Syrinscape Kraken Battle Sound Set

I have recently been finding a lot of my art through Facebook ads. Some of the art is being used without my permission (more about this maybe later), while others, like what I am sharing with you today, are using the work correctly - and that makes me happy. I recently came upon a series of ads from the good folks at Syrinscape showcasing all their really nifty sound sets and music scores that can be used to enhance your experience at the gaming table. These are so cool, and I would have loved to have had them when I had the time to play, but I can definitely appreciate them now. 

Beyond the remarkable aspect of what Syrinscape offers, I noticed since they are licensed partners with WotC, they were using official D&D art to promote their offerings. One, in particular, caught my eye.

RAWR! I'm a Kraken, and I offer you some sick music and sound effects!

I, of course, started clicking through links and options to see what my art was being used on. There is an entire selection of music and sound effects to make your battle with that mighty Kraken even more intense and exciting.

There are loads of details and information regarding all their options and products, and I encourage you to head over there to check it all out. There is even a link to a sample of what is in store for you once you try out what Syrinscape offers.

Kraken sample for all your Kraken needs!

Lastly, I will leave you with my full art of the Kraken that I did for the 5E Monster Manual. It feels like I just did it, but it is now over 8 years old. Time files when making monsters.

Kraken

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That's all for anther 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

My Dad's Monster Manual - The Return of the Ankheg, Kraken, and Fire Snake

I would like to share something that I find very interesting and fun. It is a third-party Dungeons & Dragons book that uses licensed art, of which some of mine is included. While that is enough to warrant a blog post, the concept around the book itself is highly creative. My Dad's Monster Manual is a collection of monsters that most players should be more than familiar with, but in this case, they have all be reenvisioned and given new names, backstories, stats, and abilities. The author of the book had his father guess what each monster in the official monster manual was called and what it does, and from there, these new versions were created. I think this is a super fun idea and gives Dungeon Masters the opportunity to spice up their games and keep their players guessing. If you have a chance, you should check this book out. Here is a look at the book.

 

My Dad's Monster Manual

This book is full of monster art that appears in the fifth edition Monster Manual. Included are three of my pieces, the Ankheg, Kraken, and Fire Snake. I love how these creatures were given a fresh spin and fun new names and origins. The entire book has so many fun new ideas and monster potential. Here is a look at my art in the book.

Here again, is my full art for each of these monsters. It is nice to see how they live on and continue to show up and have a life of their own,

Ankheg

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Kraken

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Fire Snake

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

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

D&D Monster Cards - Epic Monsters - Return of the Kraken, Morkoth, Sibriex, and Hellfire Engine

Within the past two to three years, give or take, a D&D Monster Card deck was released for Epic Monsters. Included in this deck are four of the monsters that I painted for various Dungeons & Dragons books. With the Epic Monsters Deck's release, my Kraken, Morkoth, Sibriex, and Hellfire Engine, get their own cards. This is the last such deck of monster cards I am aware of. Only time will tell if there will be more. Here is a look at the deck box and the cards.

 

 

Epic Monsters Deck

 

 

Kraken

 

Morkoth

 

 

Sibriex

 

 

Hellfire Engine

 

The Kraken and the Morkoth have been made into miniatures. The Sibriex miniature should be released sometime this month. I am still awaiting the Hellfire Engine to become an official miniature. Here again, is the final art that I created of these three monsters.

 

 

Kraken

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

 

Morkoth

Volo's Guide to Monsters

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

 

Sibriex

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Hellfire Engine

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

© 2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC

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

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

Dungeons & Dragons - Monsters and Heroes of the Realms - Coloring Book

The Dungeons & Dragons - Monsters and Heroes of the Realms Coloring Book was recently released and I go my hands on a copy over the weekend. Turns out that some of my work created for the 5th Edition Monster Manual was adapted for use in the coloring book! A surprise to me, but never the less pretty neat. Here is a look at the cover...

