Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Ankheg

Today, I have for you another, and the last to my knowledge Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures release of a D&D monster that I updated for 5th Edition. If you know me and this blog, you know my love of the Ankheg and that it was one of my favorite assignments when doing the design push for 5E D&D. Having always been a fan of it and then illustrating it for the second 4E Monster Manual, the Ankheg has always held a special place in my monster heart. My work with it for 5E only secured its place in my top D&D monsters. With the prepainted miniature coming out last year, it is nice to see an unpainted version showing the entire monster. To start things off, here is the illustration of my redesigned Ankheg.

Ankheg

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

While I have designed many monsters for D&D, the Ankheg remains a favorite, and to see it made into another miniature fills me with a great deal of happiness. Designing miniatures was my first work in the tabletop gaming industry and remain a joy of mine. As mentioned above, while the first 5E miniature follows my illustration of the Ankheg, this new version shows the entire monster as it proudly stands entirely above ground. Just look at that abdomen! Here is Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures version of the Ankheg in all its glory.

 

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Ankheg

As it is a favorite, I could not let them all live forever in a plastic bubble. I made sure to acquire two of these plastic beasties so that one could stay in the package and so that one could breathe free and be part of my miniature display. It also gives a better view of the entire monster.

Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures - Ankheg

Out of the confines of its packaging

Lastly, here is a look again at the prepainted Ankheg miniature from last year. Still love the job they did on this one. RAWR!

Prepainted Ankheg Miniature

 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

Ankheg Miniature

I have been waiting for this one for so long. I figured it was only a matter of time. Given enough sets of miniatures, the good folks at Wizards of the Coast would see fit to produce a miniature based on my design of the Ankheg for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Well, it finally happened, and to make it even better, the miniature is based on my painting of the Ankheg that I created of the 5th Edition Monster Manual. The Ankheg is a special monster for me and my work on Dungeons & Dragons. It was the first monster that I painted for the second 4th Edition Monster Manual, I was asked to redesign it for 5th Edition, and finally, I painted it for the 5E Monster Manual. And now, after all that time, a miniature has been made of my version of this iconic monster. Here is my painting of the Ankheg.

Ankheg

5th Edition Monster Manual

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Daniel Gelon

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This is still one of my favorite pieces that I have painted for D&D. For me, it just hits all the right notes. A giant monster that is an insect, it's kind of crazy and weird, there is some nice action with the piece, and it is an isolated figure. I love a good isolated figure piece, and it is what I have loved about D&D Monsters Manuals since I was a child. That bold image of a monster on the page with nothing to stand in the way of your imagination building the world the monster lives in. Here is how the miniature of the Ankheg turned out.

Ankheg Miniature

I am so happy with how this miniature turned out. Not only were they faithful to my painting, but it is a large miniature. As much as I love miniatures, I love large minis the best. After so many years of hoping, it is really satisfying to finally see this monster made real in plastic.

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

Beholder Death Tyrant Miniature

When I was redesigning monsters for the 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual, one of my assignments was to tackle the Beholder Death Tyrant. This is an undead Beholder and a nasty piece of work for any party of adventures to tackle. I really liked the design I came up with for 5E, and I know my art director did as well. Here is my design of the Beholder Death Tyrant.

Beholder Death Tyrant

Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual - Redesign

© 2014 Wizards of the Coast

While I liked the design, I knew it would never become a miniature. The floating disembodied eyes would be a problem for sure. Well, six years later, I was proven wrong! The Beholder Death Tyrant was made into a miniature, and they solved the problems with the eyes brilliantly. It is also very faithful to my design as well. I think it is a great piece, and I am happy to add it to my shelf of miniatures. Here is how the mini turned out.

Beholder Death Tyrant Miniature

I hope to be proven wrong about more of the monsters I have designed for Dungeons and Dragons, as I love to see miniatures based on my work. 

