The Beginning of The Ender

Just to let every who checks Draw, Burt, Draw! know, I just posted a new Booksketch! It's inspired by the science fiction book Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Hope you like it!

That's a snippet posted above. Here's the link to the entire illustration: The Beginning of the Ender

Thanks!
-burt

Illustration Friday - Poise

Instantly, upon seeing that this week's Illustration Friday theme was "Poise," I knew that I'd be drawing a ballerina. Probably because women tiptoeing around in frills and tights is the perfect example of the subject.

And so, that being decided, I moved on to the second part of my thought process:

"What can a ballerina be doing that is unballerina-ish? Probably bending over to pick up something silly. Like a dollar."

So for about two minutes I was thinking about drawing a ballerina gracefully picking up a dollar. But then the afterburners on my thought process kicked in and demanded that she pickpocket some old rich guy. Done. This is the single-most graceful pocket picking ever.

Sidenote: I had considered drawing an old-school robber eye-mask on her, but nixed that thought because it might detract from her poise.

Second Sidenote: It was a happy accident that our lovely ballerina is gracefully ducking under a lit cigar. I pencilled everything out and then inked the illustration, and THEN saw that.

<3 happy accidents.

Illustration Friday - Sub Track

Wow, I'm pretty excited that I finished this in time to post it! After all, I did the illustration specifically for this week's Illustration Friday theme, Sub Track. Phew, what a relief!

Wait a second....

The theme was Subtract???!?!? NOOOOOOOOOO!

[I've hijacked the theme; please enjoy the ride.]

;)

Riff Raft

The "Burt Durand as Various Animals" series must go on.

Behold, the playful Burtphin. The illustration shows him practicing on his Phinder guitar. I'm not exactly sure what sort of setup he's using; electric guitars aren't known to function well in water. Dolphin society would probably find a way to skirt that issue, though.

You may be asking yourself, "Burt, what's the purpose of all these silly drawings?"

Well, I don't really have an answer to that. I can't latch onto the mast of this ethereal-juggernaut-of-a-conceptual-series and send it careening into the harbor of your understanding. But you can surely see the porpoise of this one.

That was a pretty epic visualization, eh?

The Apple Tree

At the request of my roomate-sister Ashley, pictured above, and because my friend Allison loved the illustration so much, I went ahead and turned my An Apple A Sketch booksketch into a shirt design.

I just uploaded it to Threadless, as well. So I'll keep you all posted on how that goes. And I'll need all the votes I can get to help it win!

Bear In Mind

I've finally gotten around to posting the inspiration for my Grizzly Mage illustration. It's actually a somewhat subconscious inspiration. Explaination:

I find it hilarious that a day after creating our lovable GM, I realized that he looked very familiar. Following a day of searching through my old room in my parent's house, I found the stuffed animal pictured above. I don't think it's from anything in particular. I think it's just "Generic Wizard Bear Toy." I'm pretty sure I won it in a Crane Game. In the mid-90s.

I'd like to think that I gave this particular character a lively backstory and a world in which to have some great adventures. Something fun and creative that people could love. Well, people and animals alike!

Illustration Friday - Legendary

What happens when cult legends Chuck Norris and Japanese Hot-Dog-Eating Champ Takeru Kobayashi are thrown in the same pit?

Well, provided that it is a barbecue pit, some intense cuisine is consumed.

Sir Norris has prepared an intimidating plate of his own patented WalkerDogs (Grade-A quality chuck goodness) in an attempt to fill Kobayashi's seemingly bottomless stomach.

It's a legend in the baking.

Some Like It Cold

As you can see, I'm still having a blast with the Burtimals / Aniburts series. "A polar bear! I love them!" was suggested by my friend Alex. Here you go!

My first sketch of the Polar Burt looked like a normal bear. It just didn't feel cold enough. So I added in some yumptious scrumptious ice cream in there. Flavors from the bottom, up: mint chocolate chip, rocky road, butter pecan, cookies and cream, cherry pie, and double chocolate brownie.

With a cherry on top.

POLAR ME LIKES ICE CREAM!! Even more so than me me.

Brrrrrrt

Myself as a penguin eating a blue raspberry DumDum, sporting a pair of well-worn Chucks. The other penguins couldn't comprehend what a "shoe" was, so they all took a dive. "Draw a penguin!" was suggested by my friend Hailey.

Next up, a polar burt.

The Burtraffe

Since I received a positive and humorous reaction to The Burtopotamus, I've gone ahead and decided to make a silly series out of it. Here's myself as a giraffe. I figure it's the animal I'm most like, being that I have a rather long neck. Which makes it harder for me to play violin.

I have a couple of attachment that must be place on the body of the violin in order for me to play. The first goes connects to the underside and then to my shoulder, raising the violin up a good bit. The second is a pad to put on top of the chinrest.

So I figured a giraffe violinist would need a little extra help. He has made a extendable bamboo brace for his instrument.

He also has acquired a makeshift bow, practically straight off the tree. Guerrilla-style instrumentation!

Illustration Friday - Intricate

After reading the first page of Mick Jackson's The Underground Man, I was inspired to draw this. It began with the main character, an eccentric old man, wondering what intricate process was involved in an apple tree producing apples. What sort mechanical process allowed the tree to suck ingredients from the ground and churn out such a lovely treat? So, not having gone further than the first page, I knew what I would draw for my next Booksketch!

So, once I saw that this weeks' topic was "Intricate," I figured it'd be a perfect illustration both of my blogs. I hope it inspires you to think mechanically about more things, haha. Mechanical horses, anyone? Scary.

Anyway, feel free to check out my other blog, which I linked to above. It's a site where anyone can post drawings that are directly inspired by literature. It's an open book!

The Burtopotamus

It was revealed yesterday, in a chat with my friend Stacey, that I was hungry. So hungry, in fact, that I made a Hungry, Hungry Hippos reference. It was then proposed and decided that I should draw myself as a hippopotamus.

That is the chain of events that led to this illustration. Simple, yet deceptively hungry. Maybe I will do a series of these. Myself as a giraffe. Myself as a duck. Myself as ET. Let me know if you think this is a good idea.

Also, I'm working on a new shirt design. It looks like it may be labor-intensive, so I'll keep you updated on the progress. I also need to do another booksketch. If anyone out there wants to do a booksketch of their own, please do so and submit it!

Yo, Ho, Ho & a Burtle of Rum

Drawing pirates is fun. Also, drawing facial hair is fun. The two seem to coincide often.

I've always loved this drawing, and have kept it in the rotatoin for an avatar/profile pic. I even threw Peter Pan & Tinkerbell in there, for good measure.

I think it has some commentary on piracy in the music industry. I do play music but I don't have any recorded tidbits that could be considered plunderable treasure. And I never really jumped on the torrent bandwagon, so the illustration's message is up for interpretation. I really just wanted to draw myself in a pirate picture, I guess!

Illustration Friday - Breezy

Being a man of extraordinarily high tastes (and pomp), Trevor refused to be seated in Coach after finding out that First Class was overbooked. He will not be missed.