FanArt_ink.Ego

MTGinktober boasts Day 26, "Ego," starring Almighty Brushwagg; Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen; and Nissa, Sage Animist!

I actually got some rest and was able to wake up early, but I feel like the more straightforward composition lulled me into a false sense of comfort, so it still took the full time just at a reasonable pace, rather than a blistering sprint-marathon as usual.  Plus I had to dog-sit, and that eats up time.  Anyway, I knew I wanted arrogant characters cheek to cheek trying to outdo each other with Brushwagg swooping in for the win himself.  As I understand these elves were originally pretty snooty, but mighta been retconned to be nicer--who knows.  They're rude in my book.

Fun Facts:  This is Dwynen's second MTGinktober appearance and Nissa's fourth appearance.

Easter Eggs:  As it's Algen fan art, we gotta include the swooshy "German B" (ß) so that's one of the plants on Dwynen's tiara thingie.  Also, atop Brushwagg is Arrogant Wurm, but an alternate version John Avon apparently made--I'm not sure the backstory there, but I like that ironically it looks so tiny.  And then chilling on the starring duo's shoulders is Scornful Egotist, of course, a tiny, tiny human. The background is Gaea's Cradle, as the Reserved List and its continued existence is kind of an egomaniacal move.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Tempting

 MTGinktober coaxes out Day 25, "Tempting," starring Emry, Lurker of the Loch; Ornithopter (Mathias Kollros version); and Breya, Etherium Shaper! 
 Man, just couldn't sleep, so again, woke up late and had another time crunch--gave this one some small updates later--but fortunately while literally tossing and turning, I had plenty of time to plan the piece, and I had two concepts, the first of which turns out is something I already kinda did in two parts, with a figure exploring while Gurmag Angler's dangling dealio entices her. So I went with Emry hyping an artifact to an artifice aficionado. The idea is that Breya can't resist nerding out whenever she sees a new Thopter design. 

Fun Facts: This is Emry's third MTGinktober appearance, and actually Ornithopter's debut, since the last appearance was actually a Thopter token (which is what I intended to draw, but for better composition, changed at the last minute to this more compact Thopter shape).  

Also, by my count, this is my 200th MTGinktober illustration!  I didn't complete two runs, and they fell apart around day 25, so this was a doubly significant day since it's usually the day I fall apart, but so far, so good--in a bit of pain, but it's manageable.

Easter Eggs: My name is in the grass in front of Breya's leg.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Fairy

 MTGinktober claps and believes in Day 24, "Fairy," starring Ivy, Gleeful Spellthief; League Guildmage; and Gnarled Professor!
  My hand is in quite some pain from the mad dash to get the fine details in, but it was worth it to make all the references.   I knew I wanted to do something reminiscent of the Ivy League given that we've got work with a Faerie named Ivy, so that's why we included League Guildmage.  Looking up classic Ivy imagery, I found this incredible Norman Rockwell program, and knew I wanted to spoof it.  I went with The Gnarly Prof for the ref since his root body mimicked the uniform's stripes and no other teachery card seemed apt.
 
 Fun Facts:  This is the closest we've got to a legend-free illustration this year, but so far so good.  It's neat and a bit coincidental that all the cards work together--Gnarly gets a spell, you target Guildmage, who copies it, and then Ivy poaches a further copy.

 Easter Eggs: A lot of fun accidents--first, the program is today's date!  So I just had to hide my name in the grass.  Next, the price part actually phrases a reference to copies, which both these creatures can do, and 2 is a great number when talking copies.  The coin Gnarly P is tossing is a Darksteel Relic, which is a special card to me.  The football is the design from Ivy's Eshpur showcase version.  Even though it pained me to treat Cornell and Dartmouth as Ivies and have them hog this whole illustration, I had to sneak a Harkness Tower in the background for old times' sake.    

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Booger

 MTGinktober sneezes out Day 23, "Booger," starring Belbe, Corrupted Observer and Miara, Thorn of the Glade!
 

