I was curious about who everyone's favorite artists are. I thought I'd post my top 10, and get a conversation going about it. I'm especially interested in who some of the alterers favorite artists are. I am not an artist, so if you are you will have to excuse my layman's terms thrown around willy nilly. I'm basing my choices off a few factors:

Iconic pieces to Magic history
Power level of cards (probably not a fair factor for the artist, but its hard not to associate the power of the cards Mark Tedin with the artist himself)
Longevity to the game
Distinctive style
Sweet art!!!


Here's my top 10!!! (some of the statistics may be off, because gatherer counts basic lands as one, as opposed to counting per picture, i.e., if someone has done five different forests, Gatherer only counts one.)

10. Greg Staples: 195 Cards, Started in Urza's Sagas
The top nine were relatively easy for me, but I struggled with number ten for some reason. So I started going through my decks to find the art that I love, and Staples name kept coming up. His art is just all around good, and I'm glad that he seems to be a go to guy for WotC to recreate the classic cards: Hypnotic Specter, Ernham Djinn, Serra Angel.

Iconic Cards:
Empyrial Archangel, Demonfire, Hypnotic Specter (9th Ed.), Martial Coup, Diabolic Tutor (10th Ed.), Solemn Simulacrum, Traumatize, Sen Triplets, Serra Angel (9th Ed. - Thanking you for fixing the 7th Ed. mistake)

9. John Avon: 159 Cards, Started in Mirage
How would I describe John Avon in ten words or less? So much more than basic land. Yes, a great deal of Avon's work has been on basic land, and the supposed 159 cards he's done is probably far shy due to Gatherer's inability to count more than one basic land picture. However, his art is especially detailed, and on many occasions simply gorgeous. The colors on Tangle are so vivid and beautiful, that I find myself considering it for decks because of its art instead of its card quality. His landscapes are what he's known for, but take a closer look at his art, a lot of it is pretty amazing. Having said that, he would belong here for the Unhinged basic lands alone.

Iconic Cards:
Unhinged basic lands, Armageddon (Portal), Murmuring Bosk; Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth; Decree of Annihilation, Lotus Vale, Pyroclasm

8. Aleksi Briclot: 35 Cards, Started in Champions of Kamigawa
Aleksi is my favorite of the young guns of Magic artists. I don't think WotC could have picked anyone better to paint the creation of planeswalkers. Planeswalkers were such a huge surge forward in Magic, and Aleksi's art did not disappoint. Each of the commissions are incredibly detailed, gorgeously painted, and just phenomenal looking cards. I took a break from Magic from Planar Chaos to Conflux, and I still went out of my way to pick up a foil Garruk, simply because the art was so amazing.

Iconic Cards:
Garruk Wildspeaker, Liliana Vess, Chandra Nalaar, Jace Beleren, Ajani Goldmane, Venser Shaper Savant, Tombstalker, Thoughtseize

7. rk post: 100 Cards, Started in Urza's Sagas
After looking at some of rk's art, you wonder what his childhood must have been like. There is a sense of the deranged in his art, but its always engaging, and instead of repulsing, his style encourages you to study the details. His earlier pieces seem to be more unique, and some of his newer works seem to fit the style guide a little closer, and have lost some of the edge (until Alara block; hats off for Mind Funeral), but he's still easily in my top 10.

Iconic Cards:
Morphling, Avatar of Woe (and the rest of the Prophecy avatars), Ichorid, Lightning Angel, Lin-Sivvi, Sakashima, the Impostor, Simic Sky Swallower, Tidehollow Sculler

6. Terese Nielsen: 137 Cards, Started in Alliances
Wow did Force of Will put her on the map!!! Terese seems to be able to draw anything. She can put on a dark flavor, or soften up to make some of the most beautiful art in the game (woot for Life from the Loam). Her style has not washed out during her run either, and she maintains the same distinctive style that she has always had. Plus her Force of Will alters are awesome.

Iconic Cards:
Force of Will, Fact or Fiction, Eternal Witness, Life from the Loam, Kird Ape (9th Ed.), Natural Order, Elvish Ranger

5. Kev Walker: 266 Cards, Started in Mirage
Mr. Walker is a workhorse, I rarely see a set go by that doesn't include something with his name on it. For fun you should go through his gatherer list, there isn't a weak piece on it. Most impressively for me though is the recreation of Wrath of God. We all know what can happen with the commission of new art for a classic card (see 7th Ed. Serra Angel), and yet Walker's Wrath is so perfect, I completely forgot about the original art. On a side note, his art for Marvel Zombies 3 is amazing.

