FanArt_ink.Vacant

MTGinktober clears out Day 30, "Vacant," starring Etrata, Deadly Fugitive and Brago, King Eternal!

Dude, I had like no idea what to do with this one.  I kept waffling between this concept and two other strong contenders: Soul's Attendant going through empty motions with a fake smile but real tears, or Gisa reenacting the famous Gravedigger pose and contemplating what the Zombie must be thinking.  Well, I already drew Gisa this year, and even though the Attendant piece prolly woulda been lighter work, however heavier emotion, I went with Etrata to rectify her last illustration.

Fun Facts:  This is Etrata's second MTGinktober appearance, but I wanted to try to do Etrata justice this time, as that piece has always irked me as weak (especially as a finale).  I was also glad to get her in there since I cut her at the last minute a couple weeks ago.  This is Brago's debut, but his Crown has made an appearance earlier this year, though I guess it's Marchesa's.

Easter Eggs: Still knocking out "Expressions of Magic" in these last minutes, and we got some crackerjacks.  The empty throne is from the Chinese "Contradistinction" series, where they mulligan images that usually involve skeletons or gore, so this is the Chinese version of Murder (gotta scroll down a bit for it).  But then the little engravings under the lionhead is  Interplanar Tunnel, our first Phenomenon.  And the arm is Brago's from Brago's Favor, our first straight-up Conspiracy.  

Not normal,

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Button

MTGinktober presses on Day 22, "Button," starring Ghoulcaller Gisa and Stitcher Geralf!

All right, the long-awaited Dexter's Lab send-up is finally here.  I wasn't sure if I ought to go total spoof and mimic the house style, but I decided it might be funnier to play it more straight-up, and leave the reference more subtle.

Fun Facts:  This is Gisa's ninth MTGinktober appearance, who is one of my favorite characters, and Geralf's fifth, though he has never appeared without his sister, since I don't enjoy drawing him, and only ever do if he's needed for a gag.  Anyway, another truly fun fact--with this piece, we've officially filled yet another sketchbook!  On to the next!

Easter Eggs:  This was inspired by how Deedee from Dexter's Lab is always frolicking through the Lab, pushing buttons and stuff, so I made the floor a grid like Dexter's lab, but the rest of the background is inspired by both versions of Geralf, Visionary Stitcher as well as the OG Karla Ortiz number.  I always like to put flair on shoes when I can, so the center of Geralf's shoe has a little G. 

Not normal,

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Rivals

MTGinktober faces down Day 20, "Rivals," starring Nahiri, the Harbinger; Sorin the Mirthless; and Friendly Teddy!

Man, I was totally set on a different scenario--a Gisa and Geralf spoof of Dexter's Laboratory, but then I thought, is Deedee really Dexter's rival, or just more like a foil, and Mandark is more what would work?  Well, I decided to go with my alternate idea since the logic didn't seem iron-clad, but still an enjoyable one with Nahiri facing off against her old foe, Sorin, in some Rock Paper Scissors for the last Friendly Teddy.

Fun Facts:  This is Nahiri's eighth MTGinktober appearance, and her third appearance with her esteemed partner.  This is Sorin's fifth appearance, and his second this year--a rare feat to get multiple bites in one run, but I guess a Vampire might be one to do it.  Notably he's only ever appeared without her in that guest spot a week ago.  This is the Mirthless's debut, though, cuz his normal costume is intense, and I wasn't sure I'd have time for it (again, I planned on a Dexter's Lab spoof all the way until paper), but he's the actual Sorin I use in my Explorer deck, so that's neat. 

Easter Eggs:  We check another "Expression of Magic" off our list, with Attractions (a nice, ironic choice for this prompt)--the background is Gift Shop.  I modified the beverages to have my sig.  The tag on the Toy is reference to Arena's good ol', terrible Daily Deals.

Not normal,

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Journal

MTGinktober logs Day 17, "Journal," starring Ghoulcaller Gisa and Stitcher Geralf!

This scene came to mind pretty soon while pondering the prompt, and it felt like a perfect fit for these two, even though I really don't like drawing Geralf!  I'm so glad this illustration flowed so relatively smoothly--one giant time sink was I accidentally closed CSP without saving riiiiight after I plugged in all my card references--that's cards, fullviews of their art, each layer named, and key layers color-coded--all had to be redone, and so we were slightly less organized going into this than I prefer and usually am.

Fun Facts:  One of my personal favorites, Gisa now makes her eighth MTGinktober appearance.  Geralf makes his fourth, but all have been with Gisa, as I only feel obligated to include him to help a Gisa illustration land.

Easter Eggs:  We're seconds away from seeing Gisa's Favorite Shovel in action.  And then Geralf is gleefully embarrassing Gisa in front of her friends, lead by Champion of the Perished.  The doodle stickers on her journal are of the Black mana symbol in crossbones, plus One with Death and Bone Rattler.  The background comes from Ghoulcaller Gisa's card.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Grungy

MTGinktober shoegazes at Day 16, "Grungy," starring Domri Rade; Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief; and Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts!

