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

Showing posts with label armor. Show all posts

Monday, November 3, 2014

Dungeon & Dragons Monster Manual - Water Weird - Redesign

Another week and another new monster that I redesigned for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons! This time around, it is the crazy water elemental monster, the Water Weird. Here is how the final concept turned out...

Water Weird - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

The Water Weird is one of the monsters from the original Monster Manual that I am really looking forward to redesigning for my personal redesign project. Obviously, when the Water Weird came across my desk for 5th Edition, I was VERY eager to take on. Of course, this now means I will have to come up with more ideas when I get around to designing the WW for myself. As with all the monsters, I got started with some thumbnails to get my ideas flowing...

Water Weird - Thumbnails

The Water Weird is one of those monsters that I could just sketch and sketch. I had to limit my submission to six, or it would have just gotten out of hand. Option "B" was the winner in the end, and it was time to flesh out the design with the final drawing...

Water Weird - Drawing

9 x 12

Pencil on Paper

The drawing was approved without comment, and I was ready to move onto the final color concept. Every step of the way, the Water Weird was a really easy monster to work on. Here is how the final color version of the Water Weird turned out...

Water Weird - Final Redesign

The final color comp was approved, and another monster was all done. I was really excited to work on the Water Weird, and the entire process went quickly and smoothly. I am not sure I would have desired a situation that would have resulted in more stories, but as excited as I was to work on this monster it just felt like it was over very quickly.

A HUGE THANKS to Jon Schindehette for all the monsters and direction during the design phase of 5th Edition!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday for another new monster! Until then...

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

Friday, October 31, 2014

Dungeon & Dragons Monster Manual - Stone Golem - Redesign

Not only is this post concluding another exciting week of new monsters from the design phase of 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, but it is also Halloween! What better way to celebrate today's post then with the VERY spooky Stone Golem! ...wait, WUT?! Here is how the final concept turned out...

Stone Golem - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

Stone Golem. Golem of stone. Made of stone Golem. Going into this one I was given some very specific direction from production. They had something in mind for how they wanted the Stone Golem to look and feel. Needless to say I had a bunch of my own ideas too. So I of course submitted a thumbnail that represented what they had asked for, some that abstract off of that idea, some of my ideas, and a mixed match version of all of the above. Here is how the thumbnails turned out...

Stone Golem - Thumbnails

Not surprisingly, the thumbnail that was inline with what they had asked for was the one picked. Production wanted a statue like construct they could have an Egyptian like feel to it... and they is what I gave them. Option 'C' was the winner and I knew it would be from the beginning... but you just never know and you will get surprised every so often, so never quit experimenting and trying to work outside the expected. With an approved thumbnail is was time to get drawing on the final concept...

Stone Golem - Drawing

9 x 12

Pencil on Paper

Original Drawing for sale over on my web store!

This was a pretty straight forward conversion from thumbnail to drawing. I added detail and made sure it all looked good. The final was approved without comment and I was good to move forward to the final color comp...

Stone Golem - Final Redsign

The final color comp was approved without comment and another monster was squared away. Only a couple monster left! If nothing unexpected happens we will be coming to the end of my monster work on the 5th Edition Monster Manual next week.

A HUGE THANKS to Jon Schindehette for all the monsters and direction during the design phase of 5th Edition!

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday for another new monster! Until then...

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

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Dungeon & Dragons Monster Manual - Spriggan - Redesign

Continuing another week of monsters from my concept work on 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons with the loathsome Spriggan. The best type of Fey creatures? GROSS Fey creatures! Here is how the final concept turned out...

Spriggan - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

This was a very late addition to my workload and was a fun one. Production wanted a weird, little, simpering, pathetic, gross incarnation for this Spriggan. I was more then happy to work up some thumbnails of just that. Here is how my thumbnails turned out...

Spriggan - Thumbnails

I really liked 'A' and 'B', not too sure where 'C' was heading but neither did it. 'B' was the obvious winner and needed to be moved along to a finished drawing. Still loving 'A' a whole lot... I may need to remember the feel and mood of it and see if I can channel it into another piece sometime. Anyway, here is how the final drawing for the Spriggan turned out...

Spriggan - Drawing

9 x 12

Pencil on Paper

Original Drawing for sale over on my web store!

