Monday, April 30, 2012

Far Realm Fiends

A new article in Dungeon magazine #201, Far Realm Fiends, went up today on the Dungeons & Dragon website and I contributed the art for this article! That's right, even more new D&D monster art coming at your face! Without further blathering, here is the Doom Hulk and Geometric Impossibility trap...

  Doom Hulk and Geometric Impossibility
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

I mentioned at the beginning of the month that April was going to be a busy D&D month for me, and I am glad to see that nothing was delayed. Wrapping things up with some very high level threats! The Doom Hulk is a walking manifestation of your nightmares and is hear to smash your hit points out of you with its meat hooks. The Trap just, you know, wraps time and space... that ole thing. In the coming weeks expect to see a walk through for this piece as well as some thoughts, comments, and observations. Again, I would like to thank Kate Irwin for involving me on this project and for making my job easy with her art direction!

That is all for another exciting Monday, see you back here on Wednesday for something older that will new to everyone! Until then...

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

Friday, April 27, 2012

Ogrol Ragelord - Dreamblade

I have for you another blast from the past today as well as a fresh take on those past events. Going back nearly seven years I am revisiting another of the Dreamblade miniatures I still have never shared here on the blog...

Today I have for you the mighty and powerful Ogrol Ragelord. Ogrol started his life as the "Three Headed Troll" and was described as not being well put together - his proportion were all out of whack as if made out of different parts. He was a Passion creature so he needed to be big, fierce, and made to deal damage. This is what the original turnaround for the Ogrol Ragelord looked like...

 Ogrol Ragelord
© 2005 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Looking back I realize Ogrol was a kind of turning point on two levels. The first was in the design phase, I had the idea for the REALLY big arm and I went with it, it felt right and I thought it really gave the creature its character. My AD at the time liked it but wondered if it was too much, too big. I stood by my design and it went forward as is. Ogrol was from the second set of Dreamblade, and while I spent the first set just trying to get my feet under me and get up to speed with it all, the second set I think showed that I was starting to let myself shine through more as a designer. It just may look like a big arm, but it was the big arm I felt was needed and I stood by that choice. The second turning point came when I got the miniature in hand, speaking of which, here is the mini for Ogrol...

 Ogrol Ragelord miniature
 © 2005 Wizards of the Coast LLC

I was really happy with how the design turned out so I was obviously eagerly awaiting the release of them final miniature. When that time came I was a little taken aback. Notice that the lower body / leg positioning is different from the design AND is MUCH better and more dynamic then what I had laid out. Some of why this was done was to make sure it would fit on the base correctly, the rest is because it looks much better and less stiff then the pose I came up with. After my initial bout with self doubt and hurt ego had passed I really thought about it and realized that with just a little more planning and by just moving things a little bit you can make poses and designs much more dynamic and interesting. Granted that by the time I got to see the finished miniature there was not a lot more Dreamblade to be designed, but I took this lesson and tried to make the most of it.

As I am wont to do I took some time and took a fresh pass on Ogrol. Looking back at the seven year old drawing - and a drawing I was very proud of at the time - I saw SO much potential for the design. I also wanted to give it a really dynamic new pose, though the pose I chose would most likely be too much for the miniature to allow... but maybe not, you never know. I talk a lot about drawings being fun and my enjoyment of just drawing for the love of drawing, well, this new version was FUN to work on. Big and bulky crazy monsters are one of my all time favorites and Ogrol is that and then some. All that aside, here is the 2012 version of the Ogrol Ragelord...

Ogrol Ragelord Redux
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

Key changes: Larger main head, looks the silly pants and shoes, shrunk the size of all the goofy bones and tried to make them look better, added skulls to show just how huge he actually is, added and better defined textures through out. Like I said before, not sure if this would have been able to be made as a mini, but I sure as heck more happy with the over all drawing. And if you were wondering, I did use reference, maybe if you are good I will someday share my photo of me as Ogrol.

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, I think you should expect some new work on the blog next week, as well as some new work that is not really that new! Until then...

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

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Wroot the Goblin - Process

I have for you today the first of the process posts for the recent work that I produced for the Halls of Undermountain. Starting things off is Wroot the Goblin!

