The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT: Trandoshan

Showing posts with label Trandoshan. Show all posts

Monday, March 16, 2026

Revisting the DXR-6 Disruptor

I will continue to be saying this for a while longer: I am REALLY BUSY writing the next book, so the blog will continue to mostly be posts looking back at older work. Today I am sharing a Star Wars piece I painted in 2013/14 for a board game and it ended up making the roads. So, here we are again!

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle

Imperial Assault Core Set

10.127 x 9 - Digital

One of the main reasons this piece is being revisited is that one of the reference images popped up again on the socials. It reminded me of this one, and so here we are. More to the point, I shared this photo likely the day after it was taken, but with no context, I was not breaking any NDA.

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle - Reference
Photos by Achsa Nute

Here are images of the piece taking shape with the thumbnails and the final drawing. This one was focused on the figure and blaster, so background and environments were not needed, and it let me make it all one big explosion.

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle - Thumbnails

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle

12 x 9 - Pencil on paper

Original - SOLD (a LONG time ago)

This art has ended up on at least three cards. The first time, it was hilariously and severely cropped. Like, why even at that point? I was thrilled when it was released so that the art could finally be seen. It is likely out there elsewhere in books, cards, and stuff, but I may never track them down.

The many cards this art has been used on.

There may be more, but I only know of these three.

That's 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

Monday, August 9, 2021

Designing the Fashion Forward Trandoshan

If you know me or my work at all, you will know of my love for Star Wars and, in particular, the alien reptilian species, the Trandoshans. For decades, the bounty hunter Bossk from the Empire Strikes Back was the beginning and end of what Trandoshans were. Over the years, the species was fleshed out, and more examples of these space lizards can be seen in various comics, toys, and cartoons. When I began working on the Fantasy Flight Star Wars games, I made it clear I wanted to paint as many Trandoshans as they would give me. What I didn't tell them is that I had a plan to establish a look at feel for the armor and attire for the Trandoshans I would illustrate. I am not sure if anyone noticed or cared, but I went about coming up with my take on a Trandoshan esthetic, and I wanted to use today's post to share what I had been working on and how the designs varied and what they meant.

Everything began with a quarter-page illustration that focused on the AT-PT walker, but since it was described as having two Trandoshans in it, I quickly made them the piece's focus. Here is that piece.

AT-PT

Edge of the Empire

7 x 10 - Digital

I do not recall how the Trandoshans were described, but I envisioned them as a scout group for a military-level operation. I don't think the Trandoshans had a standing military during the Empire, but if they did, I saw them wearing heavy armor, camouflage, and long, scaled armored coats. There is still some mix and match going on, but they are moving light in hostile territory with a walker for support. While I still like how this piece turned out, I knew my look for the Trandoshans was still not realized.

Trandoshan Hunter

Imperial Assault Summer Organized Play Kit

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Original - SOLD

This piece, the Trandoshan Hunter, was where the look for the Trandoshans finally took shape. This was the second of my Trandoshan pieces for FFG and was the first to allow me the room and freedom to focus on the figures and attire and to explore their clothing and equipment. These pair of space lizards are very much in the vein of Boosk. They are hunters and prepared for anything. They are armored, have plenty of bags, pouches, and bandoliers, and have an array of weapons and devices on their gauntlets. I am pulling from established Star Wars motifs and styles as well as throwing on a lot of my design choices. I still look to this piece as a prime example of 'my' Trandoshans.

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle

Imperial Assault - Core set

10.1 x 9 - Digital

Continuing what I had established, this piece, which highlights a rifle and not the figure, shows off some of the same design choices. Wires, cables, and lights adorn the powered gauntlets that likely bristle with hidden weapons. The layered shoulder and arm armor make a return and there are plenty of straps, bandoleers, and pouches for all your space lizard needs.

Trandoshan Mercenary

Star Wars LCG - Aggressive Negotiation

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original - NFS

While this Mercenary painting was my final contribution to the Star Wars games, it holds true to what I established. The armor and equipment should look familiar at this point. The focus of this piece, the knife, was something I wanted to work into most of the other paintings, but the knife was always lost due to which thumbnails were chosen or that, in the end the knife didn't work in the composition. Here it finally is out and upfront. I felt like Trandoshans would always have blades on them, especially the more villainous of their population.

While I was establishing a dominant look for the Trandoshans, I didn't want that to become the only look. Depending on the portrayal in the assignment, I wanted to give them each their own look and purpose.