Iconic Cards:
Wrath of God (7th Ed.), Damnation, Balance (DCI), Gush, Obliterate, Rancor, Visara, the Dreadful, Volrath's Stronghold, Watchwolf, Eladamri's Call, Lightning Helix, Harmonize, Llanowar Elves (9th Ed.), Deranged Hermit, Loxodon Hierarch, Roar of the Wurm, Upheaval, the Myojin, Dread Return, Ovinomancer, Hand of Cruelty (the art on this is amazing!)

4. Rebecca Guay: 145 Cards, Started in Alliances
Guay's distinctive style once had her ousted from the game, due to the short-sightedness of former art director Jeremy Cranford. However, Guay's fans rallied to get her back to the game. In a game where the art sometimes feels too processed with the move to digitalized art, Guay's pieces are a breath of fresh air. Her softness and her semi-fairytale style is a welcome change from so much of the same on card after card. For me, she captures the essence of fantasy more than many of her colleagues.

Iconic Cards:
Bitterblossom, Dark Ritual (Mercadian Masques), Path to Exile (DCI), Gaea's Blessing, Priest of Titania, Sea Drake, Wonder, Defense of the Heart, Abundance, Little Girl

3. Rob Alexander: 129 Cards, started in Alpha
If you play with lands, you have Rob Alexander in your deck. He's been around since the beginning, and has painted a good chunk of the landscapes in the game, including a bunch of the original dual lands and a majority of the Ravnica shock lands. However, more than that, his art is always distinctive to his style, and distinctive to the location. His art is so taken for granted, that we forget just how exceptional it is. Next time you play a Polluted Delta or an Underground Sea, take a moment to study the detail in the little worlds he creates for us.

Iconic cards:
Armageddon (Portal), Blood Crypt, Bloodstained Mire, Badlands, Breeding Pool, Flooded Strand, Flagstones of Trokair, Exalted Angel (DCI), Godless Shrine, Hallowed Fountain, Overgrown Tomb, Polluted Delta, Sacred Foundry, Savannah, Stomping Ground, Steam Vents, Taiga, Temple Garden, Underground Sea, Watery Grave, Wooded Foothills

2. Mark Tedin: 187 Cards, started in Alpha
Juzam Djinn is my favorite Magic card. I'm sure I'm not alone in that. For me, its as much because of the art as it is the ability of the card. The art for me epitomizes a Black mage, and matches the mechanic so perfectly (although that guy may be about to take more than 1 damage). Tedin also was voted as the artist for "You Make the Card #1", go Mr. Babycakes (Forgotten Ancient). That being said, I spend more time looking at Mark Tedin's cards and wondering what they are than any other artist. I'm still not really sure what Mana Crypt or Mana Vault are supposed to be.

Iconic Cards:
Juzam Djinn, Sol Ring, Timetwister, Mana Drain, Time Vault, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Ponder, Braingeyser, Draining Whelk, Fireball, Necropotence, Nevinyrral's Disk, Forgotten Ancient

1. Ron Spencer: 229 Cards, started in Alpha
Spencer is a personal favorite, his cards have such a sharp quality (probably all the spikes), and his art always seems to pop off the card for me. I'm never disappointed with anything Spencer draws, and I can always tell a Spencer card without looking at the bottom. Interesting that he and Nielsen (their styles seem to be at opposite poles) teamed to draw Mana Reflection.

Iconic cards:
Crucible of Worlds, Sliver Queen, Yawgmoth's Will, Diabolic Edict, Might of Oaks (Urza's Legacy), Lightning Dragon, Terror (Alpha)

Honorable Mentions:
D. Alexander Gregory: Damn!!! Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is hot
Richard Kane Ferguson: Who doesn't like RKF?
Scott M. Fischer: Best angel artist out there
Christopher Rush: Two words: Black Lotus

I have always been a fan of Alexander and Tedin, though I will always have a place in my heart for Glen Angus who is no longer with us, I was determined to get a personalized alteration of perhaps one of my most cherished cards...mind slaver.

john avon, especially his lands.

aleksi bricolt, greg staples, kev walker, zoltan and boros.

I have to second the Zoltan and Boros vote - the art they produce is excellent.

Another as-yet-unmentioned artist I like a lot is Steve Prescott. He started with Lorwyn but has tons of art I find awesome.

Top Three:

Richard Kane Ferguson- With a very abstract take on fantasy art, I was more than excited when I saw his quasi-return in the Timespiral block!! I would say that RKF hasthe one of the most distinct styles in magic art history.