This piece actually has is a really personal piece for me, and not just because of the silly reference photo you will find below. I followed the art order completely and for all purposes this goblin will forever be known as Wroot, for me and a handful of others, this is in fact Splug. Splug appears in the very first adventure module for 4th edition, Keep on the Shadowfell, and is a little NPC that could be played at the Dungeon Master's prerogative. Splug became fast friends with my players and he has joined in the adventure since and even now is still a faithful follower and a source for comedy. I had an image of what Splug looked like in my mind and when I read the art order for Wroot, I knew that I had an opportunity to make a painting of Splug, and I was very excited about getting started on this piece in particular.

Starting things off I did my roughs to get a feel for the character, gear and other props. The clear winner for me, and with my art director (though she liked them all) was option 'C'. I just needed to come back with some leg options, she felt ending him at a clean line of his clothing might make it feel as if he was a disembodied undead creature. A couple more updated roughs with legs and 'C' was the winner again...

 Wroot the Goblin - Thumbnails
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

Wroot the Goblin - Updated thumbnails
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

Once the thumbnail was approved I moved forward on the final drawing. I have said it a million times here on the blog and I will say it once more, the drawing is most likely the favorite part of the process for me and I really have to hold myself back to not get carried away and spend too much time on it. It is also the point of the process I suddenly look down at the drawing and think to myself, "Great, I now have to paint ALL those wrinkle, scales, horns, tentacles, etc... boy am I glad I showed no restraint in putting in as many as I could."
 
  
 Wroot the Goblin - Drawing
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

This step is a little out of place, but I didn't want it to be the first image on the post! Before I start any piece I shoot reference. I make some very loose personal thumbnails to keep my thoughts together or at least talk through all my options with my wife who does all my camera work for me. I then the photos of all ideas, her ideas, and lots of happy accident to then more inform and direct the subsequent steps in the process. Sometimes I nail the idea I had perfectly with a photo we take, sometimes a much better direction is discovered once I see the photos. But in the end, physically getting into the mid set of the subject matter, with the props, the pose, the silly faces just really gets me more invested and involved with the piece and helps me get my head around what I am about to take on. This is the reference for the pose that was selected, it is actually a combination of two different photos taking the best elements to make the desired pose and prop combination...

Silly silly photo of me as yet another monster.
Points of interest: the red bag hanging off the backpack is my dice bag I use to play D&D; the two metal water bottles in front have been in SO many photo shots and subsequently have made in into the gear that a lot of my monsters carry; my first couple attempts of getting all this gear together and work as a backpack failed, so my wife had to tie everything onto the backpack and me as I stood there to get the shots we wanted to get. RAWR!

Back to the Goblin... Now that there was an approved drawing it was time to get painting. I continue to use the same basic process I have been using to paint for the last several years, you can find other more detailed explanation of this on the blog (like HERE, HERE, and HERE). Basically, I start with my manipulated drawing as the first layer, then a multiply under painting layer, then a standard layer where I do all my actual opaque painting, and finally there are a handful of layers used to make fixes, adjust areas, and do universal adjustments to lighting, contrast, or brightness. The bulk of the work is done with a layer 3, but without the time I put into the drawing and under painting layer the image would not exist. I have found as I continue using and refining this process that the more time I put into the drawing and the under painting the easier, quicker and less I have to do with the actual painting layer. Imagine that, a good foundation and planning makes the following steps easier...

 Wroot the Goblin - Painting progression
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

And then, suddenly, like make there is a finished painting. Well, after many hours of work and many planned out steps and processes there is a finished painting. I continue to use the reference trough the entire process just to make sure I don't miss any subtle real world element that will add that little bit of extra reality...

Wroot the Goblin
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

 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, April 23, 2012

Trobriand's Machinations

Late last week a new article in Dungeon magazine #201, Trobriand's Machinations, went up on the Dungeons and Dragon website and I contributed a piece to the article! This is an expansion to the threats that dwell in Undermountain, so goes really well with my last post! Without further blathering, here are some Scaladars...

 Scaladars
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

Scaladars are giant mechanical scorpion-like constructs. With the major exception of the lack of tentacles, these monsters have a lot of the major 'awesome monster' characteristics, so needless to say, they were super fun to work on. When I do a walk through for this piece in the coming weeks I will talk a little more about my influences and real life reference for this piece. Again, I would like to thank Kate Irwin for involving me on this project and for being super helpful in all her art direction!

That is all for another exciting Monday, 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

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Halls of Undermountain

Halls of Undermountain is here! Halls of Undermountain is the newest adventure supplement for Dungeons and Dragons and I am extremely pleased to have been a part of this project. Enough talk already, here are my contributions to the book...