The drawing was approved without note and I was all set to move onto the final color comp. This was another one that moved along really quickly without any major issue or exciting story. Just making monsters... Needless to say, it is thanks to years of experience, familiarity with the IP and project, and an established working relationship with the art director that makes this as easy as it sometimes it. Here is how the final color comp turned out...

Spriggan - Final Redsign

The color comp was approved and another monster is all set. Time to move onto the next one...

A HUGE THANKS to Jon Schindehette for all the monsters and direction during the design phase of 5th Edition!
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday for another new monster! Until then...

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

Monday, October 27, 2014

Dungeon & Dragons Monster Manual - Shambling Mound - Redesign

Starting off another week of monsters from my time redesigning for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons with something a little green. It is none other then the Shambling Mound! Everybody loves a giant plant monster that loves to squeeze you to death AND loves lightning. Here is how the final concept turned out...

Shambling Mound - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

I am no stranger to the Shambling Mound, in fact back in 2011 I redesigned the Shambling Mound for myself. Going into this reworking for 5th Edition I knew I needed to steer clear from anything I had already done for myself while creating the intended product for the client. Insuring that there would be no cross over, production requested that the new Shambling Mound needed to not have any appearance of a mouth, eyes, or anything face like at all. Done and done! I got to work on some very crazy, scribbly, loose thumbnails...

Shambling Mound - Thumbnails

Somehow something was determined to be of value from all these scribbles and option "B" was the winner. Only one thing to do... get to work on the drawing. Now I had to make since of all my scribbles and make it look like vines, leaves, and other plant bits. Here is how the final drawing turned out...

Shambling Mound - Drawing

9 x 12

Pencil on Paper

Original Drawing for sale over on my web store!

The drawing was approved on the first pass and without note. All in all, this monster moved through production extremely quickly. With an approved drawing it was now time to add some color and wrap this plant behemoth up. Here is for the final color concept turned out...

Shambling Mound - Final Redsign

The final was approved without note and another monster was ticked off my list. In the end, when the MM came out the 4th Edition Shambling Mound was used. Not sure what happened, but the piece was by Lars Grant-West and is an awesome painting. Maybe my version will still be illustrated by someone out there...

A HUGE THANKS to Jon Schindehette for all the monsters and direction during the design phase of 5th Edition!

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday for another new monster! Until then...

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

Friday, October 24, 2014

Dungeon & Dragons Monster Manual - Helmed Horror - Redesign

Concluding another week of monsters here on the blog with another 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesign. This time around it is a monster of animated armor, the very rigid Helmed Horror. Here is how the final concept turned out...

Helmed Horror - Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

Helmed Horror... animated magical armor monster... monster that is armor... not a lot of tentacles going on there. Every monster gets the same amount of attention and the same amount of work, every time. While this one is sort of a straight forward monster... animated armor, I wanted to give it my personal spin and push the boundaries with production to see what they would go for. While there is no need to reinvent the wheel, I did want to make it fresh and feel really cool. Here is how the thumbnails turned out...

Helmed Horror - Thumbnails

While option 'C' is most likely completely wrong for this monster I thought it would be so cool In the end, 'B' was the winner. I was asked to resubmit the thumbnail with another pass of detail and a sword to match the armor. An animated suit of armor needs to be fully armed and looking its best! Here is how the updated thumbnail turned out...

Helmed Horror - Revised Thumbnail

All dressed up and no adventures to slay. The updated fleshed out thumbnail was approved without further comment and it was time to draw. Here is how the final drawing turned out...

Helmed Horror - Drawing

9 x 12

Pencil on Paper

Original Drawing for sale over on my web store!

The drawing was approved without comment... which is good, since it is pretty much the revised thumbnail but in pencil. It was now time to get working on the color comp of the Helmed Horror. Here is how the final color comp turned out...

Helmed Horror - Final Redsign

I think I originally turned in a more monochromatic version of this color comp originally. I was asked to add some more variation to the armor. This didn't take long and did not result in a new version of this image, so this if the only version of the final Helmed Horror. Another monster has been taken care of, one to the next...

A HUGE THANKS to Jon Schindehette for all the monsters and direction during the design phase of 5th Edition!

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday for another new monster! Until then...

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

Friday, May 3, 2013

In search of Monsters - Leeds and York, England

Today I have for you a look at York and Leeds, England... or should I say I have for you a handful of the hundreds of images that I took while visiting Leeds and York. I found the north country of England to be beautiful and and rich with history. We had an outstanding tour guide and host in the form of fantasy illustrator, Ralph Horsley. Could not have asked for a better guide and more enjoyable adventure. Here is a taste of Leeds and York...

Why has no one ever told me there is a dragon on one of the pound coins?

York Castle in all its castle-y goodness - York, England

Detail from the only surviving suits of elephant armor... as in armor worn by elephants - Leeds, England

Pangolin scale armor, it is not enough that the armor is made from all those scales... but each scale is painted and detailed - Leeds, England

Detail of Samurai helmet - Leeds, England

Detail of Samurai chest ornamentation - Leeds, England

Another detail from Japanese armor - Leeds, England

Legit chainmail - Leeds, England

Ruins of an abbey - Leeds, England

More ruins of an abbey - Leeds, England

Ralph Horsley was kind enough to let me try on a lot of his armor - Leeds, England

Victorian cemetery - Leeds, England

Needless to say, all images are...

Hope you enjoyed a taste of Leeds and York. Next we head to London, England. I will be breaking London up into two days since there are so many image... nearly the whole history of humanity and the planet Earth can be found in London museums.

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

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Permanently is a long time...

I received an email a while back asking for the permission to use a suit of armor I designed for Dungeons and Dragons in a tattoo. Since I made that armor as a work for hire agreement I no longer owned control over the armor, so I had no authority to allow or disallow usage. I did ask that if the suit of armor did get used for a tattoo I really would like to see a photo of the finished work. Much to my surprise a photo turned up in my inbox late last week...

Coming at you on a sheet of human paper!

Here is the armor that was used in the tattoo. It is the Tiefling female scale armor I designed for 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Not only is it one of my favorite sets of of Tiefling armor, but it is also one of my favorites from all the armor I designed for D&D.

Female Tiefling Armor
© 2007 Wizards of the Coast

It is rather a shock and very humbling to think someone wants something I created permanently on their body. I hope they are enjoying the tattoo, it is a real honor indeed. I have always said I will not design a tattoo for anybody that asked, and there have been many, but maybe I need to rethink this decision when it comes to work I have already created. Something to think about!

That is all for today, 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, March 3, 2010

Warforged Armor Sketches - What could have been...

Today draws to a close the armor designs that I have created for the Dungeons and Dragons Character Visualizer. Since August I have been bringing you armor turnarounds and I hope you have been enjoying them. If you missed any of the Warforged posts, you can find there here: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, Post 5. I leave you with variation drawings of how the armor looked in their earlier stages. With all of these the first version is on the left (which was felt to be too much like normally worn armor) and the second version is on the right (which was felt to be too ornate). Keep in mind the plate and scale sets are double up with the Paragon Tier on the left and Epic Tier on the right.

Warforged Chain Armor variations.
© 2008 Wizards of the Coast LLC

If you missed any of my other armor sets during the last six months you can find links here: Genasi recap, Tiefling recap, Dragonborn 1, Dragonborn 2, Dragonborn 3, Dragonborn 4, and Dragonborn 5.

That is all for today. Still trying to make up for lost time - so much to do! I will be back on Friday with most likely some drawings. Until then...

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

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Warforged Armor Designs #5

Well, I am back on my feet more or less. Here is a small post to make up for missing yesterday.

Today I bring you the fifth and final installment of my Warforged armor designed for the Dungeons and Dragons Character Visualizer. There were an odd number of armor / attire sets in this batch so this leaves us with a single final turnaround. Much like the cloth attire the wizard robes of the Warforged can actually be worn like clothes, as long as there are movement gaps allowed for in the design. You can't have the wizards arm gears getting caught up in his robes while he it casting a fire ball on those hobgoblins!

That's all for today, but not all for the Warforged. I will be back on Wednesday with some drawings of earlier versions of the Warforged armor designs. Lot's for me to do before then, so I better get busy! Until then...

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

Monday, February 15, 2010

Warforged Armor Designs #4

I am emerging from the fog of illness finally. In celebration of my immune system I bring you the fourth installment of my Warforged armor designed for the Dungeons and Dragons Character Visualizer. As with the plate armor I designed Paragon and Epic versions of the scale armor. This also included designing some new hands and feet for these sets.

