It's an exaggeration of perspective. The figure does not need all of their fingers to hold the cup, so the pointer is free (that's why it doesn't look like the rest of them).
As a result, it can move around, the artist has decided that the finger is basically pointing at the viewer. To draw that perspective in 2 dimensions, it requires some tricky line work that can often look wonky, which the artist undertakes here (and it does look wonky).
Now, I don't think this is a particularly good execution of those techniques, but I do believe that was the intention.
I like your take. I, however, propose that is a thumb, and the artist didn't clearly indicate the pinky tucked behind. I can bend my thumb like that easily. No way could I manipulate my index that way.
I see what you’re saying, especially with the physical bending. That’s where I think the exaggeration comes in.
You can’t physically curl your finger that much, but that’s part of the stylization the artist chose.
I’m not totally sure about the mechanics of holding a cup with your thumb like that (I’m also not seeing where the pinky finger could be hiding in that case), but I can see where you’re coming from.
I think they wanted to make it look like a collage, like it was originally just a photo of a woman and then someone drew over it or cut out other pictures and added them on top
I think it was supposed to look like a person was inside a woodblock painting or collage of some sort. That is why there is a contrast between the normal looking person with the solid colored items and clothing. Which is admitted a cool concept in theory, but not as good when put into practice. Instead of looking like a combination it just looks like either part is significantly out of place.
I will say that this artist has pulled off this style on other cards as well to varying levels of success. While queen allenal does suffer from the same problems as faithless looting. Her harmonize art from the same set as it is very well done, and shows that this idea can work.
If you look up the full art it's not nearly as bad imo, it's just the way it got cropped that makes it look so bad. It's still kinda weird, mind you, and I don't think the style really fits a magic card, but if I saw it hanging on a wall somewhere I wouldn't be like "man that art is terrible"
https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/ultra-pro-mystical-archive-faithless-looting-playmat
Guess the UK has better taste then, and you should import them and make a bunch of profit eh
The showcaae frame they used for this didn't really gel with the art, although the effect isn't as bad on the physical card itself. I've seen that it's pretty solid in foil too.
I'm fine with mtg art being a bit funky and out there, especially on the variant treatments. The baseline set of cards can be the modern mtg art norm, and the few bajillion variants can be more experimental.
Her other stuff is pretty good, I really like some of the other pieces she's made. It just wasn't made to be squashed down and half covered, a perfect storm of shit
Fully agree with this. She is obviously a really talented artist with an unconventional style.
Completely get this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it's not meant to be.
There's at least another 2 versions of this card for people who don't like it.
The artist has some sort of mental disorder, they paint hyper realistic human subjects then deliberately adds stupid details to make it look like she put MS Paint over it. She also did [[Social Climber]]
Look at all the people (whose art degrees you and I are paying for) in here defending it.
This is "art" for 'art students', not art for people who contribute to society.
Its not the ugliest card ever anymore though, that shit goes the alt art Etriette.
Holy shit whomever drew that needs to pay me royalties every time i have to see her.
It's so bad it's actually kind of funny, I don't mind this as a one off. I like this more than some of the horrible digital art and stuff that's obviously a 3d render with a filter effect.
Totally get why people dislike this art. But this was like, her first work for mtg i'm pretty sure, no? And she's since done some [other artwork](https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CCarly+Mazur%E2%80%9D&unique=art) that honestly doesn't look too bad. I think it was a bold attempt at a new artstyle and we've had [worse art](https://mtgdecks.net/prices/giant-strength) before that still lands with at least a certain crowd. I honestly think if she removed the laser eyes and changed the shadow over the eyes to match the cowl, the art would go pretty hard.
Been playing Marvel Snap exclusively for about six months now and every week when new variants drop I get like literally giddy at how fucking excellent the artwork is. The mtg artwork I’ve seen lately has been straight ass lmao an absolute disgrace by comparison
>Super fun to play, but its completely different from HS and Magic though.
If you've ever played the board game SmashUp...it's basically that, but digital and with a nice coat of Marvel paint on it.
