TSTY013 [EN]: Sidharth Chaturvedi

Hello and welcome to Tasty MTG, a podcast and all matters of good taste about the game We all love so much Magic the Gathering My Name Is Geis!

And I'm martin. Today we ask the question What do Ajani's Pridemate, daring archaeologists? Disrupt Decorum Hullbreacher and Mox Pearl have in common. Well, they're all illustrated by our guests. Sit out Chartuvedi Without further ado, let's start the episode.

So hello everyone. Hello martin. So before we start with the actual interview you may ask what is tasty MtG or why is this episode?

Hello. Mhm. Yeah.

Not in german but english martin. Do you have an answer? Maybe?

So first of all, for all of those who listen to us, the first time, tasty MTG is a german speaking podcast, all about flavor, lower art, casual play and everything that makes Magic the Gathering fun, and maybe you will not find the right answers on how to win a game here, but how to lose in style and have as much fun on the way out there as possible.

Uh So this episode basically marks the beginning of a new series um that will most of the time I think be in english maybe. So it is a series of interviews with MTG artists. So we talked to the people who are creating the visual world of our favorite game. We talk about their work, ask them about how they work, who they are and what they bring to Magic and that is basically what we will do in this episode.

And we're starting off this series with our first guest sit out, Chartuvedi I've mentioned some of his illustrations at the beginning of the podcast, and in the show notes, you will find a screenful search with all of his card illustrations. And there are some cards we will talk about, and um when we talk about them, they will be shown on your screen while listening to the podcast. Why are our feet directly and your podcast supports this? This feature, Spotify, unfortunately does not. Mhm.

Mhm. Okay. So so before we start the actual interview and and the guy we're talking about is allowed to say something, I want to announce a very special unique giveaway. Um At the end of this episode we will tell you how to enter in order to win a foil artist proof of Hullbreacher with a one of a kind ink sketch on the back of it, provided by Sidharth Chartuvedi himself. So stay with us and you will get the chance to win this thing.

Yeah, because Sidharth is living in Munich bavaria right now, we serve some special Bavarian dishes. Today guys, what do we have prepared for such a fine occasion?

Yes, so for today of course it's buddha brazen. So pretzels with butter and sweet mustard and ice washed. So hello and welcome. Set us shadow 80. Am I pronouncing this name correctly.

Yes you are. Hi guys.

And may I call you sit?

Yes please do. Everyone does. And it rolls off the tongue better.

Okay? Okay.

Mhm Mhm.

Yeah. Um yeah, thank you so much for being here and and giving us the opportunity to talk to us and to ask you a bunch of questions.

My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

So first and most important question maybe. So what is your favorite Bavarian food?

Favorite Bavarian food. Uh Once in a while. The vice forced otherwise, but to Branson um other otherwise I'm pretty stereotypical, I gravitate towards schnitzel in general.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's fine. That's fine.

I'm not into the shrine of trucks and all the all that good stuff.

I was talking to guys before and, and I'm vegetarian right now, but when I used to eat meat, I I really like vice versed and um, and bracelets with sweet mustard. It's a really good ish.

Oh yeah, yeah, we have a good place nearby for that where I live.

But there are good vegetarian alternatives for vice forced right now. And uh, yeah. Yeah. Okay. No, it's the same. It's the same. It's the same taste. It's it's indistinguishable.

Really like really or it's like you forgot the original taste and you're like, well this must how it tastes like okay.

Id Interesting, I'll have to keep that in mind. My fiancee's vegetarian.

Okay. So let's get into your work and your art. And before we talk about the fine arts, we wanted to ask you, I wanted to ask you, do you have any clue what your most valuable or expensive card is at this moment?

Ah that would be Hullbreacher I'm pretty sure just based on the absolute wild run on those artist's proofs that happened as soon as I announced that I got them.

Okay, right.

Yeah.

I have never packed and shipped so many artists proofs in a short time before.

Are you in the game? So do you know what the cut, what the card does and why it is so, so valuable?

I do not, I I honestly have, I have very little clue about playing the game, I've not really gotten into it. Um Just because of time, it seems like that upfront investment of getting into the game. I just have not had the time to set aside for it. I have a lot of the cards sitting around so I should probably do that someday. But I usually have friends who are into the game, explain what the cards with my art on them do.

Mhm. Yeah.

Yeah, it really is a time consuming game.

It is a it is and unfortunately most of the time is either taken up with work or painting the cards. Mhm.

Yeah. How much information do you get up front when you receive an assignment about what to draw and how to get this Magic illustration? Um Yeah. Into an.

The assignments are usually one or two sentences, They explain the character, they explain the setting and any action that might be there. There's usually a little note that says like it's just a few words about the mood. Like if it's a if it's a celebration scene, it might have a note saying like the wild party atmosphere.