  For the concept, there's always that one pal who loves to snap unflattering photos--and often there's also the one who always walks right into it. So I wanted a creeper character to snap a rude photo of an oblivious character, and Belbe seemed to fit the bill given her creepy epithet, and Miara kinda looks like she's picking her nose if you look super quickly, so that's how we landed those roles.  Plus something playful seemed algenpropos.  The tricky thing was making Miara look like she's mindlessly yawning on guard duty or something, hope that reads.


Fun Facts:  Man, finally got to sleep early and could wake up early, but then I was still so tired...there's no winning.  Even though I had more time to work on this, I was so tired, I don't know if getting up earlier even helped--gotta tweak this one a little more.  I was drawing at a more leisurely pace, but it's just not good enough--you always need to be slamming the gas, otherwise you lose time. 

 Easter Eggs:  As always, with Algen fan art, we gotta stash the little, swooshy B (ß) in there, and this time it's next to the berry flower under the phone.  Also the phone is based on mine.  The background is mostly from Miara. 
Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Heist

 MTGinktober gathers a ragtag crew for Day 22, "Heist," starring Dack Fayden; Vazi, Keen Negotiator; Stangg; and Chandra, Acolyte of Flame!

Man, just cannot get to sleep, but fortunately plenty of time to plan my shot rather than count sheep.  I knew I wanted to do something Bebop, the tough part was casting it.  Do we do another Weatherlight Crew spoof again?  That's clearly Gerrard, Hanna, Karn, and Squee, and would probably be more appealing. But I wanted to match the source looks as closely as possible, so I went with these guys--plus Dack's even a thief, Vazri has suspenders she can slip to match the shot, Stangg's bald/bearded, and lil' Chandra actually kinda looks like Radical Edward in profile.

Fun Facts:  For a brief moment, before I had thought to use Chandra, who now makes her second MTGinktober appearance this year alone, seventh overall, if my count is correct--I was going to use Ib Halfheart, and hadn't gotten too far before we gave him the ax--love drawing his helmet, but he's made a two and a half appearances already, so he's not missing out too much.

 I have never actually seen all of Cowboy Bebop, I don't think--I'd only ever catch it when I couldn't sleep.  And then one night the Yale Animu Club had a screening and I saw an episode there.  But surely I've seen most of the series, and have certainly always been a huge fan of its sheer style.  And, yeah they're bounty hunters rather than heisters(?), but I feel like this is close enough, and no way I'm missing my chance at Bebop parody--there's another spoof I've been hoping for, too, but we'll see if we get a chance at that.

 Easter Eggs:  This was a challenge to sign because I didn't want to mess up the gag, so I just used my name for the "Bandai Visual" part (and Wizards, LLC replaces "Sunrise, Inc.") and put the date in Stangg's beard as Roman numerals so they could blend in better--a little self-conscious making my name so prominent in a piece, but as long as it's diagetic, there's precedent.  This text is based on the oldest version I could find--newer versions have modified text and font.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.BadDog

 MTGinktober barks at Day 21, "Bad Dog," starring Trostani, Selesnya's Voice and Ruff, Underdog Champ!

Man, just can't get out of this cycle of being unable to sleep, and then I'm exhausted during the day and have to scramble to get the drawing done.  But I also had to dogsit today, oddly enough, and this hound gets jumpy and needs attention later in the day (used to sleep all day...), so that's time lost making sure this dog isn't tearing up the joint.

Fun Facts:  If we count Trostani as three characters, it seems illustrations involving dogs tend to have a lot of characters.  This is also our first test card illustration--I tried to match the original artist Seth Conley's strokes in the hatching.  With this, it seems I've hit every kind of Magic card--"real," "UnReal," and now Test Card.  I have no intention of doing Universe Beyond stuff, those are absolutely not real Magic cards.

