My life as a crappy artist - Lissa (Ashanti) Demon Variant

On Friday I shared with you the design and redesign that I created for the Lissa (Ashanti) Demon for the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There was one variation to this demon that went as far as the drawing phase, though I am not sure if it was ever shown to production, or if the design was killed in house. For this variant, I was apparently designing the Ood of Doctor Who a good 4 years before their time... OR I was simply drawing something with a face full of tentacles because I thought it would be neat. Whatever it was, here is the rejected Lissa Demon design...

RAWR! I am a rejected design that may or may not have been seen by production...

© 2002 Almost Human

Okay... it is a demon with a tear away face with drippy tentacles... and not a whole lot else going on... like interesting forms and details. As I have mentioned previously with my redesigns, the one big fault my old work (besides being old work) is that there was not a lot of time and thought given to the forms and details. Things feel flat and simple. Granted, I was still very much learning as I went in the less then hospitable environment with not a lot of time to actually get my thoughts onto paper. Not that I would ever make excuses for my old work, it is old, I have moved on and thankfully, I hope, I have moved my skill set along as well. Having made some time, I revisited this abandoned variant and came up with something... newer...

Taking the Lissa (Ashanti) Demon Variant back!
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

I will be completely honest, if production would have seen this new version they probably would have rejected it in second for it being 'dirty'. Oh well. They had a thing about things being 'dirty' or at least things being 'dirty' in their heads. No matter what the past would have said about this, I wanted to make something better for me now. Going back to the idea that since this was a severed head it could be anything tried to push it a little further with something weird and inhuman, while keeping the original face tentacle action in some way. I think... I HOPE it is a more interesting and weird monster. More time and thought was put into it this time around, no matter the case!

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

My life as a crappy artist - Lissa (Ashanti) Demon

You of course remember the Lissa (Ashanti) Demon from episode 7, First Date, from season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, right? Any good Buffy fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I designed it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is a Lissa (Ashanti) Demon...

So this is apparently a demon... until that moment when the head leaves the body then look out. cause it is gonna get weird. Weird like this...

OH THE HORROR!!! Bad screen grabs!!!

For some reason my archives lack an image of the completed and painted Lissa Demon head, which is a real shame since it actually looked really cool. The interwebs were no help until I remembered Buffy is streaming on Netflix and I went and gathered some bad screen grabs from the episode. Not the best, but you get the idea.

Now that all that is out of the way... I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire series. This time around the Lissa Demon was the lucky winner. Here is my original design for the Lissa Demon from 2002...

RAWR! I am the severed head of a demon! Not sure why it is dated 2003, it was created in 2002. The episode aired in February 2003, but the art was done months before.
© 2002 Almost Human

This is one of those classic moments I had way too many of when I worked in LA. The design could be anything... ANYTHING... because the finished product is a severed head and will never be a makeup or have to conform to human anatomy. I then was given about a hour, maybe a little more to come up with new and exciting ideas... and of course my brain shut down. The above drawing was the best of the three to four sketches I was able to work up in the allotted time. Looking back on it now, it actually is not too bad and while it could have been pushed more, it was totally fine for the situation. It is what it is... It needed to be a crazy demon head that had moments before been a person of some fame who had been brought on the show as a guest star. Done and done.... RAWR... or something. Moving right a long to 10 years later I attempted to update this design with something newer...

Taking the Lissa (Ashanti) Demon back!
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

To be honest, I am not happy with how this drawing turned out. I mentioned on Wednesday that I have been in a funk when it has come to my personal work and the last couple pieces have failed to hit the mark in my opinion. I think this piece was chief among them. Making the time to work on this was hard to big with, my schedule has been rather tight lately, which I am sure has let to some of the issues with the piece. This piece took weeks to complete with a little time being spent here and there... this is way to long for a piece like this to take. In the process I think I lost control of it. Had big ideas for it, but I think it got sidetracked more then once. Oh well... can't win them all and hopefully I am back on the right track with my drawing.

