The Concept Art of THE BROTHER’S WAR
Set on the plane of Dominaria
Art direction: Taylor Ingvarsson
Cinematic & Story Point Keyframes
Urza vs. Mishra final showdown early keyframe concept - Concept by Chris Rahn
Comparison of Urza & Mishra’s different mech styles - 3D Model by Leon Tukker
“Act II” - Art by Leon Tukker
“Act III” Aftermath - Art by Leon Tukker
“Act III” Warzone - Art by Leon Tukker
UrzA & His Army
Urza (middle aged/adult) character design - Art by Jehan Choo
Yotian Soldier re-design - Art by Jehan Choo
Brothers’ War “hero” storyboard
Brothers’ War early concept: mecha - Art by Leon Tukker
Urzan mech that found its way into “a lot of cards” - Art by Jehan Choo
Urzan soldier mech for Brothers War, with design paying homage to the mecha in “Urza’s Rage” - Art by Jehan Choo
“Rootwire Mech” design of a green-aligned “reclaimed” construct - Art by Jehan Choo
Design of a green-aligned “reclaimed” construct - Art by Jehan Choo
Brothers’ War early concept: mechanized army - Art by Leon Tukker
The Mightstone - Art by Jehan Choo
Urza’s Tower
Urza’s Tower concept design - Art by Leon Tukker
Urza’s Tower concept design - Art by Leon Tukker
Urza’s Tower concept design - Art by Leon Tukker
Urza’s Tower concept design 3D Models - Art by Leon Tukker
Urza’s Tower concept design - Art by Leon Tukker
Urza’s Tower concept (first-person view) - Art by Leon Tukker
Urza’s Tower concept design - Art by Leon Tukker
Urza’s Tower concept design - Art by Leon Tukker
Mishra & His Army
Mishra (middle aged/adult) character design - Art by Jehan Choo
Mishra, claimed by Gix - Art by Jehan Choo
”We just kept pushing and pushing his design until he was basically just a human head… Darth Vader kinda thing”
Ashnod, the Uncaring character sheet - Concept by Jehan Choo (with inspo from Ashnod’s Battle Gear), head design by Howard Lyon
Ashnod’s Staff - Concept by Jehan Choo
Mishra’s foundry rough concept: hewn from the base of an enormous tree stump as a callback to the original Mishra’s Workshop art - Art by Leon Tukker
Mishra’s foundry rough concept: hewn from the base of an enormous tree stump as a callback to the original Mishra’s Workshop art - Art by Leon Tukker
Mishra’s Warrior Mech. Note the designs of the mech’s central body mirror the shoulderplate on Mishra himself. - Art by Jehan Choo
“Backalley Slinker” snake construct - Concept by Joshua Cairos
The Forces of Yotia & Argive
Yotian Soldiers by Steve Prescott
“The padded/rounded shape language and muted color scheme of the Argive soldiers in MtG's Brothers War was first touched on by artist Jehan Choo and during the main concept design push I helped further that look with a handful of iterations. We wanted them to look very utilitarian - the only decorative touch coming from occasional golden lion heads. A lot of their gear was inelegant and brutal - meant for gritty ground warfare and taking down huge war machines (hence the can opener and crowbar flavor notes on their weapons).”
Argivian Soldiers - Art by Jehan Choo
Yotian shock troopers - Art by Steve Prescott
Yotia, capitol of Kroog - Art by Leon Tukker
The Yotian capitol in the aftermath of Mishra’s invasion - Art by Leon Tukker
Yotia, capitol of Kroog - Art by Leon Tukker
Yotia, capitol of Kroog - Art by Leon Tukker
Street view of the Yotian capitol - Art by Leon Tukker
Titania & the great forest of Argoth
Titania’s Throne - Art by Leon Tukker
Argoth sprite - Concept by Steve Prescott
Argive Treefolk 3D Model Concepts - Art by Leon Tukker
Argive Treefolk by Steve Prescott
“Treefolk are like elves and vampires - there's not much that hasn't been done already on them. So you try to work with subtleties (but not too subtle!) and vary the silhouette as much as you can. Twisty, bone-white trees were established in a very early environment concept so I rolled with that and tried to add some color in notable spots (in this case, the bark gets a golden hue at the hands and feet). And four arms? Why not. As with all concept designing, especially for MtG, the key is to establish a specific look that instantly reads as being for that product only. Generic won't fly - that's why I push as hard as possible to stay clear of anything that even whiffs of generic.”
Elves of Argoth by Steve Prescott
“As with tree folk in Brothers War, where can you take something as massively reiterated as elves that will make them unique to this plane? Especially forest dwelling elves. They have been done thousands of times.”
“They weren't to be featured on too many cards so there wouldn't be a very deep conceptual development on them - they just had to have a look and be cool. I pictured them as still sleek but somewhat dark and sinister so I decided to lean into that to help pull them off regular forest elf tropes. Their look quickly became a bit goth - their hair an oily black/green, pale skin, dark eye shadow, patterned scarification, and open ear cartilage (to resemble bone). Their costuming is woven panels of plant material, segmented almost like an insect, accented by the magical floaty bark of their revered trees.”
Forest of Argoth concept design - Art by Leon Tukker
Argothian Elfhame - Concept by Leon Tukker
Forest of Argoth concept design, with human for scale - Art by Leon Tukker
The Fallaji Empire
Fallaji Warrior by Steve Prescott
“The desert stone red-orange with the turquoise is a beautiful color combo for a fantasy setting - striking and memorable. Combined with the desert flower/star motif (which was changed a little from my concept here) it made for such an exquisite sandbox to play in.”
Fallaji Warrior by Steve Prescott
Fallaji Soldier design used for Hajar - Art by Jehan Choo
The Fallaji Capitol - Art by Leon Tukker
Street view of Fallaji - Art by Leon Tukker
Exterior view of Fallaji - Art by Leon Tukker
Street view of Fallaji market - Art by Leon Tukker
Street view of Fallaji - Art by Leon Tukker
Exterior view of Fallaji - Art by Leon Tukker
Exterior view of Fallaji - Art by Leon Tukker
The third Path
The Ivory Towers of The Third Path - Art by Leon Tukker
The Ivory Towers of The Third Path - Art by Leon Tukker
The Ivory Towers of The Third Path - Art by Leon Tukker
The Ivory Towers of The Third Path - Art by Leon Tukker
The Ivory Towers of The Third Path - Art by Leon Tukker
The Ivory Towers of The Third Path - Art by Leon Tukker
The Ivory Towers of The Third Path - Art by Leon Tukker
Thran Artifacts
Su-Chi re-design based on modern Thran style guide - Art by Jehan Choo
Su-Chi re-design that eventually became the basic Thran automaton - Art by Jehan Choo