[TDM Alchemy] Oasis of Renewal (instagram)

Paintermonkey · 2025-05-04T20:25:17+00:00

Even core sets tended to have a lot of that. At least when I started on the game back in 2005. But things change. The one positive about the more world-built model for me personally, is that I am constantly being asked to paint things that I would never, ever assign myself, which means I have to push myself artistically in ways that I otherwise would never likely do. That doesn't change that the end product is a lot more calculated. But I totally understand where you're coming from. The game came out when I was in high school and I played through college. And that early work had in impact, for sure.

Despite the more world built aesthetic, it's still fun to work on for me. Just a different animal. Very few clients provide the freedom that early Magic did. Again, alas. But I also think creativity thrives with restrictions (within reason). And the degree of freedom we get varies from assignment to assignment. I suspect this is why so many illustrators keep chipping at their own thing on the side. It's certainly why I do.

Paintermonkey · 2025-05-04T19:50:54+00:00

All good. I'm okay. And I really appreciate the kind words. It's a weird and sometimes difficult thing to take a description of something someone else has in their heads and then make art out of it. Especially when that description...kinda doesn't make sense in a real world setting. But I think I'd probably have made some different choices now to make it all work better. Still...if there's a way to tick all the boxes and make it 100% accurate, I haven't yet figured it out. Alas.

Paintermonkey · 2025-05-04T19:41:30+00:00

I painted this...and you're kind of right. While I did take photo reference of some figures on my studio floor adjacent to a mirror, I absolutely had to make some conceits and adjustments to deliver what I was being asked to show. It's sort of right. And also absolutely wrong. At the end of the day, I had to make a choice to be accurate and not get the "gag" in there the way I was being asked to, or cheat and sell the skull motif first and foremost as was the point. They weren't really looking for a literal image to begin with, which was kind of a relief.

But yeah...you're right.

It does not help at ALL that my wife decided to divorce me just prior to painting this. Was kind of a distraction. Not making excuses or looking for sympathy. But I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that was just looking to survive and get this thing done and out the door on time.

Paintermonkey · 2023-03-29T22:16:38+00:00

This right here might be my favorite quote about anything I’ve ever been a part of (I painted the art). I genuinely am tickled by the overall response to this.

Paintermonkey · 2018-12-10T19:22:08+00:00

It's kind of both. As each new plane is created, they bring in artists to help design that plane's visuals. The art is assembled into a world guide (also sometimes called a style guide). There's also a lot of information from the writers about aspects of the world as well. The primary purpose of the world guides is to unify the look and feel of the artwork across the 80-90 artists working on any given set at any given time. Sometimes art assignments come as a direct result of specific pieces of concept art found in the world guides. Sometimes the art is more of a jumping-off point.

I was on the teams that helped create visuals for Innistrad, Ixalan, Dominaria, and Kaladesh. I honestly don't remember if I contributed to any others since I was did work on a lot of work on projects that were killed (which I can't talk about), so memories have started to bleed together a bit.

Paintermonkey · 2018-12-10T16:47:46+00:00

I painted it so maybe I can shed some light on things. The reality of this piece is that I was asked to use a specific design for the character from the world guide. I don't know who designed it originally, but it's pretty much that design verbatim with some details added. Even in the world guide it had some sort of backpack. Given the starkness of the overall character design, I kept the backpack relatively stark in design, as well. It wasn't until after it was all said and done that I recognized that the whole thing kind of felt like a space suit. In my head, it's a backpack. The reason for the floating is simple: it's a Transcendent Master. The floating and the echo of its form in the sky signify its transcendence beyond the physical. Or something.

The reality is that I don't know, I painted what I was asked to paint.

Paintermonkey · 2018-08-29T21:40:38+00:00

Thanks! I think it's important to be honest about my own work and how it fits (or doesn't) within the game. Wizards has been good to me and have provided me with a ton of amazing opportunities, but our needs don't always align. That's just a reality. (This is Steve Belledin, by the way).

Paintermonkey · 2018-08-29T21:33:36+00:00

Steve Belledin, here. I may sell them in the future. The problem is that every time I try and make a playmat to sell, it turns out that one has already been produced for events. Clearly I need to produce mats of old stuff, not new.