Wroot the Goblin
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

 Snake Curse
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

 Darktentacles
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Kate Irwin for including me on this project. She continues to be an amazing art director to work with and I look forward to every chance that I have to do so. As you can see I produced a total of three pieces and had a blast on all of them. I will share my thoughts and feelings on all of them in a future post when I talk about my process and the steps that went into each of these. There will be lots of sketches, drawings and most likely some extremely silly pictures of me posing for reference! I am happy to say that this is not the end to my Undermountain fun, I should have another related piece to share with you later this month! To see all these things and more be sure to stop back by the blog in the coming weeks!

That is all for a new art filled 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

Monday, April 16, 2012

An Astrobird - Learning to Draw

Today I have for you another of my attempts to learn to draw better monsters. You may remember my posts about the Scary Monster and the Kangachicken as I explore the very awesome 'How to Draw MONSTERS!" by Robert Pierce. I have had some more time to pour through the pages of this most excellent book and I have worked up another of the monsters found within. As a reminder, here is the book I am referring to...

  'How to Draw MONSTERS!" by Robert Pierce
© 1984 Field Publications

This time around I went with the very weird and super fun, Astrobird. With a name like that, how could you not want to draw it?! Again, my hats off to you, Mr. Pierce, you would have made the six year old me extremely excited about drawing monsters with this book. Lets see how it is done...

 How to draw an Astrobird by Robert Pierce - in six easy steps!
© 1984 Field Publications

Seemed pretty straight forward! I got to work on my very own Astrobird and this is what I came up with...

 An Astrobird - Step Seven - RAWR!
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

As before - and will continue to say each time I do one of these, I have nothing but complete admiration for the works of Robert Pierce and mean for this to be a celebration of his work and the joy of drawing. The Astrobird was really fun to work on to say the least. It is nice to work on something where the real goal is to enjoy the process and to embellish and pour over the details of something that already has been designed. Expect to see more tributes to Mr. Pierce's work here on the blog in the future!


That is all for anther 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, April 13, 2012

Fresh from the drawing table... Pixie!

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is a Pixie! 'P' has some interesting monsters to offer up. It was a tough choice the first time through and it turned out to be an equally tough choice the second time through. There are several monsters I still really want to do, but I decided to go with a higher hanging fruit and a creature that on the surface could be out of my comfort zone. I present to you my version of an Pixie...

 Pixie
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

I had a really set idea and image in my head of what I wanted to do with the Pixie when I started. I wanted a slender inscetoid with an arrangement of features on the middle of its head to might imply a more humanoid face. Due to their small size and quick movements the idea of them being tiny people spread. I thought this would be a really straight forward drawing since I knew what I wanted to do well before start... it turned out I was wrong. This drawing is my third attempt at drawing this monsters, the first two had to be destroyed. I am actually not sure if I am really happy with this version either. I knew what I wanted to draw and I had visual motifs and details I was pulling in from other micro creature designs, but it somehow all turned out to be a very difficult challenge to pull it all together. I finally got a drawing past the finished line... it has yet to be determined if it is in fact the winner.

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

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Beastly Scribe

My studies continue and this time it is a pig with a pen! You might remember my recent posts about the Beastly Caster, Beastly Fighter, and Beastly Archer, I am trying to make the most of my personal drawing time by incorporating more reference to hopefully improve my overall drawing skills. So today on the blog I have for you the fourth of my studies...

   Beastly Scribe
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

To date I think this one is my favorite. I had been really wanting to use this particular figure reference though I didn't know what type of animal I wanted to incorporate. When I was sketching it out I landed on a pig like critter and the piece really came together. Added most of the gear and accessories to this one, the majority of the reference was in the cloak and folds in the cloth elements. I also really liked the idea of doing one of these that was not necessarily a fighter/warrior type design. Dragging along and trying to keep a live the wise and all knowing Scribe that will get you past the traps and into a hidden dungeon seemed like a fun addition to the group.

That is all for another 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

Monday, April 9, 2012

This is why I fail… or, I really need to shut up, get back to work, and stop thinking so much.

First off, some disclaimers before I start this post…

1) I am not looking for sympathy or the approval of others with this post.

2) I have a great set of regular clients that give me exciting challenging work, so I really have nothing to complain about.

3) If you are reading this and you think I am referring to a time in which I worked with you… please understand I am trying my best to improve and learn so that the next time around there will be a more satisfactory conclusion and I mean no disrespect or blame to you.

4) I am writing this because I think we all stumble, misstep, and make mistakes along the way and not all are by our own doing, we just need to learn from them and learn how to accept what happens.