Going through my archives I did find a lot of pictures of the demon head as it was being sculpted. I was not the sculpture on this, but I thought I would share the images all the same. Neat stuff...

RAWR! I am made of clay!

That is all for another exciting day 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

My life as a crappy artist - Sahrvin Demon variants #3

Back in July I shared with you my work on the Sahrvin Demon for the Angel series. I mentioned that I had originally created several designs mostly for myself since I was not on the design team for the initial push for this demon. Those designs were eventually submitted to production but were all rejected. Today I have for you the third and final rejected design, if you missed the others, you can see the first rejected design here and the second rejected design here.

For the third design I was just getting wacky. I knew full well that it was almost an impossibility that completely covering the mouth would make it past production. It was something I really wanted to flesh out and it could have been really cool. If this was a desert demon maybe it employed some sort of technology or arcane construct to make life more bearable. Or maybe it was a translation devise... who knows, it's a demon! It could be anything... but what it really was... REJECTED...

RAWR! I am one of the many rejected designs...

© 2003 Almost Human

I think this piece suffers for all the same reasons that all my work of this time period suffers. The forms are not informed or influenced by anything and they remain rather simple and uninteresting, to me at least. The asymmetrical top of the head is nice though. The neck collar would have been such a cool thing to see in real life and would have made the demon really stand out. But it is what it is... I had some free time in the last couple months to revisit my original designs and I came up with something newer...

Taking the third unused Sahrvin Demon concepts back!

© 2012 Christopher Burdett

The original version was not very threatening and this redesign continues that. Hopefully the demon and the breathing collar feel more unified, I always felt the original seemed like two very separate forms and were not really connected... or at least felt like it could really function with any usefulness. I hope that it is overall more interesting to look at as well... but that is ultimately in the realm of the viewer. I at least find it more interesting and more successful then the original. The leaking mouth fluids down the front of the collar are what really make it a success for me...

This concludes all my work on the Sahrvin demon, hope you have enjoyed it!

That is all for today, 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

My life as a crappy artist - Sahrvin Demon variants #2

Back in July I shared with you my work on the Sahrvin Demon for the Angel series. I mentioned that I had originally created several designs mostly for myself since I was not on the design team for the initial push for this demon. Those designs were eventually submitted to production but were all rejected. Last week I share the first of those reject design, I have a second one for you today.

For my second concept of the Sahrvin Demons I went with something a little more straight forward with a big toothy growler. I always have like big bulky creatures and I tried time and again to get more made and in following with most of my attempts it was rejected. I thought it would be cool to have all the dangling waddles and armored plates hanging and shaking... but those sorts of things were frowned upon a lot of the time. Throwing in an impractical mouth also is a sure fire way for the design to never get any further then my pencil...

 

RAWR! I am yet another rejected design...

© 2003 Almost Human

Of the three variant designs that I produced for the Sahrvin Demon I think this is my least favorite. There really nothing really wrong with it per say,  just that it is really straight forward and old. The forms are a little uninspired and could have used a little more texture and detail overall. But it is what it is... I had some free time in the last couple months to revisit my original designs and I came up with something newer...

Taking a second unused Sahrvin Demon concepts back!

© 2012 Christopher Burdett

Since the original design was my least favorite I think this redesign is also my least favorite of the three. If they didn't like the first they certainly would not be digging this new version. Pretty sure the actor would not have been able to talk in my original makeup and I imagine that any actor taking in this new version would sound like they are talking into a tin can... in another room... in a thunderstorm... in the house next door. My goal with this design was to take my original and just make it more interesting and fleshed out. I think I at least accomplished that much. I feel it will be more successful in producing a satisfying, "RAWR!"

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

My life as a crappy artist - Sahrvin Demon variants #1

Back in July I shared with you my work on the Sahrvin Demon for the Angel series. I mentioned that I had originally created several designs mostly for myself since I was not on the design team for the initial push for this demon. Those designs were eventually submitted to production but were all rejected. Today I have for you one of the designs that I liked the idea of a lot.

