half I have posted all about my experiences at the 2013 Illustration Master Class. If you missed any of them you can see them here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7. Now, it is time to look at what I spent the week working on...

One of the assignments this year was A Game of Thrones. Since I have some history with the franchise... or at least with the giant winged fire breathing monster aspects of the franchise I really wanted to revisit the dragons of AGoT. I first designed the AGoT dragons for the card game way back at the end of 2010.There is a lot I might have done differently if I had to do it all again today. This assignment gave me the opportunity to explore those differences as well as make myself a traditional dragon painting... and those are so popular with the kids these days. Without further fanfare, here is how said painting turned out...

The Three Dragons

24 x 14 - acrylic on board

© 2013 Christopher Burdett

I have a bunch of images of the piece coming together from thumbnail to final. There is so much more that took place at IMC with this piece and beyond this piece and hopefully my previous posts gave you some insight into that. The actual creation of this piece was fairly straight forward... save I had some really outstanding, top notch advice, help, and encouragement along the way. Which is priceless. As with all of my paintings, it starts with a thumbnail...
 

There were just a FEW unintelligible scribbled on pager as I worked out earlier ideas of compositions and dragon designs, but this is were all those scribbles took shape. Each of the dragons, buildings, and human figures were separate elements and I moved them around, adjusted size, edit, and tweaked until I was happy with what was happening.

Once I was happy with the thumbnail I fleshed it out with a full drawing. Yes, it is advised that you should show up with thumbnails to IMC and be prepared to work and rework those before getting to this point... but I am too controlling for that (unfortunately or fortunately). I work better when I have worked it all out to the best of my abilities and then see how the faculty can push it to the next level. This allows me to look at my work more objectively to see where I can push and pull to reach that next level.

I went ahead a worked up a quick value study to get my head around some the the value structure I had planned for this piece.

I also worked up a color comp to get my head around the color before I started slinging paint at IMC.

The notes from the faculty were minor in the scheme of things and all were subtle, but important fixes that made the piece MUCH better. Since there was so much going on there where some tangents I overlooked. There was some debate about long snouts or short snouts on the dragons... I wanted short, the short stayed in.

I began blocking out the areas that need to be removed/fixed.

The corrects are added and things are getting worked out.

Time for the paint! Light washes start things off. This is still the most apprehensive step of the entire process. I can very easily loose the draw way too soon and loose control of the entire piece. When working digitally I have all sorts of established habits and processes for this stage of the paint... Not to mention that I can quickly just fix, change, or delete everything when working digitally. This is paint on a surface... still new and troubling experiences...

Still building it up all really translucently. Slowly but surely... baby steps...

Finally starting to go in opaque...

The piece is really all about the dragons for me so I started to focus on them first and begin to push them towards a finished state. I would work on the dragons, work on the rest of the painting, then back to the dragons, and so on. Trying to work it all up equally... but the explosion and foreground figure where waiting for the end.

Slowly but surely it is building its way up... taking form. Throughout the entire process I was getting advice and direction from the faculty and those around me about what was reading correctly and what was not... what needed to back pushed or pulled.

The explosion and foreground figures start to get some love... and this is when the painting began to feel like it just might all come together and not crash and burn.

At this point it was just a matter of going over the entire piece again and again. Pushing and pulling, warming and cooling, adding detail, and fixing my numerous egregious mistakes...

This is pretty much where the piece stood upon completing my week at IMC. I received some last minute advice about some of the things I should think about addressing once I returned home and there were a couple things I wanted to do to it still.

Once home, I gave it some more love and attention. I think that I will be revisiting the piece one final time before I call it completely finished but for all intensive purposes... it is done. Getting a good image of it was a whole other issue... but I eventually got something that worked...

And that is about it... start to finish, a week of working and learning culminated into one painting... and all the paintings I will make after it. Sometimes you just have to walk away from paintings too, focus on the next and the next after that. But I will most likely give this one just a little more attention. Again, here is how my 2013 IMC piece turned out, MANY THANKS to all the faculty and those around me for their insight and instruction...

