Wanewort - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for the second of two (three, but more on that another day) contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, The Book of Many Things. I saved my favorite for last. While I haven't been actively working to get our cats into gaming art, but when the opportunity arose I made sure to get our cats into D&D. This will not be the last time you see the cats either, I have on good authoridy that little gray Zemo may be seen on something Magical later in the year, or next year. For now my familiar, ornage Mietze is only in D&D. Here is the final painting for Wanewort (and her cats).

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I was asked to illustrate Wanewort and her two cats. I knew this was going to be a good assignemnt becuase of the inclusion of cats. Cats make everything better - unless you are trying to make the bed. Wanewort was described as:

Intent: This monster illustration shows WANEWORT, an eccentric NIGHT HAG who works closely with a thieves’ guild called the Moonstalkers.

Action: WANEWORT is a NIGHT HAG with HALF-MOON GLASSES. She wears a knowing dastardly grin. She holds one CALICO CAT in her arms, and a GRAY CAT rubs up against her leg. She wears a dress, some scarves, and has a number of odd hag’s TRINKETS hanging off her clothes.

Mood: An ECCENTRIC, probably EVIL but nonetheless LOVABLE old woman who has more power than she lets on.

This is, of course, awesome, and something really fun to work on. You may have noticed that she is described as having a calico and a gray cat. The trouble is that we have an orange cat and a gray cat. I reached out to production to see if I could change the calico into an ornage and they agreed, opening my way to have our kitties in the book. You may have also noticed that she should have half-moon glasses and in the painting she does not. Yeah, well, I forgot them and didn't relize this omission until I was done with the painting. Every attempt to add them in and not mess up her expression failed and so I submitted the piece as you see it. Either the lack of glasses was never noticed, or like me, they decided it was fine without them. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted. 

Wanewort - Thumbnails

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Oh, did I fail to mention reference photos? I have to share my photo reference for the final painitng. With two cats, an apron, and a cape you too can have all the reference you need to make yourself a Nighthag. Mietze was not partcluarly happy about all this and Zemo was just wandering around.

 

Wanewort reference for all your kitty cat reference needs!

Needless to say that option 'C' was the winner and I was 100% on board for this one. I did like option 'A' a lot, but 'C' has a lot of personality. With the thumbnail approved it was time for drawing! Here is the Wanewort drawing.

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper

Original - NFS (I am keeping this one!)

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without any edit notes, and it was time to start on the final painting. Here is the painting of Wanewort taking shape.

Wanewort - Process

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This one was a dream to paint. I had great reference, I was painting my cats, and I was once again getting to be the monster. While my wife very much wanted to be the monster this time, I knew Mietze would not put up with her handling him this much. And, well, I wanted to be the monster. Compared to the other two paintings, especially the one I am not sharing, this one was quick, easy, and fun. Not that the other two were an issue, but... cats. Cats are fun to paint, espacially my cats. Here again is the final paitning for Wanewort.

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That's all for another exciting Wendesday 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

Boss Augustus - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for one of my contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, The Book of Many Things. I have always loved the concept of the Deck of Many Things. An item or items in game that allow the players to access great rewards and great calamity. In my early days of gaming I created a magical item for my players, the legendary Stick of Nearly Limitless Possibilities. I thought it would be really fun as there were some very crazy effects if the was unlucky with rolls. It was met with mixed feelings and sadly the stick (which I actually made) and the many pages of posibilites are lost to time. That was an unexpcted deteor... back to The Book of Many Things and my contributions. We will start with the more ordinary of my two pieces in the book. Here is the final painting for Boss Augustus.

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I was asked to design and illustrate Boss Augustus. Even though this is an illustration of a human male, I still approached it as if he was a monster - for better or for worse. Boss Augustus was described as:

Intent: This monster illustration shows BOSS AUGUSTUS, a HUMAN WEREWOLF who co-leads a lycanthropic THIEVES’ GUILD called the Moonstalkers. Secretly, he wishes to cure his lycanthropy and leave the Moonstalkers forever.

