Twenty Years Later - Two Decades of Making Monsters for Wizards of the Coast

Twenty years ago yesterday, I received my first assignment to work with Wizards of the Coast (WotC) to design monsters for a new miniature game they were developing. I had met the art director a year earlier at San Diego Comic Con and had a great portfolio review. I kept in touch over that year as my life completely changed. We would leave LA for a fresh start back in Florida with a better job and 99% less abuse and harassment in the workplace. In June of 2005, when the email arrived inquiring about my availability I jumped at it and tried not to look back.

While the miniature game, Dreamblade, only lasted a few years, twenty years later, I am still making monsters for WotC. Not as many as I once did, but WotC is now my only client in the gaming industry that I still take work from. I never expected this to last twenty years, and I certainly didn't expect the journey that I have had with them. But I guess I am still doing something right if they want me to make monsters for them. 

Various Dungeons & Dragons monsters produced for interior book art

© Wizards of the Coast 

Over the years, there have been some really amazing highs and some lows (in some ways, I likely learned a heck of a lot more from the lows than the highs). I have always focused on monsters, but I have designed monsters, armor, miniatures, and more. I have illustrated cards, magazines, books, and covers. Most of my work has been on Dungeons & Dragons, but my work can be seen in Dreamblade, Kaijudo, several projects I can't talk about, and, of course, Magic the Gathering. Overall, they have been the best client to work with, and I have met a lot of really amazing people because of our working relationship. 

I have worked with some of the best art directors in the business, and through them, I have learned a great deal about being objective with my work and understanding that revisions are all part of the process. I know I will forget some people, but working with Kate, Jon, Dawn, Emi, Stacy, Jeremy, Peter, Cynthia, Taylor, Forrest, Zack, and plenty more has been truly wonderful. I have seen people come, and I have had to see them leave. Every assignment has been an adventure, and you never know what is going to arrive in the assignment email. Sometimes it would be a little scary, but most of the time it was the start of an exciting project. 

Various Dungeons & Dragons illustrations produced for interior magazine art

© Wizards of the Coast

I have some really exciting work waiting to be released. Work I have waited twenty years to make. I can't say more, but hopefully later this year, or early next year, I will be sharing it with you here. This coming work is in many ways a full circle moment for me and a wonderful way to acknowledge two decades of making game art. i do hope to find a way to make more art like this in the future.

About ten years ago, I started hearing from people that they had enjoyed my work since childhood. It always made me feel weird, because that just didn't seem possible. But there is no escaping that reality now. I now have fans who are younger than my career. I do not know what is next with me and WotC, but I will keep making monsters for them as long as they will let me and as long as it fits into my schedule. The Grand Bazaar has priority now, but I always find it hard to tell WotC no. So, a MASSIVE thanks to all my art directors and fans for being a part of this adventure! It has been a crazy ride.

Various Magic the Gathering illustrations produced for card art

© Wizards of the Coast 

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

BLOG-a-versary - Sixteen Years Later

On February 17th, 2009, sixteen years ago today, I started this blog. I do one of these anniversary posts every year, and each year, I am surprised that I have found myself here again. As if, at some point, I would drop this endeavor and move on to something else. But after what is now sixteen years, how could I? In some ways, this is the easiest, most straightforward option I have to put out into the universe what I am doing, creating, and thinking. So, to that end, we are here again as another year has ticked by. This is blog post 2,203, which isn't too shabby, but I don't have anything much to compare it to. But that is a lot of posts, and most posts document my journey as an artist. I hope that these posts serve to help and possibly guide those on their artistic journeys.

My studio in early 2025

I used to do lengthy reviews of the previous year, and in some ways, those posts are what got a lot of eyes on this blog. But the time and work that it takes to do one large review post has worn on me. I love doing them, but they started feeling repetitive and sometimes a bit morose. Ever since COVID-19, they just haven't been the same. So, I have started sharing more on these anniversary posts and sprinkling more nuggets of wisdom throughout the year. Is it the same? No. Is it close enough? I think so. After all these years, I am unsure I have any profound truths to share.