The Three Dragons

24 x 14 - acrylic on board

© 2013 Christopher Burdett

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday for some 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

Illustration Master Class 2013 - Day 7

Day 7 of the 2013 Illustration Master Class! ...and we have come to the end. Day 7 is when it all must come down, be packed away, and be readied for everyone's return to their part of the world. Typically there is a lecture in the morning, followed by studio clean up time, followed by the closing address in the lecture hall, and finally an afternoon of open studios where all are invited to come and visit, see the art and share in the week's adventures.

The afternoon of Day 7 is also when you can get your sketchbook signed and sketched by your fellow classmates and the faculty. I drew many a monster that afternoon and many things were drawn in my book. As the afternoon went on some of the students and faculty had to say their goodbyes early and begin their journeys home. Those that remained broke up into groups and headed to dinner and made plans for the evening.

Iain McCaig rallied a huge group to go see Man of Steel. It felt like 95% of the remaining students all went with Ian to sit in a dark room together and watch a movie on the last night of IMC... the night intended for socializing and fun with classmates and faculty. Those that didn't go to the movie, which I was among, had some great one on one time with the rest of the faculty as everyone's favorite drinking spot in downtown Amherst. I think I chose wisely. It was the best last night I have ever had at IMC. It helped that I was not sick and that I didn't have to get up early and drive for two days to get home. Flying to IMC this year may have been the smartest decision I could have made!

Festivities continued into the night and for some, morning. When the next morning finally arrived we all said our goodbyes again and we all began our respective journeys home. Another Illustration Master Class had come and gone and hopefully we are all better off for it!

Here are some images from Day 7 of IMC... 

The dry erase board in the dorm lobby. It grew and took form throughout the week. Can you find my addition? RAWR!

Thank you loyal jelly jar that held my water! But our journey must now continue along different paths... mine heads home, yours head to the recycle bin...

One of many monsters drawn in sketchbooks. I like this one... it is weird and has tentacles...

A final thanks and celebration of Rebecca Guay for all her hard work and effort that it had taken to make IMC a reality and to keep it going. THANK YOU Rebecca, and to all the faculty!!!

The studios are cleared up and the art is displayed for the open studio time. The downstairs paint studio is still the happening local at IMC.

Greg Manchess and Dave Palumbo have their work out on display as well!

One of Rebecca Guay's giant and amazingly beautiful pieces on display. In all sincerity, I have really grown to love and appreicate Rebecca's work over the last several years and to really see it for what it truly is. I was of course familiar with her fantasy work but to see her personal work that is important and meaningful to her shows me the opportunities and options that I can have for my work and the work I want to make for myself.

Last, but not least (hopefully) is my piece for the 2013 IMC. We see it here all packaged up and ready to head home with me in a suitcase. I will be posting all about it on Monday here on the blog so you can see it every step of the way! RAWR!

That is all for another exciting Friday on the blog, see you back here on Monday for a look at my painting from the IMC! Until then...

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

Illustration Master Class 2013 - Day 6

Day 6 of the 2013 Illustration Master Class! ...and things just got SERIOUS. Day 6 is the last full work day at IMC and for some it is the last full work day, night, and following morning. You can really feel the excitement and tension on Day 6 as everyone is painting under a looming deadline. From the very beginning it is made clear that a finished painting is not the goal of IMC, but rather the learning, the experimentation, failing and succeeding, and the bond of friendship. It is not about the painting produced at IMC, it is about the next three paintings you create after returning home.

Day 6 started off with the always entertaining creature design lecture and demonstration by Iain McCaig. This year he designed a giant gassy clam thing with many eyes and legs. Or at least that was what we forced him to cobble together as he threw out questions to those attending.

Day 6 was group picture day as well. Instead of the usual outdoor shot we all ventured over to the museum and had our picture taken amount the monsters. Funny that I should find myself here twice when I had not know about it previously to the day before.

The faculty was making a last push with the rest of us and many of them were in the studios giving advice, demoing, and cheering us on into the night while we all made a last push to get some art made. The downstairs studio was on fire the night of Day 6. The energy was high and there was a lot of activity and excitement. I have not seen anything like that at IMC before. It felt like the majority of attending students had all congregated to our studio.

