FanArt_ink.Rise

MTGinktober moves on up to Day 13, "Rise," starring Braids, Arisen Nightmare and Second Little Pig!

I wasn't sure what to do with this prompt until I literally started drawing, and Braids kinda emerged--I've been trying simply pulling interesting cards before going to sleep and then just jamming a concept when I wake up, and so far that's been working out pretty well--I'm making good time, and my hand is in much less pain.  I'm worried I won't have time to make a compelling concept, though, which is why I usually do all my research before sleeping. 

Fun Facts:  All I knew was I wanted this little piggy in there, as I've had a blast with him in the Alchemy precon event and he really rises to the occasion.  And it's our second day in a row with goggles and piggies--from Arena exclusive cards, to boot.  But this is Braids's second MTGinktober appearance, though the first time in nightmare mode.  As for how to treat her, I ended up bouncing between pretty much all the current versions to make a composite of her, notably the hair at top is chiefly from Daisuke Tatsuma, central crossing braids from Heonhwa Choe.

Easter Eggs:  As it's Friday the 13th, I wanted to include a reference to one of the 13er cards in Magic, but there wasn't a lot of space--you can see some blood trails like in Triskaidekaphobia but I ended up having to draw over it, so instead we went with 13 dark smoke plumes at the top left.

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FanArt_ink.Spicy

MTGinktober sears into Day 12, "Spicy," starring Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar; Dina, Soul Steeper; Chandra, Hope's Beacon; and Atsushi, the Blazing Sky!

This was another mercifully light one, so my hand can recover, as the pain of this marathon endurance test is certainly starting to set in.  It was a toss up between having Dina serving some terrible tea or Asmo hitting with some atrocious entrée, and food made more sense.  Plus the idea of Chandra crying from spicy food was a bonus attraction to this concept, since she famously cries in her latest card.

Fun Facts:  It looks like the official prompt has the typo "Spicey," which maybe subconsciously inspired this composition since the idea is Asmo had a type on the menu for fresh caught Atsushi, but they thought they were ordering sushi.  Anyway, this is the chef's third MTGinktober appearance, and the brewer's, and I've officially lost count of how many times the favorite firebrand's been featured--though this is the first time I've drawn her in actual fire mode, so I should have all iterations covered at this point.  Atsushi debuts. 

Easter Eggs:  The background elements come from Asmo's card, but there's the "dancing monkey" from The Meathook Massacre, plus another personal goal furthered--I want to draw every kind of card expression available in Magic, and every time I think I've hit them all, I realize there's another, so today we scratch off "Arena-exclusive" from the list via the oinker in Overcooked.  Just a couple more styles of card left, by my count, then I'll truly have drawn them all.

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FanArt_ink.Wander

MTGinktober moseys into Day 11, "Wander," starring Balan, Wandering Knight (Mai Okuma version); Fblthp, the Lost (Tetsu Kurosawa version); and Cairn Wanderer!

I was of course almost going to do a Wanderer piece, potentially a direct sequel to last year's "Kind" piece, since we seem to be doing more sequels this year for whatever reason, but I just can't sit well with doing the most obvious thing.  So I went with not just Balan, but the Animu version, with corresponding Fblthp, to boot, since--all respect to the legendary Jesper--I am not crazy about his official card's design.  And then I thought of Cairn Wanderer as a sorta more timid member of the group.

Fun Facts:  Wow, I'm shocked, but this is Fblthp's MTGinktober debut.  These guys are like a team of explorers-for-hire who specialize in just aimlessly traveling.  If you need that peculiarly pointless job performed, they're your crew.

Easter Eggs: The background comes from the original Balan's cairny background.  And my sig is in the grass in the background.  I also almost forgot her hair in the original pencils.

 But I caught the miss in the nick of time before inks!
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FanArt_ink.Fortune

MTGinktober lucks into Day 10, "Fortune," starring The Unluckiest Planeswalker!

I must have deleted my initial ink pic in the flurry, so we're just going to make do with these three images, how unfortunate.  But I knew I wanted to take it a little easier today to rest up my hand, so we went with the Unluckiest cautiously optimistic his sudden influx of loot will eventually stop raining down in time not to suffocate him.

Fun Facts: This is The Unluckiest's debut or second MTGinktober appearance, depending on how you count.