At some point, once you get your legs under you artistically, you have a path ahead of you that is yours and yours alone. My path is very different than it was sixteen years ago and is not one I ever imagined for myself. I knew what I wanted to do. I had my goals. But at no point could I have visualized the outcome and how that has changed nearly everything regarding my opinions of the industries, making art, and life in general. I certainly never imagined that I would have to double-process all of my images to protect them from theft! I can (and I did for sixteen years) tell you exactly what I did to get here, but much of that is unique to me. You will have to find your own path. I have, and will continue, shared nearly all I have learned along my journey. I hope this archive stays around for as long as possible so that it might help others and be a record of my time as an artist. 

I will mention that I have a sort of long post planned for March. March marks the twentieth anniversary of us leaving Los Angeles and my transition to having a university career by day, and (by June 2009) I was working freelance in tabletop gaming. As it has been twenty years, I have decided it was time to clear the air and lay out why it became necessary to leave LA in the first place. But these stories and more are for another day in March. 

I will say that 2024 had some very high highs for me. And, there were some rough patches. It was a tremendous year for me at conventions. I broke records at multiple shows and had by far the best single convention to date - Pensacon 2024. I am not expecting to hit those numbers again this year, but I know the potential is now there. I do not know what conventions will be like this year, and moving forward, we are in a time of great change. Hopefully, Pensacon will give me a taste of what to expect for 2025. 

Also, I did produce a much larger amount of work for the second book of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia in 2024. I made more art for the book than I had in several years. Again, a very good thing. I am not off to such a good start this year, but that is entirely due to taking on some amazing freelance work that I could not turn down. It took up a lot of time, but I think it was worth it, and it was one of the most fun projects I have been a part of in a long time. I have said all I can for now, but there will be more news when I can share it. 

I am not sure I have the words yet, but since October, my thoughts and opinions have shifted a great deal. I do not see things as I once did, and my priorities and interests have begun to shift. I am spending a lot more time focused on personal growth and development, and that doesn't always include making art. Fear naught, I am still working hard on my stories and art. And I am giving book two everything I can. Making books and writing stories is not all I will put my time to now. And it is for the best all around, and I should have better art and stories because of these changes. Yes, I am being vague. No, there is nothing wrong. I just want to keep some things personal for a time. As always, keep an eye on the blog to see what I am up to!

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

BLOG-a-versary - And then there were Fifteen AND Twenty-five

Huh! And here we are. Fifteen years ago tomorrow, on February 17th, 2009, I began this blog. On top of that, 2024 marks my twenty-fifth year as a professional artist, and in June it will be nineteen years since I starting making monsters for WotC. A lot has happened, a lot is actively happening, and there is an uncertain future ahead for all of us. Not everything in the past year has been good, and this is one of the reasons I haven't posted a 2023 year-in-review post. It is all still too fresh and actively happening. I mean, I can't even post images on the internet anymore without processing them twice to protect them from being stolen by billion-dollar tech firms.

A little look at the studio a week or so before this is posted.

By the time you are seeing this, the piece I was working on will now be completed.

Will any of us be employed this time next year? Will there be any need or want for art and artists in a year? This is definitely NOT where I foresaw myself twenty-five years ago, on so many levels, both good and bad. We shouldn't have to ask people not to steal from us, but here we are. But I want to stay positive... as much as possible in these uncertain times. Since mid December I have been on fire making new art for book two of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. Like, a LOT of art. I am moving at speeds and getting things done at a rate not seen in four years. It has been really nice - as if I am finally breathing a deep, full breath after being submerged for nearly too long.

Throughout the COVID years (2020-2021) I was moving in slow motion and the "post" COVID years (2022-2023) has been spent adjusting to the new normal and all the horrors that have since surfaced. But in the past few months, I am finally beginning to feel like myself again, like a working artist. So, with all the chaos in the world I am doing my best to stay focued and work on my little world and focus on getting to the next day. I have been doing this stuff for a quarter of a century. I hope that I can keep this thing going, that we all can keep this thing going. If not, the world will become a much worse place. 