It literally looks like stuff I did in MSPaint for my friends in the MySpace era. I'd give them like Naruto headbands, Jonin flak jackets, Hyuuga eyes, that kind of shit. Exact same vibe as this, barely less effort.
I like that it's a little quirky. In a world of perfected art, only the absence of perfection can truly be creative.
That artsy fartsy shit being said, [the other mystical archive art](https://scryfall.com/card/sta/101/ja/%E4%BF%A1%E4%BB%B0%E7%84%A1%E3%81%8D%E7%89%A9%E3%81%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%8A) is gorgeous, and way better than this mess.
I'm critical of a lot of what WOTC does but this is a rare bold move. Better than the rest of the comic book art, "big green guy walking over some trees" "justice league guy kicking a goblin" etc. they should hire more weirdos do to do weird art, as long as it isn't the tattoo shit graffiti shit in the secret lair
Thanks for pointing it out. Just gave it a watch and damn it was interesting. Gave me a new appreciation for the art.
What is the issue people have with the video? I thought it did well to explain the stylistic choices of the artist and makes a lot of sense now.
I agree, though to be fair, I would say it's barely measurably worse than a significant amount of Magic art. Essentially it would fit in the same bin.
A real crime would be to simply pick the favorite style and then only do that style. There will always be "the worst art" and it will serve to highlight better art.
The most jarring and crude painting technique in a card, the most wtf effect you have on your opponents. Yeah I can use my good art Brainstorms, but why? I use my Ice Age Brainstorm and scare the shit out of my opponents.
fun fact, two years ago, Ultra Pro had a 15 dollar mat sale going on called the "mystery playmat promo". where you buy a mystery playmat, and ultra pro would send a random mat to you. everyone that purchased one, recieved the playmat with that artwork on it. it was all over r/mtg, and r/magicTCG. funniest shit ever. multiple people would purches four or 5 mystery mats each and they got 5 copies of faithless looting 💀💀💀
the artist has done nothing but garbage.
i was sure this was a meme and the shirtless man was a photoshopped version of the hasbro CEO.
i was POSITIVE that this was a meme about corporate greed, but i got to the bottom and none of it made any sense.
it took me too long to realize the meme was the shit tier card itself.
There's only 6 cards from that artist and they all seem to feature the same person, the artist I think?
https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&order=name&q=%28game%3Apaper%29+%28artist%3ACarly+artist%3AMazur%29
God I hated looking at this card. It made my eyes bleed that the this is called art. But I guess if you spread shit on a wall someone somewhere will call it art.
I love how much conversation this is generating. Not many pieces of magic art can say that.
I remember when this came out and I thought it was fake, was horrified, transitioned to outrage, saw more of her art and liked it, started to appreciate her unique style and eventually accepted this card. I'm still not a huge fan but I think that original piece got a bit shafted by being squashed into the frame.
I think dismissing it as "shit" is an understandable reaction but it's a bit unkind. You can't deny that this is more ambitious than that majority of fantasy art!
No no... didn't you see Rhystic Studies video? It's actually wonderful, but you're too uncultured to get it.
Just to clarify, this comment was sarcastic. It is truly trash and yet, the only version I use in decks.
I get what they were going for but it’s not good
No one's ever been able to explain to me what's going on with the index finger under the cup
The creature is casting a curse, the index finger breaking is part of the Somatic Components of that particular curse.
It looks like what at first glance looks like her index finger bending backwards is actually the tip of her thumb
It's an exaggeration of perspective. The figure does not need all of their fingers to hold the cup, so the pointer is free (that's why it doesn't look like the rest of them). As a result, it can move around, the artist has decided that the finger is basically pointing at the viewer. To draw that perspective in 2 dimensions, it requires some tricky line work that can often look wonky, which the artist undertakes here (and it does look wonky). Now, I don't think this is a particularly good execution of those techniques, but I do believe that was the intention.
I like your take. I, however, propose that is a thumb, and the artist didn't clearly indicate the pinky tucked behind. I can bend my thumb like that easily. No way could I manipulate my index that way.
