The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons - The Return of the Kobold Sorcerer

I recently realized I had a piece make an encore appearance in a recently released Dungeons & Dragons book. The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons was released a year ago and features a piece initially published in 2022 for Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse. This time around, the wiley Kobold Sorcerer has been republished. To start things off, here is the final painting of the Kobold Sorcerer.

Kobold Sorcerer

Originally from Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Emi Tanji

© 2022 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This is one of my favorite recent pieces. It is always fun to see the ones I like to get a chance to be seen by more people. When The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons was announced and released, I thought it would be fun to work on. It is nice to see that, in a tiny way, I did contribute to it. Here is a look at the book's cover so that you can hunt it down to complete your collection of my works.

The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons

Recently, it has felt as if most of my reused work has been very old work that I am not necessarily thrilled with seeing again, so it is great when it is one that I still like and holds up - granted, this piece is only two years old, so you would hope that this is true. Lastly, here is a photo of the art in the book. It printed great, and there is some fun layout in the book for sure.

Kobold Sorcerer in handy dandy book form!

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

Magic: The Gathering in Miniature II Show - THIS WEEKEND!

As mentioned in February, I am a part of the Magic: The Gathering in Miniature II Show, taking place at Nucleus Gallery in Alhambra, CA. From April 13, 2024 - April 28, 2024. The show opens tomorrow and is a collection of Magic the Gathering artist proofs adorned with drawings and paintings on their backs. Though the show opens tomorrow for the public, those who are donors to the gallery have early access starting today. After the show cloeses, for the following year, the unsold cards will be available online through the gallery. The show page for the gallery has all the information, previews, details, and artist list. I have four pieces in the show and they are all monstrous Planeswalkers - Angrath, Karn, Quintorius Kand, and Vraska. They are each on the back of a Gudul Lurker. Here are the cards I will have in the show! 

Karn

Marker, ink, and acrylic paint on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Quintorius Kand

Marker, ink, and acrylic paint on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Vraska

Marker, ink, and acrylic paint on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Angrath

Marker, ink, and acrylic paint on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Here are the cards again with their fronts. These are the first time I have drawn these characters and they were a ton of fun to work on. I hope they find their forever homes!

Karn

Marker, ink, and acrylic paint on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Quintorius Kand

Marker, ink, and acrylic paint on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Vraska

Marker, ink, and acrylic paint on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

Angrath

Marker, ink, and acrylic paint on a Magic the Gathering artist proof

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

Wanewort - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for the second of two (three, but more on that another day) contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, The Book of Many Things. I saved my favorite for last. While I haven't been actively working to get our cats into gaming art, but when the opportunity arose I made sure to get our cats into D&D. This will not be the last time you see the cats either, I have on good authoridy that little gray Zemo may be seen on something Magical later in the year, or next year. For now my familiar, ornage Mietze is only in D&D. Here is the final painting for Wanewort (and her cats).

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I was asked to illustrate Wanewort and her two cats. I knew this was going to be a good assignemnt becuase of the inclusion of cats. Cats make everything better - unless you are trying to make the bed. Wanewort was described as:

Intent: This monster illustration shows WANEWORT, an eccentric NIGHT HAG who works closely with a thieves’ guild called the Moonstalkers.

Action: WANEWORT is a NIGHT HAG with HALF-MOON GLASSES. She wears a knowing dastardly grin. She holds one CALICO CAT in her arms, and a GRAY CAT rubs up against her leg. She wears a dress, some scarves, and has a number of odd hag’s TRINKETS hanging off her clothes.

Mood: An ECCENTRIC, probably EVIL but nonetheless LOVABLE old woman who has more power than she lets on.

This is, of course, awesome, and something really fun to work on. You may have noticed that she is described as having a calico and a gray cat. The trouble is that we have an orange cat and a gray cat. I reached out to production to see if I could change the calico into an ornage and they agreed, opening my way to have our kitties in the book. You may have also noticed that she should have half-moon glasses and in the painting she does not. Yeah, well, I forgot them and didn't relize this omission until I was done with the painting. Every attempt to add them in and not mess up her expression failed and so I submitted the piece as you see it. Either the lack of glasses was never noticed, or like me, they decided it was fine without them. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted. 

Wanewort - Thumbnails

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

Oh, did I fail to mention reference photos? I have to share my photo reference for the final painitng. With two cats, an apron, and a cape you too can have all the reference you need to make yourself a Nighthag. Mietze was not partcluarly happy about all this and Zemo was just wandering around.

 

Wanewort reference for all your kitty cat reference needs!

Needless to say that option 'C' was the winner and I was 100% on board for this one. I did like option 'A' a lot, but 'C' has a lot of personality. With the thumbnail approved it was time for drawing! Here is the Wanewort drawing.

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper

Original - NFS (I am keeping this one!)

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without any edit notes, and it was time to start on the final painting. Here is the painting of Wanewort taking shape.

Wanewort - Process

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This one was a dream to paint. I had great reference, I was painting my cats, and I was once again getting to be the monster. While my wife very much wanted to be the monster this time, I knew Mietze would not put up with her handling him this much. And, well, I wanted to be the monster. Compared to the other two paintings, especially the one I am not sharing, this one was quick, easy, and fun. Not that the other two were an issue, but... cats. Cats are fun to paint, espacially my cats. Here again is the final paitning for Wanewort.

Wanewort

The Book of Many Things

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That's all for another exciting Wendesday 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

Boss Augustus - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for one of my contributions to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, The Book of Many Things. I have always loved the concept of the Deck of Many Things. An item or items in game that allow the players to access great rewards and great calamity. In my early days of gaming I created a magical item for my players, the legendary Stick of Nearly Limitless Possibilities. I thought it would be really fun as there were some very crazy effects if the was unlucky with rolls. It was met with mixed feelings and sadly the stick (which I actually made) and the many pages of posibilites are lost to time. That was an unexpcted deteor... back to The Book of Many Things and my contributions. We will start with the more ordinary of my two pieces in the book. Here is the final painting for Boss Augustus.

