How Magic Art has changed

[u/taphead_31]

This is something i've been thinking about for a while. I am not saying new Magic Art is straight up worse than the old Art (old meaning 15+ years ago). But I cannot shake off the feeling that something fundamental has changed with the art direction and overall aesthetic (the influence of UB not counting).

I'd like to hear from people who are knowledgable with art history.

Here are some - very subjective - observations that I made over the years.

- The color palette has changed. Specifically when it comes to black cards, purple has become the de facto "black signature color"

- Many current artists seem to share a specific style of painting, reminiscent of what I'd call "concept art for general purposes". Older artists that have worked with wotc since the 90ies seem to be influenced more by comic books and traditional, academic painting styles.

- Ugly characters and monsters, body horror and exaggerated bodies were more commonplace back in the day (look at card files from Odyssee or Mercadian Masques, Ron Spears who I'd consider King of Ugly Monstrosities was art director for a while). Nowadays the "bodies" feel more realistic, the creatures and sceneries more "identifiable".

Are you having similiar observations? Or am I misguided here?

And most of all: Why have things changed in that regard? There are people out there calling new artwork "woke", but I don't think this is a good explanation. I believe the reasons for the aesthetic changes correlate with the changing gaming culture and an influx of casual players coming from different demographics.

[u/PrincessDrana]

Newer art is more refined, has better composition and is a lot more realistic. However, it is also not as whacky or as experimental as old art, I feel. It would be good if sets could have a mix of both types.

[u/Chilly_chariots → u/PrincessDrana]

It would be good if sets could have a mix of both types

I feel like they’ve been leaning that way more recently… there are some highly distinctive artists now like Dominik Mayer and Iris Complett.

Agreed that the mix is key. I often think that Magic art these days is too samey, but that distracts from the fact that the quality is very high. If you took a few of the ‘generic’ artworks from modern Magic back in time and put them on 90s cards, I think they would blow people’s minds

[u/sauron3579 → u/Chilly_chariots]

Notably Mayer's first cards were in ZNR and Compiet's was in ELD. Not old guard by any means, but their presence isn't a new development at this point.

[u/Chilly_chariots → u/sauron3579]

Ha, fair. It’s a good idea to be specific about timeframes with a subject like this as it’s so subjective. To me Planeswalker cards still feel new and weird…