5) These events I am about to describe are EXTREMELY ATYPICAL for me. The fact that one, let alone several transpired is the main reason I am writing this post. I try to be very up front and frank here on the blog about my personal journey as a working illustrator and I wanted to share this aspect of it. Anyone looking to employ me should not look at this as a warning of possible out comes, this is hopefully a learning tool.

With that said… man, do I really feel like a failure lately. Why you might ask? Well, since January I have been taking a lot of risks by trying new things and sometimes when you try new things they don't always turn out the way you want them to. While I can't talk about too many of the details, I can talk about how I feel and how I am trying to learn the most about these experiences. Ultimately, I feel an actual failure is an event you do not learn from… and I am trying my best to learn all I can from the ups and downs of the last four months. Usually this is the kind of thing I would save for my end of the year post, but so much has happen and it is all so fresh, I wanted to write about it now. I stand behind the idiom of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' and if you don't take risk, putting yourself in a position to fail, you can't hope to accomplish new things, reach that next level, and complete that life long goal. Being an artist is really nothing but a long series of risks… you risk out right rejection, you risk failure, and you risk not being able to express your inner voice with your current skill level. But here we all are, risking away, hoping that we succeed…

Thanks, Yoda!

The long and the short of it is that I concluded working with several clients this year in manors that I found less then satisfactory. Is some of this as a result of my actions? Most definitely. Are all of these events my fault? I am not sure, they sometimes feel that way. Several of these clients were new and the work was a little outside my typical fair. They were all still monsters though, just more concept oriented rather then illustration. Was this my first mistake? I got my start working as a concept artist and I still do tons on miniature concept designs and I have to design new monsters for illustrations all the time. That said, it really all started with me saying a single word… "NO".

I was gearing up with a new client, a lot of paperwork and contracts. A protracted lead up to actually getting started on the art and by the time it actually got to that point I was REALLY uncomfortable at the whole situation. Was it a communication issue? Was I getting cold feet because I had to wait so long to get started? Was the project just not really suited for me? When it was all said and done I had to walk away from the project, I had to say 'NO' and thank them for their time. Everything just didn't feel right and I was a little (a lot) uncomfortable about several of the key aspects that had developed in regards to project. Did I make the right decision? MOST DEFINITELY. Do I feel good about doing what I did? No. I acted as professionally as I could and it was a really exciting project, but I felt it all just got 'weird'. I knew I could not, in good conscience, move forward with the project and do the best job that I could. It made me feel like complete crap though. It was a couple months of lead up time and effort and then *poof* it was all gone. Is this my fault? Is there any fault to be placed? Or is this one of those things that will eventually happen and I need to accept it and move on. I will say that I completely stand by my decision today, still don't feel any better about it.

Following this set back, I geared up on anther exciting new project with a new client. A lot to take in, a lot to get familiar with, and a lot to adapt to. I thought I did the best I could at the time. It was a great deal to absorb and a little (a lot) overwhelming at times. I did have to conform to a style guide, but this was not my first time doing so and I bet it won't be my last time doing so. Work moved forward and things felt good for the most part… like I said, a little overwhelming and a little frustrating at times but these things happen, not all projects are sunshine and puppies (metaphorically speaking). The whole thing felt similar to when I first started in the gaming industry working on Dreamblade. Since it was a similar feeling and situation, I stayed optimistic. While I was waiting on some feedback I received an unexpected email… the project was being shuffled a bit and my involvement was no longer needed due to several new constraints. My time on the project would be compensated and I was thanked for my time and effort. I am familiar with being laid off due to projects coming to an end or being cancelled mid stream, happened plenty of times in LA and not every game I have worked on saw the light of day. But this felt different. Did I just get fired? And was it because I was not up to the task? Was I… a bad artist? There were a lot of signs that point to no on all accounts… but this feeling in my gut says yes. The fact that I keep thinking and over thinking about it is not helping my view of what transpired. No matter the reasons… these things happen, and I need to be ready for them.

