They have said from time to time that this is the opposite of the truth. There market research has shown that the main reason that people get into the game is "because the art was cool".
I agree that the art is key to hooking people on the game, I just thought I read somewhere that wizards was not able to find a correlation between art approval numbers for a set, and sales.
Personally, I think a lot of the time, hand-painted art (or art that has that style) makes me feel more immersed in the game, as a fantasy-based game. Maybe part of it is how a lot of it can look "dirty", and thus more like art that maybe would have been produced in the time periods the game takes place in. Older Magic art seems to evoke a simpler time in Dominaria. I mean, you don't find
But some digital art is really nice looking, too.
That demon with the chalice looks pretty lame. Murder of Crows, Wreath of Geists, and Moan of the Unhallowed are awesome looking cards.
RE: Matt Stewart - He's got some really polished stuff, and some really bad stuff. Just seems inconsistent. Some of the simpler cards, like Crush, and Loxodon Partisan work really well. I'm also a fan of his Rootbound Crag, Esper Stormblade (and some other similar cards with his flowing style), Skyward Eye Prophets, Ichor Rats, Slash Panther, Strider Harness. But then he's got Neurok Commando, Sigil Blessing, Talon Trooper, Umbra Mystic, and other uninspired portraits.
my favorite art will probably always be that of stasis it may look pretty ragged, but the content is not at all. I think its the most interesting art that's ever graced a magic card. I wish they would occasionally do things like it again.
my favorite art will probably always be that of stasis it may look pretty ragged, but the content is not at all. I think its the most interesting art that's ever graced a magic card. I wish they would occasionally do things like it again.
A "free for all" art set on some sort of Chaotic plane would be fun. I hear creative people don't love strict directives.
my favorite art will probably always be that of stasis it may look pretty ragged, but the content is not at all. I think its the most interesting art that's ever graced a magic card. I wish they would occasionally do things like it again.
I've always loved that art. It's seems vaguely Native American, like pictographs or somethng. It's eerie and bizarre.
I liked a lot of the old-school Quinton Hoover stuff. The original art for Regeneration, Pixie Queen, and Vesuvan Doppelgangerare all home-runs in my book. Tom Wanerstrand's stuff was pretty consistently awesome too.
While I think the overall quality of the art on Magic cards has improved, it's also gotten a little more homogenized. I like some of the weird and wonderful stuff that used to show up.
New Liliana released, she's not very powerful but looks damn fun to cube.
Edit: Took the bait, it's fake. Sorry guys but using a phone for Internet sucks. I moved to a beautiful place, in a fantastic house, but no internet except my phone!
She's fake, but the fake was damned powerful. Reanimate is an awesome way to protect yourself.
And she would have filled two out of the three reanimator requirements. Discard and reanimate, would have been fun to play with. I am probably wrong about it being weak, it may have screwed up T2
I like the current art quite a lot, but I've got one big qualm with it - it's too cohesive. They make all cards from the same block have the same feel to them, so you never really get arts that stand out anymore. This also means that some blocks are a complete miss for me, artwise - there are very few cards from Lorwyn/Shadowmoor that I like the art of. This does mean that you get whole blocks with great art - Ravnica, Kamigawa, for example. Still, the same was true for Mirage even though they weren't nearly so restrictive.
On Innistrad, I agree that the art we've seen so far is pretty mediocre, but the direction seems nice - I like serious and non-cartoony art. So I'm hoping for a good art block.
I like the current art quite a lot, but I've got one big qualm with it - it's too cohesive. They make all cards from the same block have the same feel to them, so you never really get arts that stand out anymore. This also means that some blocks are a complete miss for me, artwise - there are very few cards from Lorwyn/Shadowmoor that I like the art of. This does mean that you get whole blocks with great art - Ravnica, Kamigawa, for example. Still, the same was true for Mirage even though they weren't nearly so restrictive.
On Innistrad, I agree that the art we've seen so far is pretty mediocre, but the direction seems nice - I like serious and non-cartoony art. So I'm hoping for a good art block.
I hear your point about having flexible flavor, but I will say that Lorwyn/Shadowmoor was just about my favorite block from a flavor standpoint.
I like the current art quite a lot, but I've got one big qualm with it - it's too cohesive. They make all cards from the same block have the same feel to them, so you never really get arts that stand out anymore.
For me, this is one of the biggest improvements in Magic art. In the beginning (4th edition era), there was an immense hodgepodge of art: Both in style and in subject. Since Tempest (or maybe since Mirage, but I really didn't like the trippy vibe), both style and subject have become much more unified. This gives the impression that all the cards actually belong to each other and to the same block and - from a flavor perspective most importantly - to the same plane.