Even though the Sahrvin Demons were desert demons I imagined them maybe not so suited for such a rugged environment. What if they were a little squishy and had to wear protective gear? What if the part that was not covered was a little more suited for the desert climate? What if a demon had to wear a super cool zip up the front suit that had goggles built into the front so that there could be a super cool reveal of the demon? What if indeed...

RAWR! I was unwanted and deemed unpractical...

© 2003 Almost Human

As I mentioned, I really liked the idea of this design and thought it made for something a little more interesting. At the time I might not have been able to express those ideas well... what with the weird higher left shoulder area... the weird lean of everything to the left... and general muddy darkness to everything. I had some free time in the last couple months to revisit my original designs and I came up with something newer...

Taking one of the unused Sahrvin Demon concepts back!

© 2012 Christopher Burdett

The big complaint that always seemed to comeback to us is that the demon needed to be able to talk... that the actors needed to be able to speak in the makeups. Talking is over rated... they are demons, it is all about the RAWR. With this newer version I went with a more usable mouth and gill like squishy stuff on the sides rather than the original horror show of a 'mouth' area in front there. Tried to make the wardrobe a lot more interesting and believable with this new version as well. I am really happy with how this new version turned out, I find it pleasing as an image and design.

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

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

My life as a crappy artist - Sahrvin Demon

You of course remember the Sahrvin Demons from episode 9, Harm's Way, from season 5 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I was on the design team for it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is a Sahrvin Demon...

The Sahrvin Demon is on the left the one on the right we will address another day since I am solely responsible that that visual atrocity...

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around the Sahrvin Demon was the lucky winner. Here is my original design for the Sahrvin Demon from 2003...

 

RAWR! I am a demon of the desert so I of course have a head wrap and bad skin.... and quills... desert things have quills, right? RAWR! MY, look at that impressive signature... you must be a really good artist....
© 2003 Almost Human

Okay... so they wanted two desert demon clans,  one male and one female and they were going to be feuding or something. Fair enough... My art director at the time did a really cool design of a demon in a very large head wrap, goggles, and more wrapping around the neck so you could just see this horrible mouth. Production loved it and approved it... they just wanted us to loose the wrapping and goggles......... AND so begun a really protracted redesign of the demon with production disliking everything that was sent to them. They obviously already approved a design and we were being dumb and difficult be giving them the wrong stuff........ JUST TAKE THE GOGGLES AND WRAPS OFF! Fun fact, I was not originally on the design team for the demon but I really wanted to be. So I did a bunch of designs on my own time and brought them in to try to convince my boss that I could do more then just photo composite in photoshop. Eventually, I was brought on this demon and that is when I created the above image. This and one by another of our artist is what finally got approved.  All things aside, here is something... newer, for the design of the Sahrvin Demon...

 

Taking the Sahrvin Demon back! 

© 2012 Christopher Burdett 

The motivation to go ahead and do this redesign was I thought it would be a good way to test out doing a time lapse video. If you missed it, you can see it HERE! I wanted to do a desert demon creature, but I wanted it to feel a little more natural and realistic, instead of a generic demon with a vague head wrap. I got some reference and thought about desert animals so this thing ended up with a reptile / bird deak face. Not sure if it is really scary, but I like it better and it was fun to draw... and made for a good time lapse test. And the turban thing is a lot better designed and thought out! 

I painted a LOT of Sahrvin Demon makeups. Not only were there a bunch in the episode, but they popped back up later in the season. One of my tasks was to paint the armies of makeups that were often called for. Multiples, repeaters, and anything were there was to be more then one makeup artist applying a makeup. Here are some additional images from set and the shop of the Sahrvin Demon army. RAWR!

 This is why you do not use a flash when photographing a makeup... YIKES!

