I was recently doing some spring cleaning, when I came across a big box of my old Magic: The Gathering cards. Flipping through them, I was reminded how much I enjoyed all of the amazing artwork that is part of each card in this very popular card game. With over six million players in over seventy countries, it is no wonder that Magic has attracted some of the greatest artists in the world to do the artwork.

Having literally hundreds of amazing artists to choose from for this post, these eight artists only scratch the surface of the vast collective skill that comes along with each pack of Magic cards. Feel free to share other great Magic artists that I might have missed. Enjoy!

Please note that all of the following artworks are © Copyrighted to Wizards of the Coast

Todd Lockwood

Website: http://www.toddlockwood.com/

Blog: http://www.tolo.biz/

Quote: “I have been drawing since before I can remember, literally since I was old enough to hold a pencil. Growing up, it was my main recreation. I taught myself to draw by making my own comic books on typing paper; it was great practice, drawing the same characters, objects, and settings in sequential multiples. It honed my story telling skills at the same time; story telling was really what was on my mind.”

John Avon

Website: http://www.johnavon.com/

Bio: John is an English freelance illustrator, working primarily in the field of Fantasy and Science Fiction. His professional art career started in 1983, when he began to paint book-covers, including authors such as Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Arthur C. Clarke, among many others. Over the last decade John has produced hundreds of paintings for the cards of Magic the Gathering.

Donato Giancola

Website: http://www.donatoart.com/

Bio: Since beginning his professional career in 1993, Donato’s list of clients has grown to include LucasArts, National Geographic, CNN, DC Comics, Microsoft, Playboy Magazine, Wizards of the Coast, Scholastic, Tor Books, Random House, Time/Warner, The Scifi Channel, Milton-Bradley, and Hasbro.

Matt Cavotta

Website: http://cavotta.com/artists/cavotta/main.asp

Bio: Matt has loved games since he was slumlording over Baltic Avenue as a kid. Scattergories, Scrabble, Balderdash, and Boggle are all faves, but Matt does not reach his full gamer nerdhood until he busts out the D&D or Magic. After a while, it only seemed natural to try and contribute to the artwork of the games he loves. After a lot of practice and perseverance, Matt cracked into the “biz” and now his work and play are nearly one and the same.

Scott M. Fischer

Website: http://www.fischart.com/

Bio: After coasting through high school on extra credit art assignments, he found himself at the Savannah College of art and design. In 1994 he graduated from college with honors, and a little plaque inscribed with the words ‘painter of the year’. A sampling of the worlds he’s visited are; Peter Pan, Secrets of Dripping Fang, Halo, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Robert Jordan’s ‘Wheel of Time’, Magic the Gathering, and Dungeons and Dragons.

Heather Hudson

Website: http://www.studiowondercabinet.com

Bio: “Since the early 90‘s, I’ve drawn and painted art for tabletop games for the young adult market including licensed properties based on the Dungeons and Dragons game system, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft.  My work for the collectible card game “Magic; the Gathering” (Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro) is known to players and collectors around the world.”

Mark Tedin

Website: http://marktedin.com

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Tedin-Illustration/297091821503?ref=ts

Bio: Since 1992 Mark has worked as a Set Designer for various companies, Art Director and Concept Artist at Wizards of the Coast. He recently has been an Adjunct Faculty member at Northwest College of Art since 2003.

Rob Alexander

Website: http://www.robalexander.com/

Bio: Rob Alexander is an Illustrator and Concept Artist working in the Publishing, Magazine, Computer Gaming and Collectable Card Game markets. He paints Fine Art, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Children’s Illustrations and contemporary landscapes.

Other notable Magic the Gathering artists:

Daren Bader – http://www.darenbader.blogspot.com/

Carl Critchlow – http://www.carlcritchlow.com

Dan Frazier – http://www.danfrazier.com

Gallegos – http://gallegosart.com

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