Artist Spotlight: Eric Claar

Posted on February 20, 2013

This past fall at StarCityGames Open: Seattle, I had the pleasure of meeting an unassuming, bright-eyed and courteous guy in a Venom hoodie. With the characteristic vampirish pallor and glasses that gave him a Clark Kent–like charm, it was immediately apparent that Eric Claar was, of course, a starving artist.

Okay, he appeared to be at least somewhat nourished, so I figured it was fair to hit him up for an interview. A full-time card alterist, Claar has parlayed his determination to be a professional artist into a brisk business making over Magic cards. While not an international celebrity like Eric Klug (what’s it with talented Erics?), Claar has followed a similar approach to finding success as an alterist: He’s got a niche.

In the same way that it’s easy to like and follow the exploits of pro players who have a particular interest—e.g. brewing (Conley), video-casting half-nude (Travis Woo), Kibler (wearing scarves)—it’s easier for the community to remember you as an artist if there’s one thing you do better than everyone else or something original that you came up with.

While Claar does a silky extension, he’s at his best in his comic-influenced, pop-culture mash-ups. He’s strongest when he’s being cheeky, edgy-cute, and working in brights. And, just as Klug leveraged his slick Voltron and Transformer alters into a career, Claar has a nifty and unique blueprint-style alter up his sleeve that makes him stand out. My personal favorites within Claar’s portfolio are the portraits in which the subject is making eye contact with the viewer—and where that subject is female. There’s a kind of artistic conversation in these pieces that gives them an extra layer of intrigue.

Claar has some great advice for novice alterists, and I enjoyed his journeyman’s insights to the altering game. Plus, this article gave me an excuse to fart around online ogling alters. Enjoy.

What or who are your greatest artistic influences (any medium—including film, music, visual arts, fashion, etc.), and why?

Most of my influence is derived from anime greats such as Miyazaki, Yutaka Minowa, Naoko Takeuchi just to name a few. The ideas they have and the way they make them come to life is astounding in my eyes. Authors like J.K. Rowling are also very inspiring because it proves that you can start with nothing but determination and an idea. I must say that all the artists I meet on the road are also very influential because they share a love for what we do as well as discuss different methods and tricks of the trade to help each other improve.

Princess Mononoke (dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

Describe the moment(s) in which you hate yourself the most.

In all seriousness, letting myself sleep in can be pretty rough, though some of the toughest times are during the beginning and most of the initial work on a piece. During this time, it's very easy to get carried away and restart over and over because you're never satisfied with it. You also need to understand that with alterations, as well as most forms of art, a piece never comes together until the very end, but no matter how many times I tell myself that, it's always a hard place to be in.

Do you have a day job—if so, what is it?

Currently, I do not have a day job, but when I did, I was a cake decorator. While this is an artistic field, I worked in places that cared more about production rather than quality, so I always felt held back and started doing large-scale cakes for weddings and birthdays at home. This was fun for a while, but unfortunately, it's a very difficult field to be recognized in as an individual from my experience.

What do you enjoy most about being an alterist?

This is easily the travel. Being able to go across the country and meet new people is so much fun. I can't thank the people I met enough, regardless of whether or not they purchase something from me, because they are always quick to compliment and willing to simply have a conversation with me.

Howl’s Moving Castle (dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

What body part of yours is your least favorite, and why?

Oddly enough, this would have to be my hands because they are quick to misinterpret what my brain is telling them to do. This betrayal is often and discouraging, but again, you just push through it.

What advice do you have for players and enthusiasts who might want to try altering cards but have not done anything similar before? How should they get started?

I think the most important thing is to not be intimidated by other artists’ work because you can't expect to have the same quality right away, but with patience and practice, you can get there. Once you get going, expect to spend hours on a card and end up hating it and starting over—just make sure you do start over. Aside from the mental blocks you have to overcome, there are a few things to keep in mind.

First off, I suggest starting with cheap matte finish paint so you can practice color matching and thickness without spending a ton of money. Once you can do an extension that flows and has no texture, you can think about trying the more expensive paint. Secondly, a good brush (I like "Expressions" found at Michael’s) goes a long way, but if you have a hard time taking care of your brushes (like me), cheap brushes ("Lowel Cornell" are awesome, found at Jo-Ann Fabrics) work just fine.

Another thing that will make it easier when you are first starting out is doing an extension on a card with a dark background because you will be painting fewer layers and notice fewer mistakes. A simple way to learn the tricks of the trade is simply looking for tutorials like mine, which you can find on DeviantArt here.

How did your personal style evolve? Can you offer advice for other artists looking to find a

style/niche? Where and how did that cool blueprint idea originate?

Having your own identity as any kind of artist is so important, and I feel very lucky that I found mine early in my altering career. Personally, my style has evolved from my love for anime and comic books. I remember as a kid, I would constantly draw Dragon Ball Z characters and Power Rangers before that. So once I was comfortable with drawing fan art, a teacher of mine encouraged me to come up with original characters that I could identify with and put personal stock in. I found that the more I created, the less they looked like my immediate influences.

When finding your style, you have to remember that in the world we live in, it's hard to come up with something original that hasn't been done before, so you have to keep experimenting until you find a style that you can identify with and feels like "you."

I first started out using eBay to further my customer base, and one of the best cards to put on eBay is Sensei's Divining Top. After doing several Tops, it became harder and harder to come up with new ideas, but I would sit and brainstorm for hours. Eventually, I just had one of those rare light-bulb moments that you read about and did the alter as soon as I could. The response from eBay and the altering community was overwhelming, and I knew I had something special.

Is there a subject or style that you absolutely hate to do as an artist?

As an artist, I feel that I have a lot of versatility, so there is nothing I hate, per se, but there are without a doubt pieces that are more challenging. Although I love a challenge, some of these pieces can be very intimidating, especially when the client has a very specific concept that you have to translate into the alter.

Get in touch with Eric at: