Somehow I forgot to post the art that I did for our 2017 holiday card. Usually I post it in mid to late December after the cards have all gone out and hopefully received. This year it seems to have slipped though the cracks. Which is funny, since I got the art done ahead of schedule and I even think the cards were in the mail early too.
For 2017 I decided to depict an Egyptian God that I had never known about. While in Paris this past year I saw many depictions of Bes at the Louvre. Not sure how I had never come across Bes before, but I hadn't... until now. I was instantly enamored with Bes and knew I HAD to do a drawing related to him. The holiday card seemed like a good fit. This past year we hoped that everyone's holiday season was the Bes!
Today I have for you an overdue post about the process and steps that went into a Magic the Gathering piece of mine that I first shared with you way back in January of 2017, the Lathnu Sailback. I fought this particular painting tooth and nail through the entire process. To start things off, here is how the final art for Lathnu Sailback out...
Unlike a lot of my work, I had a real struggle on my hands with this one... which is funny since it is a giant lizard monster painting. The thumbnails and drawing were pretty straightforward, but after that, it was a lot of work, revisions, and frustration to get this one over the finish line. The focus of this piece was a large lizard monster with a sailback. The sail needed to be red and the body dark gray. That was about it. I just had to make it cool and get it done, which turned out to be a bit harder than expected. I got to work on the thumbnails, and I was happy with how they tuned out...2
While "C" was the winning thumbnails, I am still drawn to options "B" and "D." I wonder how one of these versions would have turned out. It was important to draw attention to the sail, and in a lot of these, I was trying to backlight it, so there were a glow and cast color. As with all my work, I have planned out the lighting from the beginning. With a selected thumbnail, it was time to get started on the drawing...
The drawing was approved without comment, and I was all set to move forward with my process. I was still feeling really good about the assignment, and everything seemed to be in order. I was looking at a lot of references, making sure all my ducks were in a row. Progressing as planned. Here is a look at a time-lapse I filmed of me working on the drawing. You can view it here or follow the link along to YouTube...
With the drawing approved, I worked up a tonal study to get my value down... or at least what I think they will be at this point. Things can change, but I do the best I can at the moment. Still, everything is moving along as it should.
Okay, here we come to the actual painting process when things go a little funny, and I have to fight with the painting through most of the process. If you follow my blog and my process post, you should immediately see the there are a lot more steps depicted here than normal. At some point in the process of painting, it became clear to me the anatomy of the lizard was just not working for me. It seemed fine through the drawing stages, but now it just was not clicking. Also, the lighting set up that I was envisioning was not working well either. While I had a direct light source on the creature, it was a dark gray creature, and a lot of it was in shadow. Getting the sail glow and cast light was also proving to be a bit more tricky. ...even with reference. Here is a look at the process progression for this piece...
It might be a little hard to tell from these step by step images, but the leg and head anatomy change a lot, and there is a lot of push and pull with the lighting. A lot more of all of these things compared to my usual painting. Things always change, that is a given, but they typically don't go through this much editing throughout this much of the painting. In a normal painting of mine, the major changes either come at the beginning when I realize there is an error I show how missed in the drawing, or at the very end when I am making the last edits to make sure everything is looking its best.
Quickly made maquette for lighting reference
The above image is a quickly made maquette that I bashed together one evening while painting to make sure I was on the right track. I dropped everything while working and ran to the store to get some clay and some transparent plastic sheeting. I put it all together and worked out the lighting ... and I was happy to see that i was on the right track. It did allow me to update the lighting in the painting to get it to look a bit more believable. Here is the animated process for this painting that better illustrates all the steps and changes this piece went through. You should all be able to see at which point I made the maquette and updated the lighting.
I know many artists who constantly change and update their paintings while working on them, especially those that paint digitally. That has never been my style. So the amount of editing in this one really threw me off and had me reeling through most of the painting. With so many changes, it shook my resolve and made me question my abilities on this one. Not the best place to be when working on client work. In fact, I turned in an initial final for this piece that was not accepted, and I had to make additional edits too. Here is a look at the original version of the Lathnu Sailback...
The bones and saliva needed to go to make it more Kaladesh, but I was also asked to rework and better address the rim and edge lighting. I had been looking at references and was sure I had done a good job, but in the end, I needed to update it. Here again, is the approved version of the Lathnu Sailback and the final production card...