I knew I had to throw it back to our fashion crew with this one since it's so applicable to an aesthetic I'm forever a fan of--sorry Gisa, this was also a great prompt for you, but I know you'll get a chance to shine this year eventually.  These guys have all had several newer cards, but their original appearances look the coolest to me, so we're keeping the OGs.

Fun Facts:  This is this trio's third MTGinktober appearance together, but individually, it's Domri's sixth spot, it is Drana's fourth, and it's Teysa's third--the only one who hasn't solo'd or anchored a piece, yet.  And while I'm not actually a fan of grunge music per se, a lot of bands I love like them, and I love rock music in general, so I was eager to draw its heyday fashion.

Easter Eggs:  As is tradition with these pieces, we carve our name into Domri's gently tossed pumpkin. His hat has the Gruul logo, of course, but his shirt is a reference to the grungiest music I enjoy, which is merely grunge-adjacent, Jimmy Eat World's Static Prevails album, which you can see was the original reference, but I deemed it not grunge enough.  And then I always reference the old background--literally, I had the two prior pieces up while drawing to make sure I kept the composition on-theme.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Dodge

 MTGinktober gives the slip to Day 4, "Dodge," starring Ghoulcaller Gisa and Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver!  
 
I had a couple concepts I was thinking about trying here, like Asmo trying to get someone to eat her rancid food, but Gisa giving the slip to a zom-bro sounded like a good time, and this even plays as a bit of a sequel to their first MTGinktober meetup.  The composition was inspired by the classic scene of the Jurassic Park kids hiding from the velociraptors.  Poor Wilhelt is trying to woo Gisa, but she sees him as totally cringe or cheugy or whathaveyou.  But he's a zombie, so he won't give up, and he'll just keep on trying again and again. 
 
 Fun Facts: This is personal favorite character Gisa's whopping seventh MTGinktober appearance, and Wilhelt's second, though his first gig was kind of only as a special cameo role.  I decided not to go with her actual legendary shovel card since that face is in the wrong direction, as opposed to her regular one, which did have its face in the proper position.

 Easter Eggs: The expression on Gisa and her shovel is the Excalibur face.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Bouquet

 MTGinktober blooms into Day 6, "Bouquet," starring Ghoulcaller Gisa! 

 I was going to go with Oliva, Crimson Bride for this one, but it was just too obvious, so we went with our old favorite, Gisa, casually brushing off everyone's fancy flowers.  I woulda liked to darken the sky like I do on occasion, but there just wasn't enough time, especially since my white ink isn't reliable, though I guess we could do it digitally, but that feels like cheating.  I notice I did the same technique on an earlier Gisa ("Angular"), even, so it's funny how I parallel think with myself years apart.

 Fun Facts:  While not as frequent a fighter as Chandra, Gisa definitely is a regular player, and this is her sixth MTGinktober appearance, but only her third solo appearance without her brother, who I actually don't enjoy drawing.  Also, I just noticed I had flipped my sketchbook, so this is actually the very last page of the sketchbook...ugh (this miscut sketchbook may be best drawn-in in reverse, anyway).

 Easter Eggs: There are four bouquets because 4 is death in Japanese, and among the flowers are Black Lotus (Chris Rahn version) in the upper left; Oona, Queen of the Fae (Adam Rex version) in the upper right, Bitterblossom (Jesper Ejsing version) in the lower left, and in the lower right is--wait for it--Hana Kami held by Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver in the pose of Broken Expectations.  And then my signature is etched into the dirt. 

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.KnotDisturb

MTGinktober ties up and bugs Day 4 "Knot Disturb," starring Gisa and Geralf!

 This was another tricky prompt, since nothing immediately came to mind, but then I got back to the old trope I've done of these two pestering each other in the style of Deedee and Dexter.  Are they really like that in lore?  No idea, but I hope it's something like that.

 Fun Facts: I really don't enjoy drawing Geralf, but this is his third MTGinktober appearance, whereas I love drawing Gisa, and this is her fourth appearance, as she has appeared solo a couple years.

 Easter Eggs: The background is taken from Tree of Redemption, though who knows why they're operating out in the open like that.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Dig

MTGinktober excavates Day 24, "Dig," starring Ghoulcaller Gisa!

Always eager to draw Gisa, and this was the perfect prompt for a shovel-wielder.  Particularly pressed for time and energy on this one cuz I just got off another 10-hour virtual phone bank shift (perhaps my last of the cycle--it's super exhausting, but I hope to give it at least a couple more efforts), so I even forgot to snap a photo of the "preliminary inks" phase, which is how the illustration looks like fresh off the basic inks before going back in for touch-ups, so I'm including the preliminary scan I used for our Twitter/Instagram post. 

