The DOODLES, DESIGNS, and aRT of CHRISTOPHER BURDETT

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Infinity Con 2023 THIS WEEKEND! And Panel Schedule!

Infinity Con this coming weekend (July 8th and 9th) in Tallahassee, Fl. and I will be returning as a guest to this wonderful and fun event. I will be bringing the Grand Bazaar with me again, so you can expect books, art, enamel pins, and a lot more! The panel schedule is now live, and I am excited to be on a panel with local artist and monster maker Mark Maddox. Mark and I have done panels together, so you can expect a lot of info, story, and snarky comments about each other. Here is a look at my booth last year at Infinity Con 2022.

My booth at Infinity Con 2022.

What will be the same? What will change?

I will be at Guest Booth G3 all weekend long. Look for the signage for the guest area, and you will find me and all the monsters from the Grand Bazaar and beyond. Here is a handy dandy map to help you find me!

Come see me and the Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia all weekend long at Guest Booth G3!

Speaking on panels, you can join Mark and me on the main stage at 2 PM this coming Saturday, July 8th, as we talk about monsters, movies, TV, games, and print work. Come ready with questions, and we will see you there! RAWR!

Come see Mark Maddox and me as we talk about monsters and our careers in making them!

See you on the main stage at 2 PM on Saturday, July 8th, at Infinity Con!

Come see me and many others at Infinity Con this July 8th and 9th!

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

Monday, July 3, 2023

A "Recent" Wayward Magic the Gathering Artist Proof Drawing

Today I have a "recent" Magic the Gathering artist proof that I added a drawing to its back. All available artist proofs and drawing options can be found on my store. This one is a little different than the other recent proofs in that this one went on a grand Italian holiday for several months. Well, it sat in customs in Milan, Italy for three months. I had planned to share this many times over the past few months, but as it hadn't reached its destination, it felt weird to post. Thankfully, a couple of weeks ago it finally arrived at its forever home. This, and the massive cost to ship, is why I don't like, and try not to, ship to Europe. But, if you are willing to take the risks and you contact me directly, we may be able to work something out. I present a wayward monster drawing on the back of a Magic the Gathering card.

You knew if there was a card to cause problems, it would be a card with a Krampus drawing.

That's 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

Friday, June 30, 2023

Kickstarter Roundup - Dahlinger, Fritz, and Colin

Today on the blog, I wanted to point out several current Kickstarter projects that I think you all might be interested in. They feature fantastic art by incredible artists, and if you have not already checked them out, you should do so NOW!

Sarah Dahlinger's Astra Fauna: Expeditions

First up is Sarah Dahlinger's Astra Fauna: Expeditions. Sarah shares:

Hi friends, let me tell you a tale…

...of aliens and adventures in far off places.

Let me tell you about, Astra Fauna!

Astra Fauna: Expeditions is a story-filled artbook that follows five alien scientists as they explore the wonders of a creature-filled universe.

You'll experience new worlds with unique creatures and peoples, read stories of mystery, love, and danger, and experience things both cute and monstrous.

Every chapter showcases the adventure of an alien scientist who's exploring life on a far-off planet.

They will candidly tell the tales of their adventure first hand, bringing you into their worlds and lives.

Bonus Content Added! All copies will come with stat blocks so you can use the Astra Fauna creatures and characters in your own homebrew role playing games!

I am extremely excited about this project. I love world and monster creation, and I can not wait to get this in my hands. It has been a joy to watch Sarah breathe life into the project, and we all need to lend support to make sure this is made a reality. There is so much more to share about Astra Fauna, be sure to follow the link and read all about it.

Tawny Fritz's La Fleur Mystique - Coloring Book

Next up is Tawny Fritzs La Fleur Mystique - Coloring Book. Tawny shares:

Born in New Orleans, I am heavily influenced by magic and mysticism. I don't know if you know this, but flowers are incredibly important to both the physical realm and the magical. Bees need them for nectar and we need bees for pollination. Flowers are what connects us. Lavender has calming qualities both in science and in spells. Nightshade can be used to banish and to poison. I spent the last few months drawing what I see as the personification of many of my favorite flowers and I would love for you to add life to them with your colors!
La Fleur Mystique will be a silky soft cover foil stamped coloring book, perfect bound at 8.5"x11", with over 24 pages printed on 80 lb paper. The back of each page will be left blank so you won't have to worry about bleed-through. Each image was hand drawn by me using micron and Faber-Castell pens.

