Talisman: The Lost Realms - The Return of the Dragons and Serpents

In a continuation of last week's post on my Talisman work resurfacing, I have more Talisman art that has resurfaced. This time around, it is The Lost Realms expansion that features the return of four of my monsters and was released in 2018. The pieces of mine included were created in 2009 and 2010 - give or take. The dates below will show 2010 or 2011, but it gets a little fuzzy on when I made the work versus when it was released, meant to be released, or the eventual delayed release. It's all unnecessarily complicated, but those were the times we lived through in the early 2010s. Let's start things off with a look at the packaging so that if you want to complete your collection of my art, you know what to get.

The Lost Realms expansion of Talisman

The four pieces of my art included in this expansion are the Arcane Dragon (originally the Seas Dragon), the Storm Dragon (one of my favorite pieces that I did for Talisman), Basilisk (the very first card that I did for the game, and the Dracolich (that you were reintroduced to last week). It is interesting to see the Storm Dragon and Basilisk juxtaposed because there was a TON of growth and work between the two of them in an incredibly short period. As mentioned last week, I used Talisman to experiment and try new techniques. For the most part, it gave me a place with a lot of freedom to push my boundaries and rise to the challenge. In the end, the work was fun, the pay was absolutely abysmal, and I have some cards in a popular game to show for it. Here is a look at the final art for the four pieces that have returned in this expansion.

Arcane Dragon

(originally the Sea Dragon)

Originally from Talisman: The Dragons

7 x 6 - Digital
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Storm Dragon

Originally from Talisman: The Dragons

7 x 6 - Digital
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Basilisk

5 x 4.5 -Digital

Originally from Talisman: Frostmarch

© 2010 Fantasy Flight Games

Dracolich

Originally from Talisman: The Dragons

7 x 6 - Digital
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Finally, here is a look at the final production cards. As far as I know, these are unchanged from the other times these cards have been released. At last count, the Basilisk alone has been released two to three times before this release. I guess it is good that more of them are out in the world to be enjoyed.  

And all the monsters on their monster cards so you can hold them in your hands

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

Talisman: The Deep Realms - The Return of the Dracolich

Today, another episode of my work that was reprinted and released that I never knew about till now! This time around, it is the Dracolich that I originally created for Talisman: The Dragons way back in 2011. With a published year of 2011, it likely means I painted this in 2010, which means this little undead dragon is fourteen years old. I am only going through all the numbers because sometimes it is hard to get my head around how long I have been doing this. Jump ahead to 2015, and the Dracolich has popped up in the Talisman: The Deep Realms expansion. Always weird to stumble onto your work out in the wild that you never knew about. Though, I am not sure how many people knew about this piece to begin with. If this is your first encounter with this piece, I present to you the mighty Dracolich.

Dracolich

Originally from Talisman: The Dragons

7 x 6 - Digital
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

At one time, I did a lot of work on the Talisman games. I cut my teeth on the game and made some pretty good pieces for the game and some, shall we say, less successful pieces. Working on the game, with its TINY card size, meant that I could experiment, play, and take some chances with the art because when it is printed, it will be condensed and lose a lot of the fine detail. Also, these sets had a ton of cards with art from a ton of different artists, so turning in a dud now and again wasn't the level of issue it would be on other projects. There are some things that are working on this one and some things that aren't, but for a piece that is nearly fifteen years old, I think it is still, mostly, holding up. If you are looking to complete your entire collection of things I have worked on, then all you need do is look for this expansion, and you will be one step closer to a complete collection!

The Deep Realms expansion of Talisman

Finally, here is a look at the final production card. As far as I know, it is the same card with the same stats and abilities as the card initially released in the Dragons expansion. 

The Dracolich in handy dandy card form!

LOOK OUT! Craft:10!

 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

Talisman Adventures: Myths and Monsters - The Return of the Firemane, Rock Mauler, Amber Dragon, and Shadow Dragon

It recently came to my attention that last year the Talisman Adventures RPG came out with a Myths and Monsters book, and some of my old Talisman art is in it. It has been over a decade since I worked on Talisman, but I did do a couple of okay pieces. It is always fun to see ancient work used again. It must mean that it wasn't completely horrible. Starting things off, here is the cover of the book.

Talisman Adventures - Myths and Monsters

Talisman was the first Fantasy Flight game I worked on in 2009 as I changed the direction of my career in the tabletop gaming industry. The game was familiar to me since I had played it many times when I was younger, which made it more exciting to finally be able to work on it. I was still getting my feet under me artistically in 2009, but there are some glimmers of the artist I was to become in there. Here are the final paintings for the work appearing for an encore showing, the Firemane, Rock Mauler, Amber Dragon, and Shadow Dragon.