Last April I shared with you a piece that I did for the SagaBorn Core Rulebook, the wily Homunculus. While at Pensacon a couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing Michael Bielaczyc, creator of SagaBorn and all around great guy, and he gave me my copy of the book. With everything going on I forgot that I had yet to get my copy, so it was a welcomed surprise! Before we go any further, here is how the final Homunculus turned out...
I can not say enough good things about Michael and his work. I have been seeing a lot of excitement about SagaBorn and it is great to be a part of this project any way that I can. If you enjoy a solid RPG made by people who love gaming, then you should really check out SagaBorn. More content is coming so you can expect many more great additions to the SagaBorn universe in the near future. Here is the great cover for the Core Rulebook, which is where you can find my Homunculus...
I am always excited by folks creating their own worlds and making their own projects. This is one of the reasons I try to help Michael out as much as my schedule allows. ...that and he is a super great guy! Again, if you want to try out a great RPG and help support people making things they care about and love then you need to go check out the SagaBorn Core Rulebook! Finally, here is a image of the Homunculus from the book getting the royal treatment as it takes up a half of page...
Today I am looking back at a miniature design produced for the Dungeons
& Dragons miniature game over ten years ago that I have neither shared
nor was it ever actually made. The assignment was to design an Orc Skirmisher for the miniatures game. Ten plus years on, of course,
we can see that the miniature was never made. Here is a look at the never produced Orc Skirmisher...
This is actually my final unproduced miniature design that I did for the Dungeons & Dragons miniature game. As with the previous Orc miniatures I have recently shared this design was created at the same time I created the unfortunate Orc Raider.
While I enjoyed and liked all of these Orc designs, for whatever reason
I liked the Orc Raider the least. So it would be natural that it would
be the one produced. Of course to have any of my designs made into
miniatures is amazing, I just wish it had been better received by the
gamers. Here is a look at the full turnaround of the Orc Skirmisher...
As with all on my Orcs there were a lot of revisions as I did not get
the Orcish look down the first time around. If I remember correctly, this was the final Orc that I worked on when I was working on all of these Orcs. This lead to the least amount of reworking and revisions to get it to an approved state.
Here is a look at the various stages that the Orc Skirmisher went through
before being approved...
While I have a ton of amazing miniatures based on my designs and I understand how amazing that is and would never take any of it for granted... I really wished that at least one of the Orcs with a bow I had designed would have been made. I have always loved archer miniatures and I was incredibly excited to be designing not one, but TWO Orc archers. Sadly, in the end, neither were made. Such is life. I have the memories of working on this exciting project and I pile of drawings to mark the time and energy put into it. ...and with that, I have shared with you all of the work I have ever produced on the D&D miniatures.
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
I was in a bit of a panic a month or so ago that I have
not made enough art, I am way behind schedule, and that I am never
going to complete my work on The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. This all got me thinking about how I am approaching my life currently and how I am using my time and energy. As I take on less client work and focus more on my own work and The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia, am I making enough art and working hard enough? Without the hard and fast deadline from an external client with a contract and money on the line, am I giving it my all, am I using my time as effectively as I can? While this might seem like a straight forward question I am not sure it actually is. There are many layers, lots of nuanced feelings, and lots of emotions involved with how I am currently approaching making art and how I use my time.
I am always open to the fact that I have a day job. The job, for better
or for worse, has to be my first focus when it comes to work time and
energy. It provides me everything necessary to have a full and stable
life, as well as grant me the time and space to pursue my art career. I
recently received a promotion, and while I have a lot more
responsibilities and there is more of a time commitment the pay increase
matches what I had been bringing in as a freelance artist. This is one
the factors that has allowed me to step back from freelance work and
focus on my own work that currently produces no income, but in the long
run should be a much more rewarding endeavor.
Current work in progress - The Keeper of the Clocks
I have also been upfront, mostly in my year in review posts, that in recent years I have found myself increasingly more and more burned out from working all the time and having no time to do anything else in my life. For a number of years I was working 40 hours a week at the day job and then another 40-60 hours a week doing freelance work. I was regularly working 16 hours a day, seven days a week just to take care of all my responsibilities of the two jobs. This is only sustainable for so long and in recent years I was starting to break under this schedule. A change was needed and a change was made.
