Episodes
Tuesday May 28, 2019
A Short Interview with Seb McKinnon
Tuesday May 28, 2019
Tuesday May 28, 2019
Since our preview card, Answered Prayers, was illustrated by Seb McKinnon, we took some time and came up with a couple questions to ask Seb about his art, his inspirations, and the card. It's quite short since we didn't want to retread ground other interviewers have gone over. But there was a fantastic interview by Vorthos Mike & Ant Tessitore with Seb you can find here.
-Something touched upon in Sam's (Rhystic Study) video essay on your work, he mentioned you composed the score behind your Kin Fables shorts. When creating your Magic pieces, do you simultaneously think of music that would pair with the art?
No, actually it's more the other way around; making music conjures images within me. When I paint, I usually need to work in silence, because if not, my mind wanders away with the music!
-With all the amazing art you've had shown off in Modern Horizons besides Answered Prayers, would it be a safe assumption for fans of your art to see a Kickstarter #3 down the road sometime in the future? Totally understand fulfillment on #2 would need to happen in addition to all your other projects.
-With all the amazing art you've had shown off in Modern Horizons besides Answered Prayers, would it be a safe assumption for fans of your art to see a Kickstarter #3 down the road sometime in the future? Totally understand fulfillment on #2 would need to happen in addition to all your other projects.
It's a possibility! We'll see... I'd like to do an art book at some point as well.
-With the art for Answered Prayers, can you tell us a bit of the art description that was given to you for it?
-With the art for Answered Prayers, can you tell us a bit of the art description that was given to you for it?
The art description was something like: Show a human kneeling in front of a warrior angel descending from the heavens, and the mood was something like " Sometimes, someone is listening". In my first sketch proposal, I had the knight pierced by arrows sticking out of his back, and the angel was kissing the knight's bowed head while removing them. In the end it was a bit over the top, a good call from my art director, allowing the scene to focus more on the act of prayer. Often times, less is more!
-Do you find it more challenging or more fun to be 'plane bound' with cards you've illustrated? (For instance, not needing to have any plane specific elements for this piece and others as opposed to including Ravnican elements in the past two sets)
Every illustration is always a challenge, but I have fun with both actually! But I must say I do like not being plane bound at all, which allows room to experiment and suggest things we perhaps haven't seen yet in Magic. It's fun trying to come up with something new.
-Do you find it more challenging or more fun to be 'plane bound' with cards you've illustrated? (For instance, not needing to have any plane specific elements for this piece and others as opposed to including Ravnican elements in the past two sets)
Every illustration is always a challenge, but I have fun with both actually! But I must say I do like not being plane bound at all, which allows room to experiment and suggest things we perhaps haven't seen yet in Magic. It's fun trying to come up with something new.
-How do you feel about the wave of popularity regarding your art in the Magic community?
I'm just happy the fans and players are enjoying what I do. I owe the community and Magic so much. Thanks to them, my dreams are becoming real. All I can do is try to continue to create the best art I can, for them, for the game, and for myself too.
-Have you found any changes in your style since you started illustrating for Magic? And does the fact the art will be 'compressed' into a much smaller space impact how you would compose a scene so details aren't too lost?
Yes, from my first card to now, I think there have been various shifts in styles. I think it comes from the desire to simply try new things. In way, the art description, the subject matter, determines the style and direction I choose to go in. The "feeling" is what guides me. And yes, I need to consider the small space always ( I often shrink the a work-in-progress and paste in on another magic card just to get a feel of what it looks like). However, I still need to be sure the artwork looks good larger at the same time.
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