I will get back to making art; you should probably do the same. If you ever have any questions about my work, this blog is the best place to direct them.

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

2000th Post!?!?!

Somehow, this is my 2000th post here on the blog. I haven't been paying attention, and I was shocked last week when I realized today would make post 2000. While I am not sure I imagined doing this blog this long, once I begin something, I generally stick with it. And so we find ours here today. To honor this achievement, here is a photo of where I make my art these days, my studio. 

The new seat of power for The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia.

Hitting the 2000th post made me think about when I hit the 1000th post in 2015. It took me February 2009 till April 2015 to hit 1000 posts and April 2015 to July 2023 to hit 2000 posts. That is roughly 137 posts a year for fourteen and a half years. Not too shabby! To see how things have changed, here is the image of my workspace back in 2015. As you can see, I have definitely upgraded!

Where the art was made in 2015.

As a side note, I was looking carefully at what was on my workstation in 2015, and I could see that I was working on the Concussion Rifle piece that I did for the Star Wars card game. Fun memories of being paid very little for a LOT of work. Concussion Rifle painting is one of the few pieces of art I have made for a client that I decided to keep. There are a few Easter eggs in there and some personal connections, so in the end, I could not part with it.

Here is a list of the number of posts that I published each year. Please note that 2023 is not accurate as I took this screen shot prior to a number of posts going live. You can see that my posts have dwindled a bit over the years, starting with 2018. This is because I began stepping away from freelance work and focusing on the Grand Bazaar. I didn't have a constant stream of client art to share and post about. Also, as the year ticked by, I have found myself with less and less time available for big posts about complicated topics - though I plan to continue those as often as possible. I have one or two planned for the near future. I am not sure anyone finds this stuff interesting, but I sure do. And I appreciate everyone that continues to visit the blog - it means the world to me!

14.5 years and 2000 posts later, I am still here!

Do not forget that this week is Gen Con! I will be away at that and will not post again until next week. If you are attending Gen Con or are in the Indianapolis area, I would love to see you at booth 16 in the Gen Con Art Show! That is all for my 2000th post; I wonder how long it will be till I hit 3000!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here after Gen Con! Until then...

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

BLOG-a-versary - And then there were Fourteen

Yesterday, fourteen years ago, on February 17th, 2009, I started this blog to chronicle my journey as a monster artist. My journey had already begun, of course. 2023 marks my twenty-fourth year of being a professional artist making monsters. In nearly a quarter of a century, I have checked a lot of goals off my list, but some still remain. The remaining ones may never get checked off, but that is okay. I have done so much more than I ever imagined possible. The creation of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia has more than made up any dreams to work on a specific product line or with a particular artist. It has been a crazy journey, and I have shared nearly all of it on this blog. The ups, downs, successes, and most definitely the failures have been recorded and documented here to help others and to hopefully shed some light on the realities of being a working artist.

The current piece from book two of the Grand Bazaar is on the table in my studio.

Next year will be a big one for me, but there is plenty that I need and want to do before I can think about that. I hope you are enjoying the ride. It has been a labor of love to keep this going and posting as regularly as possible. I imagine there will be some lean times ahead, especially as book two gets closer to completion, but that is a few years out. I have some more meaty posts planned, and they will be along when I can make the time to write them. Thank you all for hanging around and digging through the archives of posts. And as always, if you would like me to speak about a particular topic or talk about something specific in a blog post, all you need to do is leave a comment on the blog or reach out to me on social media.

That is all the time I have today. I must get back to making art!

That is all for a surprise Saturday post 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

BLOG-a-versary - Lucky Thirteen

Thirteen years ago, on February 17th, 2009, I started this blog to chronicle my journey as a monster artist. Today's post makes my 1986th post on the blog, and we are just shy of 2000 posts. Somehow, after all these years, I still find myself needing to post here. Social media has so many other avenues to scream into the void, but yet I still try to post here as often as possible. While it sometimes happens these days, I beleive that the days of posting three times away are gone. I am not creating the volume of work that is needed for that. Well, that is not fully accurate. I am making art, but that art is for me, for my books, and takes a bit longer to make then what I make for clients. I will spend a month making a single piece that will mean a single blog post. I would need something for another eleven posts to fill out a month the way I used to. 