One of the main changes in my day happened close to two years ago, I
began walking every day. What started as an hour walk in the evenings
has now become a 7-13 mile walk before breakfast every day of the week,
rain or shine. I spend at least 2 hours of my day walking and it has
done wonders for my mood and health. My doctor is thrilled and says I
could not do more to insure a healthy life, which is great. More
importantly it gives me some alone time to think and reflect on things.
Most of the time this all happens before the sun comes up so I am often
completely alone on my route. While I am playing Pokemon Go for most of
the walk, I am also thinking, planning, and typing notes on my phone
regarding The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. A lot of
the work I have been doing this past year and a half on the Bazaar can
be tied in some way to my walks. While the walks are great for me and
have become a routine I hope to never break this means that 2 hours at
the beginning of my day are now reserve to this activity. Those 2 hours
use to be spent making art at the end of the day.
I am also spending a lot more time with my wife and whenever possible with friends. This time could not be spent better. I often find myself doing nothing but enjoying the company of others and reflecting on a program or a beverage or going on an adventure. 10 years ago I would not be able to sit ideally, I would have to have pencil and paper in hand and I would have to be working on something while trying to engage in a social activity. Now, I need to be at my drawing table if I am working and all work is done at the drawing table. Habits change and new habits are made. It has taken a lot of work to break that unnerving feeling that I need to be working ALL THE TIME. I felt this for years and it was not a healthy way to live. I missed many opportunities to connect with people and I did not get as much out of the interaction that I had because I was either working or distracted by thinking about working. It use to be that a day would not go by that I did not draw or paint. Every day I worked. Every day I HAD to work. Now I have days that I don't touch a pencil, but it is my choice because I am focusing on living my life and making sure when I come to the drawing table I am refreshed and ready to work. I believe that I needed to draw every day earlier in my life, you have to put in the time and effort to get better, but at some point that work is done and you can more directly focus your efforts and time.
After my panic a month ago and my worries that I was never going to get anything done I stepped back and actually looked at how much work I have completed in 2017. I created the vast majority of the monster illustrations for The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia, a bit of writing for it, and freelance assignments. I actually made a lot of work, not the most I have made in a year's time, but FAR more than I was thinking I did. I also returned to Europe, traveled to the Bahamas for the first time, spent time again in St. Augustine, attended three conventions, and spent time with friends and family. Old habits die hard, and I just need to remain focused on spending quality time working and when I am not working to savor whatever it is I am doing. It is not a race, it is not a competition, it is my art and it will take as long as it takes to complete and I have a life to live.
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
I am thrilled to announce that my Ancient Carp painting from Magic the Gathering is now available as an official playmat! This has been in the works for awhile and everything is now completed and they are ready for purchase. I could not be happier with how they look and it is really exciting to see the finished product. I know MANY of you out there have asked about them, the wait is now over...
Thanks to a partnership with Original Magic Art these playmats can be yours! Each playmat comes signed by me so that you know it is official and special. I have looked at them all and I am thrilled with the quality of these mats. I hope they bring their future owners many victories.
Each Ancient Carp playmat comes signed!
(Mats did not photograph well in this image, see above for actual playmat appearance)
Again, head over to Original Magic Art to get your hands on one of these signed Ancient Carp playmats. You will not regret it! 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
While I was at Pensacon last weekend I saw an explosion of posts about friends joining something called VERO. After some investigation I am still not sure what VERO is trying to do... but I somehow ended up with an account. It feels like Instagram in some ways (I have an account there and maybe you would like to follow me!), but with more features... maybe. I have seen load of people talk about how buggy VERO has been, and it was a little wonky for me when I first got it. Not sure if things are straightening it out or if I am just not using it enough to see all the bugs.
Come find me on VERO if you can
No idea if this is a flash in the pan or something that will stick around. You never can tell. These things are organic and the hive mind will have the final say. I will give it a try for the time being and see if it offers something the other interfaces lack. Will need to really dig in and see what I can do... but with limited time and several interfaces already being used to share what I am doing it can be difficult to try something new.
So far I am sharing work from the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia with mixed success
If you are interested you can get the VERO app in the major app stores for your phone type and give it a try. Let me know what you think of it and how you are using it, I am curious for peoples experiences.
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
