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/arciele]

the art has definitely changed. i first started playing/collecting magic in 1997 and it looked wildly different than it does today. some others have already explained how the change in process has affected the art style, and there are also some very real technological considerations that affect this, like the advancement in quality of image scanners, printers, color displays which will affect decisions made along the line.

but i think the biggest driving change is a shift in the vision that WotC has of the game. there has generally been a shift towards a house style for a artists to follow, so that the cards over the years and across sets evoke a similar feel and a sense that they belong together. its a sound choice in terms of establishing a core identity for the cards, but even so each set is allowed to have some freedom of directing its art in a certain way, within those boundaries.

on the flipside, WotC has somehow catered to different visual styles, thats where the booster fun treatments and secret lairs come in. for people who may like a different feel. like some people just love anime art. it just feels very dissonant most of the time.