 Complete turnaround of a Sahrvin Demon makeup in all its glory.

The Sahrvin Demon army is ready to deploy to set with face pieces, cowls, hand appliances, and teeth (in the turquoise container). Everything you need for a demon invasion!

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

My life as a crappy artist - Eli Demon

You of course remember the Eli Demon from episode 9, Harm's Way, from season 5 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I designed it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is the Eli Demon...

 That's no demon, that is just a guy with some dirt on his face...

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around the Eli Demon was the lucky winner. Here is my original design for the Eli Demon from 2003...

Wait, the design looks more like a demon and just a guy with dirt on his face, what could have happened?
© 2004 Almost Human

The Eli Demon was to be a Demon working at the evil law firm that Angel and company take control of. He was to be a subtle demon that was mostly human. Apparently off camera he did some bad stuff and Angel set and example of him to the rest of the firm ringing in a new way of doing business. Fair enough, I got to work on a 'subtle' demon design and came up with the above image. Apparently my subtle design was not subtle enough for everyone. Clumsily, behind my back (I say clumsily since I heard the entire conversation I was not to be overhearing) the sculpture was instructed to ignore my bad design and do something VERY subtle. First off, the sculpture on this is an amazing artist and has gone on to do some AMAZING things with WETA in New Zealand and is not at fault in any of this. The thing is, subtle just does not work for TV. Especially pre-HD TV. The rule of thumb in the shop was if you wanted to know how something was going to look once it was filmed and aired you just needed to squint your eyes at whatever you were working on. Squint your eyes at the top photo of the finished demon... yeah, looks like a dirty guy with some spots. And guess what? On set and once filmed production made fun of the demon saying that it... LOOKED LIKE A GUY WITH DIRT ON HIS FACE! For things to read on TV you have to make them a little over the top, add a bit more contrast, make them a bit more brighter. In a movie you can go to town with subtle when there are close up and the image is shown dozens of feet high. My design was overruled, the sculpture was backed into a corner, and the makeup appliances were made flesh tone... all resulting in a very dirty man demon. All things aside, here is something... newer, for the design of the Eli Demon...

Taking the Eli Demon back!
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

Since I never had an opportunity to actually draw this design I was really more focused on drawing the actor and having fun. I stuck with the original direction of the old design but made it more exaggerated.  More is more after all. Some of the drippy skin above the eyes in the original also made him feel a little sad. Funky faced demon guys say, "RAWR!" This design would have gone over even worse, but I sure had some fun drawing it.

I sometimes forget which demons I have photos for and which I do not. I was pleasantly surprised that I actually had some pics of the Eli Demon because I figured finding him online might be tricky. Not only did I have some set pics, but I had some wacky off camera fun...

 Oh look, it is too dirty faced guys hanging out... wait, one of those guys has no body...

That is all for another exciting Wednesday, 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

My life as a crappy artist - Fell Brethren

You of course remember the Fell Brethren from episode 19, Time Bomb, from season 5 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I on the design team for it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is Fell Brethren...

In the future... there will be no lip palm, and it will be a dry and cracked future...

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around the Fell Brethren was the lucky winner. Here is my original design for the Fell Brethren from 2004...

My original concept for the Fell Brethren. Not the worse thing I did while working in LA, not the best either. Trying to remember if my idea was that the horns were melted back as if with from extremely high heat or if they were growing out and had skin and demon funk all over them...
© 2004 Almost Human

I really don't recall the motivation behind the Fell Brethren at this point. As season 5 of Angel came to a close it was a blur of activity in the shop and we were just trying to hit all our deadlines. I guess the back story on them is a moot point here, suffice to say they needed a group of demons called the Fell Brethren and they gave us very little time to come up with them. Our original designs were all over the place and in the end we were critiqued into doing a rather straight forward new face with notified existing cowls. Hence the large textures and detail ending just pass the face. The shops art director did a great job quickly sculpting the face and we tag teamed modifying the cowls and painting everything. In the end I kind of liked how they turned out, they were at least fun to work on. All things aside, here is something... newer, for the design of the Fell Brethren...