Quick on the heels of this set back, I did some work with a client I have previously worked with. I have not done a lot of work for them, but I have several assignments under my belt. In fact, I feel that my last assignment with them came out really well. When this current assignment was all said and done… well, it didn't feel too amazing. Not really sure what transpired, but it felt like I dropped the ball and I am not sure when and how it happened. The work was approved and accepted… but something just felt off about everything at the end. My gut told me I would never be working with them again. Not the kind of thing my gut usually tells me, but it sure felt right in this situation. Again, I could be totally over thinking this and I could be completely wrong… but I have been doing this for a while and I would like to think I am able to read a situation objectively. I will admit I have been in the situation were the work I turned in was not up to the level it needed to be, due to my own skill level at the time and because I psyched myself out from over thinking. Thankfully this has not happened in many years. But I have been there, I have had it happen… but I was a much less experienced artist at the time. Only time will tell. I feel like I should be able to go to the art director and voice my concerns… but what is the best way to say, "Hey, I think I really dropped the ball on that last assignment, not really sure what happened, sorry about that. Can I get a do over with another assignment and I promise you I won't let you down"? It is that simple? Would it make me look better if it was true… would it make me look like a complete freak job if I was mistaken?

The coup de grace to my recent feelings of failure was a more personal artistic leap. Back in December I tried my hand for the first time at painting traditionally. By the time I was done with my second painting I was feeling really good about how it was going. Recently, I had an assignment come in with a trusted client. I asked permission from my art director to attempt to do the assignment traditionally. I of course assured them I would give myself plenty of time to be able to do the assignment digitally if something went wrong. I got the go ahead and I was extremely excited to get started. Long story short… I crashed and burned. I had everything planned out, knew what I wanted to do with the light and color, I had a detailed drawing to work from, I had all my ducks in a row… and nothing went as planned. The paint fought me every step of the way and I was never able to get it under control. After several days of fighting it I knew I needed to give it up and start again digitally. Working digitally the painting came together extremely quickly and turned out much better then I thought it would digitally, let alone traditionally. The AD was very happy and I was… well, I felt like I failed. Did I bite off more then I could chew? I guess so, though I didn't feel that way at the time I started. Should I let this stand it the way of me making more traditional work? Of course not… though I now feel flustered and unsure how to proceed. I produced a much better piece then I was expecting to, it just came about in a different way then I expected it would, and for that I feel like I failed. I know it might sound silly as a third party observer, but it was/is incredibly frustrating and demoralizing.

What did I do in response to all this (beside freaking out and feeling like I am a failure)? Well, the first thing I did was take a step back. Figuratively and physically. What elements were shared by all these events, what correlations and connections can be drawn, what mitigating factors can be attributed. Well, I was working on all the assignments, so I am a shared element. All four involved me doing something new and or different then the work I am usually focusing on for myself and my clients. I was out of my comfort zone and was learning new things as I was creating. I was working on most of these assignments at the same time or with a lot of overlap with each other. It should also be noted that while this was all going on I was also doing work for one of my steady clients and that work turned out great (IMHO) and it went smoothly and quickly.

Now things are beginning to take shape. I was out of my comfort zone, working on new types of work/assignments and in one case new media and I was experiencing a time crunch. I think I can see where I should have been a little more mindful of the bigger picture - while I was not necessarily taking on more work then I could do, it was new work requiring a lot more revisions and process time. Since all this has passed I have refocused on my core clients and the type of work that I really enjoy and excel at. I think I need to continue to take baby steps with working traditionally, I need to crawl before I can walk. I also need to be very careful when taking on new and different work. I think now that I could have done more to limit my work load and focus on less. This might explain some of what happen, and it could very well not. But the point of this is to learn from the ups and downs and make sure that when the next opportunity comes that I do everything I can to ensure that I am not the weakest link. Only time will tell with what the true fallout from any of these events actually is, but by then there will hopefully be plenty of other opportunities and adventures to over think and get flustered about…

That is all for another 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, April 6, 2012

Fresh from the drawing table... Ogre!

I have for you another drawing that is fresh from the drawing table. This time around it is an Ogre! 'O' has a surprisingly nice selection of monster to offer up, giant otters and owls aside. For my second pass through the alphabet I decided to go the Ogre which barely beat out the Orc. I was really in the mood to do another giant and the Ogre offered me that chance! I present to you my version of an Ogre...

 Ogre
© 2012 Christopher Burdett

I always thought of a giant as being monstrous while an Ogre is a giant horrible man. A giant man filled with hate, cunning, and the lust to destroy and kill. Giant kin might have some skill and craft, the Ogres have all the talents of man, they are only limited by their increased size and the complexities this brings to forge and craft. Their uncontrollable hatred and for man and things of the human civilizations also stunts their true potential - to the benefit of most other living creatures. Big bulky monsters are always fun to draw, had a lot of fun with this one, too bad all monsters have a similar body type.