Action: We see Boss Augustus in his humanoid form: he looks like a MALE HUMAN in his 50s with beige skin and close-cropped black hair. There are subtle hints of his lycanthropy: for instance, he has a thick, somewhat unkempt BEARD. He is TALL and BEEFY. He wears a stoic, somewhat TROUBLED expression. He is dressed like a D&DROGUE crossed with a CRIME BOSS.

Mood: A powerful and respected leader

Definitly some angles to approach this one and to make it interesting. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted. 

Boss Augustus - Thumbnails

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

It is always interesting which thumbnail is selected. Sometimes I know which will be selected when I submit them - it just has to be THAT one that gets picked. Other times I am surprised by which is selected. For this piece I was hoping for option 'A' to get the nod, but this time aeound it was 'B." Not nessarily the one I would have chosen, but as I submitted it, I have to be prepared to take it to the end. 'B' was selected without any notes. Here is the Boss Augustus drawing.

 

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without comment, and it was time to start on the final painting. Here is the painting of Boss Augustus taking shape.

Boss Augustus - Process

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This is one of those painitng where you just need to sit with it and hold its hand until it is done. My natural tendancies with making art do not often lend themselves to depictions of humans, but I always do my best to make the human be the way the client needs it to be. One of my biggest issue with humans is that I never feel like I know when to stop - when is this painting going to be done?!?! With my monster work I just know when they are done - I get a feeling in my gut and I know that I need to do one last small detail pass and it will be done. With humans, humans that need to be normal and functional within society, it can be a lot more nebulous for me. Usually, my typical final small detail pass would make that human look like something not human, and that is not desired here. So I just need to sit with a painting like this and make sure that the face and hands are on point and then have some fun woth the atire and gear. But uinderstand that I gave this piece everyhign I would give any piece I was assigned. It being a human just makes it a little harder for me - which is good sometimes. To be challenged is to enbrace growth! Here, again, is the final painting of Boss Augustus.

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That's all for another exciting Wendesday 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

The Book of Many Things - Dungeons & Dragons

I feel like I am WAY behind on sharing these, but that is due to the book being delayed due to a printing issue. But now, after a bit of a wait, I have my comp copies, and I can now share my contribution to the recent Dungeons & Dragons release of The Book of Many Things (Which comes with the Deck of Many Things set). Here is said book that, in fact, contains many things!

The Book of Many Things!

You will find two of my illustrations in The Book of Many Things, one being a monster and the other being a man with some issues. The long and the short of it is that I made three pieces for this book, but due to travel, I was unable to see to some very late revision notes, and that third piece was replaced by another artist. At a later date, I hope to share that piece with you all, but that is for another day.

First up, we clearly have my favorite piece for the book, and likely for some time. It is Wanewort the Night Hag, and she has a pair of kitties. Not just any kitties, but she is holding my Mietze, and my wife's little Zemo is sniffing around Wanewort's dress. She was described as having two cats, and I asked if one of them could be changed in the final piece to be a little bitey orange kitty. Production gave their blessing, and so Mietze and Zemo are now in a D&D book! The second piece for the book is Boss Augustus, and he is struggling with an internal conflict. The weird thing about this one is that, while the entire thing was based on me, the drawing looks like someone I know, and the painting looks like another person I know. I'm not sure how this happened, but here we are all the same. Here are the final paintings for Wanewort and Boss Augustus.

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

As with all my D&D pieces, even though the final is digital, there are original drawings available. These are no exception, and I was pleased with how the drawings turned out. Here are the drawings for Wanewort and Boss Augustus. A word of advice: if there are any D&D pieces of mine that are coming out that you want the drawings for, you need to reach out to me as soon as possible.

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper

Original - NFS (I am keeping this one!)

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Lastly, I have some photos of how the work looks in the book. I think they printed great, and now Mietze and Zemo are forever a part of D&D!

Wanewort and Boss Augustus in handy dandy book 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