But you get the information what what um er fork is. If you have to draw Hullbreacher for example, you you see that the stylebook Okay, this is the middle fork and this is how they look on this plane.

Yes. Uh some some creatures, some planes have more details than others. Um like if it's something from uh Ixalan or call a dish or to some extent domino area, there's a lot of, detail in those, especially if you're designing characters or locations for specific factions. Um Other ones like at the beginning of the podcast you mentioned Disrupt Decorum that had no guidelines whatsoever for location, for costume for anything. It was just the scene description and they said go with it.

Wow, okay, so we will we will talk about this a little a little bit later. Disrupt Decorum One of my favorites. So, but I really like your pirates. What what is your relationship to pirates?

Uh huh, Thank you. I've been drawing pirate ships since I was able to hold a pencil, I just love them. At first it was just because of playing with lego pirate ships and watching Peter Pan the Disney movie and uh, I I always liked them after that and then at some point when I got into painting I found Howard Pyle and N.

Yeah, because Hullbreacher is a pirate is more for pirate. Do you know stuff like this? Before what creature type it is? What do you just get the title and the art direction and then just go for it?

Mhm. Generally, yes, like Hullbreacher was supposed to specifically be um er folk, and uh just because of the stuff I paint on my own, generally if I get an assignment that's open ended, it's going to be a human character of some kind. Uh This one did specify more folk um not specifically excellent, but that is the look established for those creatures. So that's look we went with their.

Another another car that became a little bit famous was the Mox Pearl you painted for 2019 european vintage championships.

Oh yes.

Um, and that was a card that was printed before. Did you look at the previous illustrations, or how did you go about it?

Uh huh. Yeah, I was going to say like this ties into my not playing the my not playing the game until I had finished that card. I had no idea what assignment I had just been given.

Do you know what A Marks is?

Like I didn't know how big a deal that was until I had already completed the painting. So I had looked online for reference of Mox Pearl so I knew what the older cards looked like, but you know when I look at the card, I don't really know what they do. So that was a fun surprise later on and, oh yes, I did, but this was the extent of how little, especially at that time, how little I knew about the game. Yeah.

But but I am I right like this mox-pearl is just like a trophy for the one who won the 2019 Vintage Championship.

Yes.

That's just on the oversized card. Okay.

Yeah, there there are no printed cards, there are no artist proofs. Uh, so the guy who won that painting, uh, that's the only one of them out there.

Wow, I hope you will do the other maxes too.

Guys, this reminds me of our little talk with philipp Baron we had in Prague where we got to know that he painted logo. I've and he wasn't aware that this card a time ago I've and this card was was so famous and if he had known it was so famous, he had used a bigger canvas to to get a bigger to get more space.

No thomas, wife Tom McGriff. Yeah.

And so he painted it. Yeah.

Thank goodness, It's not just me.

Before I start asking a question, I want to introduce another of your pictures. One of my favorites is pouncing links and it's like really.

Mhm. Good choice. That's one of my favorites. Oh, yes, that's one of my favorite Magic cards that I've painted.

Okay, wow, because this was the first one when I looked at it and you know, there's this moment you go through the cards and then you see an illustration and go like, okay, what's the name of the person who painted this? And this was like the one that let me first read your name. So it's bouncing, thinks it's not a very special card except for the illustration, it's one and white, it's a 21 creature cat and as long as your turn pouncing links has first strike and so that's it.

I'll start with the boring answer to that. The border. The boring answer to that is when I first started uh, when I first started getting into illustration and decided this was what I wanted to do, there was this very pragmatic side that was hearing that if you can paint crowds and if you can paint action scenes, and if you could paint horses but I didn't focus too hard on that. But if you could paint those things you would always have work. So I just started practicing those as hard as I could.

Yeah, So but are you listening to drum and bass while painting your pictures or heavy metal speed metal? How does it look like when you're painting?

Yeah, some heavy metal. Uh, when I'm, when I'm painting nowadays, it's mostly a podcast, or some kind of classical music, but uh, depending on mood, like, especially if I've had a long day, it might, be something like the soundtrack from do maternal or something or the like power metal. Uh, nowadays it's, it's a little quieter in here just because I have the headphones on all day. But yeah, it depends like if I'm painting an action painting, I'm not necessarily listening to action music.

Of course, yeah.

Does it vary from from what you're painting or illustrating? Do you, do you have specific podcasts or music you get in the mood of what you're painting?

I think it used to more, I used to try to match up what I was painting with some kind of related mood music. So a faster heavier music for action or like if it were a moody seen some kind of darker music, same for a romantic painting. Uh nowadays not so much uh like I said, nowadays, we're actually trying to keep it quiet in here when possible.