The style has become a bit too CGI and sometimes a bit too cartoony, but with the exception of a few cards where they've gone too far, I can live with it.
Tl,dr: Cohesive depiction of a plane > less outstanding individual pieces imo
The old art had both. It was individualized with good hand-painted fantasy art and still provided a cohesive feel. Different artists with different styles used to create a fantasy environment. Those days are gone and we're gonna get nothing but airbrushed pieces and digital art. Where every card looks the same. What a drag.
Sorry dude, but anyone saying old art gave a cohesive feel to each set is just wrong. You need look no further than Fallen Empires to realize that. From start to finish, that set was a showcase of wildly different tones that struggled for players' attention because there wasn't a single overriding presence guiding artistic decisions - from the ludicrous (Ebon Praetor) to the unintentionally funny (Basal Thrull). The set was a mishmash of flavors that confused players on what an Icatianscoutshouldlook like, just because of the differing styles brought by each artist. The comic relief art of Phil Foglio clashed horribly with the gothic style of other artists, just for example. I'm paraphrasing most of this from an article that examined flavor in the set, but I'd be willing to bet that Wizards' art direction began the change to the modern style after the spectacular failure of Fallen Empires to provide any sort of understandable background for the set.
TL, DR: Fallen Empires is what you get when you decide to relinquish all control and let the artists do whatever they want.
And I can agree that there are generic artists who do generic art. But that's been the case since the start of the game. You still have hallmark artists who stand out and provide a distinct feel for each set. Everyone has their favorite Rebecca Guay, Ron Spencer, Kev Walker or Terese Nielsen. All of these artists contribute art with a style that has been consistent since they first appeared, i.e. without visible differences due to technology. To lump every artist in one bunch by saying every card looks the same is an unfortunate diminishment of whatever talent these people bring to make the game special.
Or you can look at Tempest, which had a bunch of different artists, a bunch of different styles, and yet they presented the feel of Rath in a universally common way.
Simply because some art in FE didn't mesh with the feel doesn't mean that every set needs to have streamlined common art styles in order to evoke a sense of theme.
Personally I loved the feel and flavor of Falling Empires. A bit less Magic and a bit more about soldiers and empires.
The art was pretty cool. I loved the Orcs and Knights and the Thrulls had a cool feeling to it. I never cared about the little mushroom people though...
while i agree to a certain extent with your point that the new sets are too homogenized, i have to disagree with this. old sets had generally worse art, and were generally much more unconnected. i think wizards is doing a better job with art than they were doing then. i just don't think they're doing a perfect job. somewhere in between would be better.
i will say i really don't miss the amateur/bad stuff or the comedic cartoon art. i do miss the greater number of abstract pieces and i find the obvious digital feel too widespread.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
i will say i really don't miss the amateur/bad stuff or the comedic cartoon art. i do miss the greater number of abstract pieces and i find the obvious digital feel too widespread.
I actually do miss the cartoony and strange art. When I first started playing, the diversity of artistic styles gave the game a really big feeling, like anything could happen. You never knew what would be next.
That's gone now with the internet, and I think WotC does a good job art direction-wise. I'm just saying that early feeling was cool, and part of it was you had no idea what the next card in the booster would look like.
I find that the contemporary artistic direction of sets does a good job of unifying and congealing the theme of a setting, kind of like the way boiling water helps oatmeal unify and congeal.
Now, I dig what wotc are serving, but I really do miss a little of that Harold McNeill honey, and Anson Maddocks cinnamon, or even some Foglio bananas.
Cheers!
Edit: I forgot to add that I'm excited about the look of Innistrad so far and am optimistic that the set will look great.
I find that the contemporary artistic direction of sets does a good job of unifying and congealing the theme of a setting, kind of like the way boiling water helps oatmeal unify and congeal.
Now, I dig what wotc are serving, but I really do miss a little of that Harold McNeill honey, and Anson Maddocks cinnamon, or even some Foglio bananas.
Cheers!
The Foglio bananas comparison is so right on. Both in that his art is a little bananas and that banana's are terrible and should be kept far far away from anything I'm consuming.
The Foglio bananas comparison is so right on. Both in that his art is a little bananas and that banana's are terrible and should be kept far far away from anything I'm consuming.
I agree that the art is key to hooking people on the game, I just thought I read somewhere that wizards was not able to find a correlation between art approval numbers for a set, and sales.
We are. We're talking about the art. In Innistrad.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
But some digital art is really nice looking, too.
