Authorial Intent: Kaldheim Through The Eyes Of The MTG Artists

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Longships, bears, and pencils

Nikola Petrov

MTGA - January 25th 2021, 07:07 GMT+1

Svetlin velinov run ashore — **Run Ashore by Svetlin Velinov**

Let's begin with this evocative and insightful piece in the masterful trademark style of Svetlin Velinov. The man himself writes:

*"As a new beginning of 2021 this image is a bit metaphorical as the ship is going to land safely on top of the shore, avoiding a catastrophe. Hope that everyone will have great and healthy year!!"*

We could not say it better ourselves! (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Halvar god of battle — **Halvar, God of Battle by Milivoj Ćeran**

Magic's art is mostly digital these days, but some artists try still to go for the brush and pencil from time to time to make things just like in the old days. Yet others, like Mr. Ćeran here, combine the best of both worlds! What you see here is a digital colorization... (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Halvar god of battle ink — ...of archival ink on paper! This piece really draws memories of old Conan books, Choose-your-own-adventures, and of course, heavy metal art (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Giants grasp — **Giant's Grasp by Ilse Gort**

Ha, look at the tiny bear! Oh wait, that's a *normal* bear, but the hand is GIANT! Miss Gort is no stranger to godly images, having contributed artwork to Ikoria and the popular MOBA Smite, so her style fits perfectly with the feel of Kaldheim! (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Anna podedworna tibalt akreon — **Tibald's Trickery by Anna Podedworna**

This amazing author has only this to say: *"Fun little illustration for MtG Kaldheim"*

Well, she's not wrong! We're talking about Tibalt here, and she nailed the fun he's having. Amazing work! (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

Aaron miller boat drawing scan — And finally, here's one more amazing pencil sketch, and one more longship. Can you guess what the card is? And the answer is...

Aaron miller raiders karve aaron miller — **Raiders' Karve by Aaron Miller**

Miller writes: "Illustration for Magic the Gathering set Kaldheim. This whole set is amazing. I was thrilled to work on a viking ship. I used a bronze model that was owned by my grandfather for some reference. This is very much part of my family heritage coming from Denmark."

An opportunity to reconnect with your heritage, especially through a fantastic magical artwork is not something that comes up often in gaming, so let's take a moment and appreciate this amazing occasion! Skål! (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

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We all know that art is an essential part of Magic: The Gathering and Kaldhaim is not an exception. We read daily articles written by pro players, watch YouTube videos by influencers, and very often hear directly from Wizard's own RND and marketing teams, but the very makers of the beautiful illustrations we enjoy are not so talkative. Today, we went on a little journey across various Kaldheim artists' personal portfolios and found some amazing little revelations shedding light on their creative process. Let's explore them together!

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