Each image is printed twice, giving you the opportunity to try different materials and different color palettes.

This is another great project from Tawny, and if you know her work, you know how beautiful it is. If you love gorgeous images that you can color, then this is the project for you.

Brian Colin's RPG Squeeze Plush – Soft & Cuddly Dungeon Crawl Critters

Lastly, there is Brian Colin's RPG Squeeze Plush – Soft & Cuddly Dungeon Crawl Critters. This is through Brian's company Creature Curation and, unlike the other two is happening on Backerkit and not Kickstarter. Brain shares:

Here at Creature Curation we love all monsters, especially cute squishy dungeon crawl critters! And, when we need something to squeeze, we give one of them a squish.

Each RPG Squeeze Plush, is made from high-quality materials that are soft, huggable, and ready to squeeze! Classic dungeon crawl monsters in the form of plushies featuring the Gelatinous Cube, Strixbear, Black Ooze, Hellhound, and Eyegors

Brian is awesome, his monsters are awesome, and I have shared his projects several times before, and they have always had top-notch results. These look so fun, and I can not wait to see them in person. Be sure to head over and help out with this current project.

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, June 28, 2023

Blufferfish - Magic: the Gathering - Process

I have for you today the process and steps that went into my Blufferfish painting for the Magic the Gathering set, Unfinity. This was my only contribution to the Unfinity set, but it was another fish to add to my growing MtG fishy army, so I am thrilled. Here is how the final painting for the Blufferfish turned out.

Blufferfish

Magic the Gathering - Unfinity

14 x 10.27 - Digital

Prints available at OMA!

ARTIST PROOFS available over on my web store!

Art Director - Dawn Murin
© 2022 Wizards of the Coast

The assignment called for a surly fish performer all puffed up and living its best fishy life wearing a little hat. I got to work on thumbnails as I played around with the look and feel for the fish. The assignment called for the hat to be on a string around the fish's head, but fishy don't usually have necks, so I made the best of it. These are the thumbnails I turned in for the Blufferfish.

Blufferfish - Thumbnails

Production felt the string around the neck made it look like the fish was being strangled rather than wearing a fun little hat. Also, as mentioned, fish do not have a neck like other animals. The string was dropped, and I was asked to give option A another pass as I worked out the face, head, and body anatomy a little more. Here is the updated thumbnail that I submitted.

Blufferfish - Update thumbnails

This time around, the thumbnail was approved, and I could get to work on the drawings. I produced a rendered drawing and a tonal study for this piece. If you notice the background between the two, you will notice I received a change while working on them. It was decided that the background observation pods needed to be rotated so that they were aligned to the viewer's point of view and that only the fish would be at an angle. I would much rather receive a change like this early in the project, so it was a relief it came while I was still working on drawings and could adjust it now, and not while painting. Here are the two drawings I produced for the Blufferfish.

Blufferfish - Drawing

Magic the Gathering - Unfinity

14 x 11 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Dawn Murin

Original - SOLD
© 2022 Wizards of the Coast

Blufferfish - Tonal study

Magic the Gathering - Unfinity

14 x 11 - Pencil on paper

Art Director - Dawn Murin

Original - SOLD
© 2022 Wizards of the Coast

The drawings were approved without comment, and it was time to paint. Save for the rotating background elements; this was a straightforward piece to work on. I did adjust the fish's overall body shape as I was working on it. While it seemed correct in the drawings, as I was painting, it became clear that the form was just off and needed some extra attention to get it looking right. I looked at so many fish reference while working on this. I love all the subtle forms that the spines on a pufferfish have and create across the fish's skin. I wanted to bring some of that to this piece. Here is a step-by-step look at the painting taking shape.

