Top 10: the Art of Khans of Tarkir

Eh, I cheated again, there are 12 instead of 10. But then again, Khans was an absolutely amazing set in terms of art: the overall quality bar was much much higher than almost any set I can think of. There weren't that many pieces that made me lose my mind, but there were very few bad/uninteresting paintings either.  As always, a near impossible task to narrow it all down, but these were just a few of my favorites. Enjoy! 

-V

12. Lands by Eytan Zana

11. Dig Through Time by Ryan Yee

10. Bloodfire Mentor & Sage of the Inward Eye by Chase Stone

9. Tuskguard Captain by Aaron Miller

8. Icefeather Raven by Slawomir Maniak

7. Mardu Heart-Piercer by Karl Kopinski

6. Mardu Skullhunter by Jason Rainville

5. Rakshasa Vizier by Nils Hamm

4. Sandsteppe Citadel by Sam Burley

3. Abzan Guide by Steve Prescott

2. Disowned Ancestor by Zack Stella

1. Abzan Battle-Priest & Savage Knuckleblade by Chris Rahn

Top 10: Art of Journey Into Nix

Always hard to stick to just 10, so I snuck in one more! The End of an awesome block, with Steve Prescott painting out of his mind this set, really pushing color and saturation. I would love to own Gluttonous Cyclops for myself...Anyway, enjoy my Top 10 Journey Into Nyx!

11. Underworld Coinsmith by Mark Winters

10.  Cyclops of Eternal Fury & Sage of Hours by Matt Stewart

9. Spawn of Thraxes by Svetlin Velinov

8. Pharika, God of Affliction by Peter Mohrbacher

7. Scourge of Fleets by Steven Belledin

6. Master of the Feast by Chris Rahn

5. Doomwake Giant by Kev Walker

4. Sphinx Token by Jesper Ejsing

3. Dictate of Heliod by Terese Nielsen

2. Gluttonous Cyclops

Hydra Broodmaster

Leonin Iconoclast by Steve Prescott

1. Extinguish All Hope by Chase Stone

Heroes' Tale: Rage Process

Here's a process gif for one of my Heroes' Tale cards: Rage. I included the three thumbnails I sent to Chris. They're extremely rough and I've since tightened my sketches before sending them off to ADs. It's just easier for everyone if the idea is clearer from the start. I do think the thumbs captured a primal energy (read:rage) that I tried not to lose in the painting by stiffening up too much. I think overall it was fairly successful and it's one of my personal favorites from the set.

Questions/Comments? hit me up

-V

Heroes' Tale Printed!

In February of 2013, my good friend Andrew Theophilopolous contacted me about a fantasy card game being created by fellow Ringling alumn Chris Merlino. Back then, it was just an idea and a dream. Chris had contracted me to do 5 promotional images for the kickstarter, which went on to raise over $64,000, after which I was illustrating cards for the game all summer. Now, almost a full year later, the game has printed and shipped, with Chris personally delivering my copy yesterday!

Needless to say, I am deeply grateful and humbled to have worked on this game, especially alongside my friends and fellow illustrators Andrew Theo, Audrey Benjaminsen, Gal Or, and Evan Monteiro. It was a good year, and I owe thanks to Chris and the Heroes' Tale team! Check out the website:

www.heroestalecards.com

Without further ado, here are the last few cards from Heroes' Tale: the Corrupted Forest!

Blight Shade

Chaos Orb

Titan Armor

Imperial Polearm

I illustrated a total of 18 cards for Heroes' Tale, and I learned a ton along the way. The difference between the first (Explorer) and last (Caltakan) card I painted is pretty staggering. Process Gifs to come!

-V