Currently on the drawing table, I hope to have it completed once I return from Pensacon. 

After that, it is on to the next one.

 

I have plans for posts about aspects of my work and things I want to talk more about, but those take a lot of time and energy to create. Time better suited for making art, leaving less time for blog posts. I have been doing 100 and 50 streatches of posting collections of art on social media to fill in the voids between completing new art for the book. I think what I am trying to say is that the blog continues to live on, I can no longer give it the time and attention I once did. For good and bad. It remains an achieve of thirteen years of learning and adventure in the world of a professional artist. But moving forward, I feel like there will be a little less happening here from week to week. I will still be posting deep dives into the process of making my work. I will still talk long and hard about my books and the world of the Grand Bazaar. I will still share with you when my D&D work in turned into miniatures. Hopefully, in the fullness of time I will have more time in my schedule to spend a little more energy coming up with things to share here.

Thank you one and all for all the support and incouragement and for sticking around all these years to following me on my journy. I hope I have been able to make in an enjoyable one for you and that I have offered up something halfway informative. Looking forward to another years here. I am sure there will be some interesting things to share a long the way.

That's all of anthere exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here next week after Pensacon. Until then...

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

The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia - A Year Later

A year ago this week, my shipment of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia arrived. Two massive stacks of books were on a truck and finally at the end of their long journey from China. It was the end of one chapter and the start of the next. It was a shining moment in an otherwise dark time last year as the global pandemic raged. It has been a year, and some things are different, and others are very much the same. The pandemic still rages because of human failings, but the book has slowly gotten out into the world. Not in the way that I imagined it would at the beginning of 2020 when the Kickstarter launched. I still haven't participated in any in-person conventions or events since February 2020, but with IX only a month and a half away, maybe I can be in the same place with my books and showing them to people finally. To celebrate the first anniversary, I did a new photoshoot with the book.

 

The available selection for the first book in The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia series. 

 While there is the main hardcover, there is also a 5th Edition D&D compatible stats guide for all the monsters in the book, a coloring book, and finally, a deluxe edition that contains all of the books, an exclusive clamshell case that holds all of the books, and a signed and numbered bookplate that features an original drawing. These deluxe editions are limited to only 100 copies.

Here are some of the images from last year of the books arriving. It was touch and go for a moment as they were unloaded, but the driver knew his palette jack and truck and got them on the ground in one piece.

 

Two massive piles of books that we ended up unstacking and restacking by hand to do a count and inventory check. 

Here are more images from the new photoshoot for the book. The previous images were fine, but I knew they could be better. I had been kicking this job down the road for a while due to deadlines and life, but it finally all came together. Will these be the last time I take pictures of these books? No. There will always be more.

The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

The Stats Guide 

(Collected Guide of Reference Statistics and Cataloged Research Calculations pertaining to the Beings and Beasts of the Grand Bazaar of Ethra)

The Grand Coloring Book of Ethra VanDalia

Deluxe Clamshell Edition

Lastly, I have a new video featuring a look at the inside of the book. A little sneak peek of what the first book has in store for you. To see more, head to my store for details, images, and buying options.

 

A look at The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia - A book 20 years in the making

That's all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here next week! Until then...

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

BLOG-a-versary - Twelve Years In

Twelve years ago, on February 17th, 2009, I started this blog to chronicle my journey as a monster artist. Today's post makes my 1729th post on the blog, and to be honest, I am not sure how I managed to get to this point. Twelve years ago, I was rebuilding my career after it crashed following four years of reliable and consistent work. A couple of things happened all at once. First, most of the art directors I worked with were fired, quit, or moved to other endeavors. Second, the projects I had been working on came to an end, changed their production structure, or were outright canceled. Third, my skillset was not where it needed to be to work on the projects still avialable.

