About Us

WHY MAGIC?

We’re avid fans of Magic: The Gathering. We love playing the game. But we can all recall the first time our eyes landed on a wild creature or magical scenery in a beautiful card art. So captivating and rich, almost mesmerizing, we fell in love with Magic art and the sense of opportunity and mystery it offers… Over the years, the game has garnered a wide fan base of designers and art lovers, and art has become a definitive part of Magic. It brings the game to life and immerses us the players entirely into the theme and feel of the game.

As artists, Magic: The Gathering provides us with a range of artistic styles to play around with, including Gothic, Renaissance, Japanese ukiyo-e, and even modern (see below to read more about what kind of art we draw inspiration from). So now we really just have to pick up a pencil and a notebook and let our minds wonder with thoughts.

ART WE DRAW INSPIRATION FROM 

Our inspiration comes from all kinds of art. We try to incorporate Magic-themed art but also expand it in different directions at will, as we see fit.

Here are some art styles that you can see in our playmats:

MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN ART

The history of Medieval art is an interesting one. Originally, it depicted religious symbols, heavenly bodies, the afterlife and mythical creatures. With the rise of “barbarian” cultures in Northern Europe, Medieval art started combining more vigorous styles of Gothic nature with elements of classical, Christian art. Medieval Europe saw a paradigm shift – the transition from the myths and legends of yore to the monotheism of Christianity, with the profound cultural, philosophical, and ethical change it brought with it. Medieval European art was the culmination of all of these different styles and the meaning they had for Europe.

This makes for some pretty awesome art, that despite being often viewed as monolithic –  is everything but. These are the same styles that glorify Church ceilings, and adorn the Medieval sculptures in the Met in New York. And this is the same sort of art that you’d find used extensively in our Magic: The Gathering playmats.

ASIAN ART

Asian art in many respects took a different direction than its European equivalent. Whereas European philosophy and art transitioned from polytheism to monotheism and emphasized the importance of its practice, Asian philosophy and art collectively adhered to Confucianism and its emphasis on fine craftsmanship and devotion to one’s work. While European art depicted humans and nature in a realistic manner, Asian art chose to display meaning and symbolism via the alteration of reality.

This can be seen in Japanese ukiyo-e painting Fine Wind, Clear Morning, for example. Mt. Fuji is drawn there in bright red on a deep blue sky, in order to symbolize the force of and contrast between the different elements of nature. We love this kind of graphic paintings full of symbolism and minimalism and try to incorporate it into our Magic: The Gathering art tastefully as well.

THE PROCESS  

Phase 1

After coming up with an initial idea for a Magic: The Gathering playmat, we draw up the art using good ol’ pencil and paper. We usually draw a couple of different sketches to get a better idea of how the different parts of the playmat would fit together, and to figure out scale and position.

Phase 2

Then, we convert these sketches to vector images on the computer. Most of our time is spent on live-drawing on Illustrator, refining and refining… Until we have a solid playmat design that we can build around.

Phase 3

In the next part we create many test designs using different colors, backgrounds and patterns. Once we figure out which design we like best, we transition to the third and final phase of fine-tuning that design. This phase involves meticulously going over the littlest of details to make sure we are content with it.

We obsess over the symmetry and “weight” of the playmat, the intricacy and the consistency of the different design patterns, and the colors and textures. This doesn’t stop until we get it right. The playmat needs to come out perfect, don’t you think?

ABOUT DANIEL ZIEGLER

I’m Daniel Ziegler and I’m the artist behind Paramint’s playmats. A lover of art and a passionate fan of Magic: The Gathering, I started playing back in the 90’s and was immediately enamored by the card art. I create the playmat designs myself, but often commission the work to more skilled artists than I am to put in on (Illustrator) canvas. I’d love to feature other artists on here as well (for a very fair payment of course).

Please feel free to contact me at daniel@paramintdesigns.com for any questions/suggestions. I always love reading emails from fans and potential collaborators 🙂