The night was capped off with Greg Manchess giving us the chance to sit in on a reading from his book project he is working on. After an overview and history of his project, Greg, Marc Scheff, and Scott Fischer read from a section of the book as Greg flipped through the corresponding drawings on the big screen. It was a real treat and a one of a kind opportunity to take part in. I can't wait for Greg to complete his project and release it to the world!

Here are some images from Day 6 of IMC... 

The wily giant gassy clam thing with many eyes and legs...

Picture time with massive mammals.

The camera crew was set up and ready to go.

We all crowded in and said, "IMC".

Though the week started off rainy and dark (which made it easy to stay in and work) by the end of the week the weather in Amherst had become very nice (which did not make it easy to stay in and work).

Here is a closeup of Sean Murray's minotaur... RAWR! So awesome!

Rebecca Guay giving an impromptu watercolor demo for Ania Mohrbacher.

Downstairs painting studio the night of Day 6.

Marc Scheff give a enthusiastic thumbs up for the excitement in the downstairs studio.

Greg Manchess gives an impromptu demonstration of painting a portrait in oils.

Sean Murray hard at work throwing down color on this massive drawing.

The upstairs painting studio seemed a little like a ghost town compared to the crush of people downstairs.

Greg Manchess talking about his polar bears and the adventure that began with this one painting.

That is all for another exciting Thursday on the blog, see you back here tomorrow for Day 7 coverage! Until then...

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

Illustration Master Class 2013 - Day 5

Day 5 of the 2013 Illustration Master Class! By Day 5 breakfast was becoming a strange mix of people who got went to bed the night before and those who were still up and would be going to bed after breakfast. I was somewhere in the middle of those extremes and was not making it to breakfast by this point in the week. By Day 5 I was also confident that even if I fell ill now I had gotten a lot out of the week and I had avenged my experience last year... of course it took five days to feel like I was not going to fall ill at any moment.

Funny thing about Amherst University... they have dinosaurs. They have dinosaurs and no one told me... until now. After three years (though last year kinda does not count) someone spoke up and mentioned that there were dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals a 30 second walk from the studios. I kid you naught... 30 seconds is all it took to walk from one building to the next. There is a three story display gallery featuring some really nice specimens. Of course, anything like this is complete awesome to me and I eat it up. After morning lecture and lunch, Sam Flegal and I went forth in search of monsters... The museum is a great untapped resource for IMC and in if I return I will make a bigger point to get people over there to look at good animal and creature reference. Upon our return our tales of monsters and dinosaurs prompted additional groups set out.

Oh... I guess there was a lot of painting and working happening on Day 5 as well. There was a strong encouragement by the faculty that if students had not begun painting that is was NOW TIME. Since there are students at every skill level at IMC those attending might be getting their first real look at the time and work that really goes into making a professional level painting. This might mean that they need to pretty much start over with their drawing, shot reference, work out a composition, prep their surface, and then start painting. Hence folks still being at a drawing level stage at Day 5.

As an added bonus the 'Taste of Amherst' festival going on in downtown Amherst which is a 3 minute walk from our dorms. They had fried dough...

Here are some images from Day 5 of IMC... 

A very strange... vehicle was outside the art studios the morning of Day 5. It was there a short time and then gone...

Prehistoric mammals! Big and small! The kinds that would eat your face and those that would just step on you! RAWR!

A wily Smilodon... or saber-toothed cat.

A bear... I wonder if it was a prickly bear?

The continuing adventures of moose and mammoth...

I never have enough Hadrosaurids in my life.

T-Rex skulls NEVER get old. Now that is a good monster.

Amherst has an AMAZING collection of dinosaur foot prints and skin imprints on display.

More prehistoric mammals of every size and shape! RAWR!

They also had some stuff that his closer to home...

I will love him and squeeze him and call him 'George'.

Speaking of good monsters! This is why I never go into the water when playing D&D.

A look at the downstairs painting studio on Day 5.

The before mentioned fried dough... with fresh local strawberries. Treat yourself!

Sam Flegal is gearing up on the under painting of his epic viking battle.

Marc Scheff is duel wielding assignments... LIKE A BOSS!

Sean Murray has started throwing down some ink on his epic piece.

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here tomorrow for Day 6 coverage! Until then...

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