I considered calling it a day and moving onto other work opportunities. The four years of work were terrific, I had never expected to do as much as I had done, and I still was surprised to find myself working in the tabletop gaming industry. Instead of abandoning what I had grown to love, I decided to double down, focus on my skillsets, look for new and varied work opportunities within the industry. What acquired from that point until now has all been documented here on the blog. All the ups, the downs, the successes, and most of the failures - there are a couple of those still to share, but NDAs stand in the way.

Currently on the drawing table and soon to be back in production after a couple other pieces are wrapped up.

In these twelve years, I went from a desperately eager artist that would take any and all jobs at horrifyingly low pay rates to some guy that says 'no' way more than 'yes,' has worked on all the projects he had dreamed of of working on. I somehow wrote, illustrated, funded, and published a book that was over twenty years in the making, and I have started on the next two books. 

It's all here, more or less in these 1729 posts, all my secrets, processes, and mistakes. For what it's worth. I would like to think there is content here that can help others and help those making their way in the art industries, but there is a lot to dig through, and it is all through my personal lens. I know that a lot of this is a way for me to process the journey and a form of self-promotion, but one can hope that even a single piece of my yammering could be helpful. 

I realized I never posted one of these past few years, which is fitting for 2020. The past few years were rough on the blog. I had little time and even less work to share here as I focused on completing my book and then the pandemic, but I made an effort to get things going again here. I do not know what the future holds for the blog. Maybe I say this every year, but as client work slows and I focus on my books, there are fewer and fewer immediate events to share. Perhaps I will use the blog as a way to share things beyond myslef and as a way to encourage myself to make sure I have new work, or at least process posts, to share regularly. 

Who knows where we will be in Feburary 2022, but if this blog is still chugging along, I will see you here.

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

BLOG-a-versary - Ten Years of Yammering!

On February 17th, in 2009, which was yesterday, I began this blog. If my math is correct, that is ten years ago, and somehow I have kept this thing afloat this whole time. If you can believe it, this post is my 1512th post on the blog. Apparently, I can yammer on and on about things for many years.

Not sure how many of you have been here for all ten of these years, maybe some or maybe none. It is a lot to keep up with, and there is always about a dozen too many things to deal with. The last ten years have certainly been an adventure. I really need to write my 2018 year in review post, so much has been happening. When I started this blog ten years ago, I was desperate to get more involved with the gaming industry, and now I am neck deep making my book and focusing on my work. Funny how ten years can change things. Speaking of my book, there is this to share.

I may not be posting as much new art, but there is work getting done.

This is the rough draft #5 of The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia from last month.

So much in it has changed since then, for the better!

Can't stay longer, there is too much to do. I promise that I will be back to fill you all in on things the moment I have the time. I am hard at work on multiple fronts and pushing forward as quickly as I can. More on all this soon!

That is all of 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

BLOG-a-versary!

On February 17th, in 2009, which is tomorrow, I began this blog. If my math is correct, that is 9 years ago and somehow I have kept this thing afloat this whole time. If you can believe it, this post is my 1418th post on the blog. Apparently, I can yammer on and on about things for a lot of years.

Much has happened in the last 9 years, some good, some bad, and some in between. The one thing for sure is that it has been an adventure. 9 years ago I could in no way envision where I would find myself today, for good and bad. Of course in the scheme of things, I find myself exactly where I need to be!

I am not sure how many folks are still out there regularly following my blog. I see the traffic spike and wane, up and down. People come and people go. It is the way of things. Here I remain, yammering on and one... That said, for the next year or so, it is going to be more and more difficult to keep this blog going with any regularity since I will be focusing on large complex drawings for The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. There will be times when I will be very much in the weeds with drawing and writing. I will do my best to keep things going here, one way or another. Fear nought if there is a gap or three along the way over the next year. Things will even out in the end.