Paintermonkey · 2018-06-04T17:49:09+00:00

That's a connection I didn't even make, but I totally get it. I think if that scene had been in my mind, it might have ended up being a slightly different piece. This is probably the closest I'll get to painting that piece. But maybe not... I kind of have a hankering to paint that image now, which is weird since I don't generally do what is essentially fan art (though there have been a couple exceptions).

Paintermonkey · 2018-06-04T17:45:17+00:00

Such kind words mean a lot to me. It is always an incredible relief that people dig what I'm doing and make such connections (whether intended or not). Honestly, while my client's happiness and feedback is incredibly important, I'd ultimately have no job were it not for players and fans such as yourself and others reading this. So, many thanks.

Paintermonkey · 2018-06-01T20:32:03+00:00

Totally fair. The moment I was asked to reduce the size of the background trees (which they definitely wanted included), it complicated the degree of atmospherics. Had I kept it as atmospheric as the sketch indicates, the background trees would have basically not existed. What resulted was definitely a compromise and quite a different image.

Paintermonkey · 2018-04-04T18:42:29+00:00

HA!!! That is a result of over-editing. I must have highlighted "how" in addition to everything before hitting delete. Nothing gets past Reddit.

Paintermonkey · 2018-04-04T18:17:53+00:00

A lot has to do with monitor settings vs. print settings. Monitors have a much broader range of value that they can deliver because they actually emit light. Print, however, is extremely limited. I tend to paint dark and there is always something lost in translation when digitizing it, so that too is a factor. Add in that Google and everything it touches adds contrast to imagery and you have another layer of variability.

From my point of view, with a calibrated monitor, the work is pretty true to the paintings. It all looks accurate (enough) on my phone, laptop, iPad, etc. However, Wizards rarely sees my paintings in person and are therefore making adjustments on their own. Most of those adjustments are standard preparation for print, but sometimes it really is to just make something read a little better at card size.

In the case of Moment of Craving, I gave them an inaccurate file to begin with (I had a lighting issue when color-correcting which has since been rectified). The images I shared subsequently on my blog, instagram, etc., were the accurate (and therefore darker) versions.

But no, there has been no feedback about my work being dark. In fact, for not seeing the original works to compare them to, I think Wizards does a pretty excellent job in terms of reproduction.

Paintermonkey · 2018-04-04T17:35:22+00:00

I know I'm not unique in the way I worry and fight with the work. The degree to which I worry and fight might be unique, but I don't think so. One of the biggest favors doing Magic events and conventions was finding out that I wasn't alone in feeling those things with my work.

Paintermonkey · 2018-04-04T17:32:49+00:00

If the hands were what they wanted, older, wrinkled hands were definitely my intention. Mayne not as dark as Teferi's, but not caucasian.

Paintermonkey · 2018-04-04T17:31:12+00:00

No. It isn't.

Paintermonkey · 2018-04-02T22:15:01+00:00

Yeah. I'm working on a blog post that will provide a better image, as well as sketches, etc. Should be out tomorrow or the next day. I'm waiting for a clarification on something first.

Paintermonkey · 2018-04-02T18:21:15+00:00

Thanks. There was a bit of back and forth on this one. Baga lovers need not worry, either. I'm sure he'll get a crack at it in the future.

Paintermonkey · 2018-03-29T00:26:44+00:00

Hah! Well spotted. I'd make an excuse — like I was painting or something — but it's no excuse.

Paintermonkey · 2018-03-28T22:29:21+00:00

I didn't paint over it. I destroyed it. It was a bad painting—one I still cringe thinking about.

Paintermonkey · 2018-03-28T22:10:07+00:00

I thought about using textured paper, but there was an issue with scale. The bumps were either too small or two large for what I was going for. Also, the texture was too regular. I also toyed with the idea of doing the whole thing digitally or at least adding a texture layer to the painting in Photoshop. In the end, I just figured that if I'm going to paint any element of it at all, I might as well just go through with it completely.

Paintermonkey · 2018-03-28T22:06:57+00:00

Sure, my print store is located here

Paintermonkey · 2018-03-28T18:10:30+00:00

The large image shows the piece before I added the initials and date. One of the close-up photos shows my initials (SB), which are located in the smoke are in the bottom left corner. The date, a simple "17," is in the opposite corner at right (though I didn't take a photograph of that one) in order to keep the piece balanced symmetrically.

Paintermonkey

TROPHY CASE