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

Scorpion Redsign - OHOTMU Reduxe

Over five years ago I redesigned the Marvel villain Scorpion for The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe REDUXE Edition (OHOTMU Reduxe) blog. For whatever reason, this was never posted on their blog, and a quick check shows that no new content has been posted there in over a year. I am tired of looking at these images in my blog queue folder, so I decided it was finally time to share this image. Here is my redesign of Scorpion.

 

 Scorpion Redsign

10 x 13.5 - Digital

© 2014 Christopher Burdett

I had a lot of fun with this piece, just as I did with all the work that I created for this redesign blog. There was nothing but freedom when it came to the redesigning and the deadlines were flexible. I am still pleased with everything I did for them. Here is the original page for Scorpion, unfortunately, I do not know who the original artist was that contributed to this page.

Scorpion from the Marvel Handbook - © Marvel Comics

Lastly, here is the pencil and ink work that went into this illustration. As I began to ink, I realized that the legs were WAY too short in the drawing. It was an easy fix as I inked, and it improved the piece.

Scorpion Redesign pencil and ink work

9 x 12 - Pencil on paper

10 x 13.5 - Digital

 © 2014 Christopher Burdett

I am unaware of what the future holds for The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe REDUXE Edition blog, but I believe this to be the final piece I will have done for them. Glad to finally share it. 

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

Name the Monster Contest Ends Today! Tilt Brush Preview! Looking ahead to "D" Monsters!

Got a lot of different things for you today. A contest reminder, a peek at things to come next week, and look at the long terms as it pertains to the next waive of monster drawings. Let's start off with the Name the Monster Contest...

Who or what am I?

Leave your answer in the comments below to possibly win this drawing!
9 x 12 - Pencil on paper

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Here again are some rules, or head over to Monday for the whole story...

• Tell me who or what this monster is.
• Submit your entries in the comment section of this blog post or in the comment section of this image when I post it on Facebook on either my account or fan page.
• Everybody gets 3 chance to tell me who or what this is. Please number them so they are clearly separated.
• You do not have to submit all your entries at the same time, just make sure you number them.
• You can submit your entries through Midnight (EST) of Friday June 10th.
• I will announce the winner and winning name on the blog on Monday June 13th. 
• If you choose to incorporate the word "RAWR" into your submission it better be AMAZING because I am not looking for hundred variations of cramming "RAWR" into a name.

The office got in a VR set up and I have been playing around with Tilt Brush. Tilt Brush is a VR painting program from Google. I will be doing a full review next week on the blog with lots of images and gifs of what I have been doing. So far I have spent about 2 hours in the program and have three pieces to share. Here is a preview of things to come...

Tilt Brush Monsters! RAWR!

Last but not least, I have begun getting ready to start up on the remaining "D" monsters from the original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. If you are not familiar with my Fresh From the Drawing Table series, here is the most recent post with ALL the links. I have already completed five of the "D" monsters, but that still leaves 68. That's right, 68 monsters that fall under the letter "D". Most are Dinosaurs, Demons, Devils, and Dragons. Still working on how best to tackle this mighty pile of monsters. I will need to get a game plan since I will be working on these for a while to come. Hopefully I will have new drawings from this series to you soon. Here is a look at the list...

Demons and Devils and Dinosaurs, OH MY!

68 "D" monsters ready to reimagined

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

Fresh from the drawing table... Crocodile (Giant)!

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Crocodile (Giant)! We finally come to the end of the "C" monsters! "C" concludes the way it ought to with a giant reptile monster (RAWR!). I present to you my version of a Crocodile (Giant)… 

  Crocodile (Giant)
9 x 12

Pencil on paper

Original - Currently not available 

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

I wanted to see something more out of the Giant Crocodile then just a really big version of a normal crocodile. What if it had some dragon blood in it? What if it was smart and big and was aware of the workings of the world? How would the players react when they finally surface the dense swamp to a clearing to find a massive crocodile sitting on a tree stump? Imagine if the Giant Crocodile then spoke common and invited the players closer to explain why they have trespassed into its kingdom. I think it would become very clear, very quickly that they are either dealing with a benevolent swamp lord curious to their presence or a malevolent extremely powerful swamp lord that is about to dine of their wizard... or both. What if that giant talking crocodile swamp lord suddenly started using magic? The players will really wish they had taken a extended rest after slaughtering that Lizardman hunting party.