Taking the Fell Brethren back!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Okay... to be honest I really didn't have a plan for redesigning this demon I just kind of started drawing. I just started drawing... and looking at it now, it really feels that way to me, I was just drawing. I did try to start with the bone face scale/teeth/horn bits that I had in my original design but past that I think I was just having some stream of conscience drawing. There is also the possibility that I forgot I was drawing the Fell Brethren and thought I was drawing the Hideous Demon.Who knows at this point... I had fun drawing and I have said many times before, that is the real goal of a lot of these exercises.

I had one shop pic to share from working on the Fell Brethren. Not the most exciting picture, but it allows a peak behind the curtain of the makeup FX business and my time on Angel...

Awaiting host bodies... Fell Brethren face pieces and cowls freshly painted and ready for set.

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

My life as a crappy artist - High Priest

You of course remember the High Priest from episode 21, Peace Out, from season 4 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I designed it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is High Priest...

Well, if it isn't the friendliest little hell beast that I ever did meet! Give the folks at home a nice little, 'RAWR!'.

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around the High Priest was the lucky winner. Here are some of my original designs for the High Priest from 2003...

Uh, yeah. Not scary enough, how about I make the neck a little longer... yeah, that's the ticket...
© 2003 Almost Human

If that one is not bad enough, here are some full body studies I think I did first to get my head around the character. I think I should have stopped before I had gotten any closer...

I would like to imagine that the one on the left actually becomes two dimensional as it nears the bottom of his dress/robe/tube suit thing. How freaky would that have been? Turns to a profile and the lower part of his body disappears since it only has height and width but no depth... totally freaky!
© 2003 Almost Human

As I mentioned in my post about the Keeper of the Name, these two like to hang out in some hell dimension keeping the name of the Woman (I will talk about her another day) safe. The High Priest is an evolved version of the Centaur Bugs (I will talk about them another day), a crazy mixed up monster that was one of our real successes on Angel. I had to take what we had come up for the Centaur Bugs and advance it a couple millions year ahead in it's monster evolution. I basically had to make it bipedal and more human in appearance... and it appears I was barely up for that task. I really should not be so hard on myself, it was eight years ago after all and I was a different person then... but my work offers such an easy target. All that aside, here is something... newer, for the design of the High Priest...

Taking the High Priest back!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

I wonder if I could have drawn the High Priest like this eight years ago if I would have ever left Los Angeles for greener pastures. Of course, if I had not left I would not have had the opportunities to grow and improve that I have had in Florida. I surprised myself with this redesign and I am really happy with how it turned out. It came together really quickly and really easily which is still a little unnerving!

But that is not all for the High Priest! I have a couple more photos of the happiest widdle hell beast of them all! As a side note, the actor portraying the High Priest also was Karg from the live action Masters of the Universe movie. So that makes me like two to three degrees away from everyone on Star Trek Voyager...

OH HAI! Can I offer you some hand crafted jewelery? They are all made by hand, by hell beasts!

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

My life as a crappy artist - Cyvus Vail

You of course remember Cyvus Vail from episode 18, Origin, from season 5 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I designed it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is Cyvus Vail...

RAWR! I am an old demon... *COUGH* ...fear me!... *COUGH* ...I need a nap...

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around Cyvus Vail was the lucky winner. Here are the original "designs" for Cyvus Vail from 2004...

Wait? What the? This is just a photo of an old man with funny ears... what gives?!
© 2004 Almost Human

This "design" was done during a period in which I was not allowed to draw on paper at the effects house I worked at. I was to only make my "designs" using photo manipulations using Photoshop. In this case I was backed into a corner and was given a photo of a really old man and was made to give him funny demon ears. Oh, I guess I blacked his eyes out and gave him a weird skin tone since it was a black and white photo. I did have a little fun coming up with some funky patterns for his skin...