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

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Answering a Humanoid Monsters question

I received a question on Monday and I thought I would take the time to answer it on the blog since it was a good questions and one that seems to be ever present in my thoughts.

Alonso asks, "You've seen the current Art Order challenge I'm sure. I was wondering what advice you have for making a humanoid monster feel believable and not just that I'm bad at anatomy and proportion."

Great question, Alonso! If you are not familiar with the challenge, one part of it centers around designing an Orc cook or Shaman. Orc reference was supplied so that everyone could stay on model...

  Not mine - Orcs from the D&D Art Test / Art Order Challenge shown for example.
© 2012 Wizards of the Coast

Let's see of I can get my thoughts together and to have it all make sense... The long and the short of my answer is... if you want something to be believable and not just a product of bad anatomy and proportion decisions, you need to be very familiar with anatomy and proportions AND make sure you have reference for what you are creating. I think this goes for creature design (I definitely know it goes for creature design), vehicle design, environment design, and just about everything else you want to create and design. If you want to make something that is an abstraction of a human, you first need to understand how a human is formed and put together. If you want to make a reptilian creature you need to be aware of animal anatomy as well as the things that make reptiles unique from other animals. Lars Grant-West once told me, the best lie is 90% truth. This goes for art and creating believable imaginary things. Oh look... a silly picture of me and a monster drawing...

 Troll with reference
© 2011 Christopher Burdett

If you want to give something long arms like the Orcs, you need to understand how arms are made and why they work the way they do. I am sure I am guilty of it myself, but I REALLY get irritated when I see an awesome design or piece of art with a cool monster and then realized that the creature has no way of scratching its nose. Looking at those Orcs I know they have the range of movement needed to be living breathing creatures - this strengthens their believability. Look to apes and monkeys to see all the variations in lengths and arrangements of grasping front limbs to get a better fell for what actually works in the real world. You can also get a feel for overall proportions this way too. For example look at the difference in the gorilla, a human and a spider monkey, pretty much all the same parts, the parts are just laid out a little different and the proportions are different. When it comes down to it, a horse and a human have all the same basic anatomical parts, they just are arranged and organized differently. Think I am talking crazy? Get out your anatomy books and really have a look! Oh look... more silliness and monsters...

Plaguebearer with reference
© 2011 Fantasy Flight Games

Keep in mind the more monstrous the monster, the more you can get away with in your abstraction of form, anatomy, and proportion. With that, the more monstrous the appearance the more subtle the abstractions can be as well. You can have something that looks like an alligator man and make the arms ever so slightly longer and the legs ever so slightly shorter and no one will say a thing. You have a creature that looks 98% like a actual human but the arms are ever so slightly longer and the legs are ever so slightly shorter and people will think it is drawn wrong. Some of this I think is ultimately unavoidable, but having the confidence and knowledge of what you are creating will help navigate the gray area of not enough and too much abstraction. In fantastical art, animation,  and comics it is much easier to push the outer limits of proportion and remain successful then to adhere very close to realistic proportions. You may have noticed the silly pictures of me and the accompanying monsters, I always try to start with the real and then begin to abstract from there. Increase the size of the head (if it is a villain), lengthen the arms, shorten the legs, and in general adjust the proportions to where I want them for the desired feel of the monster. I find it funny that the feel I was going for in some of these is the same feel that can be seen in the Orcs. Makes me want to draw some Orcs! Keep in mind, if I was going to, I would start with a photo of me in the desired pose with props to get that 90% truth to add to my 10% of fantastical lies. Oh look... more silliness...

 Strength Challenge (Art Order) with reference
 © 2011 Christopher Burdett

Keep in mind there are of plenty of crazy examples out there in the animal kingdom of anatomy and body parts that just don't make sense. There are crests, antlers, waddles, etc that while serving a specialized purpose (sometimes) also get in the way of movement, sight, clear sinus cavities, and can endanger the animals life. Understanding what works and what doesn't in the real world will allow you the knowledge to bend rules with your designs. I continue to talk about the rules and the real world, in the end don't let this cause you to freeze up in your creativity. If you think a monster really needs to have a massive horn that starts on its face, extends four feet above its head and tappers off down its back, then find a way to make it work! These are our monsters, these are our outlets to express our visions of other possibilities - having the knowledge of the world around us only helps to give these visions better form and believability.

I hope this answers your question, Alonso! If anyone has addition questions on this topic or anything that I might be able to help with just leave the question in the comments section and I will try to get to it as soon as I can!

That is all for another 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