Wednesday, May 21, 2025

A Second Look at Older Work - The Dreamblade Knight with Bell

This coming June will mark twenty years for me in the gaming industry, and this is also my twenty-sixth year as a working artist. I have made a lot of work over these years, and as I focus on larger projects with multi-year timelines, it is hard to keep this blog updated regularly. I have kept this thing going since 2009, and I would like for it to continue. To that end, I thought I would look back at works I particularly liked, enjoyed making, or seemed to fall through the cracks and went unnoticed.

Today, (I was really trying to have a new post about some more recent work, but things are kind of crazy, so here we are) I have another miniature design that I did for the now long-dead miniatures game, Dreamblade. Dreamblade will always be near and dear to me as it was the first game I ever worked on and one of the times I felt most free as an artist working in the gaming industry. This is the "Knight with Bell" design for an unproduced set of the game. I wonder to this day if they had started any of the sculpts for these and if somewhere there had been or still is a prototype of it out there.

Unreleased Knight with Bell - © 2006 Wizards of the Coast

Knight with Bell turnaround - © 2006 Wizards of the Coast

I always liked the dragon motiff I worked into the armor design. The armor has flaws and issues, but the mini would have been small and I am sure would have look just fine. Not sure why as it is sort of cartoony, but the dragon sword with the blade a jet of flame still pleases me And let us not acknoweldge the dragon loaf as the helmet's crest. I should have worked a dragon onto the bell.

That's all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here 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, May 19, 2025

A Second Look at Older Work - Ettin

This coming June will mark twenty years for me in the gaming industry, and this is also my twenty-sixth year as a working artist. I have made a lot of work over these years, and as I focus on larger projects with multi-year timelines, it is hard to keep this blog updated regularly. I have kept this thing going since 2009, and I would like for it to continue. To that end, I thought I would look back at works I particularly liked, enjoyed making, or seemed to have fallen through the cracks and went unnoticed.

Today, I have another of several pieces I did for a game that was never completed. As mentioned last week, I originally painted in 2010, the project never saw completion, and the work I did was shelved due to NDAs. In 2015, I received permission to share the work I did on the game as long as I didn't talk about the specifics of the project. That was the only time I shared this work. I always liked the work I did for the game and they always had a soft spot in my art heart for them, well, most of them. The images I that I created would have been used as hero art for various monsters encounted in the game. I loved the photo studio quality to them and I played around with the lighting as well.

Ettin
5.35 x 7 - Digital
© 2010 Christopher Burdett

As a side note, you can see more about this monster here on the blog. This is likely one of, if not my favorite of the pieces done for the project. There is a look and feel that I still love, and I still get a kick out of their faces. There is a lot of my personal esthethic in this one as well.

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, May 16, 2025

A Second Look at Older Work - Air Devil

This coming June will mark twenty years for me in the gaming industry, and this is also my twenty-sixth year as a working artist. I have made a lot of work over these years, and as I focus on larger projects with multi-year timelines, it is hard to keep this blog updated regularly. I have kept this thing going since 2009, and I would like for it to continue. To that end, I thought I would look back at works I particularly liked, enjoyed making, or seemed to have fallen through the cracks and went unnoticed.

Today, I have one of several pieces I did for a game that was never completed. Originally painted in 2010, the project never saw completion, and the work I did was shelved due to NDAs. In 2015, I received permission to share the work I did on the game as long as I didn't talk about the specifics of the project. That was the only time I shared this work. I always liked the work I did for the game, and they always had a soft spot in my art heart for them, well, most of them. The images I created would have been used as hero art for various monsters encountered in the game. I loved the photo studio quality to them, and I played around with the lighting as well. I believe this was one of the first that I completed for the project, and it is still one of my favorites.

Air Devil
5.35 x 7 - Digital
© 2010 Christopher Burdett

As a side note, you can see more about this monster here on the blog. This was also one of those times I likely underbid myself in an attempt to get the project. I will never know what I could have likely been paid for this work, but I know I wasn't paid enough. But I learned from it!

That is all for another exciting Friday on the blog now that I have concluded my May blog break. 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

Monday, April 28, 2025

Remebering Dr. Tara Orlowski

Tara and I didn't always see eye to eye when it came to how we wanted to get something completed, but we both wanted to make the best course that we could. At times, our working relationship could be contentious, but that was in the past. These past five years, we became very close, and our friendship meant a great deal to me. As my project manager, I worked with her nearly every day to get a great deal of work completed. I am the production lead and AD for the courses of two of our largest partners, and she made sure I had what the team and I needed to address our sizable workload. She was no slouch herself and kept a countless number of plates spinning at all times, even after her diagnosis.

Some would have given up, some would have retired, but not Tara. Throughout her battle with cancer, she was ever-present, ever active, and always here for the team. There were some scares and worrisome weeks, but she always bounced back. She always made it through. She joked that her times in the hospital were her involuntary vacations. We knew that she was on limited time. We knew she wouldn't be here forever. But now wasn't the time. Not yet.