RAWR! I am mottled! ...and completely rejected as an option...
© 2004 Almost Human

I guess Cyvus Vail is best described as a very old demon mafia boss. He is hooked up to IVs of vital fluids all the time and appears weak, but he still holds much power. Cool right? How much cooler would he have been if he had some cool patterns? I bet LOADS more cooler! Unfortunately, just as I was being made to only use photo manipulations for all my design work the show's production head decided that all demons are RED. Bright, glaring, and with no modeling ...FIRE ENGINE RED. Go back and watch, a TON of the demons at the end of season 5 are all BRIGHT BRIGHT RED. Cause, you know, demon are red. So I painted a lot of bright red demons at the end of season 5. ...and Cyvus Vail was one of them. All that aside, here is my chance to actually finally draw a design for Cyvus Vail...

Taking Cyvus Vail back!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

RAWR! I am now hand drawn! Feels good to finally be able to draw this guy. It may be pretty much the same character, but at least I was able to do it my way this time and have some fun drawing a creepy old demon that to me looks a tad like Bill Nighy. Beady eyes and a broad mouth... maybe it is just me. I thought he would look good in a big furry collar. I made sure to keep the next IVs going in the wrong way. ...even though my wife would have preferred me to correct it! On to the next art albatross that I carry around my neck...

Here are a couple extra bonus images from Cyvus Vail. Here is the BRIGHT RED makeup I painted that I mentioned above. With this makeup, there was a face piece, cowl and a paint of ears that more form fitted the actor and allowed less muffle hearing. After I painted it our hair person laid down the fine white hair that completed the look. You might notice I added some modeling to the makeup with a darker tone even though production demanding we didn't. I could not see sending out a flat even painted makeup to be then be put on the actor, it would have looked so bad...


Here are more of my pattern variations that were all rejected for the more desirable fire engine red complexion. No big loss in the end I guess, some of these may have been a tad too much and may have looked silly... but a little pattern would have been fun...


That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you 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

My life as a crappy artist - Keeper of the Name

You of course remember the Keeper of the Name from episode 21, Peace Out, from season 4 of Angel, right? Any good Angel fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I designed it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is Keeper of the Name...

RAWR! I am the Keeper of the Name! My MOUF is full of sharp TEEF and it is sewed up so I don't tell SECRETS!

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I designed while working on Joss Whedon's Angel series. This time around the Keeper of the Name was the lucky winner. Here are some of my better original designs for the Keeper of the Name from 2003...

I have done some bad drawings in my day... but seriously, this one takes the cake.
OUCH! This one hurts to look at, can't believe I am showing this off.
© 2003 Almost Human

I must of had my eyes closed when drawing the above design. Apparently, getting a head form that was even remotely symmetrical was beyond me eight years ago. After completing this design I was openly mocked, ridiculed, and otherwise belittled by my supervisors so I attempted a second pass at the design...

RAWR! I am a little better and a little more interesting!
© 2003 Almost Human

The whole idea behind the Keeper of the Name was that it knew and held the name of the Woman (I will talk about her another day). The Woman's true name was her only weakness and would expose the horror that she truly was. To insure that the name was safe it was only known by one creature... you guessed it, the Keeper of the Name. Keeper was a big strong fighting monster that had its mouth sewed, bolted and otherwise locked shut to help with keeping the name secret (how did it eat?). If that was not enough, this guy was in another deminsion and you had to get past an army of Centaur Bugs (I will talk about them another day) and a High Priest (I will talk about him another day). Once defeated the Keeper's head and Angel returned to do the whole Clash of the Titans reveal and let the Woman's true name be heard by all. All that aside, here is something... newer, for the design of the Keeper of the Name...