Exploring Froz

Edge of the Empire - Suns of Fortune

12 x 14 - Digital

For the Exploring Froz piece, I wanted to have a Trandoshan more in line with a scientist or first responder. The planet of Froz was completely decimated and these individuals are evaluating the destruction and looking for survivors. I imagined this Trandoshan to be wearing something lighter but still armored. They likely need to cover a lot of ground and will have to overcome many types of rugged terrain. The arms are exposed for easy climbing, but the body is still protected. Less about weapons and more about survival.

Fool Me Once

Star Wars Imperial Assault - Ahsoka Tano Ally Pack

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Deb Freytag

In Fool Me Once, I wanted to depict two Trandoshans on the job. These two are working the starport and more for show than action. They have little to no armor, but they have their blasters, some straps and belts, and some gauntlets. They have a waist sash that has the colors of which Hutt employees them and to show off who controls the starport. If you will be paying bribes to get that illegal shipment in, you need to know who the credits need to go to.

Rival Explorer

Digital

While the piece was titled Rival Explorer, I wanted to depict a Trandoshan that was neither obviously good nor evil in their dress and depiction. They are merely a rival to the players in the game. This is a neutral depiction of a Trandoshan and should be an example of the non-warrior members of their species. Likely they are pulling influences from many other planets and species and whatever is better for function in the field.

Passk the Trandoshan

Digital

Lastly, we have Passk. He needed to be over the top and fancy. He needed to be very much not like the other Trandoshans that I have painted. I shared some of the design choices for this piece before, but the primary influence for it was the wild red outfit I had my Trandoshan wear in Star Wars Galaxies. The attire in the game was but a starting point, and I pushed it as far as I was allowed to get this look. It was a fun exercise.

As an added bonus, here are a few images of me posing for Trandoshan reference. You might notice some similar elements in each image and how they translated into the final paintings.

Trandoshan Reference

Photos by Achsa Nute

That's 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

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Trandoshan Mercenary - Star Wars - Process

Today I have you the process and steps that went into my Trandoshan Mercenary painting for the Star Wars LCG set, Aggressive Negotiation. Before we get to that, I wanted to share some thoughts about the significance of this piece. This painting was the very last Star Wars illustration that I produced for Fantasy Flight Games. In fact, this was the final painting of any kind that I created for that company. At the time, I am not sure if I knew it would be, but deep down, I think I might have. I was not originally going to take this assignment. I had gotten into the habit of turning down anything that they offered, but Erik Dahlman specifically wrote this card for me and requested me by name. So I took the job. I had long remarked my wishes to paint a Trandoshan wielding a vibroblade, and there was finally an opportunity in the game for it, so Erik made sure I got that chance. You can't say no to that.

I had been drifting away from FFG for a while at this point, and I knew it was only a matter of time that I would full severe ties. My opinion of freelance work, in general, was already changing and my attentions were beginning to be solely directed at The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. When I started working with FFG in 2009, I never imagined the opportunities and projects I would work on, the fantastic art directors I would work with, and the exposure my work would receive. There were a lot of fun times, but in the end, there was only so long I could keep returning to them for work. If I was going to have a final painting with them, I am glad it was this one. If you are familiar with me, my work, or this blog you know my love for lizard monsters. The Trandoshan bounty hunter, Bossk, is my favorite Star Wars character and I have created many Trandoshans for the FFG games. So at the end, there was one last space lizard monster to paint.

In addition to this being my last painting for FFG, this was the last time I produced a traditionally painted image. I had been shifting back to digital work for my client work, and for my personal work, it has become exclusively a combination of colored pencil, white acrylic, and black ink on paper. If I was going to have a final traditionally painting, for the time being, I am also glad it was this one. I really felt like I was beginning to find a sweet spot with the materials. At the end of the day, I draw when I make art. It might be a pencil, digital stylus, or brush, but I am always drawing. With this painting, I finally felt like I was painting. There are marks that I was making with the brush, and I was laying paint down in new ways. I was really excited by what I did in this piece, which is why I am not parting with it.

Time to talk about making this final Star Wars painting! To start things off, here is a look at the final version of the Trandoshan Mercenary.

Trandoshan Mercenary

Star Wars LCG - Aggressive Negotiation

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original - NFS

With all of my creations, I started with reference. Since I am not in my underwear this time, I can actually share some of the images that my wife took of me acting out my best space lizard life. At some point, I will talk about and share with you the look and feel that I was creating my Trandoshans in the various Star Wars games. I really wanted them to have a related look and feel. I was doing my own Trandoshan world-building in the paintings I was doing for FFG. Here is a selection of reference photos for this painting.

