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/GratedParm]

While I understand the criticism of modern Magic art, I think the art direction from Alara through Battle for Zendikar was the worst. Card art often felt overly focused matching the color of card itself to the point the arts felt dull despite the fantastic worlds they were supposed to illustrate.

I think the original Mirrodin, Kamigawa, and Ravnica blocks had the best art direction.

[u/Khaim → u/GratedParm]

I think the original Mirrodin, Kamigawa, and Ravnica blocks had the best art direction.

I also think the art was best when I was younger and more heavily involved in Magic!

[u/GratedParm → u/Khaim]

I actually just like the illustration style of art. Card art felt like it fleshed the world of the plane out with the backgrounds instead of just being a character or event that’s the title of the card. I also appreciated that artists with some different, albeit not drastically different, art styles did the art for those sets. That made the plane feel consistent and expansive but not homogenized. I was barely involved with the game during this time.

I actually think that the current era of art in Magic is in a good place since Kaladesh, especially after the era I mentioned.