Dungeons & Dragons - Monsters and Heroes of the Realms Coloring Book

While I had nothing to do with the creation of this actual product, someone converted my paintings into line art so that they can now be colored. My pieces that are used in the coloring book are the Kraken, Aarakocra, and the Salamander, all favorites of mine for different reasons. Really fun to see them turned into line art for coloring. Now to deal with the temptation to color them like I painted them. Here is a look at the coloring pages of my monsters...

Kraken coloring book page

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Aarakocra coloring book page

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Salamander coloring book page

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

There was an unexpected credits section in the back of the book. Not that I was surprised that the original artist got credit, but that there is a thumbnail of the coloring page, the artist that created the original art, and the original publication of the art. They went that extra mile and that is really neat. There is also a mini color gallery featuring some of the original art used in this book, but none of my color pieces were used in this mini gallery. Here is a look at one of the credit pages...

Coloring book page credits page sample

© 2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That is all for another exciting Tuesday 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

Monster Manual Prints now Available!

Head over to my WEB STORE to get your prints of my monsters from the 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual! Each print is 8.5 x 11 and comes signed and numbered! The print run is limited to 50 each. You can get them singly or as a set at a discount. Go now and get yours today! RAWR!

Monster Manual prints NOW AVAILABLE!

Aarakroca Print

Ankheg Print

Fire Snake Print

Kraken Print

Salamander Print

See you back here on Monday for more 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

5th Edition D&D Monster Manual Book Signing

The 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual comes out next week and the good folks at Fallout Comics have invited me out to do a book signing! If you are in the the North Florida / Tallahassee area be sure to come out to Fallout Comics on Saturday October 4th between 12 pm - 3pm @ 1484 Apalachee Pkwy, Tallahassee, Florida 32301 (Facebook event page). I will be signing and sketching in Monster Manuals and will have a whole lot of other surprises!

My illustrations in the 5E D&D Monster Manual

Kraken, Salamander, Fire Snake, Ankheg, and Aarakocra

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

Did I mention surprises? Debuting at the signing will be a new set of limited edition signed and numbered monster prints! These 8.5 x 11 signed prints are numbered and limited to an edition of 50 and feature all five of the monsters that I illustrated for the Monster Manual. They can be purchased individually or as a set at a discount. RAWR!

Here is a look at the limited edition monster prints... for all your monster print needs.

The prints are all numbered and only await my signature when they are purchased. RAWR!

In addition to these new prints I will have with me original drawings and paintings, play mats, sketchbooks, Magic the Gathering prints, Magic the Gathering artist proofs, and more! I will also be signing any other items that I have worked on as well.

I hope to see you at Fallout Comics on Saturday October 4th between the hours of 12pm - 3pm @ 1484 Apalachee Pkwy, Tallahassee, Florida 32301.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday for more D&D monsters! 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 - Kraken

Release the KRAKEN!

For this installment of my work on the 5th Edition Monster Manual I have for you the mighty Kraken. I did not design this particular monster but I did illustrate it. The design work for the Kraken was handled by the super amazing creature designer Brynn Metheney and it was a HUGE honor to illustrate one of her designs. Here is my Kraken illustration for the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons...

Kraken - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

As mentioned before, we were asked to create an additional series of detail sketches that would be used in the design of the book. Not all of the drawing got used for all the monsters, but they were part of the process. Here are the details sketches that I created for the Kraken...

Kraken - Detail Sketches

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

I will not be sharing the concept work that I used to illustrate the Kraken at this time. As far as I am aware Brynn has not shared her work on it and I am not going to beat her to the punch in displaying her designs. When I post about the process of painting this piece in the coming months I will then share the concept work. What I can mention now is that in the process of illustrating the Kraken I was asked by production to tweak the face/head of the Kraken. More on this as well will be shared in the process post.

Some cropping aside, the Kraken ended up in the book nice and big, but I don't think any of the details sketches made their way into the book. Here is a bad photo of the Ankheg page I managed to take at Gen Con...

Handy dandy book version of the Kraken for all your RPG needs!

A HUGE THANKS to Jon Schindehette for all the monsters and direction during the design phase of 5th Edition (and for including me in the process to begin with!) and to Daniel Gelon for the art direction on the illustration!

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

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