I guess I will return to where I began, 9 years ago I started things with a panda drawing for Dear Wife, so here is a new panda drawing I did this week for Dear Wife...

Boot panda, for all your boot panda needs...

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

BLOG-a-versary!

This is a little late, but on February 17th, in 2009 I began this blog. Eight years and 1285 (give or take) posts later here we are and it is still going. Crazy fun times! If you are curious, you can have a look back at this blog's humble beginnings on February 17th 2009. A lot has changed for me in these eight years and hopefully I have share with you my next big plan in the near future.

I don't need much of an excuse to post this image again.

It continues to be a perennial favorite of mine.

It also is a good image for this anniversary!

EIGHT YEARS RAWR!

At these moments I find myself thinking and saying the same thing year after year. Though repetitive, the message and meaning stay the same and are very much still relevant. I hope that those reading this blog find my journey and ramblings helpful and entertaining. Growth and change are continuous and are a constant struggle. You need to make the art first and foremost for yourself... whenever possible.

I hope, as I begin year ninth here on the blog, that my journey continues to be a productive and rewarding one, just as I hope the same for you as you proceed along your journey. My thanks for reading, commenting, and lurking on this blog, I hope to find it in me to keep this thing going as long as it is needed and useful. RAWR!

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

BLOG-a-versary!

On this very day, February 17th, in 2009 I began this blog. Seven years and 1139 (give or take) posts later here we are and it is still going. Crazy fun times! If you are curious, you can have a look back at this blog's humble beginnings on February 17th 2009. A lot has changed for me in these seven years and a lot has stayed the same.

Yes, I am posting this monster eating a computer again.

Yes, I really like this drawing.

Yes, I found it relevant to today's anniversary post.

SEVEN YEARS RAWR!

I feel like I say the same things every year when this rolls around, but many of those thoughts and feeling stay the same. I hope that those reading this blog find my journey and ramblings helpful and entertaining. Growth and change are continuous and are a constant struggle. You need to make the art first and foremost for yourself... whenever possible.

I hope, as I begin year eight here on the blog, that my journey continues to be a productive and rewarding one, just as I hope the same for you as you proceed along your journey. My thanks for reading, commenting, and lurking on this blog, I hope to find it in me to keep this thing going as long as it is needed and useful. RAWR!

One last thing for today...

DON'T FORGET!

I will be a guest at Pensacon this weekend! Come see me in Pensacola, Florida February 19-21!

That's all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see 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

1000th Post! RAWR!

And then there was 1000 posts. If someone asks how long it will take to get 1000 posts on a blog tell them one option is three posts a week for just over six very full years.

What is in these 1000 posts on this blog? Well, it is more or less the entire documentation of my career as an artist for the last six years; a lot of the ups and a lot of the downs; a very thorough break down of my process and how it has changed over the years; and a peek at some of my art related adventures. When it started back in 2009 I was contemplating quitting freelance after a couple of HUGE career set backs, a bunch of rejections, and the sobering realization that my skill set was not where it needed to be to get the work I wanted. Now, in 2015 I am currently working 100% traditionally and I have reached nearly all of the goals that I had set out for myself.

A peek at my work space these days (last night actually).

100% less computers then a year ago when it comes to this stage of production.

I have said it before and I will hold to it, to get to this point it has taken a lot of time, a lot of hard work, a focus on what I love (monsters), and some long term and short term goals. It may take you a longer journey or a shorter one, but I feel it can be done. The support and encouragement of my wife though all this has been invaluable and most likely without it I would not have continued to fight through the rough patches to get here. I know I still have a lot of work ahead of me since switching from digital to traditional paint, but that is what the next six years and 1000 post are for I guess.

That handy dandy archive of posts that are just right over there in the right column on this very page. All the secrets and hard truths are right there for the taking.

Thanks to all that frequent and follow this blog. I hope I make the stop worthwhile with all my yammering and images. Let's see where this path leads to next...

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

BLOG-a-versary!