That demon with the chalice looks pretty lame. Murder of Crows, Wreath of Geists, and Moan of the Unhallowed are awesome looking cards.
RE: Matt Stewart - He's got some really polished stuff, and some really bad stuff. Just seems inconsistent. Some of the simpler cards, like Crush, and Loxodon Partisan work really well. I'm also a fan of his Rootbound Crag, Esper Stormblade (and some other similar cards with his flowing style), Skyward Eye Prophets, Ichor Rats, Slash Panther, Strider Harness. But then he's got Neurok Commando, Sigil Blessing, Talon Trooper, Umbra Mystic, and other uninspired portraits.
My Cube Blog @theCubeMiser on Twitter
Cube list thread
Cubetutor
A "free for all" art set on some sort of Chaotic plane would be fun. I hear creative people don't love strict directives.
I've always loved that art. It's seems vaguely Native American, like pictographs or somethng. It's eerie and bizarre.
I liked a lot of the old-school Quinton Hoover stuff. The original art for Regeneration, Pixie Queen, and Vesuvan Doppelgangerare all home-runs in my book. Tom Wanerstrand's stuff was pretty consistently awesome too.
While I think the overall quality of the art on Magic cards has improved, it's also gotten a little more homogenized. I like some of the weird and wonderful stuff that used to show up.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
Edit: Took the bait, it's fake. Sorry guys but using a phone for Internet sucks. I moved to a beautiful place, in a fantastic house, but no internet except my phone!
It makes it difficult to spot fakes.
And she would have filled two out of the three reanimator requirements. Discard and reanimate, would have been fun to play with. I am probably wrong about it being weak, it may have screwed up T2
On Innistrad, I agree that the art we've seen so far is pretty mediocre, but the direction seems nice - I like serious and non-cartoony art. So I'm hoping for a good art block.
Draft it on Cubetutor!
I hear your point about having flexible flavor, but I will say that Lorwyn/Shadowmoor was just about my favorite block from a flavor standpoint.
For me, this is one of the biggest improvements in Magic art. In the beginning (4th edition era), there was an immense hodgepodge of art: Both in style and in subject. Since Tempest (or maybe since Mirage, but I really didn't like the trippy vibe), both style and subject have become much more unified. This gives the impression that all the cards actually belong to each other and to the same block and - from a flavor perspective most importantly - to the same plane.
The style has become a bit too CGI and sometimes a bit too cartoony, but with the exception of a few cards where they've gone too far, I can live with it.
Tl,dr: Cohesive depiction of a plane > less outstanding individual pieces imo
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
TL, DR: Fallen Empires is what you get when you decide to relinquish all control and let the artists do whatever they want.
And I can agree that there are generic artists who do generic art. But that's been the case since the start of the game. You still have hallmark artists who stand out and provide a distinct feel for each set. Everyone has their favorite Rebecca Guay, Ron Spencer, Kev Walker or Terese Nielsen. All of these artists contribute art with a style that has been consistent since they first appeared, i.e. without visible differences due to technology. To lump every artist in one bunch by saying every card looks the same is an unfortunate diminishment of whatever talent these people bring to make the game special.
My Cube (DeckStats)
My Pauper Cube: 540 (CubeTutor link!)
Level 1 Judge
Simply because some art in FE didn't mesh with the feel doesn't mean that every set needs to have streamlined common art styles in order to evoke a sense of theme.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
The art was pretty cool. I loved the Orcs and Knights and the Thrulls had a cool feeling to it. I never cared about the little mushroom people though...
I feel compelled to repeat everything I hear
while i agree to a certain extent with your point that the new sets are too homogenized, i have to disagree with this. old sets had generally worse art, and were generally much more unconnected. i think wizards is doing a better job with art than they were doing then. i just don't think they're doing a perfect job. somewhere in between would be better.
i will say i really don't miss the amateur/bad stuff or the comedic cartoon art. i do miss the greater number of abstract pieces and i find the obvious digital feel too widespread.
Perfect summation of my feelings too.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
That's gone now with the internet, and I think WotC does a good job art direction-wise. I'm just saying that early feeling was cool, and part of it was you had no idea what the next card in the booster would look like.
Now, I dig what wotc are serving, but I really do miss a little of that Harold McNeill honey, and Anson Maddocks cinnamon, or even some Foglio bananas.
Cheers!
Edit: I forgot to add that I'm excited about the look of Innistrad so far and am optimistic that the set will look great.
The Foglio bananas comparison is so right on. Both in that his art is a little bananas and that banana's are terrible and should be kept far far away from anything I'm consuming.