This ends the letter "C". "D" is HUGE... there are dragons, dinosaurs, demons, devils, and a whole lot of other things mixed in. I will need to get a game plan together before I jump into "D". Expect another pause in these posts while I work things out.

Current 100 original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesigns (C - ?): Camel (Wild), Cattle (Wild), Centaur, Centipede (Giant), Crayfish (Giant), and Crocodile (Normal).

My first 100 original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesigns (A - Z): Aerial Servant, Ankheg, Ant (Giant), Ape (Carnivorous), Ape (Gorilla), Axe Beak, Axe Beak (version 2), Baboon, Badger, Barracuda, Basilisk, Baluchitherium, Bear (Black), Bear (Brown), Bear (Cave), Beaver (Giant), Beetle (Giant) - Bombardier, Beetle (Giant) - Boring, Beetle (Giant) - Fire, Beetle (Giant) - Rhinoceros, Beetle (Giant) - Stag, Beetle (Giant) - Water, Beholder, Black Pudding, Blink Dog, Boar (Giant), Boar (Warthog), Boar (Wild), Brain Mole, Brownie, Bugbear, Buffalo, Bulette, Carrion Crawler, Catoblepas, Cerebral Parasite, Chimera, Cockatrice, Coutal, Crab (Giant), Demon Type III (Glabrezu), Demon (Juiblex), Demon (Manes), Devil (Ice), Dragon (Red), Elemental (Earth), Ettin, Eye of the Deep, Flightless Bird, Frog (Giant), Fungi (Violet), Giant (Hill), Goblin, Golem (Flesh), Hobgoblin, Homunculus, Hydra, Imp, Intellect Devourer, Ixitxachitl, Jackal, Jacklewere, Jaguar, Ki-Rin, Kobold, Lich, Lizard (Giant), Lizardman, Manticore, Mind Flayer, Minotaur, Naga, Neo-Otygugh, Nixie, Ochre Jelly, Ogre, Owlbear, Peryton, Pixie, Purple Worm, Quasit, Ram (Giant), Roper, Rust Monster, Sahuagin, Salamander, Shambling Mound, Treant, Troglodyte, Troll, Umber Hulk, Unicorn, Vampire, Wasp (Giant), Wight, Wyvern, Xorn, Yeti, and Zombie.      

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

Fresh from the drawing table... Crocodile (Normal)!

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Crocodile (Normal)! Nearly at the end of the "C" monsters we arrive at a very pudgy crocodilian. This of course means the GIANT crocodile is next which is also the LAST of the "C" monsters. I present to you my version of a Crocodile (Normal)…  

  Crocodile (Normal)
9 x 12

Pencil on paper

Original - Currently not available 

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

The regular ole mundane crocodile is sought for their lavish horde of treasure. Depending on the size of the crocodile they have a large horde of crocodile hide armor, crocodile hide boots, crocodile hide belts, crocodile hide pouches, and crocodile bone weapons. Just kidding, these things only exist so that they can jump out of the water suddenly to attack player characters and in turn be XP for said characters. All the crocodile hopes for is to be left long enough to have a rich and fulfilling crocodile life. It might sound like a sweet gig when the goblin come and offer you your own swimming pool in the bottom of a dungeon, but really you are shortening your life considerably cause you are just a meat trap waiting to happen.

Current 100 original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesigns (C - ?): Camel (Wild), Cattle (Wild), Centaur, Centipede (Giant), and Crayfish (Giant).

