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. 

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FanArt_ink.Blast

MTGinktober explodes into Day 21, "Blast," starring Krark, the Thumbless; Zoyowa Lava-Tongue (Richard Luong version); Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought; Goblin Charbelcher; and Loot, the Key to Everything!

All right, I went to paper with two complete research rounds ready, in case this idea didn't work out, but also cuz I couldn't decide between this and Chandra basically self immolating, which I believe was what she did in the lore, but I'm not 100% sure.  Anyway, this was a nice, light deay, despite involving multiple creatures, including a dreaded vehicle (well, sorta)!  My hand is feeling relatively rested by now, so we may be ready for something more intense by tomorrow.

Fun Facts:  This is kinda Krark's second MTGinktober appearance, if you count his thumbs earlier.  This also checks another card type off our list, which I believe makes us current on all main-line types, thanks to a Spacecraft getting a debut here.  Did not have me drawing a gigantic Spacecraft on my bingo card, but it felt like a perfect Smash combo-style cap to this gag, so we jotted it in right as we were thinking about wrapping our pencils.

Easter Eggs:  My signature is in Krark's cloth attire.  Since I hastily drew the Spacecraft at a weird angle, it wasn't pointed directly at Loot, who I loathe, so I considered making its firing mechanism a swarm thing like the StarCraft Battleship, but the angle worked out after all, so I just went with a Tenchi Muyo-style beam.  I considered Fleem firing the Cannon, but since I kinda wanted to chuck UB in the cannon, too, it didn't quite feel on-theme.  The background comes from Charbelcher.

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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.

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FanArt_ink.Arctic

MTGinktober chills out with Day 19, "Arctic," starring Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer!

Man, if only we coulda had this prompt yesterday, when we really needed to take it easy!  But it was still nice to have a light day today, too, as my hand was hurting a bit after that double shift, so I definitely wanted to rest it a little more, and a straightforward illustration like this was just what the Chopper ordered.  Sadly, my concept of Kari cheering on a full Monkey band was out cuz I knew that'd be pretty intense and besides, she's the kiss of death.

Fun Facts:  This is Ragavan's sixth MTGinktober appearance, a surprisingly frequent flyer.  But this is also another in our somewhat regular tradition of having a "musical" episode, so check at least one music-themed spoof for the year, which I was certainly looking forward to, and with one of my favorite bands and albums of all time.  I had thought to reference my top-favorite AM album, Humbug, which woulda been a great opportunity to incorporate more Monkeys (what a fun sentence), but I went with a simpler, rest-enabling tact.  Also a surprising amount of Magic bananas. 

Easter Eggs:  This is of course based on Arctic Monkeys' classic album cover for Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, so one of the tufts on his head has AM, innit(?), not to mention my signature is on his shoulder.  I was torn about depicting Ragavan smoking, but fortunately, from my monkey-based research, I saw a nice solution in a banana from Kibo, Uktabi Prince (Filipe Pagliuso version).

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FanArt_ink.Deal

MTGinktober bargains into Day 18, "Deal," starring Bane Alley Broker!

Oh, man, what a whirlwind--I wanted to be able to schedule time for potentially joining a protest today, so I decided to sleep immediately after yesterday's post-wrap dinner so I could start today's piece as soon as possible after midnight.  I usually spend the first three hours of the day in research, break for sleep, then wake and start drawing, and but I resolved to just go with my instinct on whatever card and composition felt like it'd be a good fit for the prompt so I could snap-start drawing, and sleep after wrapping this piece. 

Fun Facts:  It's not too common--though every year there are definitely a couple--but this is an illustration with absolutely no legendaries, and bonus points for not even a rare!  Just a little uncommon that could.  Anyway, Bane Alley Broker debuts.  Despite the heavily truncated research phase, I did kinda give a quick look to Old Rutstein, and Vazi,  but I had to go with a saleslady with the hookup on a special curio.   

Easter Eggs:  As a nod to Old Rutstein, I used his hand as the model for that flourish gesture.  The background is strongly inspired by Bane Alley Broker's, but we increased the number of things in threes, in the Dimir tradition.  Also really happy with this signature--I used the No Kings logo as the X, with the rest of the sig embedded in the map.

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FanArt_ink.Ornate

MTGinktober needlessly decorates Day 17, "Ornate," starring Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor; Bruvac the Grandiloquent; and Judge's Familiar!

