Endless Ranks of the Dead by Ryan Yee

There is such a thing as being too good. With so many Magic cards streaming across our radar every year, a lot of times, it’s the odd ones or the ones with something slightly off that catch our eye. Sadly, when a Magic illustration is both badass and perfectly executed, we might just look at it and say, “Yep, that’s an awesome Magic card; I love it!” and move on. I cannot tell you how many times this has happened to me with the art of Ryan Yee.

You may have seen Ryan’s work on a few things. For example:

First, let’s talk about Paraselene. I remember opening one of these in a pack and going, “Whoa!” I instantly fell in love with the card before reading a single word in the textbox. All I knew was that I was holding Innistrad’s moon in my hand—and that my whole body was tingling with power. My emotional response to the card ensured that Paraselene would be one card the name of which I would not forget, though I still can’t tell you exactly what it does (I have a horrible time remembering exact card abilities unless I play them all the time).

Flash forward a couple years. I’m sitting at my alterist’s table at Card Kingdom’s event, live-altering a Command Tower just to look busy during rounds. As I’m doing the extension, I’m like, “Wow, this art is really gorgeous. I hope I don’t f--- it up doing this alter. What a perfect depiction of a command tower.”

Then there’re these:

Me, looking at recent cards I wrote titles for. “Thassa's Bounty—what a refined, apt illustration for the card. Nice.” And, “Silumgar's Scorn—yup, that’s a U/B naga hating on something.”

And then look at this:

A home printer-printout of Paraselene back from when we moved in and were decorating. The shame, I know. More shameful? That I didn’t know it was Ryan’s till I was writing this article.

Then Necromantic Summons came out: an unusual depiction of Liliana Vess, my favorite Planeswalker . . . fighting an elk. I had to see the higher-res art, like, yesterday—so I looked at the artist credit.

Ryan Yee.

I went into Gatherer to see what else he’d done, hopeful he might be into doing an interview.

Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit. Okay, that had always caught my eye. Cool. The Mike Linnemann–approved Blood Bairn. Nice, that one gets “real art” cred. Chalice of Life and Chalice of Death—wow, really? So different from Necromantic Summons, and from the start, a favorite artifact of mine . . . 

Command Tower. Dig Through Time. Oh my, heavy hitters.

Endless Ranks of the Dead.

Oh my god—Ryan Yee is the Endless Ranks of the Dead guy!

Then, right next to Necromantic Summons: Paraselene.

Me: (with mounting horror) “Hey wait, don’t I have that on our living-room wall!?” I run into the living room. Yep, it’s still there, in all its copy-paper glory, watching over our home as it has done since the day I printed it out to fill an empty space. I run back to Gatherer.

Silumgar's Scorn.

Thassa's Bounty.

“F---!” I say, and facepalm.

Benevolent Offering by Ryan Yee

Turns out I’ve been a Ryan Yee fan since forever. I just didn’t know it.

Making things look easy is both a blessing and a curse. There’s such a thing as being too good. When I look at cards Ryan has illustrated, I note the art, but it’s in such harmony with the card concept as a whole that the card stays the focus and the eye doesn’t stray to the artist’s byline. Some might argue that there are a lot of artists with whom Ryan shares hyper-real, ethereal stylistic similarities, but I contend there is emotional nuance unique to Ryan’s work that you will miss if you blink—it’s subtle and restrained. As with many artists, part of the problem is simply card size. Do yourself a mighty favor and go to Ryan’s deviantArt page linked at the bottom of this article. Things like Forgeborn Oreads and Shadows of the Past that might simply read as good card art in your hand speak very loudly in high res, and it’s fun to meditate on what they might be saying because of Ryan’s aforementioned restraint.

Another aspect of Ryan’s work that I absolutely love is his elegant portrayal of subtly badass women. As in all of his works, he’s not beating you over the head with it. But it’s there, in the tension of an elbow, the extension of a neck, the hint of an eyebrow’s lift, the set of a mouth.

I mean, look at Benevolent Offering. I have never in my life played this card, but one look at it, and I got the cosplay sweats. That chick is magical. I don’t know who she is or care what they’re doing, it’s just epic. So if I ever have Ant and Mike in Paul Revere coats, a cathedral, a wind tunnel, and James Arnold with a fog machine handy, I will recreate that damn painting.

Command Tower by Ryan Yee

Ryan’s range should also not be overlooked. He does many things well. Line up some of his best, and you’ll see how different they are from one another on many levels: from mood to subject, to palette and finish.

Ryan was kind enough to give some of his time to the Vorthos cause and answer seven questions for us. Now you too can know what Ryan Yee—a master of his craft and a generous-spirited member of the MTG community—wears on his feet.

Dig Through Time by Ryan Yee

1. You have to invite Sorin, Ugin, Sarkhan, or Nahiri to your next birthday party. Who do you go with and why?

The more the merrier; I would invite them all! Who wouldn't like to see all of them in the same room eating cake??

Forgeborn Oreads by Ryan Yee

2. What are your favorite Magic colors to draw for, and is there any correlation between the color pie attributes and aspects of your personality?

I'm pretty sure I'm R/G in terms of personality. I have a strong love of growing things, and I'm also very passionate at what I do. In terms of illustration, I connect with black, blue, and white. I like characters who seem to be evil but whose motives are actually very relatable.

Chalice of Life by Ryan Yee

3. What snacks and what beverages fuel Ryan Yee's artistic superpowers?

Espresso is an artist's best friend. Also, lately, I've been on a carrot-juice kick; it's supposed to be good for your eyes, brain. Woahhh!

Blood Bairn by Ryan Yee

4. If you could travel back and contribute art for an MTG block, which one? What draws you to this block? What do you like in particular about its artistic possibilities?

I could paint Innistrad all day every day—it makes me feel like a little kid watching a scary movie. Kamigawa and Lorwyn would be fun planes to create art for, too. I have always been intrigued by Japanese folklore and whimsical creatures.

Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit by Ryan Yee

5. What is on your feet at this very moment?

Converse all-stars!

Necromantic Summons by Ryan Yee

6. If you could pick a Planeswalker to paint for Wizards, which would you choose and why? And if given the option to make a brand new one, what type would you hope for?

I have always liked Jace's costume design, so I would have to say Jace. If I could design one, I would design a B/G Planeswalker—maybe one who could steal the life of the living and give life back to nature.

7. When you're artistically mana-screwed and have lost all motivation and inspiration, where do you go to find it?

I love going to illustration conventions such as Spectrum live and Illuxcon. There are always cool new upcoming artists there as well as legends such as Rebecca Guay and Donato showing their beautiful, giant paintings. When I come back, I'm charged with inspiration and ready to paint!

Fruit of the First Tree by Ryan Yee

For more Ryan, check out his deviantArt and also this interview by Nate Price from 2012’s Grand Prix Kobe (scroll down past the decklists).

To purchase prints, go to Ryan’s website: The Art of Ryan Yee. (Look: Paraselene!!!)

Till next time, may Magic be your Chalice of Carrot Juice.

-MJ

@moxymtg