 Easter Eggs: The background is a fusion of all (three!) Trostanis' backgrounds--our Chippy anchor of course,  with branches and animals strewn about, plus tree trunks from Chase Stone's and Sidharth Chaturvedi's versions.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Bluff

  MTGinktober isn't kidding about Day 20, "Bluff," starring Kiku, Night's Flower and Atris, Oracle of Half-Truths!  
 Man, still having difficulty falling asleep, which makes drawing so much harder, but at least we were a little more rested than yesterday's fiasco.  I hate sleeping, but it's undeniably one thing you can't dodge for long before it catches up with you--fortunately I just see little stars, no shivering yet.  Anyway, today was finally an opportunity to draw Kiku, who I've long been a fan of, and have been waiting literally years to draw.  I love that trope of an ostensibly infatuated duo actually bringing out the daggers for each other, so we went with that set-up here.

 Fun Facts:  I wasn't sure who to team against Kiku, but Atris seemed like a good fit since he's definitely in the "bluff" category both in name and in mechanics--I am not a huge fan of Commander formats, but whenever I have to play Brawl for Midweek Magic or whatever, I bust out ol' Atris and the constant mini-FOFs are always a treat.  Plus Kiku can kill him with her ability, and he can kill her in combat, so all's fair in whatever this is and war.  So the idea is they are like Spy vs. Spying each other out.  

 Easter Eggs: While Kiku would probably kill via shadows, I wanted to include some fun blade references.  So hers is the one from Murderous Cut, which befits assassins, and his is of course Trepanation Blade, which joins him in messing with topdecks.  The background is based on Ukiyo-e illustrations, along with some sakura flitting through the air since this is a pretty manga dynamic.  The last thing is I wanted them to look like they're giving each other the eye, but their fingers are crossed.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Ponytail

 MTGinktober comes in under a hair on Day 19, "Ponytail," starring Monoxa, Midway Manager!

Man, just could not get to sleep, so I was crazy exhausted, I knew we had to go super simple for this one, so it's just a close up of a character.  There were actually a good number of ponytail wearers to choose from, and I almost went with a little twist by drawing Thalia tying her hair up in a ponytail, but that would require too much thinking, so I just went with a standard portrait.  Even then, I wrapped with just a minute or two left on the clock, so it was probably a wise choice.  Also, this is quite a rare instance of my drawing glasses, so fiddly, not good for speed.

Fun Facts:  This is quite a year for Uncards--so far we've had three silver-bordered stars.  I used to think of silver bordered as not "real" Magic, but then Universes Beyond and stuff started coming in to hold Unsets' beer, and well, I'm more begrudgingly accepting of Unsets, though I still am not crazy about them, particularly now that we're in freaking space now?  Come on...what are we doing here?

Easter Eggs: A lot of the latest Uncards have really low quality references available, so maybe it's more legible on the actual card, but it looked like just random scrawling in the illustration, so I just went with a fun little message in Japanese--these were the famous last words one of my favorite opponents said to me when I had him in an inevitable lock-- いみがない, when he had all but given up and was ready to concede, then decided to draw for turn and--imi ga nai (literally there is no meaning)--the card was pointless, he lost.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Scrape

 MTGinktober just barely makes it into Day 18, "Scrape," starring Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Ajani, Sleeper Agent! 

 This was a bit of a change of pace because I stayed up late past midnight and started the research phase of today's illustration, compiling reference materials and pulling cards from Scryfall.  I usually do that after waking up.  Anyway, just had to do minimal thinking and just go with a lot of first-draft decisions just to stay on "emergency" schedule, which is the very latest we can be behind and still make deadline.  Consequently, a lot of avoidable errors and undercooked elements in this one, unfortunately, so I went in for a little touch-up.

Fun Facts: I was so exhausted I accidentally slept in, so I really, literally just scraped by to get this done in time and my fingers are really feeling it.  Anyway, this is the second time these two have appeared together (or at all) for an MTGinktober jam, and what a contrast, where once united friends have become foes, or something.