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I was asked to design and illustrate Boss Augustus. Even though this is an illustration of a human male, I still approached it as if he was a monster - for better or for worse. Boss Augustus was described as:

Intent: This monster illustration shows BOSS AUGUSTUS, a HUMAN WEREWOLF who co-leads a lycanthropic THIEVES’ GUILD called the Moonstalkers. Secretly, he wishes to cure his lycanthropy and leave the Moonstalkers forever.

Action: We see Boss Augustus in his humanoid form: he looks like a MALE HUMAN in his 50s with beige skin and close-cropped black hair. There are subtle hints of his lycanthropy: for instance, he has a thick, somewhat unkempt BEARD. He is TALL and BEEFY. He wears a stoic, somewhat TROUBLED expression. He is dressed like a D&DROGUE crossed with a CRIME BOSS.

Mood: A powerful and respected leader

Definitly some angles to approach this one and to make it interesting. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted. 

Boss Augustus - Thumbnails

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

It is always interesting which thumbnail is selected. Sometimes I know which will be selected when I submit them - it just has to be THAT one that gets picked. Other times I am surprised by which is selected. For this piece I was hoping for option 'A' to get the nod, but this time aeound it was 'B." Not nessarily the one I would have chosen, but as I submitted it, I have to be prepared to take it to the end. 'B' was selected without any notes. Here is the Boss Augustus drawing.

 

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

Art Director - Bree Heiss

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without comment, and it was time to start on the final painting. Here is the painting of Boss Augustus taking shape.

Boss Augustus - Process

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

This is one of those painitng where you just need to sit with it and hold its hand until it is done. My natural tendancies with making art do not often lend themselves to depictions of humans, but I always do my best to make the human be the way the client needs it to be. One of my biggest issue with humans is that I never feel like I know when to stop - when is this painting going to be done?!?! With my monster work I just know when they are done - I get a feeling in my gut and I know that I need to do one last small detail pass and it will be done. With humans, humans that need to be normal and functional within society, it can be a lot more nebulous for me. Usually, my typical final small detail pass would make that human look like something not human, and that is not desired here. So I just need to sit with a painting like this and make sure that the face and hands are on point and then have some fun woth the atire and gear. But uinderstand that I gave this piece everyhign I would give any piece I was assigned. It being a human just makes it a little harder for me - which is good sometimes. To be challenged is to enbrace growth! Here, again, is the final painting of Boss Augustus.

Boss Augustus

The Book of Many Things

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

That's all for another exciting Wendesday 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

Cranium Rats in Disguise - Dungeons & Dragons - Process

Today, I am happy to share the process and steps for my favorite contribution to the Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse. As I mentioned before, I have never worked on anything Planescape related in the 19 years I have made monsters for Dungeons & Dragons, so it was a real treat to finally stick my tow into this realm. Last time I shared a pointy walking plant, today, I smelled a rat. Here is the final painting for the Cranium Rats in Disguise.

Cranium Rats in Disguise

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

11 x 14 - Digital

Art Director - Emi Tamji

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I was asked to design and illustrate the Cranium Rats in Disguise. I knew instantly that this would be a fun one. It is just so silly and cool at the same time that I needed to make it special. The Cranium Rats in Disguise was described as:

A mysterious figure surrounded by cranium rats walks down an alley toward the viewer.
Figure: The figure is covered in a ragged cloak and wrappings and walks awkwardly. We can't see any of the figure's features. It's suggested that the figure is actually all cranium rats wearing clothes, but we can't be sure.
Alley: The alley is a creepy alley in Sigil's Hive Ward. It's filled with trash and razor vine.

After reading that, I was ready to get to work on some thumbnails. As I have stated countless times here before, I start nearly all of my projects with a photo shoot as I act out the monster and get my head around the physicality of it. Once I feel like I have enough reference, I start scribbling. Here are the thumbnails that I submitted. 

Cranium Rats in Disguise - Thumbnails

 © 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

These were well received, but the hat on top of the cloak in option 'C' was, of course, the best one. I was asked to make the background doorway arch more similar to option 'B,' but the figure was perfect as it was. I was happy to make the updates and got to work. Here is the updated thumbnail that I submitted.

Cranium Rats in Disguise - Revised thumbnail

 © 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

The revised thumbnail was approved without additional notes or revisions. It was now time for my favorite part, the drawing! I always create a final traditional drawing for every project to work out the details and to give myself a tangible product from the assignment. Here is the Cranium Rats in Disguise drawing.

Cranium Rats in Disguise

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

11 x 14 -Colored pencil on paper

Original - SOLD

Art Director - Emi Tamji

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

The drawing was approved without comment, and it was time to start on the final painting. Here is the painting of the Cranium Rats in Disguise taking shape.

Cranium Rats in Disguise - Process

 © 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

As with most of my D&D work these days, the painting goes quickly. I am thankful that I have been doing these long enough that I can sit down and knock out the painting in one sitting. It was not always this way, but after 25 years, I am glad to finally have this luxery of having done this work countless times. Practice does pay off. The biggest challenge for this piece was to get the contrast right for the figure and the limited background. It needed to be readable and fleshed out, but not to the point that it overwhelmed the figure. I believe I hit the right balance with it. This is likely one of my favorite recent works, and it is getting a miniature! Here, again, is the final painting of the Cranium Rats in Disguise.

Cranium Rats in Disguise

Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

© 2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

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