My first 100 original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesigns (A - Z): Aerial Servant, Ankheg, Ant (Giant), Ape (Carnivorous), Ape (Gorilla), Axe Beak, Axe Beak (version 2), Baboon, Badger, Barracuda, Basilisk, Baluchitherium, Bear (Black), Bear (Brown), Bear (Cave), Beaver (Giant), Beetle (Giant) - Bombardier, Beetle (Giant) - Boring, Beetle (Giant) - Fire, Beetle (Giant) - Rhinoceros, Beetle (Giant) - Stag, Beetle (Giant) - Water, Beholder, Black Pudding, Blink Dog, Boar (Giant), Boar (Warthog), Boar (Wild), Brain Mole, Brownie, Bugbear, Buffalo, Bulette, Carrion Crawler, Catoblepas, Cerebral Parasite, Chimera, Cockatrice, Coutal, Crab (Giant), Demon Type III (Glabrezu), Demon (Juiblex), Demon (Manes), Devil (Ice), Dragon (Red), Elemental (Earth), Ettin, Eye of the Deep, Flightless Bird, Frog (Giant), Fungi (Violet), Giant (Hill), Goblin, Golem (Flesh), Hobgoblin, Homunculus, Hydra, Imp, Intellect Devourer, Ixitxachitl, Jackal, Jacklewere, Jaguar, Ki-Rin, Kobold, Lich, Lizard (Giant), Lizardman, Manticore, Mind Flayer, Minotaur, Naga, Neo-Otygugh, Nixie, Ochre Jelly, Ogre, Owlbear, Peryton, Pixie, Purple Worm, Quasit, Ram (Giant), Roper, Rust Monster, Sahuagin, Salamander, Shambling Mound, Treant, Troglodyte, Troll, Umber Hulk, Unicorn, Vampire, Wasp (Giant), Wight, Wyvern, Xorn, Yeti, and Zombie.      

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

Revisiting the Basilisk - Talisman: Frostmarch

On Monday I shared with you some memories of working with Zoe Robinson at Fantasy Flight Games. In that post I mentioned that the first piece I ever did for her was a Basilisk for the Talisman expansion, Frostmarch. That piece is seven years old and very very flawed to my eyes. After reflecting on Zoe's time at FFG and all that we worked on I decided to revisit that critter and give it another pass in pencil to see what it would look like now. Of all the pieces I did with Zoe, the Basilisk is the only one that really makes me cringe. Here is my fresh pass at the Basilisk...

Basilisk - Revisited

12 x 9 - Pencil on paper

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

I am sure you are thinking to yourself, why on earth am I showing you the redesign before I showed you the original... BECAUSE I don't want seven year old work as the thumbnail for this post. Okay, now that you have seen the rework, lets travel back in time to 2009 and look at the original drawings that I submitted for the Basilisk... 

Original Basilisk drawings for Frostmarch

  Original on two sheets of 9 x 12 paper - Pencil on paper

© 2009 Fantasy Flight Games

These were all that I submitted for the Basilisk. These were the thumbnails and the final drawings all in one. Because I had not developed my now ubiquitous process for making art that use for everything today. I got a couple sheets of paper and just scribbled on them. The bounding box I drew on the paper to do these in was not even the right dimension for the final piece... I had to add some more drawing digitally after I scanned the scribbles into the computer. Now THAT is professionalism! AND somehow I continued to get work in the gaming industry.

By the way, I have never shared these three Basilisk scribbles before. These drawings most likely have only been seen by three or four people before now. Not that you all were missing anything. As you can clearly see, option 'A' was the winner. Isn't option 'C' just the cutest widdle Basilisk EVAR! Let us have a look at 2009 and 2016 side by side to see what has changed...

Basilisk comparison 2009 / 2016

Everything wrong is right again?

I continue to mention all the flaws with this piece. Here is a real quick run down of everything I did wrong with the fundamentals of the drawing and we will forgo this issues with the painting. In no particular order: anatomy of the head is all kinds of wrong, the  eyes, teeth, mouth, tongue, horns all do not line up in perspective or have any cohesive or realistic symmetrical order, that head is super wrong, one more time - HEAD = WRONG, arms are uniform and boring, arms don't seem to connect to the body and appear to be just slapped on the sides, and finally... THAT HEAD. The painting did not remedy any of the major issues and seemed to add some more, but that is for another day. Here is how the final painting turned out for the Basilisk...