Easter Eggs:  There's some special treasures in the haul.  First, we've got Treasure Vault framing up top, complete with Algen's swooshy B (ß) in the money pile; the horn of a Good-Fortune Unicorn; an arrow from  Fortune Thief; a Lucky Clover; the gem from Pirate's Pillage; there's Krark's Thumb; Krark's Other Thumb; a Tainted Sigil; and an Orzhov Signet.

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FanArt_ink.Bounce

MTGinktober rolls easy when it rides into Day 9, "Bounce," starring Hargilde, Kindly Runechanter; Cecily, Haunted Mage; Zethi, Arcane Blademaster; and Malik, Grim Manipulator!

This was a toss up between this concept and just a light illustration of Alexi having a playful hop, so I can take it easy since I'm really starting to feel the pain and exhaustion by now.  But this concept was too good and stupid not to do, so we went with a send up of a classic SNL sketch, "Bounce in California."  Funnily enough, SNL also had legendary, strong Cecily.

Fun Facts:  No Universes beyond cards are allowed in MTGinktober, but these are Universes Within, so they make the cut, which also achieves my goal again of drawing every kind of Magic card possible.  Another appeal of these characters is that they're originally based on kids, I believe, so they kind of fit the high school setting.  Anyway, this is each character's first appearance.  This is our second SNL sendup, though.

Easter Eggs:  My signature is spread across the different signs (which are based on those in the sketch) and the trophy case, which also casually sports the Magic World Championship trophy.  Wonder how they got that...

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FanArt_ink.Toad

MTGinktober hops into Day 8, "Toad," starring Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (Hannes's Secret Lair version) and The Gitrog Monster!

Oh, man, I was pumped to draw this one once I hit the concept of Thalia goofing around with famous toads from the major TCGs.  It started with wanting to draw Thalia hanging out with four Keroyon, who I used to use back in the day in a janky alternate-win deck that never won one.  But then I thought of her hanging with the arguably more infamous Toadally Awesome (I'm relaxing my boycott of that word, since it's the card name), and then since we almost had four toads, I searched for the toadiest of Pokémon.   

Fun Facts: This is personal favorite Thalia's fourth MTGinktober appearance, always a joy. This is my first time drawing Yu-Gi-Oh! fan art, but it's not our first Duel Masters fan art by a long shot.  YGO's 50-50, as early on it was an interesting change of pace, and I like poking in on how the game's coming along, but there's an arrogance/ignorance that emanates from it that's quite off-putting, chiefly the refusal to learn from Magic, its progenitor.  Duel Masters is always dear, though--I'll always love it, even if I've lamentably stepped away from it. 

Easter Eggs: As is tradition with Algen fan art, we hide a little "swooshy B" (ß) in there--this one is near the Gitrog's eyebrow.  Notably, this is not Thalia and The Gitrog Monster--this is OG Thalia, whose outfit is cooler, plus Gitrog from the team-up, since it has a little helmet.  The background comes from a combo of the Hannes Secret Lair version I just mentioned plus the Heron moon from Paraselene.  I believe that moon no longer exists in the lore right?  Well, who know, in any case, this is MTGinktober, and we make our own lore.  

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FanArt_ink.Drip

MTGinktober styles into Day 7, "Drip," starring Domri Rade; Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief; and Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts!

I always look forward to these fashion-centric prompts, and this was an easy decision--to use the slang for drip rather than an actual water-themed piece, though in that case I mighta gone with Emry.  The only tough part was deciding on outfits, and then I was on the fence about changing it up by using water-themed characters or flashing back to these three.  They just need to have easily readable heads since I couldn't rely on their outfits to sell the characters, which is a bit of a shame for Magic character design.

Fun Facts:  Why these three?  Well, this is a sequel to a piece from 2017!  So while this is personal favorite PW Domri's sixth MTGinktober appearance, it's Drana's third rodeo, and only Teysa's second, but I would definitely like to draw her in her own illustration some time.

Easter Eggs:  The composition is from the 2017 "Fall" piece, down to tossing the signature-etched pumpkin and Domri repping the Gruul logo on his headwear.  I added the Supreme logo spoof, as I understand that it's a high-end fashion goof. 

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FanArt_ink.Golden

MTGinktober blings into Day 6, "Golden," starring Tasigur, the Golden Fang and King Macar, the Gold-Cursed!