Yeah, but it absolutely makes makes sense when I listened to a lot of Aphex Twin music. Do you do you know this like? Yeah. And I hope everybody who hears this podcast also knows Aphex Twin if not to listen to it. But I was I was talking to it to a friend of mine and he described this music which is like full of 1000 rhythms and and and and and um little tones and details.

Yeah, plus plus depending on the picture I'm painting, like um for instance, I can't go into specifics about the picture, but one of the Magic assignments I'm working on right now. Um like the perfect mood for it is this it's very tribal, it's um like in the woods um so the music, even when I'm sketching that I have playing in my head is, do you guys know how long.

No, no.

Um there's there's another band that's similar music, but it sounds, it's very, like northern uh like snow country, northern european, very tribal uh music and.

Uh huh.

It's uh if you've not heard those guys, you should definitely look them up, they're so cool, but I can't like.

We will leave a link in the show notes.

Sure um yeah that's what's playing in my head while sketching for this because it's perfect, I can't actually listen to that music while sketching or painting because my legs keep moving.

Yeah, of course, yeah. You have to keep a calm hand.

So.

Yeah, that would be advised.

Mhm.

Yeah. How dynamic would you describe your life? You are you have a full time job and you're painting Magic is this correct? And not only Magic also. DNDD.

Oh yes, yep, yep, I do, a Magic dND um my own painting, I do a lot of this far less than it looks like just from the volume that's accumulated over the last few years um, because it it really is in evenings and weekends, think it like when it comes to the time I can spend on it, it's honestly more like a hobby, so um I work in video games, so uh my my whole day is spent in Photoshop, it's spent in calls, its uh, yeah, dynamic, no not so much, I I think I spent most of my life in this chair,

Would you would you like to up this time to to illustrate for those kind of assignments or do you say you say okay? The balance right now is is good.

I am constantly going back and forth on that actually like even nowadays um I do, I mean I enjoy painting much more than working in video games. Say I would prefer being at my easel working in oil than working in Photoshop any day. Um A lot of that is just because I spent so long with Photoshop that I want to do anything else.

And let's say you have all the time to paint, uh Would you prefer to have more assignments? Or do you have some things in your mind that you would like to to make for your own without an assignment?

Oh boy, I really wish I had the time to do my own paintings. Uh I have years worth of a backlog of pictures that I want to paint. And uh I think last year, even with all the extra time we got from lockdowns, uh that meant that was an hour and a half, that I wasn't commuting every day for the whole year. That was amazing. Even with that, I think I did too personal paintings the entire year, um in a in a year where we do have commute, it's maybe not even that, The only exception is once a year.

This is really great. I I follow to german cartoonists who do this, and both of them say, as you mentioned before, it's very hard to draw horses. I had to laugh and you said it and bicycles, it seems horses and bicycles are two of the most difficult things to illustrate.

I can attest to horses. I've not tried bicycles too often when I have, Yes, it's much harder than it looks. Um but yeah, there is that one month of the year when I'm doing almost nothing outside of work except those ink drawings. And during that month, uh most of the uh a lot of the personal work I do in painting ends up being based on the sketches I'm doing for in october. So I just have like a stack of drawings that I'm just aching to turn into paintings.

Mhm.

Yeah, I know what you mean. And if you do the thing you love full time and you have to, to to live from, it's it's it's a whole different thing. Um.

Mhm. Yeah because then because then you've turned it into work.

Yes.

So then it's like you, I mean I I run into this with painting, um even with sketching, I have to actually remind because I'll sit down on the couch and just be like I don't want to draw and I have to sometimes remind myself you actually enjoy this, it's not work, you're just talking about, doodling in your sketchbook, not doing a job.

There's another aspect of your life that adds up to this whole thing, how to figure out what to do first and what in what sequence. Um there's a card you've illustrated that's called Long Road Home. And in Germany, its longtime organizer. Um We talked about this in our christmas episode where we had a little advent calendar where we opened a little door every day and presented a cart. And yeah, we talked about a long road home.

Artistically not so much. Um uh for me, for me personally I've jumped around a lot. Uh like I jumped from the US to India to back to the U. S. A few cities in there and then here and my family still lives in India. So I visit them there. Um add to that my in laws live in this island. So we're in west Germany quite often.

So how did you manage the last year in the pandemic with all these different places?

Unfortunately I didn't. Um The only place we were able to visit uh was this island.

Yeah.

So it's actually quite a while now. I've not seen my parents which is not fun, especially with the health scares going on over there. India is not in good shape right now.

Yeah.

There thankfully healthy. They've been vaccinated. Um My my brother lives in a small college town in the U. S. So there and and he's he's a basement dweller even more than I am.

That's good.

He doesn't really go meet. People were both kind of the same that way. Um So everyone is safe. We are really looking forward to, being able to travel again because yeah you can you kind of take for granted like this poll bit of modern life where yeah you can live anywhere, you can talk to anyone online, you can just try to take a plane visit anyone whenever you want. And then this came out of nowhere. So.

And even if you said you you you really like it to be.

Yeah.

Quiet when you when you illustrate and draw and you're on your easel and uh you're you're secluded in um in your in your room and on the other side you're you want to go places and meet people and maybe get Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean I've been telling people lately I never I'm not a party person, I am not into crowds and at this point I would be happy to go to Octoberfest.

Uh huh. Have you ever have you ever been?

Which was I've been to I've been to Octoberfest twice and it's it's not my thing at all, it's too many people. Uh huh.

No, no, no. For most Germans it's not their thing. Uh huh. Mhm.

I haven't I haven't been there even once. Mhm.

Oh I know. Um But now right now I I I'd be happy to go to Octoberfest. I actually miss seeing large numbers of people.

Mm. Yeah. For people in Berlin, it's um finance marked at alexanderplatz, something that you can only hate uh for for how long are you? Are you living in Munich now?

Way too long to not speak German fluently, I've been here since 2014.

But the variant is a very it's a very difficult dialect in german, so don't don't worry. Yeah.

Mhm. Oh yes, it's a fun one but it's it's difficult now, I'm getting better now, I've learned more in the last year than I think in the six, before that just because it's nice to be able to talk to my in laws so I that's as good a reason as I need to get the language skills up.

Mhm.

But yeah I've been here for a while now, I I moved here for the day job for my work and video games.

Okay. I wanted to ask maybe you wanted to move to the silent to get a little bit closer to this part of your family at least, but your work is in Munich.

Uh The work is in Munich if we can if they allow us to go full remote after this is all over. No we would seriously consider that it's beautiful out in this island. Very very nice out there.

So but before that, you lived in the US, right?

Yeah in uh in san Francisco.

Did you experience some some kind of like, change in your work in and the stuff that you're that you're painting when you when you move to a different place and we have a new surrounding a new area to live a new people around you.

That's a good question, I've actually never thought of that amazingly.

Because I don't know, I don't know which which kind of the paintings you painted in, which place? So, uh.

So uh no I'm trying to think about it now because like I said I've actually never I thought about that at all. Um subject matter wise, no definitely not. Um I mean I was always painting like fantasy work, I've always been painting the figure uh if I do any work outdoors that changes with the location, but I honestly don't do that much of it.

Did you already pay for Magic the Gathering when you were in the US? Or did this only start when you were in Germany?

No, no, Magic started here. I did start working for wizards of the coast when I was in the US though.

Okay.

Uh for dND yeah, Magic came later. I got I got into Magic quite a bit later.

Okay. But for the N. D. Not not for Yeah. Okay.

Um Well no, no, not that long, end of 2015, my first card was Long road home. Um Yeah, yeah, that was my first card for them.

Really? Really? Because it came out later, Right.

Uh um I don't think it came out that much later because it was I think in Innistrad in 2016.

Yeah. And right after that was first Kaldesh.

Yeah. Yeah. Kaldesh was right. That was the second set I worked on.

Yeah. Long Road Home Boss. Innistrad That's correct.

Yeah, so that was the first one it was re released with uh I don't remember which set, but a Long Road Home was re released later in some other set.

So I was thinking that thriving ibeX the card you painted for Kaldesh Um, you took a trip to the, to the Bavarian alps and looked at this goat and got the influence from their right. But as you, as you said a few minutes ago, the surroundings don't have that much of an impact on your, on your illustrations.

Well not where I live, so um shockingly I've actually not been to the ALps even though I live right here, it's that same effect. I didn't visit anything around san Francisco until the last few weeks that I lived there.

Mm. Take it all in before you leave.

Um But no I mean I definitely uh taken any locations I visit. I've not been to the ALps.

So how how often do you travel between all those places in in a good year and when there's no pandemic going on?

Um I've not been, I don't go to the U. S. That often when there's no pandemic, I'd say once every three years maybe. Uh It would probably go up more because my brother moved back there. Um I mean in a non pandemic here, I'm in India once or twice a year, we're in this island usually two or three times in the year. And we would try to travel somewhere maybe in europe, just on our own um at least once a year.

There's just one question and that's, that's on my mind and you can say if it's too personal. But um, since you have relations to India and Kaldesh was the indian influence set. Um, and it was, it was branded as this. I've heard a lot of talk in the, in the community that many people that are from India have some issues with, with the color. That's what's your view on this on this take.

Well, the first thing was when I first opened the style guide, I thought it was cool. Uh just because I mean at that point, I think it's possible. I just wasn't paying very much attention, but it seemed like at that point everyone was just starting to, get into using other cultures to use in fantasy settings, like trying to explore something outside of the Lord Lord of the Rings look.

Uh Mhm.

It's like it's perfectly understandable but you will automatically lose like I don't know, half of what makes any indian setting identifiable by taking out the religious symbols.

Since it's so deeply embedded in the culture and and the and the society.

Yeah, I mean it's yeah, it's not something for most people. I mean I would say this is the case anywhere, but it's very visible in India. It's not something that like people live their lives and then once a week they go to the temple and that's that's it's just like something on top. It's just like a layer like we go pray and then we live our lives completely differently.

Yeah. That's interesting I think.

But but but I will also say it's not meant to be like specifically India, it's referencing that.

Yeah. But.

So that that's also fair enough that it does have its own identity. Um Part of that identity is the golden filigree, which is ah not fun to paint. It looks cool.

Yeah. Yeah that that I think that's that's very difficult to to illustrate the whole the whole uh details in this in this set in this world.

And you know, and I'll be fair here there, I'll be fair here. There's a way to do it. It doesn't mean that no religious symbols means that okay, the only architecture you can use is onion domes. That's not the case at all. There's a ton of architecture from there that you can use in a painting or in any kind of design that it doesn't have to have, like an identifiable hindu or muslim symbol on it. Um, So it's not that it becomes too restrictive because of that.

But it's very interesting because other sets like color, color time where we recently have been or among cat. They do have religious, um, they have gods and deities and uh, um that was missing in Kaldesh, now that you mention it and I think you can make a german set without seeing any religious symbols at all. So yeah, Thanks for that.

Although although I imagine a lot of the difference there is the religious symbols you'd use in India are all still in use. So there's, I don't with something like Call Time, you're really not uh well within some reason, but you're probably not going to accidentally offend people.

Mhm. Bye by depicting Orden.

With anything in that set with with in with India. It's, again.

You're not affecting the wrong people. Uh huh.

Yeah, I mean like with with a set in India, I I mean I I don't know much about indian americans within India. I don't I don't know. I guess you'd have to be a little wary of it.

I heard a comment by Shivan Bat. He's like an also big podcast or MTG podcast and he was also quite positive on on Kaldesh and the other world that they created. And he'd I just remember this one detail. He was like, thank you for not creating these forearms some things and not using cliches too much. And it was like one day before this angel with forearms like spoiled the card, but it's like the, the only thing maybe that's that you use a little bit of cliche. But yeah, I really enjoyed.

I mean I I yeah, I mean I I have, I have to say I don't, that sort of stuff does not like it wouldn't get on my nerves at all. I, I don't, for me that stuff is fun. I wouldn't find it personally offensive. But again, I can't understand why they would try to stay away from it. I don't think I've seen the forearm danger, although that's pretty funny.

We'll send you a link, but this set has a special place in my heart and it was said I started playing Magic with. And yeah, therefore it was very interesting hearing, hearing your take on it.

Uh huh. Yeah, it's a fun, it was a fun one to work on and it comes up again now and then like um, like just straight cards that refer to us that not like um like you'll, you'll have straight cards now and then that might be set in Innistrad or something even though there's no Innistrad set coming like just as the flavor for the card. So occasionally you get something that goes back there and then I'll open the brief and be like, oh God, golden filigree.

Yeah. And I think it makes a difference for me. Should would I have started with Innistrad It was this, this dark set and this this horror set and, and starting with such a such a light and vibrant and colorful set as color dish. It set the tone for for my Magic experience. And uh maybe for this podcast as as I approach Magic since it's yeah, it's it's fun to, to watch, to play and to to look at the art.

There there, I mean, now that I think about it, um the first few years I was working on it, there were a few sets almost back to back that were just like that, these really open, joyful color palettes. Because I think in quick succession there was khalid dish. There was um oh God, I'm on ket. Excellent. That's at some point domine area again, So.

Yeah, guilt of rough Nika was also really colorful, at least what you did, but not everything. You also did the Midnight River, which is quite dark.

Right. Right. Uh huh. Yeah.

But the, the camaraderie that you did is really stunning, stunning piece.

Thank you. That was that was another fun one.

Yeah. Yeah. Let let me ask you a little bit about uh your, your lighting um in the pictures. So I have um I have here like, Night of Grace and Night of malice are like two pieces that are actually one piece, correct. These are like two nights jumping on horses, like across a water, a river or something towards each other. You did this as one thing because it just looks like it has been cut in the middle and put onto two separate cards.

Um they're not they work together, they weren't necessarily designed as one scene that's then split in half because like honestly when I put them together there are little bits about it, they don't quite make sense. Like if you look very closely at it, they're not really properly aimed at each other, they're about to ride past.

Okay, okay, perfect. So um I can't imagine so, so.

Which was which was an interesting challenge.

So this piece like shows me a lot about like the contrast that you're working with, but when I'm, when I'm thinking about the the lighting, they are, coming to mind um a lot of really a lot of other pieces, like when when I when I look at your pictures, I see a lot of dynamics, but also when I look at your pictures, I see um like, kind of hard light, like a realistic hard light that you put into your scenes.

Uh so the light, when I'm sketching out a scene, the lighting's typically comes second. The first thing I'm trying to do is just get it to work in line at very, very small size. Like um wow, I'm thinking in inches now, I don't know basically the size of my thumb across, like a very very small picture about that big. I'm trying to normally get it just to work at that size and doing like, pages of these things, just trying to make several pages of different, very small sketches.

A chinese influence you mean maybe or did I get something wrong martin? Please help me out.

I think it's a Chinese influence the one where he's holding, mm.

Okay, it's it's possible. I'm mixing this up with the name of the assignment. Mm.

Yeah, never mind. Yeah.

Yeah, that I heard that a lot that the the name changes throughout the process. And even, and if you get to told, even if you told the name of the cardio illustrating, it could end up with another name in printing.

Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So yeah, a chinese influence.

What really sticks with me? Are these daylights like with the pouncing links or the Garrison Cat? You know when I when I look at the piece of set mckinnon, I look at the shadows and the structures of the shadows and when I look at your pictures I really like the lighting's maybe because I'm a little sensitive to light, because so when I'm outside and I don't have my sunglasses on, everything looks like really, really bright. So this, this looks really like a realistic lighting.

It's um it's a bunch of things, part of it is once again the pictures I'm looking at, You do see a lot of that like dramatic sunlight spotlight in a lot of the era of illustration I like to look at, which is early 20th century. Um honestly a lot of that probably also comes from working in ink um just because of the nature of that medium, I'm immediately working with those dark shadows. Um not always with spotlights, it really depends on the picture.

Keep it going man, do more of this stuff. This is what I really, really enjoy.

Yeah.

I just have some of your, some of your work in front of me and it's like I could name one picture after the other like deface. It's also, it's like crazy where all the light is coming from from underneath or rampage of the clans where it's like this, this bright, yellow, golden sunlight is coming from the back and.

Thanks, those, those were all a lot of fun to do, especially rampage of the clans.

So this really translates to me, yep martin. Do do you want to ask something? If not, I can, I can have more questions.

I was just thinking a lot of your pictures as we just discussed are in a very bright and well lit stage. And uh I really enjoy looking at this because I have the feeling. There's every corner I look, there's something to be discovered and there's there's um, and even in the darker pictures and everything is so clear and recognizable. It's really joyful to, to look at these. And I always get the feeling as a viewer.

I I appreciate that. And yeah, I mean thinking about it even for those darker pictures saying that they're still clarity, half of that is a practical thing. When you print those dark pictures, they immediately go black. So I I need to make sure they don't do that. Um but part of it is also like I've said this in, I've said this while talking to someone else in Magic about Magic recently, um with some exceptions, like a a recent card of minus that's influence. Um with some exceptions like that.

Uh huh.

Even if it's a horror picture or something like generally not nice, it's a picture of death or war or something, I still want the image to be beautiful. I want you to have a reason to look at it and to have something to take from it. Like um uh there's a line where I I don't want a person to be repulsed and not want to look at the image anymore. So a lot of that, a lot of that factors and also.

Well, that's that's where it's so dark in so many ways.

Yeah. But that's the feeling I get from from looking at these pictures that I I don't feel they don't feel gory, they don't feel repulsive. As you said.

Mhm.

It's it's nice to look at them even if they show a dramatic scene like a little bit. It's they're they're really good pictures.

Thank you. And yeah, definitely not gory, that's like a just a person, partly, I think Magic in general. They don't want gory scenes. But even in my own work, I could be, painting as violent and action scene as I want, but I'm generally not going to lean into gore because that actually goes in the wrong direction, it starts to, either become repulsive or it almost becomes funny like that.

So drill bit is something before it's getting gory definitely. So I can see the goal when I see these pictures like their score in my head.

Oh yes. Yes. Yeah. Well, the suggestion of it is stronger than actually showing it in any in any art form.

Yes, it's quite a joyful scene. Still still.

Well, he's having fun so far, everyone else is having fun in it.

Uh huh Yes definitely. So let's let's talk about one of your more gory action scenes about Disrupt Decorum Um I really, really like this card. So this this painting looks like a like a heavy gold framed like a little little dark and over the ages like from like from an old masters oil painting, you know, which is not happening by accident, but how much oil did you actually use for this for this piece?

That's a digital piece.

Really? Uh.

Oh yeah. Um I actually don't remember what year that came out, but I don't think I was working in oil yet for Magic at that time.

It came out in 2017. Why? That was the year came out?

Um

The card came out.

2006. So I painted it in 16. So yeah, uh when I first started working for magic they didn't want me to work in oil because I wasn't ready to yet. Uh my skills were not up to, yeah, not not because of anything against oil. My skills and oil just weren't ready yet. I had to work at it for a while.

They didn't want you to work in oil I hope. Okay.

Um but no, I mean they all have that traditional look, but that one is painted digitally, all of my first few years of Magic they're all digital.

Okay, but this change over the time, right?

Yeah, eventually, like one I was working at oils on my own because I always wanted to paint in oils and at some point um uh which card was this? I think it was one of the pirate cards, I think it was mass mutiny at one point, I just decided for myself. Okay, I'm ready. So just painted in an oil and quietly submitted it without saying anything. And they came back and said, Hey, it looks great. And you did this in oil. Right. Cool.

So they recognize that Yeah, because they get much yes hi res pictures.

You can't hide the little artifacts that get picked up in photography and which I'm not, I'm not trying to hide that their oil. The point was, it had to be of a certain quality before it would be acceptable.

So it's just a standard contract. Every every illustrator that signs with with lizards. They they right. And when you start painting for us, you start digital and after a few years you can go to a.

Oh no, no, no, no, not, not at all. They don't like, they don't care what medium you use really. Um, yeah.

So it was your decision when you switch from digital to oil.

Yeah. I mean I was clear with them from early on that my goal was to work in oil. that's what I wanted to do. They like the advice I got from them early on was if you want to work in oil, it's going to take longer for you to get Magic work just because I had to get my skill in oil painting ready. So I, I wanted to start working for Magic so it was like you sure I'll work digitally and then work towards oil.

Yeah, it was uh victor Dominguez, Yeah.

Yeah, victor, it was victor victor. Yes.

Yeah and it was like that was crazy and I saw this tweet and he had his carved wooden wooden plank.

Mhm. Yeah.

Oh they were, they were so cool.

Yeah, but but why do you want to paint an oil and not literally?

Um It's one like I said I'm using Photoshop all week, so I just don't want to look at the computer anymore at the end of the workday. Um I I mean I was trained in oil, I started painting digitally and then I went to art school and when I was training in oil I just fell in love with it. Um The main thing like for illustration, because when I when I started art school I thought I wanted to be a concept artist and I did become a concept artist, but that wasn't the dream at some point.

At what point in an assignment? Do you decide which way to go in in the uh digital or or oil? Do you always want to start in oil? And if you see the the assignment, And so it's difficult to do and go digital? Or do you uh do we have a process in determining which way to use?

It's almost always about time constraints. Um, if I have the time, I would almost always prefer to do it in oil just for my own satisfaction in Magic there's that added benefit that you can sell the original. That definitely makes a difference.

Mhm. So if you would yeah, if you could choose you always you always choose oil.

Yeah, and it's, it's just nice to have that physical object at the end of it.

Mhm. Mhm. So when will be the next auction of one of your paintings?

Oh I have, I have no clue. The auctions happened when the auctions happened when the peace releases and I actually didn't do that many Magic pieces last year so um there should be something soon.

Mhm. Yeah.

I I honestly don't know, I don't even know what the next said I worked on was.

So so you didn't have any pieces in strict Haven which came out recently, correct? No. Right.

No, no, I only found out about that set, I think when it was released or when it was announced.

Yeah but there will soon be a Magic and dungeons and dragons, um set that will come out and I can't imagine that there will be some work of you in there because you work for dungeons and dragons and Magic correct.

Mhm. I think so, it's a year ago now, like pan dep.

Mhm. Well it would be a wasted opportunity not to use your work.

I'm just trying to uh I tend to forget what sets I work done, I think I might have but um it's it's in the brain fog now, I honestly can't remember.

Yeah of course. Uh huh.

And this will be the set. You start playing Magic because you get in wire dia de and then you understand the whole world and you just have to pick up the rules.

Sure. Uh huh.

Yeah.

So do you do you still have some original pieces at home or did you all sell them like um they caught us?

Uh for Magic only the for Magic I have all the unreleased ones sitting here. Uh Oh the original I still have here is boarding party. I still need to actually put that up.

Yeah, yeah.

Tell me when.

I definitely will. I was actually supposed to do this back in january and then I kept slipping.

Mhm.

So we will we will delay the publication of this podcast episode until Guys has bought uh this cover of Falling Party.

Yeah I don't really know where to hang this thing because I have to talk to my wife but uh yes I will make space for it somewhere. No I don't I don't know if I have the money to buy this thing but it's definitely something that I want to look more into it. Like this whole market like blew up in the last in the last months and years and became larger and more interesting to a lot more people.

Which, which, which is cool because a lot of the Magic artists that have been doing almost only digital work have started doing oil paintings now.

So this also changed like the whole scene. Yeah and how they're working.

Oh absolutely, like um I think last year I started to see the first like Tyler Jacobson pieces in oil, uh and he's, he he went to the same art school I did, but he was before I went, he's trained in oils, like he was painting, incredible oil stuff like right out of school, just not for Magic Now, the oils for Magic have started to appear, it's like, yeah.

So no, I have no N F T. S from your side in the in the next month.

Not at the moment, just not. Uh I mean I've paid attention to it, a lot of my friends are in it.

Yeah. Yeah.

Um honestly I've just, I don't have much personal work because it's all been Magic and DND so I just don't have much to throw into that space, I'm keeping an eye on it.

Crazy. Yeah. Yeah. So everybody should have a look on your website. Uh Sidharth Shadow VT dot com. And there everybody can also find not only your work for Magic but also you work for DND your ink stuff, which is really, really interesting.

Yeah.

And yeah just click around and there's also a store where you can order stuff printing sprints, artists proves whatever.

Yep, yep, I need to update that artist proof page also. Yes, it's a little out of date.

So I think there's not so much more left for me to ask to. Maybe we should do a second interview and the third one. But for for right now I'm like I got a lot of.

Hey, you know where to find me.

Uh answers that I will think about the next couple of days and look into your art even a little bit more. And martin said anything you would like to add anything you would like to ask.

No, I really enjoyed talking to you. And as I said I will I will have a close look at all the all the pictures and illustrations and all the cards I own. I will go through my collection tomorrow and and and pull out all the cards you illustrated and and go look at them very, very closely because it was such a delight talking to you and getting to know how you.

Pleasure talking to you guys, I appreciate you reaching out. It was a nice evening, like I said, it went by quickly.

It's so interesting going to strife all and type an artist Chartuvedi and then you see all the stuff that um said painted and it's really interesting what what what kind of cards that you have are connected by an artist. This is really, really interesting and I don't know if there's I think you you don't have enough stuff yet to build like an own commander deck with just your illustrations. So you have to work a little bit more.

I I should ask them about a special cat deck.

Yes. So when will you change your name to captivity?

Uh huh. Mhm.

Yeah uh I I think that might be on the horizon if this keeps up. Mhm.

Yeah.

Uh huh. So in in in in french it's it's it's shut so it's already kind of your name already.

Mhm.

Yep. Exactly.

So it's time for us to to serve the dessert right.

Yes, before we let it go, we have a little dessert for you and for our listeners, and yeah, we'll go right at it, guys, what is it?

Or will reserve some Bavarian cream of course.

Mhm. So as you remember, we uh we made a promise at the beginning of this episode and uh yeah, we're holding through to it.

So sit is giving away something a foil artist proof of Hullbreacher and you said with a little ink drawing on the back side, wow. So this is a really unique thing. So when you have this, nobody else in the world will have it. So how can you win this? We will um yeah choose randomly one of you who will. And there are several options. You either can follow us on twitter and the retweet the post to this episode.

Is there a time frame we want to give to the listeners for how long since this episode went up?

Yeah of course we should give it a limit.

Um two weeks. So we've got two weeks from the release of this episode to enter and there is no right to appeal. And yeah, good luck to you all.

Two weeks. Because then when it's longer I have like less chances to win when more people are entering. So.

Yeah. You have to you have to save up for for buying boarding party.

Yeah. Uh This is. Yeah correct. Right. And I but other side when it's longer I have more time to make up fake accounts to end to enter. So either way I will not enter. So some of somebody from of you will will win this thing.

Yeah. But I really do hope that we get a lot of uh paintings in the future that we all have the chance to to by a by a original or a print.

At least the print. No, no. I want to have an original.

Yeah. So um yeah, let me again. Say thank you to our to our guest to the very first artist guest on this program. And uh it's been a really pleasure.

Thanks guys, it's been my pleasure being here.

Thank you so much dude.

Thanks guys.

And uh have a good time and uh stay, stay safe and stay healthy. And uh until until next time.

Likewise looking forward to it.

Okay bye guys. Until our next episode.

Right. Goodbye. So everybody, thank you for listening to this very special episode. It was like the first part of this serious that we're that we want to do now of interviews with artists like sit and this episode was in english. The next episode of Tasty MtG will be in german again, but I think the next episode, like this next, the next special episode, the next interview will probably also be in english.