Lost in time
August 18th 2009 02:27
What’s the difference between these two Time Spiral cards, other than the fact that they’re different cards? They both depict a member of the popular Sliver species (something like a large, carnivorous katydid, if you missed Tempest, Onslaught, and Time Spiral), they’re both white cards, they’re both action shots. One is illustrated by the popular Ron Spencer, who first illustrated a card around the time of The Dark in 1993 and has been a Magic mainstay ever since; the other is illustrated by the popular Liz Danforth, who first illustrated a card around the time of Fallen Empires in 1994 and was once a Magic mainstay but hadn’t done a new card since 1996 (other than a couple of contributions to Unhinged in 2003, but it wasn’t clear whether they were entirely new or previously-unused pieces left over from Unglued).
So why do Magic artists disappear from the multiverse, and why do they sometimes come back? Back when another Magic artist, Matt Cavotta, had a regular column on Wizards of the Coast’s website, he offered a list of possible reasons why the art director might not approach a previously-contracted artist for a new set.
“Artist A. is consistently late in turning in work.
Artist A. has an abrasive, difficult personality and is hard to work with.
Artist A. is no longer interested in doing work for Magic.
Artist A. is too busy with a full-time job work to fit in Magic work.
Artist A. has hung up the pencils and paints and is onto another career.
Artist A. is working for a competitor and is contractually unable to work on Magic.
Artist A. is delivering work of inferior quality to work of the past.
Artist A. has moved on to try illustration work of other sorts.
Artist A. has broken terms of the Magic art contract.
Artist A. is burnt out on Magic art.
Artist A. is taking a break to resolve personal issues.
Artist A. has moved and can no longer be reached.
Artist A. has health issues that make art work impossible.”
(Personally, I think it’s interesting that Cavotta’s article talks about the art director’s responsibilities but then includes the first, second, third, sixth, seventh, ninth, and twelfth reasons, which could be interpreted as “it’s the artist’s fault.” Not that all of the other explanations can be, or even sound wrong, and for all I know he went and asked Jeremy Jarvis himself. The other problem is that, in a sense, other Magic artists are his competition.)
The answer to the second part of my question is somewhat easier to answer, at least in the case of Time Spiral. The set’s backstory involved time itself fracturing, causing people and things from the past to appear in the present. The set’s mechanical design involved a potpourri of popular, interesting, and sometimes conflicting older mechanics and abilities, plus an entire sub-set of “timeshifted” cards lifted directly from the past with their old art, flavor text, and card frame. Wizards of the Coast also recognized – unlike a few of its players – that art and flavor are an intrinsic and important part of the card. And who better to bring the past into the present than people who were actually there?
This was just one case where the same old-school artist who illustrated the original card illustrated the Time Spiral block’s callback.
The interesting thing is that while the set brought back artists from the old days, the pieces they turned in were very clearly drawn in the current style. In addition to the “delivering work of inferior quality” suggestion, Cavotta occasionally commented that old Magic art was uglier than modern Magic art, or at least inconsistent. Maybe. But if old-timers like Liz Danforth, Stuart Griffin, Richard Kane Ferguson, Mark Poole, and Drew Tucker are capable of providing pieces that fit seamlessly into thoroughly modern expansions like Time Spiral and Shadowmoor, that idea is called into question somewhat. Did they mysteriously (or Magically) gain talent sometime between 1997 and now? We may never know if Cavotta was telling the truth and about what, but as long as they keep the overall standard as high as it’s been, the future looks bright.
P.S. I may come across as being hard on Matt Cavotta in this article, but I like his art, and I like the job he did during his time as the one in charge of card names and flavor text. And I love that when he still wrote his column, he was unafraid to stand up and say that flavor is as important as mechanics. "Blood Type V" remains a classic flavor article and a rallying point for everyone who thinks that River of Tears is cooler for its art than for how many PTQ decks it's appeared in.
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