Man, this was a joy to draw.  I love the trope of some self-absorbed blowhard getting the respect they deserve, and I also like when mascots mimic their masters, so this was a good time all around.

Fun Facts:  This is all characters' debut, but we got to achieve a couple more "Expressions of Magic" here--we knocked out both a misprint, at last, but also Deceptive Divination, one of those weird "Secret Lair Showcase Planes."  Plus this means I also have drawn a plane, so that should be every main-line card type for sure, now that I check back on each.  We drew the creature side of a Battle, though, but I'd still say we got there, though obviously I'd like to draw a proper battle. 

Easter Eggs:  A bunch!  Not only do we get Circular Logic from Alexander Khabbazi, but the scroll gibberish left plenty of places to sneak in some hidden messages.  So you can find JE SUX, UB Sucks, I blame EDH, my name in Japanese, 一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, MCR, MCS, FOB, AM, AKFG, FCGNA, JEW, TIL, OOR, PTV, RAD, :]LOLFRFR, Fake Word, 202, 8675309, and Blah Blah. 

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FanArt_ink.Blunder

 MTGinktober stumbles into Day 16, "Blunder," starring Serra the Benevolent, Serra Angel (Rebecca Guay version), and Golgari Death Swarm!

 I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to draw this idea out, so I just went to paper to see how it sorta informed me, but the idea is I wanted Serra Angel to be baffled or startled by Golgari Death Swarm, in reference to the apparently widely confusing Great Designer Search 3 question--I got the question right (not braggin').  Anyway, in case this idea didn't pan out, I had a Goyf laughing off a bolt concept waiting in the wings, which woulda been neat to draw, but fortunately this idea flowed pretty well, and even got us an early wrap, a welcome relief to rest.  

 

Fun Facts: While this is the debut for everybody, it is actually our fifth Test Card.  But more impressively, during research I found there's a whole new expression for my "Expressions of Magic" goal--apparently a series called "Oversized 90s Promos," so we can add that to the list and immediately check it off.  

 Easter Eggs:  Tricky to find a place for our signature, but we manged to mangle GDS's bicep.  Also Serra Angel's strand of hair across the neck is a reference to that classic Rebecca Guay composition that I just learned about.  Serra's face was modeled on "my" Serra Angel (Mark Zug version), from 7th Edition, when I started, so that's all I ever knew of the card for a while.
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FanArt_ink.Ragged

 MTGinktober barely drags itself into Day 15, "Ragged," starring Far Fortune, End Boss!

 I wasn't sure what to do here, but I wanted to gamble that I could draw Far Fortune.  Since she's kinda Tank Girl, I spent time looking up some art from her series and during research I spotted this incredible more recent Jamie Hewlett drawing of her, so I thought I'd do a more direct homage. 

 Fun Facts:  This is our first Aetherdrift character, which was a bit of a feat cuz I hate drawing vehicles, but we managed to make it work.  

 Easter Eggs:  In the Hewlett illustration, she's handling a skull, so for us, I got an opportunity to draw one of my favorite props, Ib's helmet, which is now its fourth MTGinktober appearance, the most of any prop.  I had wanted Ib in the illustration, but unfortunately--hah--we didn't quite have space or time.  Speaking of armor, the knee pad is a direct reference to Jamie Hewlett's illustration.  Also her badge thing has ASBO, an old British-themed joke for the occasion.  And our sig is on her screwy shoulder. 
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FanArt_ink.Trunk

MTGinktober takes root in Day 14, "Trunk," starring Spike, Tournament Grinder; Vorthos, Steward of Myth; Frankie Peanuts; and Six!

 Man, I had high hopes for this one--finally another episode of Spike and Vorthos after a few false starts this year, but it just fell apart in execution.  I finally got some rest, but ironically I felt like I ran out of steam towards the end of this piece.  Anyway, this is all an elaborate pun of different kinds of trunks--luggage, elephants, trees, and presumably clothing.  But I liked the idea of Spike being too proud to ask for directions, meanwhile Vorthos can strike up a friendly chat with anyone and also get sidetracked while asking directions. 