Firemane

Talisman: Sacred Pool
© 2010 Fantasy Flight Games

Rock Mauler

Talisman: Highland
© 2010 Fantasy Flight Games

Amber Dragon

Talisman: The Dragons
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Shadow Dragon

Talisman: The Dragons
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Lastly, here is how these pieces appeared in the book. There is some cropping, but that is to be expected. It is interesting to see what they used and didn't use. I did produce some much better pieces for the game, pieces that could have been used in the new book but weren't. That is all out of my hands, and at the end of the day, none of my concern. This was work for hire, and I have no control, say, or remittance to be had. That said, it is good to see the Rock Mauler again. Not really a good painting, or design for that matter, but I clearly remember working on it and the struggles I had.

The monsters in handy dandy book form.

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

Revisiting the Basilisk - Talisman: Frostmarch

On Monday I shared with you some memories of working with Zoe Robinson at Fantasy Flight Games. In that post I mentioned that the first piece I ever did for her was a Basilisk for the Talisman expansion, Frostmarch. That piece is seven years old and very very flawed to my eyes. After reflecting on Zoe's time at FFG and all that we worked on I decided to revisit that critter and give it another pass in pencil to see what it would look like now. Of all the pieces I did with Zoe, the Basilisk is the only one that really makes me cringe. Here is my fresh pass at the Basilisk...

Basilisk - Revisited

12 x 9 - Pencil on paper

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

I am sure you are thinking to yourself, why on earth am I showing you the redesign before I showed you the original... BECAUSE I don't want seven year old work as the thumbnail for this post. Okay, now that you have seen the rework, lets travel back in time to 2009 and look at the original drawings that I submitted for the Basilisk... 

Original Basilisk drawings for Frostmarch

  Original on two sheets of 9 x 12 paper - Pencil on paper

© 2009 Fantasy Flight Games

These were all that I submitted for the Basilisk. These were the thumbnails and the final drawings all in one. Because I had not developed my now ubiquitous process for making art that use for everything today. I got a couple sheets of paper and just scribbled on them. The bounding box I drew on the paper to do these in was not even the right dimension for the final piece... I had to add some more drawing digitally after I scanned the scribbles into the computer. Now THAT is professionalism! AND somehow I continued to get work in the gaming industry.

By the way, I have never shared these three Basilisk scribbles before. These drawings most likely have only been seen by three or four people before now. Not that you all were missing anything. As you can clearly see, option 'A' was the winner. Isn't option 'C' just the cutest widdle Basilisk EVAR! Let us have a look at 2009 and 2016 side by side to see what has changed...

Basilisk comparison 2009 / 2016

Everything wrong is right again?

I continue to mention all the flaws with this piece. Here is a real quick run down of everything I did wrong with the fundamentals of the drawing and we will forgo this issues with the painting. In no particular order: anatomy of the head is all kinds of wrong, the  eyes, teeth, mouth, tongue, horns all do not line up in perspective or have any cohesive or realistic symmetrical order, that head is super wrong, one more time - HEAD = WRONG, arms are uniform and boring, arms don't seem to connect to the body and appear to be just slapped on the sides, and finally... THAT HEAD. The painting did not remedy any of the major issues and seemed to add some more, but that is for another day. Here is how the final painting turned out for the Basilisk...

Basilisk

  5 x 4.5 -Digital

© 2009 Fantasy Flight Games

Pay $100 for an illustration, get a $100 illustration. I won't even go into how much blood, sweat, and tears I pumped into this to get a finished painting. I worked SOOOO much on this, because at the time I was learning and ever piece was a fight to finish. I did learn a lot, and in a way that is what is important. Fun fact, for a brief time this piece was in my portfolio that I showed to clients. THE HORROR! THE HORROR! Thankfully the Talisman cards are SUPER TINY and once this piece was shrunk down it masked many of the flaws. Maybe. Here is the final card...

Basilisk in handy dandy card form!

Print it SMALL and make all the mistakes got away.

Seven years, at times it feels like so much more and so much less all at the same time. Just glad to see that my skill set has improved over the years! The last thing we needs is more cards being made like this original Basilisk.

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

Making monsters with Zoe Robinson

It is an end of an era. After nearly a decade, Zoe Robinson will be leaving Fantasy Flight Games for bigger and better fun at Blizzard. For the past seven years I have had the opportunity to work with Zoe to make a lot of fun monsters for some of my favorite licenses.

Sam Flegal, your truly, and Zoe Robinson at Illuxcon when it was still in Altoona, PA.