Trandoshan Mercenary - Reference

Photos by Achsa Nute

Now that I had reference, it was time to work up some thumbnails. One of the significant challenges with designing card art for FFG was the large amount of chrome the cards have. There were card elements that could potential be encroaching on nearly every side of the card, but we always somehow made it work. It sometimes left you with a painting with a lot of dead space on parts of the composition, but in the end, the card looked good. I knew I was cutting it close with these, but I always tried to push my compositions to see what I could get away with. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted.

Trandoshan Mercenary - Thumbnails

Option 'B' was approved without changes, and I was given the go-ahead to move forward. I was rather surprised I didn't need to adjust anything, but excited that I could produce an image that better fit the surface I was working on. I got to work on the drawing and submitted it soon after the thumbnails were approved.

Trandoshan Mercenary

Star Wars LCG - Aggressive Negotiation

17 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

The drawing was approved as well, and I was ready to start on the final painting. Wait, no, stop everything. At the last second, I was asked to shrink the entire image and add a lot of bleed to the top and sides. This came late in my process, and so the edits were made digitally to the drawing as I prepped it for the painting process. In the following animated process, you can see the two stages of the drawing and how much it needs to be reduced. This resulted in a lot more empty space on the sides and top, but as I mentioned before, it allowed all the chrome of the card to sit nicely over the image.

Trandoshan Mercenary - Process

I apologize for the darkness of some of the process shots. It was challenging to get good photos of my work as it is taking shape. The lighting is never perfect; the surface is often wet, which results in dark images with distracting glare. Hopefully, it gives you enough of an idea of how my paintings take shape.

My takeaway from this piece is to always paint as if it is your very last painting. Give the work your all. Commit yourself to the fullest and constantly push to do better. In the end, that painting very much may your last painting, and it better be a damn good one if there will be no more after it.

Here again is the final painting for the Trandoshan Mercenary and the final card it appears on. Once it is cropped and placed with the chrome, it looks great, and this may be the best printed of my traditional pieces. At least, I think so. While the painting was made in 2016 and the work was released in 2017, now, in 2021, this marks an end of an era. I have no more Star Wars work, or FFG work in general, to share with you. Reprints of my work may surface at some point, but for now, we close the book on this period in my working career.

Trandoshan Mercenary

Star Wars LCG - Aggressive Negotiation

Trandoshan Mercenary in handy dandy card form

That's 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

Friday, September 1, 2017

Death Mark - The Return of DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle

It is no secret that Fantasy Flight Games likes to use and reuse the art that done for them in many of their Star Wars games. I have hand many pieces of my Star Wars pop up multiple times all across the FFG Star Wars Games. It is a little bit of a game at this point to try to find them all and to keep track of them. Recently, I came across the return of my DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle piece that I originally produced for Imperial Assault. This time around it is the Death Mark card in the Scrap Metal expansion to the Star Wars LCG...

Death Mark

Star Wars LCG - Scrap Metal

Not a bad looking card! I am actually really pleased with how this piece looks on this card. It really gets the point across and shows off that angry Trandoshan doing angry Trandoshan things. No matter how the card printed it will be better then its original printing in Imperial Assault where the card was cropped down to the just the rifle...

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle

Imperial Assault - Core set

The Death Mark card is actually not the first time this art has been reused. Shortly after the release of the core set to Imperial Assault the DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle art appeared on a convention exclusive alt art Trandoshan Hunter card. My art was on the original Trandoshan Hunter cards that are in the core set to Imperial Assault AND in the organized play kit, so it was only fitting that my art was on the convention exclusive card too. This alt art card turned out really good too and shows off a lot more of the piece, but I think Death Mark is my favorite to date.

Trandoshan Hunter

Imperial Assault - Adepticon exclusive giveaway

Lastly, here is the full are for DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle. Or is it Death Mark... or is it Trandoshan Hunter? It is all those things and more! Amyway, here is the full art for all these cards...

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle

Imperial Assault - Core set

10.1 x 9 - Digital

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, Monday is a holiday so I will see you back here on Wednesday with a NEW monster from the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia! Until then...

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

Monday, August 7, 2017

Trandoshan Mercenary - Aggressive Negotiation - Star Wars LCG

Just in time for Gen Con I am happy to share with you a newly released painting for the Star Wars card game. With the arrival of my contributors copy of Aggressive Negotiation, the newest expansion to the Star Wars LCG, I can now share my Trandoshan Mercenary with you...