Blufferfish - Process

There was one single change asked of me after submitting it - please add some bubbles. It was so simple and yet so impactful. Again, this points out the importance of having an art director that can give you the little push to make the piece 100%. It was funny how it went from I think that is underwater to that is definitely underwater. Here again, is the final painting for the Blufferfish and the production card.

Blufferfish

Magic the Gathering - Unfinity

14 x 10.27 - Digital

Prints available at OMA!

ARTIST PROOFS available over on my web store!

Art Director - Dawn Murin
© 2022 Wizards of the Coast

Blufferfish in handy dandy card form.

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

Monday, June 26, 2023

Goarrinn Portrait - The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia

I am thrilled to share another new piece from The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia. This illustration is for Book Two: The Completed Circle. This will be a character portrait accompanying one of the short blurbs at the beginning of a chapter. I shared more about these with the first post focused on these portraits. With most of these, I have an idea regarding their voice and placement in the book, but the fun part is that it is not set in stone and may turn into something very different from what I first planned. This piece was one of the first I did of these headshots and one I have been wanting to do for several years. I will share more another day, but this one is inspired by something I frequently observed while attending IX. Monster reference is all around us, and you never know what will inspire the next creature. I present you with a Goarrinn (name to come later).

Goarrinn
The Grand Bazaar of Ethra Dalia - The Completed Circle
5 x 5 - Pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on paper
Original - SOLD
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

Goarrinn - Drawing

5 x 5 - Pencil on paper
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

These are the smallest pieces created for the books. There is something charming about a 5 x 5 image, and I have already framed them all up. They look great in a frame and will make an excellent addition to my conventions later in the year. I have completed the first planned set of them, and I will likely begin making more of them soon. Here is a look at the sketch for the Goarrinn to show where it started. Once I have shared all of this first batch, you might notice some Easter eggs in the backgrounds.

Goarrinn - Sketch

Digital
© 2022 Christopher Burdett

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

Friday, June 23, 2023

Chucklehead 2D Miniature

I mentioned last week that I would have more of the monsters I painted for Dungeons & Dragons making a return appearance as a new miniature. What I did not know, on top of some of my monsters getting updated miniatures, was that some of the monsters were getting 2D acrylic miniatures too! I stumbled upon the line of D&D acrylic miniatures by accident and was thrilled to see so many of my monsters included in the various sets. To start things off, I have for you the 2D mini of Chucklehead. I painted Chucklehead for The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, and here is how the final painting turned out.

Chucklehead

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Kate Irwin

Now that I know there is a line of 2D acrylic minis, I have been looking into all of the sets. If you want to seek out this set, here is an image of the packaging. The 2D Chucklehead can be found in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight Set 2 of the D&D Idols of the Realms line of miniatures.

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight Set 2

I find these to be very fun. They are very high quality and the printing is excellent. There are bases for all of the miniatures, and they are arranged by size. Here is the 2D version of Chucklehead.

Chucklehead 2D Miniature

I find it interesting that the pose of the 2D image is flipped from the 3D miniature. I guess this is an easy way to make them different and unique. You can compare the 3D mini to the 2D. I like them both and would always go for a 3D piece in the end, but the appearance, color, and detail are all superior in the 2D mini. To each, their own, and more minis are fine by me.

Chucklehead 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

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

NEW ARTIST PROOFS! Blufferfish and Stinging Lionfish

I am thrilled to announce after many delays, I finally have my Blufferfish artist proofs, and they are on my store. As you might remember, the Blufferfish was another fishy friend I designed and painted for the Magic the Gathering set, Unfinity. In addition to the Blufferfish, I recieved my APs for the reprint of the Stinging Lionfish that appears in Jumpstart 2022.

New Magic the Gathering Artist Proofs are NOW AVAILABLE!

Blufferfish (regular and foil) and Stinging Lionfish (Jumpstart 2022)

ARTIST PROOFS available over on my web store!

I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Blufferfish proofs, and they look so good in person. I can not wait to start putting drawings on their backs and sending them to their forever homes.

Here is a look at all the final art for the above listed cards. You will also find links to their corresponding prints if that is something you are interested in.