Photo by Jeannie Zaengle Wilshire

I have written about the ups and downs in my career here on the blog before. From 2005 - 2008 I worked exclusively with Wizards of the Coast, but that all came to an abrupt end around December of 2008. Zoe was one of the first art directors to give me work in 2009 when I decided to double down and stick with working in the gaming industry. In April of 2009 I received my first assignment from Zoe, and some how she saw something in it and gave me more and more over the years. I wanted to share with you some of the work I created with Zoe as my AD. Consider this a celebration of the opportunities she has given me, and I am sure many of you out there, to create art for some of our favorite games and franchises.

The very first one... in all its "glory".

The Basilisk from Taliman: Frost March was the first piece I created for Zoe in April 2009.

It is hard to look at now with all its flaws, but I was learning a lot and it was printed very small.

Jump ahead a year and a half, at the end of 2010 Zoe asked me to paint all three of the Game of Thrones dragons. I knew nothing about AGOT at the time, which was kind of for the best so that I did not over think the assignment and sabotage myself. Also, note the difference a year and a half can have on someone's art.

GIANT SPIDER MOUTH!

Zoe knows I love monsters so she had me make a TOTALLY NOT Shelob for one of the nightmare decks for the Lord of the Rings card game. Apparently when she got the art order she thought of me.

Zoe reached out to me to make, in the end, five different pieces of the dragon Smaug for the Hobbit card game. I had not thought I was up the challenge of doing five pieces, but I was convinced by my wife and Zoe tag teaming me into taking the assignment. This one continues to be my favorite.

FFG got the license to do the Star Wars games and Zoe was the lead on the games. She gave me my first assignment in Star Wars with the choice of a Wookiee or a Tuskin Raider. I picked the Wookiee... ALWAYS pick the Wookiee. While there were some ups and downs with this piece it marked the start of many years of Star Wars art.

Zoe knew what monsters I would like best and gave me the room to make the pieces I wanted to make. The art order for this Salacious Crumb piece called for a very different portrayal of Crumb but I knew the piece I wanted to make and Zoe supported me all the way. This is still one of my favorite pieces that I ever created with Zoe.

When something new needed to be designed and illustrated for the Star Wars RPG Zoe came to me and I got to design something for Star Wars!

When I decided to make the transition from digital to traditional Zoe supported me, as long as I could provide a comparable quality and I dealt with revisions. This was one of the first pieces I did for Zoe traditionally and continues to be a favorite of mine.

Last, but surely not least. This is my favorite piece that I ever did for Zoe and is among my favorite pieces that I have ever created. I threw myself into this piece and Zoe supported me through the process to do the piece I wanted to do of Yoda.

Thank you Zoe for all the monsters and fun over the years. Thank you for fighting the good fight to get the artists that worked for you higher rates at FFG. Thank you for the fun at conventions. And thank you for giving me that second assignment after I gave you that wonky Basilisk. While many of us will miss working with you at FFG I know you will be doing great things at Blizzard.

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

Talisman - The Nether Realm

Quick note before I get things going today... at the beginning of each January here on the blog I have done a previous year's highs and low and lessons learned. The look back at 2013 is coming, it has just been a little delayed due to events beyond my control.

With that out of the way... I have a interesting piece for you today. Not only is this piece very old, it is just now being released, and with its release it marks that last work done for a license that I am fond of. I am referring to the Sea Drago... er, I mean the ARCANE Dragon that has recently surfaced in the newest expansion for the Talisman board game, The Nether Realm...

Arcane Dragon

© 2014 Fantasy Flight Games

I created this piece in November / December  2010 for The Dragons expansion for Talisman. For whatever reason this particular dragon did not make the original cut, but finally... after three years... here it is. YAYS! It is finally out... too bad it is three years old and I would have done is all totally differently now. The Dragons expansion was also the last time I worked on the Talisman franchise... though I have had new cards in almost all the expansions since. I did so much work the The Dragons that is was not all used and kept appearing in various later sets. Also, if you didn't catch it earlier, this piece was originally called the "SEA" dragon... since its uncanny resemblance to the leafy and not so leafy sea dragon (look them up!). Here is how the final card turned out...

Arcane Dragon in handy card form

The Arcane dragon was not the only piece of mine that appears in The Nether Realm! A pair of other previously released piece show up as well. The much more successful and better looking Storm Dragon is always a welcomed sight... then there is the... uh, Basilisk...

Storm Dragon

© 2011/2014 Fantasy Flight Games

Basilisk

© 2010/2014 Fantasy Flight Games

The Basilisk is a number of things, it is not only the very first piece that I ever did for Fantasy Flight Games, it is my very first Talisman card, and it is very BAD. Dating back to 2009 it shows lots of potential... and lots of rookie mistakes and an expected level of inexperience. Which is all to be expected, this was from 2009 when I was getting my career and art rebuilt from the ground up. Maybe at a latter date when it is more relevant to current work I can go in and point out the issues with this piece (oh, the humanity... that anatomy!) and how it could be fixed.