Basilisk

  5 x 4.5 -Digital

© 2009 Fantasy Flight Games

Pay $100 for an illustration, get a $100 illustration. I won't even go into how much blood, sweat, and tears I pumped into this to get a finished painting. I worked SOOOO much on this, because at the time I was learning and ever piece was a fight to finish. I did learn a lot, and in a way that is what is important. Fun fact, for a brief time this piece was in my portfolio that I showed to clients. THE HORROR! THE HORROR! Thankfully the Talisman cards are SUPER TINY and once this piece was shrunk down it masked many of the flaws. Maybe. Here is the final card...

Basilisk in handy dandy card form!

Print it SMALL and make all the mistakes got away.

Seven years, at times it feels like so much more and so much less all at the same time. Just glad to see that my skill set has improved over the years! The last thing we needs is more cards being made like this original Basilisk.

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

Fresh from the drawing table... Crayfish (Giant)!

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Crayfish (Giant)! Continuing with the "C" monsters we arrive at another giant version of a mundane critter, a crayfish. Pretty much a giant insect, but this one lives in the water. I present to you my version of a Crayfish (Giant)… 

Crayfish (Giant)

9 x 12

Pencil on paper

Original - Currently not available

© 2016 Christopher Burdett

Continuing in my traditon of giant dead insect things floating in the water I present to you the Giant Crayfish. Not quite big enough to build a tower on, but big enough to tie your boat to for repairs... right before the giant parasites that killed the Giant Crayfish eat you. That is the circle of life in the Realms after all, you have to expect such things. Not going to blame an idiot with a spell for these Giant Crayfish. Most likely they are totally natural, or at least the product of an overzealous crayfish farmer that really wanted to win the local fair. Totally normal, totally not made with magic... nope, not this time... TOTALLY not the fault of magic. Yep, totally the fault of magic and now hundreds are dead. 

Current 100 original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesigns (C - ?): Camel (Wild), Cattle (Wild), Centaur, and Centipede (Giant).

My first 100 original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual redesigns (A - Z): Aerial Servant, Ankheg, Ant (Giant), Ape (Carnivorous), Ape (Gorilla), Axe Beak, Axe Beak (version 2), Baboon, Badger, Barracuda, Basilisk, Baluchitherium, Bear (Black), Bear (Brown), Bear (Cave), Beaver (Giant), Beetle (Giant) - Bombardier, Beetle (Giant) - Boring, Beetle (Giant) - Fire, Beetle (Giant) - Rhinoceros, Beetle (Giant) - Stag, Beetle (Giant) - Water, Beholder, Black Pudding, Blink Dog, Boar (Giant), Boar (Warthog), Boar (Wild), Brain Mole, Brownie, Bugbear, Buffalo, Bulette, Carrion Crawler, Catoblepas, Cerebral Parasite, Chimera, Cockatrice, Coutal, Crab (Giant), Demon Type III (Glabrezu), Demon (Juiblex), Demon (Manes), Devil (Ice), Dragon (Red), Elemental (Earth), Ettin, Eye of the Deep, Flightless Bird, Frog (Giant), Fungi (Violet), Giant (Hill), Goblin, Golem (Flesh), Hobgoblin, Homunculus, Hydra, Imp, Intellect Devourer, Ixitxachitl, Jackal, Jacklewere, Jaguar, Ki-Rin, Kobold, Lich, Lizard (Giant), Lizardman, Manticore, Mind Flayer, Minotaur, Naga, Neo-Otygugh, Nixie, Ochre Jelly, Ogre, Owlbear, Peryton, Pixie, Purple Worm, Quasit, Ram (Giant), Roper, Rust Monster, Sahuagin, Salamander, Shambling Mound, Treant, Troglodyte, Troll, Umber Hulk, Unicorn, Vampire, Wasp (Giant), Wight, Wyvern, Xorn, Yeti, and Zombie.      

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