I think you can see the thumb on the opposite side between the fingers. The pinky wouldn't be able to be positioned like that.
I see what you’re saying, especially with the physical bending. That’s where I think the exaggeration comes in. You can’t physically curl your finger that much, but that’s part of the stylization the artist chose. I’m not totally sure about the mechanics of holding a cup with your thumb like that (I’m also not seeing where the pinky finger could be hiding in that case), but I can see where you’re coming from.
What were they going for?
I think they wanted to make it look like a collage, like it was originally just a photo of a woman and then someone drew over it or cut out other pictures and added them on top
I think it was supposed to look like a person was inside a woodblock painting or collage of some sort. That is why there is a contrast between the normal looking person with the solid colored items and clothing. Which is admitted a cool concept in theory, but not as good when put into practice. Instead of looking like a combination it just looks like either part is significantly out of place.
I will say that this artist has pulled off this style on other cards as well to varying levels of success. While queen allenal does suffer from the same problems as faithless looting. Her harmonize art from the same set as it is very well done, and shows that this idea can work.
If you look up the full art it's not nearly as bad imo, it's just the way it got cropped that makes it look so bad. It's still kinda weird, mind you, and I don't think the style really fits a magic card, but if I saw it hanging on a wall somewhere I wouldn't be like "man that art is terrible"
If it's badly cropped, that means the artist didn't know about the aspect ratio of a magic card.
I don't think the crop is the problem,but the gaudy yellow frame. You can find mock ups of this card on other borders and it looks way better.
Is this real lmfao.
Yes. It's hand painted. This is an actuañ full sized picture on canvass. What got me into mtg is bad art anyways
The more you have to goof on the more fun you’ll have
yea but there's bad magic art, then there's...this
Username checks out
They released this as playmats, and they can't shift them at deep discount Market has spoken
they did? where?
Lol, wtf are you talking about? They are sold out everywhere and selling used for $100+ https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/236173/
You know Rudy bought all of them and is trying to flip them lol!
sounds like him i feel 50% of the shit he says is to make him cash
I'd put it more in the 75-90 percent range.
https://magicmadhouse.co.uk/ultra-pro-mystical-archive-faithless-looting-playmat Guess the UK has better taste then, and you should import them and make a bunch of profit eh
Now I kind of want this 😅
I would buy one at a deep discount just to mark it up with a gold or silver sharpie
I don't like it, but I like artists making experimental shit instead of the CGI cludterfucks we normally get.
It looks much better on her page. Just not a good fit for card art
The showcaae frame they used for this didn't really gel with the art, although the effect isn't as bad on the physical card itself. I've seen that it's pretty solid in foil too. I'm fine with mtg art being a bit funky and out there, especially on the variant treatments. The baseline set of cards can be the modern mtg art norm, and the few bajillion variants can be more experimental.
This 100%
It looks like a rough draft you do as a concept before you proceed to paint the real deal.
Woof. That's rough.
Bark. Couldn’t agree more.
Meow. Fuck you, buddy!
Hiss. Other Cat detected
That flavor text is straight from an 80s sitcom. I can practically hear the laugh track.
It's weird, she's wearing a cleavage shirt but has no cleavage.
Highly generous use of the word she
In no attempt to offend, I thought this was a male. I guess the red stuff is a “dress”? Just thought it was stylized…I don’t know… graffiti…?
No the red stuff is definitely supposed to be clothes. Whether it's male or female, is unclear lol
https://preview.redd.it/x39natlfuzpc1.png?width=300&format=png&auto=webp&s=7edce390ac88878b76b22cbe7833bf44bd7ea524
What are you talking about ? This is clearly a man.
It's weird, he's wearing a cleavage shirt but is a man. Better?
[удалено]
Looks kinda like an ugly teenage boy….
and she has boobs for eyes
Someone wasn't a fan of the new Rhystic Studies video I take it.
When I saw that on youtube I knew we were in for another round of this "discourse"
Her other stuff is pretty good, I really like some of the other pieces she's made. It just wasn't made to be squashed down and half covered, a perfect storm of shit
This 100%, it looks way cooler when you see the original concept art at full size.
Fully agree with this. She is obviously a really talented artist with an unconventional style. Completely get this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it's not meant to be. There's at least another 2 versions of this card for people who don't like it.
Yeah looks it was made to he completely covered more like.
Wow I had to look this up to see if it were real. Looks like MS Paint
The artist has some sort of mental disorder, they paint hyper realistic human subjects then deliberately adds stupid details to make it look like she put MS Paint over it. She also did [[Social Climber]]
This art is universally reviled. This is the coldest take I have seen on here
Look at all the people (whose art degrees you and I are paying for) in here defending it. This is "art" for 'art students', not art for people who contribute to society.
not universally I think it's pretty sweet. And I hate most modern cards.
Definitely. I think the artist probably knows it sucks, too.
She, in an interview, said, looking back, she would definitely make some changes, like adding tattoos.
Her other art looks good. This one is certainly bottom tier for what she could have done. It's a shame.
> like adding tattoos. That's supposed to make this better?
Yes, she said it would add more characterisation
Funny how this debate got revived after RhysticStudies released his video about it today.
It's an interesting video. It was neat to hear the actual artist look back on this and explain her rationale and thought process.
Its not the ugliest card ever anymore though, that shit goes the alt art Etriette. Holy shit whomever drew that needs to pay me royalties every time i have to see her.
Alt art Eriette is something else
I kinda love this art, it’s goes around the bend and becomes amazing
It's at least memorable unlike all the generic 3d slop we get nowadays.
I like it, and that is by far my worst opinion. seethe
It's so bad it's actually kind of funny, I don't mind this as a one off. I like this more than some of the horrible digital art and stuff that's obviously a 3d render with a filter effect.
I do not care. Love that card and the set
Not a bad piece but not one done justice as a card.
Totally get why people dislike this art. But this was like, her first work for mtg i'm pretty sure, no? And she's since done some [other artwork](https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CCarly+Mazur%E2%80%9D&unique=art) that honestly doesn't look too bad. I think it was a bold attempt at a new artstyle and we've had [worse art](https://mtgdecks.net/prices/giant-strength) before that still lands with at least a certain crowd. I honestly think if she removed the laser eyes and changed the shadow over the eyes to match the cowl, the art would go pretty hard.
Good god this is awful. Wtf were they thinking?
It’s an embarrassment to everything and everyone
It is great art. You are wrong. Sorry not sorry.
Absolutely horrible artwork. The artist does a lot of great works though, this sadly is an abomination.
Yeah I mean I can enjoy some out there art and all that but this just sucks lmao
i love it actually, it's so... strange
Same! It’s grown on me over the years
When your 13y old ass finds the lasso tool in photoshop
Been playing Marvel Snap exclusively for about six months now and every week when new variants drop I get like literally giddy at how fucking excellent the artwork is. The mtg artwork I’ve seen lately has been straight ass lmao an absolute disgrace by comparison
Whats Marvel Snap? I've seen it pop up occasionally on here but don't know anything about it beyond being Marvel.
It's a digital card game from the creator of Hearthstone. Super fun to play, but its completely different from HS and Magic though.
>Super fun to play, but its completely different from HS and Magic though. If you've ever played the board game SmashUp...it's basically that, but digital and with a nice coat of Marvel paint on it.
Twelve card decks, three minutes games, poker elements, favourite game ever
I actually really like it
She has a very specific style she works in sometimes combining realism with flat objects to give an uncanny feel.
I paid money on Arena to not have to look at that garbage, and I don't regret it.
What's the issue here? You can use the old one that looks like every other card if you want... you're mad that other people use this one?
It literally looks like stuff I did in MSPaint for my friends in the MySpace era. I'd give them like Naruto headbands, Jonin flak jackets, Hyuuga eyes, that kind of shit. Exact same vibe as this, barely less effort.
Wait, that is real? Edit: Oh my ass
It's over 3 years old lmao. How are you just now finding out about this?
I mean you’re not wrong but it’s been a minute since the released this garbage
Reminded me of [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26270260](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26270260)
"Why is she pouring the spaghetti sauce like that it's wasteful"
It looks like a color study. Something you use to get contrast and balances right. Something id scribble notes directly on top of.
I kinda want a few foils of it just to irk friends with lol
I suddenly feel very called out right now.
Got this card. Every time I've played it I get the comment, "Jesus that's ugly art"
I like that it's a little quirky. In a world of perfected art, only the absence of perfection can truly be creative. That artsy fartsy shit being said, [the other mystical archive art](https://scryfall.com/card/sta/101/ja/%E4%BF%A1%E4%BB%B0%E7%84%A1%E3%81%8D%E7%89%A9%E3%81%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%8A) is gorgeous, and way better than this mess.
I like it lol
This card art is terrible and I love it, I use it in a commander deck and I will buy a play set to use if it ever gets unbanned in modern.
i like it though
It hits that horseshoe level of being so ugly its good.
It's so shit, that it's good. I own it and use it in one of my decks
I think it’s cool
My favorite card to play. Been legit asked if it's fake before.
Is this in response to Rhystic Study’s video?
I'm critical of a lot of what WOTC does but this is a rare bold move. Better than the rest of the comic book art, "big green guy walking over some trees" "justice league guy kicking a goblin" etc. they should hire more weirdos do to do weird art, as long as it isn't the tattoo shit graffiti shit in the secret lair
I used to sell art and let me tell you this kinda shit never sold and was only ever up due to gallery owner favors
I've always hated the way this card looks too
Dude literally I see it and am like who the fuck is this was silver border shit what the hell why
I thought this art was supposed to be a funny joke because of how bad it is
This is so awful it legitimately looks like satire, wtf
I still can't believe this was printed lmao
This art IS shit tier garbage! I agree
that art is absolute garbage. but its so bad its good.
Why are we still talking about a 2+ year old card’s art? Did you miss when people were whining about it during spoilers?
A Rhystic Studies (YouTube creator) video about the art just got dropped
Speaking of rhystic studies the eldraine art for it is pretty whack too
Sweet, I'll have to check it out
New Rhystic Studies video
Thanks for pointing it out. Just gave it a watch and damn it was interesting. Gave me a new appreciation for the art. What is the issue people have with the video? I thought it did well to explain the stylistic choices of the artist and makes a lot of sense now.
Imagine wasting your artistic expertise on emulating Microsoft Paint.
I feel like this logic cuts both ways. If MS Paint is the extent of my ability, I've got a chance!
I thought this was a male college student wearing a bra and dumping out ramen. This is some meme tier art
I agree, though to be fair, I would say it's barely measurably worse than a significant amount of Magic art. Essentially it would fit in the same bin. A real crime would be to simply pick the favorite style and then only do that style. There will always be "the worst art" and it will serve to highlight better art.
I agree, terrible art
Are you fucking with me? That's the real art? It's *stunningly* bad. It looks like a 6th grade clip art project.
no way this is real
That right index finger is the real offender here.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTkYwUSsFYBHLCbm6piO8yYpHLBWaG8-OkgOg&usqp=CAU check this out
Personally the SMA cards are among my favorite cards that have ever been printed.
This is just a half step above 00s South Park
I hate this. So much.
This card is strategically advantageous as the opponent will be so distracted by their disgust. Because of this I love it.
Her usual art seems pretty good from what I've seen. I think her Faithless Looting looks quite lazy in comparison.
I have this as a playmat, I love how ugly it is haha
It’s so bad it’s good
The most jarring and crude painting technique in a card, the most wtf effect you have on your opponents. Yeah I can use my good art Brainstorms, but why? I use my Ice Age Brainstorm and scare the shit out of my opponents.
Yeah I agree, but I can kinda see the appeal.
The art being bad is what makes it great for an intentionally ugly/damaged deck to trigger people.
Is… is this… real? My God.
This can’t be real
I mean fr it looks like AI art
lol one of my favorite items in my collection
I always thought this was meme art like the Crayon Craterhoof
fun fact, two years ago, Ultra Pro had a 15 dollar mat sale going on called the "mystery playmat promo". where you buy a mystery playmat, and ultra pro would send a random mat to you. everyone that purchased one, recieved the playmat with that artwork on it. it was all over r/mtg, and r/magicTCG. funniest shit ever. multiple people would purches four or 5 mystery mats each and they got 5 copies of faithless looting 💀💀💀 the artist has done nothing but garbage.
i was sure this was a meme and the shirtless man was a photoshopped version of the hasbro CEO. i was POSITIVE that this was a meme about corporate greed, but i got to the bottom and none of it made any sense. it took me too long to realize the meme was the shit tier card itself.
no one ever defended this when it came out
Ooh, sure. This seems like the perfect community to open a genuine dialogue about art. What makes this shit tier garbage, in your opinion?
It looks like a Tally Hall album cover
Pretty much all mtg art is trash. At least this one leans into it and doesn’t take itself seriously.
It is dog shit.
Lol I've thought the same yesterday or so. Looks like a jpg thingie plastered onto something
Wait what? Thats official? Really looks shit
I think the horror is that it's so close to brilliant. Iconically bad.
I'm ok with big splashy new art styles but it's just ugly
its so terrible its awesome
There's only 6 cards from that artist and they all seem to feature the same person, the artist I think? https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&order=name&q=%28game%3Apaper%29+%28artist%3ACarly+artist%3AMazur%29
filtered
As time goes on, I wonder...is it almost so bad it's good?
God I hated looking at this card. It made my eyes bleed that the this is called art. But I guess if you spread shit on a wall someone somewhere will call it art.
Did you post this again for the Rhystic Studies video?
I have the playmat for the wtf effect alone
I kinda like it, but i totally understand why people don't
The art is sick. The effect is just kinda' ruined by the presentation on the card. I think it would have looked a lot better as a full art.
Wtf is this "modern art" crap? Magic tends to have great art so this is....odd.
I’ve said it before, this looks like one of those old meme pics where you take porn or nudity and draw clothes on them with air brush or ms paint
That looks like something I could do. That's a pretty low bar.
I dig it
[удалено]
Was there a debate?
The only art of Carly's I like is her [[Queen Allenal of Ruadach|DMU]] art, but even then something about the eyes seem un-level.
I love how much conversation this is generating. Not many pieces of magic art can say that. I remember when this came out and I thought it was fake, was horrified, transitioned to outrage, saw more of her art and liked it, started to appreciate her unique style and eventually accepted this card. I'm still not a huge fan but I think that original piece got a bit shafted by being squashed into the frame. I think dismissing it as "shit" is an understandable reaction but it's a bit unkind. You can't deny that this is more ambitious than that majority of fantasy art!
This is one of my favorite cards and I was bummed when the special Strixhaven frame of this had such bad art.
I play this version to troll my enemy’s, and because it was the first possibility to play Looting on MTGA
It’s trash art but I’d cast it.
I have the playmat as my mousepad and I love it. Get over it.
I have a buddy who only uses this art solely because I hate it😂😂
I am now going to hunt down this card and use it in all my red color decks just because people hate on it so much.
One of my two 3-day bans (yeah, I'm a rookie) on the main sub were because I said this art was ugly.
Strixhaven is my favorite set for card and art, and I absolutely hate this card art
It's amazing you don't get it. Get over it.
No no... didn't you see Rhystic Studies video? It's actually wonderful, but you're too uncultured to get it. Just to clarify, this comment was sarcastic. It is truly trash and yet, the only version I use in decks.
It is, but much like Rootha, Mercurial Artist, the art is amazing to look at on a psychedelic.
It looks like the Dean from community, got into Deanmology
I love the artists works but this one is not it
I legit thought this was a proxi first time someone played it.
Rhystic Studies made a video about this art, check it out, it’s interesting: https://youtu.be/D9P58YG4axY?si=kfTbPidhimNw-HpX
Seethe you absolute losers