FanArt_ink.Bottle

MTGinktober chugs along to Day 18, "Bottle," starring Geist of Saint Traft and Johannes Voss's GP Shanghai 2015 Angel!

I was so torn on going for a vintage soda advertisement spoof or just going for a playful couple hanging out, but I went with the latter cuz it felt a little more difficult to pull off successfully. Late into penciling, I discovered the difficulty of drawing a slightly older-but-not-too guy (I don't really enjoy drawing the olds), so it was a real challenge, all around.

My MTGinktobers don't usually follow the lore too strictly, but when trying to figure out a cute couple to draw, I was delighted to find that Traft's famous angel token is indeed officially something of his guardian angel, so it would make sense if she's a little doting, as depicted here.

Fun Facts: In the frenzy of this October marathon, it's oddly difficult to remember where ideas originated, but I recall initially wanting to feature a Battlebond duo for this piece before stumbling upon GoST, looking up his lore, and then committing to that direction. A huge plus was that it meant I got to draw another legendary Algen angel (having riffed on his famous Sakura Angel in 2016). As always, I try to draw more obscure stuff, so if you want obscure Magic references, you can't beat an original, Magic-adjacent creature designed by an actual Magic artist for a Magic event's merch.

Easter Eggs: I included the VossFather's Sakura Tenshi on the sword's frieze, and a Gift of Orzhova engraving just below that. The background comes from the Duel Deck version of GoST. The drink label is a play on Dasani, but it's Ajani, get it? Hilarious. Anyway, as is tradition, when doing Algenfanarter, we include a little swooshy B (ß) in there, this time on her hip armor and in the center of her torso armor's convergence point. Last, the bendy straw is a Phyrexian symbol, watch out! Spooky stuff.

Not normal,

Reuxben