Today I have for you the process and steps that went into making my Shifting Shadow painting from the Magic the Gathering Commander 2017 set. It has been a while since it was released, and it has finally risen to the top of the queued blog posts. This was an enjoyable piece to work on, and I was asked to raise my game on this one, which I am happy to say I was told I did. It also marked the last card I did for a few years, which is the way of things sometimes. I have since painted more cards, but this has remained a fan favorite. To start things off, here is the final painting for Shifting Shadow.
Shifting Shadow
Magic the Gathering - Commander 2017
The assignment was straightforward enough. Tiny lizard casting the shadow of a giant scary dragon. Simple enough, right? As I came to find out, it was not as easy I thought it would be. Once I received the assignment, I got to work on some thumbnails of a tiny lizard casting a shadow of a giant dragon and sent them in. These are my thumbnails for Shifting Shadow.
Shifting Shadow - Thumbnails
© 2017 Wizards of the Coast
You may have guessed it already, but all of these thumbnails were flatly rejected. This is a rare occurrence for me. Typically, a thumbnail(s) is approved as it, or one is selected, and some modifications are requested. These, on the other hand, were all turned down. Production felt they all appeared as if the tiny lizard was confronting a large dragon off-screen, and we see the shadow of that dragon. I was asked to explore different angles and focus on the shadow emanating from the tiny lizard. I got to work on more thumbnails. Since the first batch was wholly rejected, I made sure to explore as many options as possible and submitted double the original thumbnails. Here are my round two thumbnails.
Shifting Shadow - Thumbnails round two
© 2017 Wizards of the Coast
Thankfully, this time around, one of them was selected. As you can see, option 'G' was the winner. I was given the go-ahead to move onto the next phase of my process. While it was great to have an approved thumbnail, this was not one of the ones I really wanted to take to final. First, never submit a thumbnail you are not willing to take to final because that will always be the one selected. I was more than prepared to take any of these to final. I was a lot more excited about options 'B' and 'F.' I made this known to production when I submitted them, but alas, 'G' was selected. I really felt that the other two really drove home how tiny the dragon one, and I felt seeing the shadow directly coming from the lizard took any confusion out of the image. This did mean that the cast shadow was not very large either, and in the end, it is likely why 'G' was selected. It not only had the tiny lizard, but it also had a much larger shadow. This is the way of things, and you go with what production requests.
Now that I had an approved thumbnail, it was time to create the finalized drawing. Here is the final drawing that I submitted.
Shifting Shadow - Drawing
Magic the Gathering - Commander 2017
17 x 14 -Pencil on paper
Original - SOLD
© 2017 Wizards of the Coast
The drawing was approved without comment, and I was set to begin the painting. Before that, I created a tonal study to make sure I had a better idea of the overall piece's value structure. Here is that tonal study.
Shifting Shadow - Tonal Study
Magic the Gathering - Commander 2017
17 x 14 -Pencil on paper
Original - SOLD
© 2017 Wizards of the Coast
Approved drawing and tonal study in hand, it was time to paint. I researched some lighting and chroma options so that I could elevate my color selection for this painting. I was asked to do so, and that is what I aimed to do. I have mentioned time and time again here on the blog the importance of doing the work on the front end of a painting or drawing. Get your reference, work out the composition and image in thumbnails, make sure the drawing is strong, and then, and only then, will you start on the final piece. While I have color and lighting in mind going into a piece, I often work really sloppy at the underpainting stage to see what works and hope for happy accidents. With the Shifting Shadow, I had all of the lighting and color locked in before I began and it made for a much more straightforward and effortless painting. I had very few descions to make while working. I simply needed to spend the time required in my chair to make all the needed marks and refinements. Here is a look at the painting taking shape.
Shifting Shadow - Process
© 2017 Wizards of the Coast
The painting was approved without edits and I even heard from my art director how pleased they were with it and how I checked off all the boxes and hit all of their expectations. That said, I would not have new cards released again until 2020. As I said before, that is just the way of things. Here again is the final for the Shifting Shadow and the card in all its glory.
Shifting Shadow
Shifting Shadow in handy dandy card form
That's all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...
