New Magic: Abzan Beastmaster

Today I'm happy to share some new Magic art that was just released! It's like my birthday whenever I get the chance to share new art for MTG because they literally sit in my flat files for almost a year unseen by anyone except myself until that fateful day when I can reveal them to the world. It's especially hard when it's a piece that you are really proud of at the time, because sadly, by the time the illustration comes out I'm usually not crazy proud of it anymore.

I still like this guy though: 

Abzan Beastmaster - 15" x 20" Oil on masonite.

This assignment was a little unique for me as it is an alternate art promo card that will be given out to winning players that participate in the Friday Night Magic tournaments held this upcoming May. It's unique because the art description called for me to create an illustration that was similar to, as in it had the same art description:

ART DESCRIPTION:
Setting: FATE REFORGED KHANAR
Clan: Abzan
Color: Green creature
Location: Out on the plains of Khanar, a scrubby grassland/desert
Action: This is an alternative take on a male ainok beastmaster. He is shepherding his collection of huge beasts across the plain (see notes).
The ainok appears to be standing among some tall tree trunks, which are actually the legs of giant beasts. The ainok has a magical staff.
This card needs a different composition from the original.
Focus: The Ainok beastmaster.
Mood: Wise. Such a small dude wields power over such giant beasts.

But it had to be different from an image that was already created for the standard card. It's especially tricky when the reference art that already exists is super good. Here's the great standard version of the card that I was given to differentiate from by Winona Nelson:

I love the lighting that she used in this piece.

I enjoyed the challenge though, and tried my best to make my own version focusing on his connection with the giant creatures and playing up the "standing among tall tree trunks" feel for the legs of the beasts.

Here's a couple digital thumbnail sketches I did: 

 Since the description was pretty straightforward I was mostly focusing on lighting and how close or far away to show the beastmaster. We decided to go with the first one as it seemed  a "best of both worlds" between showing him closer up or more in the distance. 

Here's the sketch: 

12" x 16" (on 14" x 17" paper) charcoal and digital.

And lastly, here's the card:

 

 As always, thanks to Dawn Murin the AD on this project for all the fun! There should be a couple more popping up for this upcoming Magic set so check back for more art soon.

New Magic - Dark Deal, and Infected By Art

As I mentioned last week in my tarot post, some new Magic work was on the way. Well, here we are a week later, and I'm happy to be able to stay true to my word. Today all of the final card images were released for the new Fate Reforged set in the Tarkir block of Magic: The Gathering. I'm happy that one of my new cards was in this group, as sometimes it's hard to tell where my illustrations will fall. Here it is: 
 

Dark Deal - 12" x 16" - Oil on masonite

And here's my sketch:

12" x 16" - Charcoal and digital

In other news, I'm super honored to announce that two of my paintings were selected for inclusion in the Infected By Art, Volume 3 Book:

The caliber of artwork entered this year was amazing, and the judges were some real leaders in this industry, so I'm very thankful to have been chosen. Congratulations to everyone else who was selected as well, I think this will be a beautiful book!

Gencon Sketch Recap

I've finally managed to get home and somewhat settled after returning from Gencon this past weekend. As usual, I had a blast meeting fans, signing cards, drawing a million sketches, selling art, and hanging out with many of my artist pals that I only get to see at conventions. 

I think this year I ended up drawing as many sketches in one weekend as I had over the previous three Gencons combined! It was lots of fun, although pretty exhausting. Here's a few of my Magic artist proof sketches that I did for customers and managed to remember to take photos of...there was way more than just these.

I guess when left to my own devices I like to draw portraits facing to the left...

I also participated in the Gencon charity auction by creating a special playmat sketch that was auctioned off to raise money for a special cause. Here's the mat that I did:

All in all it was a great weekend and I look forward to the next time.

In addition, one special fan even went so far as to present me with a gift of epic proportions:

It's a bit difficult to see in the photo, but it's actually a three-dimensional version of my Setessan Oathsword card that they made out of eight different layers of the same card. It even included a foil version as the top framing card and as the background card for the waterfall. Super cool! 

New Magic: A Large Rock (or Meteorite)

Here's another of my contributions to Magic's M15 core set. This was a bit of an odd one since rather than your typical fire wreathed meteorite hurtling towards doomed person/place/thing (I guess those have been a bit overdone), the art description called for something a little more comedic: 

ART DESCRIPTION:
Setting: SHANDALAR
Color: Colorless artifact
Location: On a city street.
Action: Show an iridescent meteorite about 10' across that has landed on someone who had previously been walking down the street. Maybe we can see the poor victim's legs under the still sizzling, smoking meteorite. Kind of looking for that Wizard of Oz moment where the Wicked Witch of the East was crushed by the house.
If it adds to the scene, show some shocked and horrified onlookers.
Focus: The smoking, irridescent meteorite.
Mood: Humorous - two pathetic looking legs/feet under a massive meteorite.