Trandoshan Mercenary

Star Wars LCG - Aggressive Negotiation

14 x 11 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original available at Gen Con 2017 - August 17-20

Trandoshan Mercenary

Star Wars LCG - Aggressive Negotiation

17 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Art Director - Taylor Ingvarsson

Original available at Gen Con 2017 - August 17-20

This piece is special to me for a couple reasons. First, it my be my favorite traditionally painted piece that I have done for Star Wars on a craft level of putting paint on a surface. I am really really happy with how the paint went down and what I did with the paint to achieve the finished product. Second, this card was specifically designed and put into to the game for me by the designers of the Star Wars card game! I had mentioned here on the blog several times about my attempts to get a big knife in the hands of a Trandoshan in a painting have never worked out. Well, Erik Dahlman over at FFG took notice and made sure there was a Trandoshan with a knife card with my name on it in a set. Can't beat that! Thanks Erik!

Trandoshan Mercenary in handy dandy card form

If you are attending Gen Con 2017, August 17-20, be sure to swing by Artist Alley Table 27 to see this piece in person when it makes its debut! Look for the process and steps that went into making this painting here on the blog in the coming months.

That is all for another exiting 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

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Trandoshan Hunter - Star Wars - Process

Today I have for you a look at the process and steps that went into a piece that is well overdue. I first shared the Trandoshan Hunters with you back in June of 2015. These two space lizards were created for the Imperial Assault 2015 Summer Organized Play Kit as well as being the third time my art was used for this particular card. Let's have a look at the finished piece...

Trandoshan Hunter

Imperial Assault Summer Organized Play Kit

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Original - SOLD

Thumbnails are and will forever be the first step in the process. I shoot reference and work up some concepts based on the art order. Inevitably, I will get the bleed and padding wrong, so having the thumbnail stage allows for quick and easy readjustment as I move onto the final drawing. No matter how much bleed I give my thumbnails, no matter how close I think I am sticking to the templates, I never seem to get it right. Oh well... at least I think I get it pretty close. Here are how the final thumbnails turned out for this piece...

Trandoshan Hunter - Thumbnails

So fierce! Look at those angry angry space lizards! To get in the spirit and mood of some feisty Trandoshans I shot a bunch of reference with the help of Dear Wife. I like to move around and get into the skin of my monsters before I start working on them. Getting in front of the camera allows me to work out the composition in real space and get all the details, lighting, and foreshortening worked out ahead of time. No matter how much I plan ahead before shooting reference we will always come up with better poses and elements when I shoot reference first. Here is but a few of the many reference images that went into this piece...

Trandoshan Hunter -Reference

Photos by Achsa Nute

Option 'C' of the thumbnails was picked by production and I was given the go ahead to move onto the final drawing... as long as I added some additional bleed to the piece... which turned into even more since I was painting this piece at a standard size which is larger the the dimensions this piece needed to be at. All that said, here is the final drawing for the Trandoshan Hunter...

Trandoshan Hunter

Imperial Assault Summer Organized Play Kit

17 x 14 - Pencil on paper

Original for sale over on my web store!

The drawing was approved and I was all set to move onto the painting. For this piece I wanted to do something different from all the pieces I had been working on. Many of the pieces were either green or blue in overall color and temperature. I wanted to do something very different and a lot more red... or kind of pink. I wanted this piece to be warm in comparison to the cool feel many of my pieces have. Here is the painting coming together...

Trandoshan Hunter - Process progression

In just 17 easy steps you too can have a Trandoshan Hunter painting. Or not. Even though this was an early piece for me in the scheme of things it came together in a rather straight forward manor. There was a lot of pushing and pulling to get the image to be where I wanted it to be, but that is part of the process. I just kept at it and the piece took shape a little at a time. To make it easier to see the piece coming together, here is an animated progression of the painting...

Trandoshan Hunter - Animated process progression

No real horror stories on this one. The painting came together and was approved without revisions. Here again is the final painting and the card that it was used on...

Trandoshan Hunter

Imperial Assault Summer Organized Play Kit

11 x 14 - Acrylic and pencil on board

Original - SOLD

Trandoshan Hunter in handy dandy card form

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

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Throwback Thursday - Bossk and me

For those of you who follow the blog or know me in person know good and well I love Bossk and Trandoshans in general. A million years ago in 2002 I decided I wanted to make a Bossk costume to wear to the premiere of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Easy, right? If not for the help of my amazing wife (who was not my wife yet) it would have never happened. I created the head and the arms and she tackled the flight suit. For 13 years ago I think we did a pretty good job. The color if his skin is not right and there a lot of anatomy and detail issues, but I an still really happy to have done it.