Somehow I missed what day it was and overshot this by a week or so. February 17th was the anniversary of the start of this blog! Since February 17th 2009 I have been keeping this little blog chugging along. This will be the 985th post as well and I never imagined I would ever be nearing 1000 posts.

A lot has happened since Feb 17th 2009 and I hope the chronicles on this blog shed some light on those ups and downs as it pertains to my art and where my life and art intersect. We are all our own journeys with and without art, but the paths we take can be very very similar. Hopefully some of what I have shared here has and will be helpful to others. ...or at least give someone a good laugh.

Stay true to yourself and continue working as hard as you can and always try to push yourself to that next level. It just takes time and effort. All you need to do is go back to 2009 on this blog and look around at the level of work I was doing then and then jump ahead to 2014 posts. It was not magic, no tricks, no shortcuts, it was just a lot of hard work.

Here is to another year of posts on this blog and to another year of hard work and growth! Thanks to all who frequent this blog and I hope you have enjoyed seeing my journey. RAWR!

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

BLOG-a-versary!

Six years ago today this blog started and 819 post later it is still going. Somehow. For some reason. The blog continues on. Through highs and lows, the ups and downs, the blog endures! A hearty THANKS to EVERYONE who comes to the blog, comments on the posts, and in general lurks around this thing that I am creating. I couldn't keep doing it without you all.

Not much else to offer today except my thanks to those that come to the blog. The only visual for the day in my new pencil nub jar that, like the blog, continues on and on. You might remember my last jar from a couple years back. This is the one started after that one. Not sure what this has to do with a BLOG-a-versary, except that it too marks the passage of time, and hopefully growth...

The jar of nubs continues... 

It might not look like much now, but there are a bunch in there.

It is a bigger jar from last time too.

Again, many many thanks to everyone that frequents the blog and I hope the tales of my successes and failures help you all in your own journeys as artists or at least offer some amusing entertainment!

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

And then there were 800!

How time flies when you are having fun and making monsters...

Another milestone on the blog today, this is my 800th post! I am a little dumbstruck by this number... but it had to happen eventually if I keep posting. It seems like I was just posting about it being 700 posts... where does the time go?

I am still getting my thoughts and words together for my 2013 year in review post. What did 2013 teach me? Find out soon here on the blog! For now, have a look at some of the sketches that have been going out in my sketchbooks recently...

Thanks again to all of you out there that frequent the blog. Sometime I wonder what the heck I am doing, but knowing you are all out there in the internets checking in on my ranting and ravings I am given the determination to keep this all going. RAWR!

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

And then there were 700...

Today marks my 700 post on this here blog. Where does the time go? I thought I would take a pause today and let you know about some of the events I am planning to be at this year and where you might run into me.

Fast approaching for me is my return to the Illustration Master Class. Some of you might remember my misadventures there last year when I contracted the death plague and spent the entire week in bed. Fun memories... I am hoping that this year will be a *little* better. With as bad as last year was I am a little nervous returning, but once I am there and painting I am hopeful that it will a blast like my first year. Once thing I am doing differently this year is flying... no more two day drive up and back for me!

GEN CON! I will be returning to Gen Con artist alley again this year! I will see you there August 15 - 18 for the best 4 days in gaming... art. I will have paintings, prints, drawings, sketchbooks, and a whole bunch of surprises if it all works out. If you want something like this...

...or this...

... then be sure to attend Gen Con 2013! It is my big convention of the year so I to see you there!

Illuxcon 2013! A new city and a new venue. Illuxcon has moved to Allentown, Pa this year and everything with be shiny and new... and I am confident, more AWESOME! Illuxcon is a day longer this year and will have three tiers of gallery space. I will be taking place in the Showcase again this year. As always, I will document the comings and goings of the event.

Those are the big events so far. I am sure there will be little additions here and there as the year progresses. We are moving into the busy time of year for me at least, so I will need to keep my head down and focused on the goal. But through it all I will do my best to keep this blog moving right along and before you know it... I am sure we will be hitting post 800!

That is all for another 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

BLOG-a-versary!