 Fun Facts:  This is Spike's fifth MTGinktober appearance, and Vorthos's third (so far she's only ever appeared with Spike, so Spike has soloed twice.  The others debut.  I had though this piece might get a little cramped, so I considered using our Massive board to make sure we could get everyone clearly, but I decided to try it in our regular sketchpad, and clearly chose incorrectly. 

 Easter Eggs: Spike's map contains the Tetris shapes, as well as the Pong pixels.  The luggage trunks contain a bunch of fun sounding places and also Ohio.  I changed Kokomo to Dokomo, a reference to the Japanese company, which is also a pun on the word for everywhere, which felt in the spirit.  Frankie has the Sopranos hand.  The convention center is based on The SD convention center, drawn from memory...clearly tired.  The shirts reference that old, abandoned "Drink" idea.  Plus two of my favorite state flags: Arizona and New Mexico. 
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FanArt_ink.Drink

MTGinktober salutes Day 13, "Drink," starring Elspeth Resplendent!

I had another collection of ideas for this one, but since tomorrow's portfolio day, I need to prep for that, so I went with a concept that I felt might give me the best chance at an early wrap, so I can have time for that quarterly task.  Again, maybe next time, Vorthos and Spike drinking away their woes about the state of Magic.  The trickiest thing was deciding to who to cast here, as Gallia woulda been quite funny, but Davriel woulda been the continuity choice, but I just went with the on-theme roaring 20s style choice.

Fun Facts:  This is Elspeth's fourth MTGinktober appearance (first time solo).  Also, despite being a minimal illustration, man this thing took a while, especially since I wanted to color in the background myself, rather than use Clip Studio to drop the solid blacks.  You can see from the pencils that there was some plans, if I had a lot of extra time, to put in some starry panels, but alas, no time.  This is also weirdly our second Leonardo DiCaprio meme spoof.

Easter Eggs:  While the main model for Elspeth is Krhart's version, the background design is inspired by Tom Roberts's version, not to mention the cute, little lion pendant thing, whose mane also sports my signature.  And the feather cape thing comes from the Areku Nishiki's version.  The goblet is a mix of the stem from Krharts's version and the bowl from Wine of Blood and Iron.

Plus an amusing bonus for the making-of.  We started with the meme. 

 And then drew it into Elspeth.

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FanArt_ink.Shredded

 MTGinktober cuts up Day 12, "Shredded," starring Eloise, Nephalia Sleuth and Massacre Girl, Known Killer! 

 This was definitely a thrill to do.  It started as the idea of Massacre Girl shredding her wanted posters, but then we just kept adding to it during research and fortunately it came together pretty well in execution.  Sadly didn't have room or time to have Etrata just hanging out in the peanut gallery, both she and the non-Detective detective completely forgetting that she's a wanted criminal, too.   

 Fun Facts:  This is Massacre Girl's third MTGInktober appearance, Eloise debuts. 

 Easter Eggs:  The little Ravnica police line urn (as it turns out) come from Shadowy Backstreet (Sergey Glushakov version) and the victim is actually Thraben Inspector (Aurore Folny version), which also inspired most of the background, though the Heron Moon comes from Howling Moon.  The typography and design for the wanted posters comes Slayer's Bounty.  Also my main model for Massacre Girl was the Arena sleeve, which I believe is by Joshua Raphael--not actually a fan of her new design, but he painted her the best.  Not normal,

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FanArt_ink.Sting

 MTGinktober points out Day 11, "Sting," starring Mr. 254 and Byode, Inverse Sun! 

 You know, I was pretty sure I wanted to use Mark Rosewater's recent post on "The Dark Night," and this felt like a perfect opportunity, since that post was so surprisingly painful to read.  I knew it wasn't just me--it was bittersweet seeing he felt the same, seeing Commander just eat this game alive, and now it's progressed to what Universes Beyond has become...so this is a sad tribute to our common pain.  

 Fun Facts:  This is Mark Rosewater's second or third MTGinktober appearance, depending on how you count, but interestingly enough the last time he appeared as himself, it was also in a little comic about current MTG events (man, it feels good to get back to comics).  This is also our fourth comic-style piece to make it in, too.  And strangely enough, this is also our third Heroes of the Realm card. 

 Easter Eggs:  His shirt is Bitter Revelation, so that makes this Sorin's fourth appearance--first time without Nahiri.  My signature is near the identifier of despair.

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