While some of the team and I were at SXSW, Tara lost her battle with cancer. She leaves a massive gulf in all of our lives. One that will not be filled easily or soon. The ripples of her absence seem to extend out endlessly. I owe Tara a great deal. Her last gift to me was making sure I was part of the group going to SXSW. She knew, she knew it would likely have a profound effect on me, and it did. She would always want to hear all about my conventions and when we would travel. The cruel twist is that I have so much to tell here about SXSW, but I will never be able to. She supported my writing and my art and backed my first book. She even gave copies as gifts. She touched all of us at the center and nearly all of the child care educational networks of this state and beyond. Her life's work was to protect and educate children, and we will continue that work.

When word went out that there was an emergency meeting on a Saturday morning, I had first thought it was about funding cuts, partners leaving, or even all of us losing our jobs. But my thoughts were never on Tara. It wasn't her time. She was fighting back home. She prepared for it all. We are still receiving messages, emails, and alerts she had scheduled in advance. Our biweekly huddles are scheduled through the end of the year. She is a ghost in the machine now. A digital echo of a person who touched so many others.

I miss my friend.

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

Friday, April 25, 2025

May Blog Break (Starting NEXT Week)

Starting next Wednesday and continuing for the following several weeks, I will be taking a break from the blog. One must step away occasionally to try other things and experience new and different places. Fear naught, for I will return with plenty of images and stories. Until then, I will leave you with this monster that I have shared so many times before.

BUT, I will have one more post to share on Monday. And I hope you will be back for that one.

NOM NOM NOM NOM!
And yes, I have used this image on the blog for over ten years.
How time flies.
 
That is all for another exciting week on the blog. I will see you back here on Monday and then again in a few weeks. 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 23, 2025

A Second Look at Older Work - Nexus Ops

This coming June will mark twenty years for me in the gaming industry, and this is also my twenty-sixth year as a working artist. I have made a lot of work over these years, and as I focus on larger projects with multi-year timelines, it is hard to keep this blog updated regularly. I have kept this thing going since 2009, and I would like for it to continue. To that end, I thought I would look back at works I particularly liked, enjoyed making, or seemed to have fallen through the cracks and went unnoticed.

Today, I have a big one from thirteen to fourteen years ago. It is not often that you are asked to redesign all the components of a board game, and when it does happen, you jump at it. I was already familiar with the game, Nexus Ops. I hadn't played it, and I still have never played it, but it looked like a fun game with a lot of cool monsters that get to be miniatures. I gave everything in this project 100% of my design sense and tastes and would like to think anyone familiar with my work would instantly see it in this game. In addition to designing all of the miniatures in the game, my hero illustrations of the pieces were used on printed game pieces, packaging, and advertising. For one shining minute, my art was everywhere. The turnaround was TIGHT and the payment was LOW, but I really wanted to work on this project and had a lot of fun working on it. Here is a look at all the pieces together and scaled accordingly, as well as a closeup of each.

The Nexus Ops Lineup of man and monsters
Digital
Nexus Ops
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

If you know me, I looked at a lot of real-world animals to base the color schemes for these monsters. One of the main inspirations was using the Eastern Box Turtle as the starting point of the Rockstrider. I wanted to give it a hint of 'angry turtle' in the face, and overall, the color palette and markings.

Crystalline
Digital
Nexus Ops
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games
 
Fungoid
Digital
Nexus Ops
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games
 
Human
Digital
Nexus Ops
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games
 
Lava Leaper
Digital
Nexus Ops
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games
 
Rockstrider
Digital
Nexus Ops
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games
 
Rubium Dragon
Digital
Nexus Ops
© 2012 Fantasy Flight Games

As a side note, you can see and read a TON more about Nexus Ops here on the blog. I have previously shared drawings, miniatures, packaging, and more related to the game and my work on it.

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, April 21, 2025

A Second Look at Older Work - Shadow Opener

This coming June will mark twenty years for me in the gaming industry, and this is also my twenty-sixth year as a working artist. I have made a lot of work over these years, and as I focus on larger projects with multi-year timelines, it is hard to keep this blog updated regularly. I have kept this thing going since 2009, and I would like for it to continue. To that end, I thought I would look back at works I particularly liked, enjoyed making, or seemed to fall through the cracks and went unnoticed.

Today, I have ANOTHER piece for Pathfinder released for Paizo fourteen (but painted fifteen) years ago. This was a transformative piece for me. I brought in a lot of reference for this one to get the lighting and figure correct. It also has more of an environment compared to a lot of what I was doing around this time. It is by no means perfect, but it was a big leap for me. This was the piece where I learned that reference can be misleading and that you can not be beholden to it. If it doesn't look right in the reference, it will look even worse in the reference, and you need to be able to correct what you are making so that it is informed, but also correct in its appearance.

Shadow Opener
Digital
Undead Revisited
© 2011 Paizo Publishing, LLC
 
As a side note, if you want to look back at what I said about this piece when it was newly released and when I shared the process, they are all available here on the blog. Also, this is the only Iconic Pathfinder character I was asked to depict dead. Over the years, I depicted many of the Iconic characters in peril, but none after their hit points had reached zero.

That's all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here Wednesday! Until then...

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