Ok...not really what I envisioned Magic art to be (outside of Unhinged), but I thought it was funny and tried my best with it anyway. After playing with many different angles, we finally decided that a street-level angle with the unfortunate guy's legs sticking out towards the viewer was the best way to go. Here's the sketch:

12" x 16" Charcoal and digital.

...and the final painting:

12" x16" Oil on masonite.

And it's another Uncommon! ...Which I know isn't really a big deal, but I'll take what I can get.

As usual I'll have the artist proofs available in my Etsy shop once I get them in the mail. 

Also, the painting and sketch are available for sale, please contact me at murphyillustration@gmail.com.

Thanks for checking in! I hope to have some more stuff coming along pretty soon.

New Magic - Brood Keeper

Here's a new painting that was just released for Magic's new core set, M15. I really enjoyed working on this piece as it was my first "human" I painted for Magic, and it was the first setting I worked on that was outside of the Theros realm. 

Here's what I got for an art description:

SET ON ALARA
Color: Red Creature
Location: On a mountain peak on the plane of Jund - we can see the savage landscape, volcanoes, fissures, craggy mountains. Reddish, Turner-esque sky.
Action: A female human shaman stands among a clutch of dragon eggs. She holds one of the eggs, which is maybe a bit larger than her head. Her hands glow a bright red, looking like hot metal. Radiating from her hands are cracks in the egg. Perhaps the light from her hands illuminates the young dragon in the egg. The shaman is dressed in savage, Jund attire.
Focus: the shaman
Mood: my power can awaken dragons!
Notes: Jund humans have very slight reptilian touches. maybe she has 'alligator eyes'.

A female shaman with dragons eggs?! Sweet!

Here's a few thumbnails that I turned in to the AD from the description:

But needing to see the dragon in the egg a bit clearer, the AD requested a couple other options with the egg a little more pronounced. So I went back to the drawing board and did these:

Satisfied that the first one hit the vision that they wanted for card, I went ahead with my charcoal sketch. I had a lot of fun working dragon claws and teeth into her jewelry: 

12" x 16" Charcoal and Digital

I enjoyed painting her and the eggs a lot, but I really had a blast making up the volcanic landscape behind her. Here's the final:

12" x 16" Oil on Masonite

And it's my first Uncommon card! So maybe she'll see a little more play than my previous cards?...I have no idea.

Both the charcoal drawing and the original painting are available for purchase. Please contact me at murphyillustration@gmail.com if interested. 

New Magic Art: Eagle of the Watch

Here's a new card for Magic: the Gathering that just came out. This one is for the newest set, Journey into Nyx. 

12" x16" Oil on masonite

I really enjoyed painting this guy since a: he's an eagle, and you know how I feel about those, and b: I got to paint a tiny cyclops smashing some unfortunate soldiers off a cliff. Though I will say that incorporating the "Nyx," the stars you can see in the shadows of the cyclops, was a bit of a challenge to paint and have it read properly. Here's the card:

 I'll get some new prints for it up in my etsy store, as well as the artist proofs once I get those in the mail. 

 

New Magic: Minotaur Younghorn

I'm very excited today to share with you a new Magic: the Gathering card that was just released this past weekend. Unlike my last MtG related post about Setessan Oathsworn, this card is actually the first I was ever commissioned for the game. Have a look:

Minotaur Younghorn 12" x 14" Oil on masonite

This guy was created for a special encounter deck called Battle the Horde. Which is a special preset deck that players can play against to try and defeat the bloodthirsty minotaur clan. So, sadly this card can't be used in regular game play....i think? I don't quite know the the rules regarding this card, but I think it can only be used in conjunction with the horde deck.
Anyway, I'm really happy with this painting and it was a blast to create. Here's the sketch:

12" x 14" charcoal and digital

I'd like to thank Dawn Murin the AD on this one for giving me my first opportunity to work on a game I've wanted to create art for ever since I saw it back in 1998. It's an honor to be a part of all the other outstanding artists working on the game. 

Both the painting and sketch are available for purchase please contact me at murphyillustration@gmail.com 

My First Magic Card! Setessan Oathsworn

Today is a very exciting day! 

That's because over the weekend I found out that my first image (not first commissioned though!) for Magic: The Gathering was spoiled for the upcoming set Born of the Gods! 

This is exciting because I have spent years trying to get work on this game which is known for it's top notch art and artists. On top of that, it's been almost a year since I first painted this image. So i've had to sit quietly waiting in anticipation for it to show up. Now gladly, I can share with everyone!

This had a fairly straightforward description which was to basically show this newly aligned satyr standing strong as a guardian of his new homeland. 

Here's the sketch I turned in:

12"x16" Charcoal and digital

From there I went ahead with the final which turned out like this: 

12"x16" Oil on masonite

And here's the way the card looks. I can't wait to get the physical artists proofs in the mail!