Rodians... the revenge of 2005

I recently shared with you a Star Wars piece for an upcoming card set. The piece focuses on the bounty hunter droid, IG-88, but the piece also features a member of the alien species known as the Rodian. I have had Rodians on my mind a lot for the past year...

The Droid's Task

© 2014 Lucasfilm, Ltd. TM Lucasfilm, Ltd. Under license to Fantasy Flight Games

When I originally created this image last year I was reminded by a piece that haunts my past... a piece that I have hidden away for over nine years. A piece that for some reason I am sharing with you today. Back in 2005 Wizards of the Coast still held the license for Star Wars games. At the time I was still on the outside and I was desperate to get my foot in the door at WotC for both D&D and Star Wars. To that end I was producing spec pieces that showed my "understanding" and "competency" with the product. Unfortunately, I created and submitted this...

Mos Eisley Cantina

Mos Eisley CantinaMos

Mos Eisley Cantina

Rodian

(or "PLEASE PLEASE GIVE ME STAR WARS WORK!!!!")

Spec piece sent to Wizards of the Coast from very early 2005

To be honest, this may have been started in late 2004 and was finished in early 2005, but that does not change the fact that this piece... this piece... has issues. Live and learn, growth and progress and all that. I DID use reference thank you very much! Had a coworker at the time pose on the floor holding a light bulb to simulate the blaster firing. I look at this piece and quickly see all the the young painter/digital painter mistakes. ...but you know what? I was a VERY inexperienced painter when I created this and was desperate to learn and improve. More then anything I look back at this piece and laugh at how silly it is and how much it reminds me of the time I created it. EVERY Rodian needs to make sure his socks match his shirt. Also, make sure you foreshorten arms so that they look SUPER stumpy. No point in flogging a dead horse... or a sad Rodian.

I did say I have had Rodians on my mind a lot. Here is a warm up sketch / study using some unused reference that I did a couple weeks ago. This was done super quick, in less then an hour or so. While it is not perfect, it still managed to be a better Rodian then something I labored over for hours and hours nine years ago...

Rodian Enforcer study/warm up

9 x 12

Pencil on paper

© 2014 Christopher Burdett

Don't worry, there will be more Rodians along in the fullness of time, and they will be way better then all of these combined! 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

Talisman - The Nether Realm

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

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

Arcane Dragon

© 2014 Fantasy Flight Games

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

Arcane Dragon in handy card form

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

Storm Dragon

© 2011/2014 Fantasy Flight Games

Basilisk

© 2010/2014 Fantasy Flight Games

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

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

Storm Dragon in handy card form

Basilisk in handy card form

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

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