Taking the Keeper of the Name back!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

RAWR! I am a more believable form! Anyway... With this new pass I thought it would be interesting if to try to keep the mouth closed that some of its larger horns had been driven through the the front of the skull and out through below the chin. Also, who would use cords and leather straps? USE METAL to keep the mouth shut! If it is so important make sure you really gotta work to get that thing open. I liked the two big rings on either side of the jaw so I kept those. Not sure how much better of design it is, but it is sure as heck a better drawing compared to my first attempt. On to the next art albatross that I carry around my neck...

But that is not all for the Keeper of the Name! I have some production photos I can share with you and a little more story of the misadventures of the Keeper of the Name...

Here we see the Keeper of the Name in his MC Hammer pants along with the High Priest (I will talk about him another day) on set next to a statue of a Centaur Bugs (I will talk about them another day) with the head of the Woman (I will talk about her another day). This was a really fun set to be on and there was lots of stuff you could accidentally break if you were not careful.

This is the severed Keeper of the Name head I had to make. It was really fun and I still really liked how it came out. It is sitting in a bucket in the makeup trailer on the studio lot. I had to do some last minute paint work on it before it was shot because the paint job on the monster was changing before it was shot as well. I had to take care of the suit repaint work too. ...much to long and uninteresting of a story to get into.

RAWR! I am now a sad turtle! Sad turtles are not scary...

After all the deign work, sculpting, molding, casting, fabrication, paint work, AND that it was film and done... the powers that be decided they didn't like the mouth and that they wanted something easier to cut open so weeks later we had to redo everything with a new monster face. So a new make up and new severed head was made and all close up and reveal shots were all reshot... with a sad turtle...

That is all for an 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

My life as a crappy artist - Initiative Demon

You of course remember the Initiative Demon from episode 13, The Killer In Me, from season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, right? Any good Buffy fan would, right? I barely recall the dang thing and I was on the design team for it. So that everyone is on the same page, this is Initiative Demon...

With cranial malformation like that you know it has to be a monster... also since it's face is made of silicone and the rest of it's head is made of foam latex.

I was able to find some time to take a fresh pass at another monster that I helped design while working on Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire series. This time around the Initiative Demon was the lucky winner. Here are some of my better original designs for the Initiative Demon from 2002...

RAWR! We started off very far from where we ended up!
© 2002 Almost Human

In the end, like many Buffy monsters, a sensible sweater and a pair of comfortable slacks will cover up all that monster body. ...hurm, more of those grey panels behind the designs, did I really think they helped?
© 2002 Almost Human

The whole idea behind the Initiative Demon was that is was a monstrous speed bump for the heroes as they explored the ruins of the Initiative, the secret anti-demon military base under the streets of Sunnydale. We were originally given a lot of room to explore what this mutant monster could look like. We were told it could be a mutated solder, a crazy mutant demon that had been used for experimentation, a half demon / half soldier or all of the above. It was pretty fun to explore all these crazy options. I immediately went for the giant mutant insect man. Little did we know that we had much less room to explore to come up with something new and exciting... an decision had already been made that it was going to be a half man / half rat mutant... a LAB RAT (HAR HAR HAR...) and would only have it's head and hands visible. All our designs were shelved and the rat man design was handled by my art director. It did not matter what the thing looked like anyway, it was so darkly lit on set you could not see it. All that aside, here is something... newer, for the design of the Initiative Demon...

Taking the Initiative Demon back!
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

RAWR! I am a big mutant insect man! In truth I have always liked the first of the two original designs I posted above. It may be a little rough around the edges, but I think there are a couple cool things about the idea. I still love the big crazy mutant arm... how would the actor done anything with that? As an added bonus I am including an additional updated design. Since the final demon turned out so different from the original concepts I have done an updated version of the rat man...

Not sure I want to take this Initiative Demon back...
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

Yikes, he has the mumps! I hope you have been vaccinated. I think I will stick with the insect monster, are rats really that scary in this day and age? On to the next art albatross that I carry around my neck...

That is all for another exciting Wednesday, 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