Hello, Art Enthusiasts!
A couple of days ago, Wizards of the Coast showcased the official Card Art for their upcoming Extra Life 2021 Secret Lair. This little set, which is part of Wizards' annual collaboration with Extra Life, and will contain the reimagination of three famous Creature Cards by young kids, as well as fully worked out renditions by some of Magic's greatest Card Art Veterans!
Quote From Wizards We are once again honored to continue our partnership with Extra Life for another year. Thanks to your kindness, we've been able to donate over $3,700,000 since 2015. Who knows how high we'll reach this year! We're donating 50% of each Extra Life 2021 purchase directly to Extra Life.These adorable cards will be available to preorder on secretlair.wizards.com beginning 9 a.m. PT November 5 through 9 a.m. PT November 8.
What Is Extra Life?
Formed in 2008, Extra Life is an annual fundraising event where people from all sorts of gaming spaces come together to support Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. 100% of Wizards's donations go directly to supporting the Autism Center at Seattle Children's Hospital, one way to give to those in need through the community you love.
What's in the Drop?
We wrangled a group of extremely talented children and asked them to draw us their take on iconic Magic creatures, like Mulldrifter and Craterhoof Behemoth. We took those young Picassos' masterpieces and handed them over to all-star artists Lars Grant-West, Chris Rahn, and Magali Villeneuve to bring those drawings further to life. You get two copies of each card in the drop—one with the kid's art, and the other with the professional artist's interpretation. We're not gonna lie, it's super cute. The flavor text comes from conversations with the kids, too! So, do some good and get multiple copies of some awesome cards. Support Extra Life today!
Let's have a look at what the artists, both young and old(er) have to offer!
Mulldrifter
First up, we have Aliya's Mulldrifter.
Look at how happy that little fella is while jumping through the fields!
And here's Magali's fully fledged out version.
Her wonderfull art makes Aliya's imagination come to life, complete with cute button eyes and a big goofy smile.
Quote From Magali Villeneuve I was happy to work on something completely out of box :starting from little Aliya's masterpiece and paint my tribute. I cannot thank art director Tom Jenkot enough for letting me be part of this. We're counting on you to help this Secret Lair be a success for Extra Life.
Craterhoof Behemoth
Next up is Kira's Craterhoof Behemoth.
A more loose interpretation of the original, but that's what makes it all the more interesting.
The finished piece by Lars Grant-West.
Don't worry, the big guy just want's to say "Hi" to his new friend!
... who himself is also a Creature painted by Lars!
Here you can see him carving a miniature of the original Behemoth.
Here's both versions put next to each other.
It's really awesome to see how the imagination in a child's drawing can spur the creativity of a professional artist.
Quote From Lars Grant-West I wish I could do more jobs like this. Kira’s art captivated me. Kids bring such honesty and exuberance to their art.Before kids get bogged down with things like perspective, color theory and compositional rules their art is so pure and expresses what they feel in the moment. It almost seems like sacrilege to take that and render it further, but it also opens creaky doors in my brain to a time when rules and obligations didn’t apply and I just imagined. I don’t know Kira’s story, but I’m glad to see that there’s joy in it.
Metalwork Colossus
Last, but not least, we have Hyan's Metalwork Colossus.
As you can see, he's a fierce fighter with a big smile. Oh, and he's also got a cool drawing!
The original Sketch by Chris Rahn.
At first, he was a cute little Robo buddy, but now he turned into a larger than life Iron Giant!
I must say, it's the little robots that really make it all come together.
Original drawing and finished piece, side by side.
Like the other cards, it's really cool to see how the professionals can turn a pretty simple, more abstract drawing,
and turn that into a beautifuly rendered artwork, without losing it's spirit and playfulness.
Quote From Chris Rahn Last year Tom Jenkott, one of the WotC Art Directors, reached out to me asking if I'd be interested in working on a painting for their Extra Life Secret Lair project benefiting the Autism Center at Seattle Children's Hospital. I thought it would be a fun project and considering how good MtG and this community of collectors have been to me over the years I wanted to do something to give back. I decided when I took it that I'd be contributing the proceeds from the original sale as well and Mark [Aronowitz] has generously agreed to do the same with his percentage. I've got my fingers crossed that we can raise a good amount for this worthy cause.The assignment I wound up getting was Metalwork Colossus, based on Hyan Tran's adorable drawing of a robot. Hyan also asked that it be MADE out of smaller robots…which was a bit of a curveball…but wound up being a lot of fun, working out all the tiny details. I've got my fingers crossed that we can raise a good amount for this worthy cause. Thanks and happy bidding!
Interview By Good Morning Magic
Check out this video by Good Morning Magic to learn a bit more about the project!
Charity Livestream
For those of you who want to support this Event, this upcoming Stream might be of interest for you.
Quote From Wizards You can watch our annual Extra Life charity stream on Saturday, November 6, beginning at 4 p.m. PT at twitch.tv/magic. This year, we have even more exciting Magic for you to watch—and to join in shaping with your donations:
- Q&A with Mark Rosewater, hosted by Sara Harless
- Flavorful stakes with Ironroot Chef, this time on MTG Arena, featuring Gavin Verhey, Aaron Forsythe, Melissa DeTora, and more
- A Vintage Cube draft on Magic Online—with draft stipulations of course—featuring Mike Turian, David McDarby, Emma Handy, and more
- Set Booster minigames played out through SpellTable, with Daniel Holt, Jim Baker, Lauren Bond, and more
Join in the fun and donate to make things even more exciting for the Wizards participants and fans watching!
The Artists
These are the artists that were featured in this article. Be sure to check out their other works!
- Magali Villeneuve & Aliya: Mulldrifter
- Lars Grant-West & Kira: Craterhoof Behemoth
- Chris Rahn & Hyan Tran: Metalwork Colossus
And that's it! We hope you enjoyed this little look at the great artwork for MtG's Extra Life 2021 Secret Lair!
What do you think about this Event? Do have favourites? Tell us in the comments!
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Comments
Awesome initiative and drawings!