Terese Nielsen - Fantasy Artist, Star Wars, MtG and Angel Art

Force of Will Print and Epic Tale: The Magic Life of Force

   
Force of Will was the very first Magic card I ever did for Wizards of the Coast back in 1996.  Though I didn't know it at the time, it turned out to be quite an auspicious debut, I guess you could say.  It's remained THE most popular card I've ever done, and I've painted well over 150 images for the game since then. 

The art director for MTG at the time, Sue Ann Harkey, had seen my art from comics I'd painted for DC and Marvel... I had also done some vampire paintings for a different WOTC department that she may have seen. 

Anyhow, she called me up and asked if I wanted to take on a few cards in the upcoming set, Alliances.  Of course I was delighted and eager to break into a new venue, and accepted at once.  When she was talking to me about my assignments, she mentioned in reference to Force of Will, "I'm not sure, but I think this is going to be a good card for you."

Guess she was right.  It's been one of the hallmarks of my Magic career.

Back in those days, the art direction and descriptions tended to be a bit looser... and they came over by fax.  (For you young people, faxes came right after pony express in the timeline of things). I wish I still had the original art description, but as far as I can remember, here's all it said:

• Red card
• Depict a Shaman using fire or red magic
• Working title: "Stop Spell"

I'd always thought Wolverine was a cool character, so I decided to give "Stop Spell" a don't-mess-with-me Wolverine-type attitude.  I was surprised that when the card came out, it had a blue border, instead of red.

Back in the days of fax machines, I was also using another technological dinosaur... the polaroid camera.  Actually, my custom was to shoot reference with a 35 mm camera, and then drop off the roll to a 1-hour photo place, but I didn't have the luxury of that much time when I was sketching Force of Will.

It was late at night, and I didn't have much time left on my deadline, so I had to spring for the polaroid (which cost me $1 per photo and looked pretty crappy most of the time).  Neither did I have the luxury of some body-building superhero at my disposal for reference, either, so I used what I could get... someone close to home... uh... me.

Back in those days I was working out pretty hard (anybody heard of Bill Phillips?) and had about 9% body fat, so I stripped down to my underwear, set up some good underlighting and let my little 6-pack create the foundation upon which I built my studly Force of Will.

Actually, that's really kind of embarrassing to admit... in fact, after you finish reading this post, it will vanish in a *poof* of smoke, leaving no trace that it ever existed... either that, or I'll have to kill you.  I don't actually like looking at that old photo... it's not that my body looked bad, but the granny panties... geez.  I didn't know Victoria back then.

Anyhow, I painted Force of Will bigger than I generally paint Magic cards now... the dimensions were probably 18 x 14".  Even so, I want to say it came together in a couple of days... on the faster side.  And I hadn't been out of school very long, so I probably painted the whole thing with gouache and colored pencil.

In 1997 (I think?), I was invited to sign at a Pro Tour in Stockholm, Sweden.  Force went with me, but didn't come home.  He'd lost his passport and got wisked away by the Swedish authorities (the same ones that are after Assange).  No... actually, he fell in love with a "player" (some of us have that unfortunate experience).  I think his name was Sven.

Seriously, though, it was hard to let him go, but pretty exciting to be taking home a nice wad of cash from the trip.  I haven't seen or heard of Force since... I'm sure he can take care of himself, but still, I wonder.  Every now and then I'll see his face... I have these recurring dreams of painting over him, time after time after time, morphing him into other characters.  Weird.

I've sold hundreds of prints over the years, as many people want him for themselves and as gifts for their friends.  There are two sizes to choose from:

• Small 8.5 x 11" open edition archival print
• Large 13 x 19" limited edition of 425, signed and numbered, printed on archival watercolor paper

 
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Magic the Gathering's: Mirrodin Besieged Art Silverskin Armor

Every now and again I get assigned a Magic card that gives me enough creative freedom that I'm able to embed a lot of "me" into the piece. "Silverskin Armor" is one of those. What makes a piece "me"? I'm not entirely sure, but I am aware of what elements keep seeping out of me whenever they get the opportunity.

Probably my first love is painting beautiful, captivating people. However, I also like the image to feel like there's more going on than just that. Usually, that includes experimenting with variations in textures and color. For me, trying out new techniques is the playful, fun part of art that I still find exciting. There's also something about things that look old and authentic that forever intrigue me. I enjoy layering scientific, arcane and diagramatic elements into a painting. If you're familiar with my work at all, I'm sure you've noticed gold and irridecent mediums are frequently incorporated in the art. To me, it gives the original paintings an opulent, rich feel. Or, I may just be part crow. You know, "shiny" things.

Now that I've shared some of the components that make me "tick" as an artist, as your eyes move through "Silverskin Armor" you will be able to spot how I've integrated those elements into this painting. Below is the original art description I was given to create the art for the card:

TITLE: [Fleshfoil]
ART DESCRIPTION:
Color: None (artifact)
Location: your choice
Action: We see a female blue-aligned human (neurok) in the process of "installing" her magical armor. The armor consists of form-fitting chrome pieces that extend tendrils of metal into her flesh that connect with her bones (bloodlessly).
Focus: the chrome armor with its endoskeletal anchor points
Mood: Let those filthy Phyrexian try to pry *this* off me.

It wasn't especially clear "how" this armor adhears itself to the human, so I was inspired by the specialized cells in various underwater creatures, the critters that sting and paralyze. They contain barbed, threadlike tubes which look wicked when magnified. It seemed like an approach this armor could use to burrow into ones flesh. 

This is the sketch I came up with, which was then emailed to the art director for approval. The sketch is 10.75 x 7" graphite on parchment tracing paper.

 

To complete the original art, I printed the sketch out on Epson Fine Art Velvet paper. I soak that print-out in water (wet stretch process) and mount it on a board. I then start layering in washes of acrylic until all of the white of my paper is covered with a general color direction. The next thing I do is start adjusting the values by adding in darks, sometimes with paint, sometimes glazes of airbrush. I also begin playing with adding textural varieties.

Through experimenting, I've found that after I lay down a watery wash of acrylic color, (dribbles and splatters) if I then spray Crystal Clear into that wet mix, it beads and repels in an interesting way that creates sort of a marbled look that is a fun base to work into. The gold and silver areas include varigated gold/silver leaf as well as embossing powders. I use various pens and ink to draw in the diagramatic areas. To continue rendering the piece, I build up areas with oil and acrylic until I feel like the colors, values, textures, composition and movement of ones eye through the piece works as a whole. Sometimes the "deadline" comes before all of those things are accomplished to my liking, but that is what I strive for.

The original art is painted on Epson Velvet Fine Art paper with acrylic, oil, ink, gold/silver leaf and embossing powders. The image area is 9.75 x 7".

I'm getting a lot of print requests for this piece already. I have two sizes available:

• Small 8.5 x 11" open edition archival print
• Large limited edition of 250, signed and numbered, printed on archival watercolor paper

 

J.W. Waterhouse the Inspiration for 1995 Vampirella Gallery Card

 



Three years into my career, I was asked to create an image for the Topps Vampirella Gallery card set. Aside from the basic proportion of the card, I was given complete artistic freedom as to how I could illustrate her. For inspiration before starting a piece, I usually gravitate to my ever expanding wall of books. The artists and illustrators of the late 1800's and early 1900's have been, and still are, my greatest influences. J.W. Waterhouse is among my favorites and this painting was an homage to him.

This scene features Vampirella on her home planet Draculon. Draculon is a world with twin suns, where rivers are filled with blood, thus, the liquid they drink. I wanted to imbue Vampirella with a strong, elegant and sensual quality. I've never been a fan of women portrayed in bimbo-esque poses. My style and interests lean toward a decorative, ethereal technique. I enjoy visually flowing through an image, allowing the textures and symbols to  reveal themselves as ones eyes move through the piece. The medium I used was oil on Strathmore paper with subtle touches of gold leaf.

Up until now, this limited edition print has only been available at convention signings. I rarely bring them to conventions anymore, but still have a number of them left. So, I'm adding this print here for the Vampirella and vampire fans that would still like the opportunity to add this piece to their collection.

This archival print is an edition of 250 on 13x19" watercolor paper. Each one is signed and numbered in gold and carefully packaged in a sturdy shipping tube.

 

Destination

U.S. $34.00 International $39.00

Personalized Signature

Magic the Gathering's GURU Land Print Set

Back in 1999 Wizards of the Coast offered a promotion to encourage people to teach their friends to play Magic called, "The Guru program". The five lands shown here were included in this program as giveaways. These illustrations depict the phases of a double eclipse transitioning through each of the land cards, beginning with the plains and ending with the swamp. These are some of the most unique and expensive lands available. 

When I was commissioned to illustrate this set, I was given a great deal of flexibility as to how I could portray them. The art director basically said, "Just do something that looks cool". For inspiration, I looked at old style medical illustrations, scientific diagrams and ancient maps.  I painted each image with acrylic and hints of colored pencil, airbrush and gold leaf.

You can see the details of these transitions within this set of 5 prints. They have continued to be best sellers throughout the years. We're offering a signed set of 5 for $49.95.  Each 8.5 x 11" image is printed on archival matte paper and signed in gold. Buy Now!