We’re going around the horn today. Check out a couple things I’ve had on my mind as of late. It’s time for another Vorthos Potpourri!

Onward!

Ant and Mike Launch Podcast

Yes, Ant Tessitore and I have finally shackled up to make an all-male podcast. Shirtless episodes will come later. Our first episode dropped this week, and we have plans in the future for creative team interviews, onsite interviews with artists, flavorful things, and more. If there’s something you’ve been itching to hear and stupid Mike and Ant haven’t written about it, the podcast is where we’ll be covering things. You know I have three years of things that don’t translate well in article, written form.

A huge thread that will be woven is talking about the style guides. Since it’s audible, and Ant and I both have a few style guides, we have strong lines we cannot cross. But we also know what’s in them and the purposes they fully serve. There is so much to talk about with them that comes up nearly everywhere.

Annual Black Friday Art Article

I will be making this again. In years past, we’ve had some art purchased, to nearly a hundred percent of the deals, and Dave Dorman is getting excited that he has a larger purse for holiday purchases. These vary from original sketches to original artworks, custom commissions, and more. If you’re looking into acquiring art, I would recommend staying up late on Tuesday, November 18 at 11:00 P.M., when we change over articles here at Gathering Magic—seriously. In some cases, I’ll have artists waiting for the first person to contact.

I’d save up at least $100.

Mohr Kickstarter

Pete Mohrbacher has really wisened up to Kickstarters. He’s on his third, this go around with The Binding of Tibalt. It’s a pretty tongue-in-cheek card, as while the art clashes with normal depictions of devils, the card is terrible, and yet, some players still love the card. His modest goal of $1,000 for a Kickstarter is pushing the envelope for Magic artists. This confirms that when you get a Planeswalker, you can immediately net $2,000. This is a huge deal in the artist world. It creates value out of nowhere for artists, especially for digital creators.

I really like the $550 level. Framing is crazy-expensive, and I feel that the more artists there are who can do it for themselves, the cheaper it becomes for the average collector. Lowering the barrier to owning art is great. I just wish there would’ve been a limit to these. It’s my only qualm, but again, Tibalt is a terrible card, so even getting to $1,000 is very impressive!

Original Magic Art Gallery Update

Friends over at OriginalMagicArt.com—or OMA, for short—just updated their galleries. All images uploaded to OMA in high resolution can now be seen in high resolution. While this seems minor, some of these artworks are frickin’ huge. TIFF images of an artwork seven feet long take up an enormous amount of space. This signifies a difference from a small website to an established community page.

We can now see brushstrokes. I find the little Easter eggs that show up to be the best part. See Patron of the Orochi’s faces below!

The OMA gallery is located here.

Who Is Vronos?

Cary Thomas, or @Vronos, is someone I’ve noticed, and recently, he’s been swinging for the Vorthos fences. Does he comment on art and storyline? Does he create content? Does he have a Tumblr? Is he working on a community project? All yes.

I’m utterly impressed by him, and I urge you to follow him. He makes great content and isn’t a douche about it. I fully recommend following him if you’re a Twitter user.

Terese Has More Art Coming

Image via here on Tumblr

As this art was spoiled for the upcoming Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Kiora, I do wonder what card it’s a reprint for in the deck. It’s clearly Terese Nielsen’s due to style.

I see so many old-school card references here, but one really stands out. Could this be Enlightened Tutor? I would bet on it, considering the light aspect and the location. I could easily see an art description saying, “It’s the Vampiric Tutor comparison in white, a reprint of Enlightened Tutor. Make it in a crypt but a holy/white/religious one.” Terese put in an Egyptian feel, and Dutch Magic player and future Egyptologist Sonja is going to lose her shit.

I love the feel of the art. It feels like it’s a Klimt.

Folks to Follow for Year End

I never remember to do Follow Friday. It’s always Saturday, and I yell, “Sonofa,” when I notice the overnight retweets. Here are a few folks well worth your time!

@TheArtofMTG – Do you want high-resolution images of recent art to be in your Twitter feed, always giving you a little flavor? We have a great Tumblr of the same name, but this Twitter account is just wonderful to send the art out quick after a set’s release. Look for more in the near future.

@aquelajames – James Wyatt works with Creative on a variety of writing projects. He also fully admits he’s a better Vorthos than player.

@KimberlyKreines – Kim is an editor for Magic and is part of the creative team.

@itsnotproper – Liz Leo is one of Magic’s creative designers and is also on the creative team.

There are few other members whom I’ll be attempting to interview and get on the podcast soon! It’s always been more than just art director Jeremy Jarvis, so I’ll see if we can get more folks to follow in the coming weeks.

Giant article next week. Be ready to hit F5 at 11:00 P.M. CST.

-Mike