Magic: The Gathering artist Zara Alfonso singles out her favorite MTG art she's done to date and tells the story behind each one.
And that includes a card that is a psuedo-tribute to her former art mentor, Winona Nelson, whom just so happens to also be a Magic: The Gathering artist.
"One of her cards that she's illustrated is Enthralling Victor, so, when I was working on the card Tenacious Underdog, I really wanted to use it to pay an homage to her because I learned a lot from her," says Alfonso.
That homage is the adoring fan in the lower-right background of the card art.
"Enthralling Victor has the little...adoring goblin fan so I wanted to throw that in the painting as well as an homage to her and I styled the character's design a little bit after Enthralling Victor," explains Alfonso.
Interview: Magic artist Zara Alfonso talks about her favorite MTG art pieces
Another of her favorite Magic card arts that she's done is Kithkin Billyrider from the recent set March of the Machines.
"I...quite love goats, which the art director had no idea," tells Alfonso. "It was my first time painting an animal for Magic: The Gathering as well, so I had a lot of fun with that."
Other of her own favorite pieces of MTG card arts include Llanowar Loamspeaker and Shalai's Acolyte -- both cards from Dominaria United.
As for the latter, Alfonso says it was her favorite piece to go through the process of making.
"Some of the things I enjoy painting most are sk/clouds, angel wings are incredibly fun," she says.
In the end, and regardless of her favorites, Alfonso just hopes that Magic fans enjoy her art.