Man, I was super unsure of what to draw for this one, down to actually starting the piece.  I had thought of maybe Macar doing the finger-gun thing to under his chin, as he's driven to despair, but looking at his art, he can't affect himself, so I went with another golden-themed character antagonizing his inability to use his hands.  I figured Tasigur might be a spoiled brat and openly mocks how he's golden yet can touch anything as he wishes because not only is he inconsiderate, but he's also a Khan.

Fun Facts:  This is Tasigur's third MTGinktober appearance, though the second instance was kind of as a cameo.

Easter Eggs:  There's a Golden Egg on the right.  The coin design comes from the Pete Venters Smothering Tithe.

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FanArt_ink.Map

 MTGinktober charts a course for Day 5, "Map," starring Cartographer (Donato version)!

I knew I wanted to cast Cartographer, but I was unsure about her soling or maybe reporting to a captain, conferring with a navigator, or even giving tips to a Goblin Guide about to set out for adventure.  But we ended up going for a straight-up celebration of this supremely influential card alone, like she's nerdily drawing maps through the night and we're coming over and bugging her to sit for a portrait, like in college: All these motivated people moving their own mountains and everyone's timelines are intersecting at odd hours in odd places.  

 Fun Facts:  This is a rare instance of an illustration containing no legends and a totally solo character!  Exceedingly rare there isn't even one per year.  I literally have to ponder for the last time this happened.  Let's see, looks like Fan // Investigate, thought that was about a legend...Anyway, this card is special to me because it was one of the very first truly great Magic illustrations I ever saw back when I was starting and it still entrances me; it made me fall in love with Magic art--it set the tone for what excellence is.  

 Easter Eggs:  The background comes from Donato's wonderful Cartographer, of course, but the framed map in the center is the cover art to the incredible song by Yeah Yeah Yeahs called "Maps," of course.  Her ruler says "Donato Rules" as another homage to the genius, and I mimicked how he hid his signature in the lower left map.  And her pen is based on my trusty G-pen.

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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.

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FanArt_ink.Path

 MTGinktober is streets ahead on Day 3, "Path," starring Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer (Zoltan Boros version) and Koma, Cosmos Serpent!

 I was on the fence on what to do with this prompt, maybe Nissa reenacting the clueless pathfinder of Goblin Guide, but I thought of the famous scenario of Goku running on Snake Way and these two seemed like a great cast, so I went with that concept.  Thankfully it was a bit light, so plenty of time to help the cat get adjusted to the wide, open spaces of anywhere but under the bed.

 Fun Facts: This is Ragavan's third MTGinktober appearance, and Koma's debut.

 Easter Eggs: My sig is hidden near the far-shot of Ragavan.  Plus the whole image is an homage to Dragon Ball Z, of course.

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FanArt_ink.Spiders

 MTGinktober wallcrawls into Day 2, "Spiders," starring Tymna the Weaver and Kotose, the Silent Spider!

 I wasn't quite sure what to do with this one, but having two spider-related characters teaming up to knit and pose like Spider-Man sounded like a neat challenge.

Fun Facts: This is Tymna's second MTGinktober appearance--she was in our very first run, and hasn't had time to join us since.

 Easter Eggs:  The background is based on Tymna's card.

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FanArt_ink.Dream

 MTGinktober snoozes into Day 1, "Dream," starring Obyra, Dreaming Duelist and Lurrus of the Dream-Den!

 Oh, boy, it's that time again, hoping to put on a good show this Inktober.  Kinda bummed out how crickets we got on our roundup post--I usually get a bit more engagement--but we must press onward.  Anyway, this is my first Inktober on my new workflow, which includes using Clip Studio Paint as my digital prep program and my phone as my digicam, plus my new laptop negotiating with my trusty scanner, which is still holding up fine.  So far, so good--CSP even has a handy dust-remover function that I am definitely loving.

 Fun Facts:  This is Lurrus's second MTGinktober appearance, while Obyra's fresh from the currently most resent premier set, Wilds of Eldraine.  I almost did a similar composition out of parallel thinking to that original Lurrus piece, oddly enough.  But this is kind of a tribute to our old cat who just passed, plus our newer cat who has joined us as a true pet since the last run--back then she was a wild animal surviving on the mean streets!  But we adopted her and she is enjoying the indoor life!

 Easter Eggs:  The background is from the classic Carl Critchlow Underworld Dreams.

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