Here are how the cards for this two repeat pieces turned out... for the basilisk, since it was printed so small it actually made it better...

Storm Dragon in handy card form

Basilisk in handy card form

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

Talisman: The City

Talisman: The City expansion is now out and an unreleased piece of mine has surfaced in this set! Way back in early 2011 I painted the Clockwork Dragon and hopefully the wait has been worth it. I have previously mentioned the handful of my dragon pieces that were originally created for Talisman: The Dragons expansion but were never released. Since then they have been slowly trickling out in other sets. The Clockwork Dragon is the second to last unreleased piece and this is how it turned out...

Clockwork Dragon (finally arriving from 2011!)

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Games

While it is always a little weird when an old piece suddenly appears it is nice to finally have it out. So please don't be too critical of it, after all, it is over two years old and a lot has changed in that time. But it is a dragon made out of metal, that's cool right? Here is how the card turned out...

Clockwork Dragon in tiny card form

The City expansion contains a group of wanted poster styled cards and they used the art from the Clockwork Dragon card to make one of them. I don't have a good image of it or I would have shared it. Those playing the game should keep an eye out for it! When and if the last remaining unreleased dragon piece ever surfaces, you can be sure I will share with you here on the blog!

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

Talisman: Blood Moon

My copy of Talisman: Blood Moon showed up on the doorstep yesterday, so I thought it was high time to share it with you. I mentioned a while back that one of my pieces from the set was spoiled on the FFG website as part of the rules. The piece debuting in the set was actually a piece I created a while back for The Dragons expansion but it was bumped to a later set, so what is old is new again. This new old piece is joined by a returning favorite, the Zombie Dragon. Both pieces ended up as part of the packaging art too! Here are some pics...

Talisman: Blood Moon & my two cards in this expansion.

Dragons coming at you from the sides of the box... RAWR!

Vampiric Thirst
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

Zombie Dragon

 © 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

It is always a little weird when older pieces surface (and surface again), especially when they are 2 years old. So much can be learned in that time and different choices could be made. Oh well, I think I would prefer work coming out super late rather then never at all.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here next week for coverage of Gen Con 2012 and hopefully a surprise or two! Until then...

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

Vampiric Thirst - Blood Moon sneak peak

The rules for the the newest expansion to Talisman, Blood Moon, went up online last week and to my surprise one of my one of my unreleased pieces appears to be included in the new expansion. As previously mentioned here on the blog I had three dragons produced for the Dragons expansion get pushed to later set(s). The Vampiric Dragon is the first of the three to reappear. Keep in mind I started this piece WAY back in December 2010 - so it is a little out of date, though it is brand new to the blog...
 

 Vampiric Thirst
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

I had not worked on this new expansion, so it is nice to see that I will still have new work in it. I am not sure if any of the other dragons will be making an appearance as well in Blood Moon, only time will tell. The gap of an year and a half can really point out changes in process and techniques in approaching a painting. The fact that I just completed two new dragons for a project only helps point out the road I have traveled - but for now you will have to take my word on that. Here is a snippet of the Blood Moon rules featuring my dragon...

 Blood Moon rules

If any more of my dragons appear in Blood Moon you will hear about it here on the blog!

That is all for another exciting day on the blog, be sure to stop by on Friday for another new item! Until then...

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

Talisman: The Dragons (Part 4)

All good things must come to an end and so to does the life of a dragon. Today I bring you my final installment of work from the newly released expansion to Talisman, The Dragons. With this final installment I bring you one possibility for life after the death of a dragon.... becoming a feared and horrible, Dracolich! RAWR! I am made of BONES! Enough talk, bring on the dragon...

Dracolich
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

This was the very last dragon that I made for this expansion and I was really trying to have a lot of fun with it. That fun was mostly centered around trying to come up with an interesting pose that was different then the other dragons I had already done as well as find an interesting lighting scheme. As I am sure I have mentioned before I am a huge fan of sunset and the colors and light that that time of day produces. When given the opportunity I find myself setting my scenes at sunset and I thought the Dracolich lent itself to it as well. Looking back at it now I think I could have tweaked a few things, but over all I like how it came out. Big skeleton dragon, what more could you ask for?

More? Could you ask for more? Well, I guess you could... Since I only had one more dragon painting to share today I thought I might include the drawings to some of my favorite dragons from the set. You can see what has changed and what remained the same. I hope you enjoy them!

Storm Dragon Drawing
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Zombie Dragon Drawing
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Amber Dragon Drawing
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Plague Dragon Drawing
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Dracolich Drawing
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

That is all for Talisman: The Dragons, but that is not all of the dragons. Keep in mind that three of the dragons that I produced for the set flew away to a later expansion(s) and will return one day. So be patient, there will be more dragons!

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