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| ©2002 Formerly BANDWIDTH: A Popular Culture E-Zine |
| Review of Tournament |
| Interview with Magic Artists |
What makes Magic so cool are the pictures. How cool would a card like Plaque Winds be without a really great picture to be seen, describing what the card is all about? The artists make Magic what it really is. If the artwork looks like shit, the game is shit. Fortunately for this game, they have some of the best artists in the business. And I got to meet and talk with two of Magic's most famous artists Thomas Baxa and Greg Hildebrant.
Thomas Baxa has been creating artwork for the company since Tempest. He has also worked for Westwood Studios video game company, and has also done work for legendary RPG Dungeons and Dragons. Baxa has also done work for the popular Battletech series. Baxa hopes that more of his fans and potential fans will get to see more of his work in the mainstream soon. "I hope to be doing full-time freelancing soon," he says. For those who don't want to wait, log onto BaxaArt.com to view some examples of his work, buy prints and original artwork as well. It's a pretty cool site for those into RPG games, fantasy books and things of that nature.
It seems as if the magic number for artists at Magic is three to four years. Another artist who has brought many card ideas to life is Greg Hildebrant, and like the others, he has been doing artwork for Magic since Tempest, "about three to four years ago," he says.
Hildebrant has an extensive list of credits to his name, including being involved in the first Star Wars movie poster. His other works include the Marvel Masterpiece set and a Superman graphic novel. He was also been involved in creating the comic strip classic Terry and the Pirates. His latest works can be seen in the newest expansion set for Magic, called Invasion. Look for a Mermaid card in the Invasion set that has Hildebrant's name on it. Though a a master artists Hildebrant still looks at every new experience as his best. "I am not proud of anything in particular," he said. "I love what I'm doing at the present moment."
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Comments and or questions about this article can be sent to me at Jminners@ybfree.com.