It was a lot of fun to wear and to make. The one thing I found very strange was the entire night there were Star Wars 'fans' constantly saying to me, "Wrong movie" followed with a "Meh". Mind you, this was at the premiere of the movie, no one had seen it, who knows if Bossk was going to make a cameo. Further more, what does it matter if Bossk was not in this particular movie? I found it such a strange response and even stranger looking back now. Funny thing is, with the animated Clone Wars series it has been established that Bossk was in fact active during the time line of Attack of the Clones. So, I win?

Here are some pics from the premiere night of Attach of the Clones to coincide with today's premiere of The Force Awakens...

My Bossk mask.

The mask and the arms (which are now painted gray for another costume) are all that remains from the costume. This was taken a year ago when I was going through some boxes.

Bossk and a Sith hanging out in line waiting for the 12:01am.

Photo by Achsa Nute

Bossk andfriends hanging out waiting for something to happen.

Photo by Achsa Nute

Bossk and some Sith just chilling out in a movie theater...
Photo by Achsa Nute

...switcharoo! There is a bounty for one of the Sith! RAWR!
Photo by Achsa Nute

FLEE! Flee tiny human at the arrival of Bossk! RAWR!
Photo by Achsa Nute

That is all for another exciting Thursday 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

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

DXR-6 - Process - Star Wars: Imperial Assault

Today I have for you another overdue process post, this time around it is for my DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle card from the Imperial Assault Core Set. I first shared this with you back in August of 2014 when it was spoiled at Gen Con last year. This card has had an interesting life and gotten around a bit. Here is how the final DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle turned out...

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle

Imperial Assault Core Set

10.127 x 9 - Digital

A Trandoshan with a gun. I wonder who should get this assignment... that is a tough one... Turns out I got that assignment because of my mad obsession with Transoshans. Granted I am not sure why everyone just doesn't love space lizards. Anyway...

The Assignment called for, "A Trandoshan mercenary holds a DXR-6 Disrupter rifle; put this image in a battle context, but focus on the rifle itself." Pretty straightforward really. Space lizard with a fancy laser gun. I got to work on some thumbnails and turned them in...

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle - Thumbnails

Not sure at the time if I had a personal favorite among these thumbnails. I think I was get getting more and more extreme with the thumbnails as I went. How far can I push and pull the Trandoshan's features as it disintegrates some hapless target. There is something about the extreme exaggeration of option "C", but there was no way it was going to happen. You never know though, and that is why you take a chance. As with all my work I started with some reference photos to get my head, and body, around this piece. As an added treat this here are the reference images I used for this piece...

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle - Reference
Photos by Achsa Nute

If you are wondering, that IS Darth Vader's lightsaber taped to a Nerf gun for lighting and special effects reference. With a little additional effort and some thoughtful actions you can make your reference be a lot more useful. In the end, thumbnail "A" was the winner and it was time to move onto the final drawing. Here is how that drawing turned out...

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle

12 x 9 - Pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

The drawing was approved without issue and it was time to start painting. In just 16 easy steps you can get a finished Trandoshan painting... or not. This should have been a rather straight forward painting of a space lizard with a gun, but there were some issues along the way. Here is the piece coming together...

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle - Progression progression

About half way through this piece I determined that the head on this Trandoshan was a little too big. If I was painting this piece traditionally this would have been a bit of an issue but since this piece was digital it was more or less a straight forward edit. I wonder now if I had been painting this traditionally if I would have made the change, or attempted to change, of shrinking the head. At the point I made this change it would have involved some serious reworking. Not that I am adverse to making this level of change in paint (okay maybe a little) but it would have been rough. You might also notice that I removed the knife hilt as the painting went along. I am on a crusade to put a knife into the hands of a Trandoshan in one of my paintings this was not going to be that piece. It was a little awkward down there and was unneeded visual clutter that was not adding anything to the piece. Lastly, and this was feedback from FFG after I turned the piece in, I addressed the beam of energy leaving the gun. Production felt it was a little too white. As you can see from the reference, I was basing the look on something in the real world and there are plenty of other similar depictions out there. Production wanted me to address it, so I addressed it. After my first edit on the new toned down blast the piece was approved. Here is an animated progression of the piece so that you can better see the edits as the piece came together...

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle - Animated progression thingy

Once again here is the final piece as well as how it appeared in Imperial Assault after being heavily cropped. I am also including the Adepticon Trandoshan Hunter variant card where this art was better used a second time around. As mentioned elsewhere, this marks the third time my art has appeared on the Trandoshan Hunter card for Imperial Assault.

DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle

10.127 x 9 - Digital

The handy dandy DXR-6 Disruptor Rifle card... with CROPPING action!

Trandoshan Hunter - Adepticon exclusive giveaway

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