Another card for the upcoming New Phyrexia set for Magic.
This piece gave me an opportunity to try to paint a number of visual effects. First, let me give credit where credit is due. It's fairly common knowledge that blurring can give the suggest motion in picture. I have to thank James Gurney, however, for clarifying two different types of blurs and how they work, and when to use them. You can find out about them
here and
here on his blog, as well as in his latest book
Color and Light. I'm going to use his terms as well.
Imagine that my painting is actually a picture taken by an imaginary camera, and that camera moving along with the running panther. The great speed that both are traveling at is suggest by the blurring of the ground passing beneath. This is speed blur.
The panthers legs are moving relative to the rest of its body and the camera, and are therefore blurred. This is motion blur.
The third effect I employed is the refraction of light caused by heat. This wavy distortion can be seen on the rib cage of the panther.
It's done in oils on paper mounted to MDF. It's 11" x 14" I think.
Here's the third card I illustrated for Magic 2012. Basically a satchel bag with a funny green man face in it. I originally had the eyes glowing, as seen in the digital color study below, but that changed to glowing magic leaking out of the bag. It's oils on paper mounted to MDF, 8" x 10".
Here's another piece for the upcoming Magic 2012 set. It's called Skinshifter, and depicts a mage with the power to transform himself into animal or plant. This ability is eluded to in the covering of ivy and the forms in his staff. His eyes are that of a bird of prey, as if you are seeing him just as he is beginning to take another form. It's oils on paper, mounted to MDF, 12" x 16".
I was pleasantly surprised that I'd be able to show this one this early. Dungrove Elder is one of the first cards spoiled for the upcoming Magic 2012 core set. I always enjoy any chance to paint trees. It's oils on paper mounted to MDF, 12" x 16".
As if being a "souleater" was bad enough, this guy's pestilent as well. This is the fifth and final card I've got in the New Phyrexia set. The design of this creature, just as the pliers headed guys in the last post, were given to me by WotC. My job is to show it in its environment doing something, preferably pestilent in this case. Hence, more slime.
The sketch. Unlike most pieces that require a lot of adjusting, composition changes, and redrawing, this one pretty much came out in one try.
Another one for New Phyrexia. The creatures in the background have set a mine for some unfortunate passer-by. They've made the mine out of the metal bodies of the fallen comrades. I based its design on a naval mine. It's oils on paper mounted on MDF, 9" x 12".
Being that the entire New Phyrexia set has been revealed on the WotC site, I can start showing the rest of the stuff I've been sitting on for a while. I got the chance to paint a lot of gross creatures, which I'm suprised about because I never thought it was my strong suit, but I tried to have fun with it. And translucent, gelatinous slime is actually really fun to paint.
An alternate idea. I didnt go with it because I felt it wouldn't translate as well when the image is reduced to the card size