Fun Facts: This is Gisa's fourth MTGinktober appearance, which I believe ties her for the most appearances with Domri, who is probably my favorite Planeswalker.  Speaking of Domri, I erased the line I drew between his illustration and this one, so they actually overlap a little bit on the left, not sure if I'll cut the Bristol board at some point...

Easte Eggs: Always love hiding my signature in dirt formations, and you can find it in the upper right.

Not normal,

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Mindless

Thoughtlessly stumbling into MTGinktober Day Two is "Mindless," starring Dreadhorde Arcanist and Eternal Kefnet.

This one is a bit of a layered gag. I wanted to depict mindless gameplay, so burn was the first thing that comes to mind, of course, but I also feel a nice little twist is treating countermagic the same--it can absolutely feel rote just slamming counters turn after turn.

So then the next step in my thinking was figuring out who would be playing each style. A traditional red and blue planeswalker pair was a little too on-the-nose, and I was interested in featuring mindless zombies, so I looked up some blue and red ones, and ended up with what we ended up with. I was a little iffy on using a non-legendary for our red creature, but there was no red War of the Spark counterpart to pair with Kefnet, and Dreadhorde Arcanist is a pretty notable current card, so it all checked out.

Fun Facts: I was originally thinking of doing a straightforward zombie piece for Gisa or something, but that just felt a little too easy.

Easter Eggs: The little guy suffering through this nonsense is the poor djinn from Mind Rot (DTK version), perhaps my favorite Mind Rot.

Also, every Inktober, I inevitably cannibalize old sketchbooks, and this year's looking like it'll clear out this old one pretty well. Before drawing today's piece, the above page of warm-ups related to a canceled project is what filled its place. These were concepts for our toothbrush-wielding hero.

Not normal,

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Angular

MTGinktober angle-shoots its way into Day 16, "Angular," starring a Ghoulcaller Gisa and some dashing jombiez!

I always look for an excuse to draw Gisa every year, and this marks her third appearance, but her first solo starring role (kick bricks, Geralf!).

Anyway, I have to say, this was a tough prompt, but at long last, I was struck to go in a Super-Sentai-style direction. But the ever-nagging question of who to draft...it could be the "Powerpuff Girls", but that felt too obvious. So how about something you don't want to see in cutesy poses? Zombies. But we need a star. Who deals with zombies who's somewhat obscurer than Liliana? Gisa. And that we like to draw? Gisa!

Fun Facts: As much as I like drawing Innistrad's go-to goth girl, and as much as I appreciate artist Karla Ortiz's designs, I have to say I do loathe having to draw the helmet thingy she wears under her veil. Though I feel I finally cracked how to draw the veil this year, after three years of trying to render it in ink.

Easter Eggs: Any Innistradian graveyard is going to have Avacyn's symbol on tombstones--all placed at jarring angles--but we also included various angle-creating devices, namely her shovel crossing her body, her elbows jutting out, her victory sign, her leg kicking up, and of course the zombos' arm formation, not to mention the more subtle jagged branches.

Not normal,

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Furious

MTGinktober feuds on Day 21, "Furious," starring Ghoulcaller Gisa and Stitcher Geralf getting ready to throw down, meanwhile Daxos the Returned and company do their best to break it up!

I was originally unsure whether or not to repeat any characters from last year, but I really, really wanted to redraw these two, not only because I wasn't too happy with last year's effort, but also because these guys really embody the season. A gothy, Hot-Topiccy duo is just perfect this time of year, plus Karla Ortiz's stuff is just killer and this is my way of paying homage to her incredible work and inspiration.

Fun Facts: I originally wanted to have them being broken up by Geralf's Messenger and some other notable zombie, or refereed by Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, but we were short on time as always, and waffling wasn't productive. In fact, before that, in my efforts not to repeat characters, I briefly entertained the idea of having the Twins of Maurer Estate be the feuding duo broken up by Evil Twin and his brother. After that, I thought of the compromise of the kids fighting on behalf of the Cecani siblings, like Pokemon. Still keeping that idea in my back pocket.

Easter Eggs: The background borrows from the Therosian background of Daxos the Returned's art, but also merges in Innistradian influences, like those tombstone with Avacyn's symbol and the onlooking zombies from last year, originally inspired by Ghoulcaller Gisa's background. But I also hid one of my favorite this-should-win-me-the-game-oh-wait-I-just-lost cards from M15 limited, Carrion Crow. I loved how powerful that card seemed it should be, but invariably, I had it the precise turn whenever I needed a blocker...I also used one of my favorite resources for emotional inspiration, the Colbert/Blunt sketch, which I finally got to tackle here. I also wanted to include Gisa's shovel, but couldn't quite work it into their pose, so I stashed in the background, which actually felt fitting.

Anyway, I'm positive I'll be drawing these two Cecanis again at some point. Karla Ortiz knocked it out of the park with them, as she is wont to do, and I had a killer idea for them midway through drawing this...for now, let this year be the year they got caught up over a zoning dispute on who gets to drudge up corpses where.

Not normal,

Reuxben