Yesterday was the actual day, but today works just as well. This time way back in 2009 I thought I might start up a blog... Well, today marks the beginning of year five and I have 660 posts now in the archives. It seems so surreal every time I hit one of these milestones because I am still not sure how I got to this point. How have a filled this blog up with so much content? How have I been able to get three posts up a week for all but a few occasions? Why do you all keep coming back to read my ramblings and look at my silly monsters?

Whatever the reasons of how, when, and why it does not change the fact that the blog is still going and it does not seem like it is running out of steam just yet. A hearty THANKS to EVERYONE who comes to the blog, comments on the posts, and in general lurks around this thing that I am creating. I couldn't keep doing it without you all.

I think I will wrap things up with images of the local mastodon skeleton that is apparently hiding in plane sight just a few miles from my house. You never know what you are going to find lurking outside your front door...

Mastodon skeleton and Giant Armadillo replica

Photos © 2013 Christopher Burdett

Again, many many thanks to everyone that frequents the blog and I hope the tales of my successes and failures help you all in your own journeys as artists or at least off some amusing entertainment!

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

600th post on the blog!

Post number 600! Every time I hit one of these big numbers I am a little dumbstruck. Each time I find it hard to believe that I actually made it this far. And each time I find myself saying the same trite repetitive things... I think... No matter if I am or not, it is the way I feel.

As always, thanks to each and every one of you who follows, lurks, and otherwise finds themselves on the blog. I have said it before and will continue to say it, I would not be able to keep doing all this with out you all stopping by, commenting, and otherwise following the blog.

This is the time I hint about things to come and stuff in the works... but unfortunately this time around a lot of what I have in the works is so far out from being released I can't even hint at what it is. Suffice to say that I have some super fun stuff waiting in the wings to share with you all in the future! I can mention that I am trying my hand at real paint again. This is for a personal project and I was able to get over a super scary early stage last night... so I am a little more confident in mentioning the whole thing. It could still all crash and burn on me... but I am trying to stay positive... for now. I do have this nice image of my palette...

Giving this another try... will see how it goes...

Still putting one foot in front of the other while I make my way through this crazy thing called art. Maybe it will all make sense in the end. Even if it doesn't, I sure have had a lot of fun drawing monsters, and maybe that it has to be able. Speaking of monsters, here are some recent meeting notes monsters. Idle hands find their way to drawing monsters... RAWR!

© 2012 Christopher Burdett

© 2012 Christopher Burdett

© 2012 Christopher Burdett

Derp monster bids a heart felt farewell! ....DERP!

© 2012 Christopher Burdett

Again, many thanks to all of you for hanging around while I yammer into the internet with my parade of monsters. At this point, I guess I better keep it going, 1000 post seems like it will be here before I know it!

That is all for another exciting day 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

And the winner is...

A week ago I had a little contest in celebration of my four year anniversary of blogging and for my 500th post. The contest was to guess how many pencils were in a jar that I have been filling for the last seven years. I was really impressed with how many of you took the time to post a guess and for all the kind words, it is really appreciated! While no one was able to guess the actual amount, one person did guess within 6 of the actual number... and if you were wondering, the actual number of pencils in the jar was...

306 pencils!

And the winner is, Guðmundur Harðar! The prize pack will be heading off to him very soon, congrats! Again, thanks to everyone who took part in the contest, hopefully in another four years and 500 posts you will have another chance!

I had no idea just how many pencils were in there until I counted them, and once they were all out they almost didn't fit back in. 306 seemed like a lot, but the amount didn't blow my mind until I started doing a little math. It took me about seven years to go through that many pencils, so that is about 43 pencils each year, or on average I go through a pencil every 8-9 days. I knew I drew a lot, I just didn't realize that I drew that much. This related back to my post about "What does it take?" where I first showed off the jar. I have been asked so many times about getting into the industry and being an artist and how I did it... well, I used up a pencil every 8-9 days... and this was AFTER I was already working in the industry, this was me working and trying to improve my abilities. There are no shortcuts to hard work and time.

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