I am pretty psyched to have my largest contribution to Magic the Gathering in years hit the streets of Ravnica. I should have 5 cards in the set (Return to Ravnica), which is the most from me since the Time Spiral series.
Simply put, the MTG fans are about the best fans any artist could ask for. So it is a pleasure to have new artwork in that world. Tap away my friends.
The piece is 100% digital.
The finish was a blast to do, but I set a really interesting challenge in creating the work, and that was, I never did a 'drawing'. I started with shape. A lot of my digital technique comes from using the lasso tool on Photoshop to create shapes which I fill with flats and gradients. Even some of the finished areas are tiny little lasso shapes that are lightened and darkened.
The point of this is that the simplicity of shape lets me not get caught up in the details too early, cause that can be a prison. This let me focus on energy and mood and composition, and the detail becomes the frosting on a pretty solid cake.
What you see below is the actual 'sketch' I sent for approval. Art director Jeremy Jarvis had to strap on his trust helmet that the details would emerge out of the simplicity. And he did. But I think that trust comes from years of working together.
I must say I'm SO glad you're back at M:tG... and with Izzet art, my favorite guild! I hope you're able to release full artwork here in your blog, I always use your illustrations as inspiration for my Eberron characters (for which you did also some great artwork in some sourcebooks).
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, you're my favorite M:tG artist. Thanks for sharing your great work!