Easter Eggs:  Most of the background comes from Elspeth, Sun's Champion (Eric Deschamps version).  It's funny that both these characters have quite a bit of alternate arts going for them--Ajani here is primarily based on Victor Adame Minguez's version, and I sorta mixed the post-death Elspeths, but I anchored costuming upon Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis by Livia Prima and went with Zack Stella's Knight-Errant's hair.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Salty

 MTGinktober rages into Day 17, "Salty," starring Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar; Gyome, Master Chef; and Flavor Judge! 

I could have done another nerd rage piece, but I've definitely done that already, and it's kinda too easy at this point to think of Magic and flipping tables.  So I went with just fuming off at losing, and what better occasion than a cooking contest that presumably can be lost by using too much salt?

Fun Facts:  And who better for this piece than returning chump Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, who makes her second MTGinktober appearance.  I wasn't sure who to cast as the judge, but then I stumbled upon a fowl that fit the bill, perhaps here better than other places.  This was a pretty cathartic piece because I hate losing enough already, but I hate when the winner is also all jolly and oblivious.

Easter Eggs: The dish Gyome made was Gluttonous Slug, apparently seasoned to perfection, and the flame-faced Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar's was Toxrill, the Corrosive--hers is certainly more ambitious, but she has a ton of salt shakers to Gyome's one, and Toxrill's even foaming.  The upper background is a mix of the Iron Chef catchphrase, "Who's Cuisine Reigns Supreme?" and the hooks and "monkey" from The Meathook Massacre.  

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Fowl

MTGinktober fairs against Day 16, "Fowl," starring Bird Maiden and The Raven Man! 

I usually offer to take a couple requests after Inktober wraps, but didn't last year, however in my yearly round-up post on Imgur, someone requested Bird Maiden, so I've been keeping an eye out for when we might find a good spot for her, and today was just right.  Seeing how happy she is, I knew I wanted to contrast that with a really sour character, so we have that natural narrative tension.

Fun Facts:  A few days ago I wondered if I'd ever drawn a character before they got a card, and today made me realize that I had--The Raven Man!--and here he makes his second MTGinktober appearance, but for the first time as a card, fresh off his debut in Dominaria United.

Easter Eggs:  I wanted the background to reflect their moods, so the ground is dark and dour--the house is from Homicidal Seclusion and above the horizon line is the cheery sky from Bird Maiden's card.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Armadillo

 MTGinktober armors up Day 15, "Armadillo," starring Lisette, Dean of the Root and Armadillo Cloak!

I wasn't sure who to draw wearing an Armadillo Cloak, but we went with Lisette cuz her outfit was pretty similar to the character on the enchantment and she'd absolutely slaughter if she ever connected while bossed up thanks to her synergy with the aura's lifelink and trample.  Again, a slow start today, but fortunately my G-Pen was really reliable on the background scales, helping speed things along--I was just going to put some filler lines in to finish off the inkrun before switching to Microns, but it ended up lasting the entire backing.

Fun Facts: In the mad dash to concept this illustration, the idea is she's lecturing students not to laugh at her ridiculous gear, a play on the enchantment's famous flavor text.  I ran out of time for the nerd taking notes in the background, so I don't know if the gag is actually clear anymore, plus her expression was originally more embarrassed and trying to be serious, but I had a last minute mulligan to a more lecturing/scolding take.

Easter Eggs: My signature is just above the knot in the tree.  The background is roughly from Lisette's card, but it was a little hard to read exactly, let alone render.

Reuxben

FanArt_ink.Empty

 MTGinktober pours one out for Day 14, "Empty," starring Gallia of the Endless Dance! 

This was a total toss-up between Gallia being upset she ran out of juice or a School Spirit Week Pir, Imaginative Rascal posing for a Best Friends Day photo with an empty seat next to him.  I just went with Gallia since we've so far only drawn female characters this year, so might as well keep the streak alive, plus I was crunched for time (really late start today) and I'd need to figure out Pir's armor, which would take a lot more time.

Fun Facts: This is Gallia's second MTGinktober appearance.

Easter Eggs: The traditional "swooshy B" (ß) salute to Hannes is in the upper left tree and my signature is in the tuft of grass under her staff.

Reuxben