This leaves only one more set of Warforged attire to share with you. Make sure you are here next week for the Warfirged wizard set. I can't believe I am so close to the end off all that armor I designed. How time flies.

Make sure you back here on Wednesday, it is a very special day! Until then...

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

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Warforged Armor Designs #3

I am under the weather today but I have managed to crawl myself to the computer for today's post... albeit very late.

Today brings the third installment of Warforged Armor designed for the Dungeons and Dragons Character Visualizer. For the Warforged armor sets I was asked to do two versions of both the plate and scale armors. One would need to be designed for a level 11 Paragon Tier look and feel while the second would be designed for level 21 Epic Tier. Since the plate sets lent themselves to it I designed new hands and feet that messed with the rest of the armor.

Of all the Warforged armor I think I like the plates sets the best. I was really happy with the shapes and forms I was able to come up with, especially on the Epic Tier set.

As a side note, I discovered yesterday that the good folks over at Monster Brains featured some of my work on their blog. Many thanks to them for that! If you have a moment, be sure to head over and have a look around their blog, loads of neat stuff.

I think that is all I have in me today. Back to bed for me. I hopefully will be back up and running on Friday for another post. Until then...

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

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Warforged Armor Designs #2

For your viewing pleasure I present the second installment of Warforged armor that I designed for the Dungeons and Dragons Character Visualizer. As previously mentioned these suits of armor would be attached to the surface of a Warforged's body rather then worn. Today's selection include the hide and leather armor sets. For several of the armor set, especially the heavy armor, I was asked to design custom hands and feet that matched the armor and would be included as part of the set. You can see some of these custom hands in the leather set.

I think that is all for today. I try to come up with some relevant or profound to say about my work and sometimes can't come up with anything more then, "I liked how these turned out, they were fun to work on". Oh well. See you back here on Friday when I will have something a bit more bright and shiny. Until then...

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

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Warforged Armor Designs #1

Today I bring you the first installment of Warforged armor that I designed for the Dungeons and Dragons Character Visualizer. This is the last of the armor I designed for the Visualizer and it is in many ways the most different.

Since the Warforged are living constructs with bodies made out of metal and wood all the armor had to be attached to the bodies surface rather then worn. I tried to work mounting plates and bolts into the designs to feel both functional and decorative. The cloth and wizard attires are more clothing-like, but do take in account for their mechanical bodies, allowing room for unhindered knee and arm movement. The armor is also unisex since the Warforged are genderless.

I was looking through all my Warforged files this morning and I will be sure to bring you my sketches after I post all the sets. For the most part all the sketches go though the same sequence: too much like worn armor, too elaborate, just right.

Don't forget my CHARITY ART AUCTION is still going on! Head over to EBAY to bid on my art and help out my friend.

I will have more information on Friday regarding other events happening this weekend that you all can take part in to help the cause. Until then...

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

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

MORE Genasi Armor Sketches

If you missed any of my post on the Genasi armor that I designed for the Dungeons and Dragons Character Visualizer, fear naught! Ever though the posts were spread over 3 months you will be able to relive them all here: Female Armor part 1, Female Armor part 2, Male Armor part 1, Male Armor part 2. You may also remember my first post about the numerous sketches I did for the Genasi armor. I thought I would pull some more of these sketches out to show you some of the early directions for some of the other types of armor. Today I bring you variations on male chain, hide, leather and scale armors.

Of course looking back now I can see some of these may be a bit over the top, but you never know till you try. A lot of these would rather inept suits of armor but made for interesting shapes. What ultimately became the final designs, though simplistic in form for my taste, did prove to be more realistic for the purposes of armor.

Did someone say chain maille? No, I guess they didn't... anyway, I thought I would mention it here since I was showing off armor. Here is a sheet of chain maille I made in photoshop for use in the Genasi and Warforged armor designs. This replaces the first sheet I made for the Tiefling armor which was harder to read when the designs were shrunk down. It all came together pretty quickly and all starts with a circle with a bevel & emboss filter and and a shadow and before long you have chain mail.

Chain maille 'sheet'

Here is the same sheet at 100% so you can get a better look at all my mistakes. Which there are plenty...

Chain maille at 100%

I think that is enough for today... so much to do... so little time. I should be back tomorrow with something, don't know what yet... but SOMETHING! Until then...

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