Ron Spears- This friendly man has a very cartoon-ish style to his art work, yet can produce masterpieces such as WAkroma and Phage. I meet him several years ago at a public library and had him sign some cards. We talked about his art style, who his favorite artists (in magic) where, and his lack of time to play then game!! Great experience and great artist.

Kev Walker- Such a crisp style to his work, and his backgrounds have this misty morning feeling to them that really brings the picture to life. And as PNineFTW already posted, his art shows up in almost every block since mirage. I think work horse doesn't quite describe this talented artist!!

Others I love seeing new artwork from-
John Avon- my fiancee is an artist and she first took notice of John's amazing artwork on some forests.
Rebecca Guay- Her use of water color is both feminine and stylized
RK Post- Creepy and beautiful all wrapped in one!! 'Nuff said.

End of Line

I have met in person many of the bigger-name artists. I appreciate the art of nearly all of them. Personally, I've found rk Post, Terese Nielsen, Ron Spears, and Tom Baxa to be some of my favorite people to hang with.

And although she hasn't done any Magic art in a long time, I really like Ruth Thompson's art.

John is easily my favorite fantasy artist out there at this time. His use of colors amaze me on his landscape pieces and the detail that goes into the Sorcery/Instant/Creature pieces are nothing short of fantastic. I currently have a binder that has every MTG card he's been commissioned for in a foil version (where possible). Some of my favorite pieces would probably have to be:
Inv Forest
Inv Island
Pyrotechnics
Apoc Legacy Weapon - random fact: Wizards changed this from the original ever so slightly
Also - check out the MPS Basic Lands that get handed out in Japan. They are awesome.

I'm also a huge fan of Richard Kane, Rebecca Guay, Kaja and Phil Foglio, Kev Walker, and Matt Cavotta. Each have their own unique imprint/style and I enjoy seeing new pieces every time a set comes out.

Steve Argyle I know him back from the days when I played Legend of the 5 Rings and I like his style from there. His pictures tend to look polished. A typical sign for Argyle painting something is his people always have a very even skin and he has a great eye for colors.

Greg Staples A lot has been said about him already so I won't add much, one of my favorite pieces of Art from him is Shackles.

Stephen Tappin With him I am not sure about how I like his artworks. I think they are very beautiful when he just uses one or two colors in different shades, on the other sides when he breaks that rule his artworks tend to look very casual to me.

Franz Vohwinkel another Guy i knew back from the L5R days. His art is just plain looking good. He used some different styles through the years and for that i like him.

Jason Chan His style is very similar to the one of Argyle and for the same reasons I like his Art. Steel of the Goodhead is here imo the best one.

Brian "Chippy" Dugan a very changeable artist as well. He made very Fairytale Artworks and ones that look very dark. He has a great eye for color and contrast. He designed a lot of the Esper Cards.


Unfortunately there are too many good Artists involved in my favorite Card game to give credit do them all. I just listed the ones that came to my mind at first.

heh .. the only artist that I actually know the name of Anson Maddocks

John Avon is amazing!

I also like Rebecca Guay's stuff because it's more unique than the work of most other artists and easily distinguishable.

Quinton Hoover, who is both an amazing artist, and was pretty awesome to me back in the early days of Magic.

Second what Sheldon says about the artists, who are generally great people. I find it hilarious that the most well-adjusted, friendly ones are the ones who produce the most disturbing art.

They get their craziness out on the paper, while the others try to draw happy scenes and leave their craziness in their head. /nod

#1: Scott M. Fischer.

Burning Wish
Bogardan Hellkite
Serra Avenger
Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Disrupting Shoal
Fiery Gambit
Graceful Adept
Imperious Perfect
Last Word
Time Stop
Telling Time
Viridian Shaman
Sylvan Scrying

All of his cards are incredible. The ones listed, even more so. Easily the best at painting "beauty" in Magic.

Though, my favorite piece of Magic art is either Jeremy Jarvis's Adarkar Valkyrie or Jen Page's Crown of Convergence.

I am going to have to go with Steve Argyle, Chippy, and Rebecca Guay as my favorite Artists, in no particular order though. In the case of Steve and Chippy, it has to do with their realistic styles (in Chippies case it is his more recent cards that are realistic) that I like. However in Rebecca Guay's case, her art evokes for me the feel of classic Renaissance style art, and I have always been a fan of that style of art work!

Rob Alexander, John Avon, Kev Walker, and last but not least Tony Szczudlo, artist of my favorite Island art:

http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDet ... x?id=25964