I started playing Magic back in 93', revised had just been released and Legends was on the way. Aside from just being a cool, weird and new kind of game, the Art was what attracted me to it the most as i am an artist myself.
Over the years, the art as a whole has been greatly improved, you sledom find a card that just makes you cringe just at the sight of it, or a card that you simply wont play cause the art makes you just want to puke. I give wizards credit for going after better artists, however there is one thing i have had beef with for quite some time now. The art has become too rigid in the style that is employed. Everything has to be rendered in one way, tight. Gone are the days when you come across a style that is loose, or odd. Gone are the days of one of my favorite magic artists, Drew Tucker. His loosely rended watercolors were simply amazing, yet you would never find such a style in cards today, and this makes me sad. Artists such as Richard Kane Ferguson and Rebecca Guay also used a loose style and have bitten the dust as well. Quinton Hoover had a unique illustrative style that isnt employed anymore either, and the earlier works of Kev Walker were much more inspiring than his latest works are, and i deem this because of the rigid structure that Wizards is demanding of its artists.
I love most of all the art work, but i sure do wish Wizards would lossen thier obvious restrictions on the style of the artists, mabey then we can enjoy a few loosey goosey watery colored cards from Mr. Drew Tucker.
Quinton Hoover, Anson Maddocks, Melissa Benson, Richard Kane Furgeson, Ruth Thompson, and those are just off the top of my head. Some of my favorite artists, and they dont do work for magic anymore.
As far as not finding unique styles, Scott M Fischer was a breath of fresh air, Pristine Angel and some of his Kamigawa stuff (Time Stop) is amazing, but I know what you mean, overall the artwork has lost a bit of its trail mix quality that kept it interesting.
It's sad that we don't get to see the old style art from long ago, it was what attracted me to at first. But art style is like a fad, so i'm sure we will be seeing the simular style once again :).
Back with sylvan library!
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The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions. - Lord Alfred Tennyson
Tucker, Hoover, and Kirshner are my old school favorites, with Scott in the lead.
But I always loved the hell out of Tuckers cards, like People of the Wood, Hurr Jackal, Dan-Dan, and Icatian Moneychanger. Then the black cards! Dust to Dust, Leshrac's Sigil, Mind Whip... So many good ones.
My fondest wish for Magic would be for Wizards to get another contract with those three artists. Hell Id even take another dip in black card quality for it :grin2:
I really liked Tucker's work, too. He even did one of my favorite cards of all time, Game of Chaos.
Maddocks and Tedin have been my overall favorites since I picked up my first starter and I, too, really miss RKF and Hoover.
At least Wizards seems to have gotten away from their trend of putting the main characters on every single card like they did toward the end of the Weatherlight storyline, but the art still looks a lot too uniform. Kamigawa has been introducing a bit more originality into the mix, although it's hard to tell if that's because Wizards is encouraging it or if it's just due to all the deliberately strange spirits floating around.
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"...because without beer, things do not seem to go as well."
The new art is made up of good, solid pieces. But it's to bad the Wizards has moved away from broad creativity and decided to go with a very clean, polished look.
It's a shame that a lot of the older artists no longer have a place with the direction that Wizards has moved.
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Over the years, the art as a whole has been greatly improved, you sledom find a card that just makes you cringe just at the sight of it, or a card that you simply wont play cause the art makes you just want to puke. I give wizards credit for going after better artists, however there is one thing i have had beef with for quite some time now. The art has become too rigid in the style that is employed. Everything has to be rendered in one way, tight. Gone are the days when you come across a style that is loose, or odd. Gone are the days of one of my favorite magic artists, Drew Tucker. His loosely rended watercolors were simply amazing, yet you would never find such a style in cards today, and this makes me sad. Artists such as Richard Kane Ferguson and Rebecca Guay also used a loose style and have bitten the dust as well. Quinton Hoover had a unique illustrative style that isnt employed anymore either, and the earlier works of Kev Walker were much more inspiring than his latest works are, and i deem this because of the rigid structure that Wizards is demanding of its artists.
I love most of all the art work, but i sure do wish Wizards would lossen thier obvious restrictions on the style of the artists, mabey then we can enjoy a few loosey goosey watery colored cards from Mr. Drew Tucker.
So, whos with me?
As far as not finding unique styles, Scott M Fischer was a breath of fresh air, Pristine Angel and some of his Kamigawa stuff (Time Stop) is amazing, but I know what you mean, overall the artwork has lost a bit of its trail mix quality that kept it interesting.
Also have a look at Harold McNeil's stuff, like Sylvan Library.
Go Drew! Go Guay! Go Impressionist Art! Up diversity!
Back with sylvan library!
• Recent Card Ideas • My Drawings at DeviantArt
But I always loved the hell out of Tuckers cards, like People of the Wood, Hurr Jackal, Dan-Dan, and Icatian Moneychanger. Then the black cards! Dust to Dust, Leshrac's Sigil, Mind Whip... So many good ones.
My fondest wish for Magic would be for Wizards to get another contract with those three artists. Hell Id even take another dip in black card quality for it :grin2:
Maddocks and Tedin have been my overall favorites since I picked up my first starter and I, too, really miss RKF and Hoover.
At least Wizards seems to have gotten away from their trend of putting the main characters on every single card like they did toward the end of the Weatherlight storyline, but the art still looks a lot too uniform. Kamigawa has been introducing a bit more originality into the mix, although it's hard to tell if that's because Wizards is encouraging it or if it's just due to all the deliberately strange spirits floating around.
The new art is made up of good, solid pieces. But it's to bad the Wizards has moved away from broad creativity and decided to go with a very clean, polished look.
It's a shame that a lot of the older artists no longer have a place with the direction that Wizards has moved.