Cactuar JoeOkay, we're doing this. Start: one fully hand-drawn Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist deck <3
Xu's ability is really interesting, it encourages you to build a deck full of super high Power/Toughness creatures with negative abilities (which her resurrection ability will strip out).
And I'm gonna draw these critters as skeletons in pen-and-ink crosshatched-style, so I hope you want to know what an Eldrazi's skeleton looks like :D
Disciple of Bolas is our first main board card! For the creature cards, I'm going to more or less replicate the official art but in pen and ink and skeletons :D
Next up on the decklist, Death's Shadow. Some of these are definitely very death metal album cover ^^
#mtg #magicthegathering #art #artist #fediart #mastoart #penandink #blackandwhite
First of the deck's Eldrazi is up next, with a little splash of color to highlight the unreal nature of the Eldrazi. Turns out Emrakul has a lightwieght spongy skeleton like a coral! She's so cute <3
#mtg #magicthegathering #art #artist #penandink #fediart #mastoart
Backing up a bit on the list to do Ancient Stone Idol. I could never tell if the horns were on the helmet or the head, but I know which answer I think is cooler ^^
#mtg #magicthegathering #art #artist #fediart #mastoart #penandink
Just realized I forgot to post last night :o Here's a dragon skeleton to make up for my tardiness.
Time for more skeletons :D Here's Gray Merchant of Asphodel!
Time for more Eldrazi! Kozilek is kind of an All Chitin Bastard so I went for a cutaway. Kinda like the effect, the silhouette works, y'know?
I'm jumping the queue a little because this is my favorite thing I've drawn in weeks :D
Whoops, forgot to post this earlier :x Been an annoying day.
Next up is Golgari Thug! Dredge seems like it'd be fun in this deck ^^
Little bit of Gisa for you. Went back and forth a bit on whether or not to add some color to this one, but I think the stark look works.
I'm in the middle of a game but I haven't forgotten about you all. Have a troll <3
I'm at 40 cards complete now :D I should start thinking about what to do with the lands this time. Inkblots? Dry brush? Hm.
I thought about making the moths skeletal, too, but decided it'd be a little much :p
Up next, Phyrexian Dreadnought! This was a hard one to skeletonize, but multiple rib cages feels like something Phyrexia would do ^^
And now, Millikin! Wicker skeletons! I was a little lucky on this one, simce the official art is partially unravelled anyway.
Phyrexian Triniform! I dexided to ignore the official art for this one 'cos it's just a boring humanoid robot. I'm gonna make some unique tokens for the split up bits, too :D
We're leapfrogging forward a bit so I can show off Dark Ritual, which is my favorite thing I've drawn in months :D
Also I opened a new portfolio site over at https://cara.app/michaelbeckett/portfolio , it's got actually nice photos of a lot of the stuff I've posted here. Organized and everything, too 🤯
So there's 22 Swamps in this deck and 22 bones in the human skull. Practically draws itself <3
I'm prototyping the Swamps and I'm using a pen my elder sibling @meredeth gave me, and it's got a wonderfully sketchy nib and nicely dark ink
but it takes AN AGE to dry and I'm going insane :P
Next up, Shadowheart! This was a fun one, always nice to play with a character with a well-established silhouette ^^
#mtg #magicthegathering #Dnd #baldursgate3 #art #artist #fediart #mastoart
Next up, Stitcher's Supplier. I like the idea of a skeleton selling organs, it's a nice reversal :3
30 more cards to go! If I do one card an hour every hour between now and tomorrow I can play this at commander night!
...Yeah okay, fine, I'll actually sleep and eat. Killjoy >_>
Today's treat is Void Beckoner! Another one where the official art was kinda boring so I did my own thing. Enjoy the eyes :D
Today is a dual-faced card, Agadeem Awakening and Agadeem the Undercrypt! These are always challenging, the bleed-thru can be a real issue.
Time for a little color :D The pose on this one was inspired by the Mirage version of Drain Life, which is a favorite of mine.
17 left to go 🙃
🤖Robot Enby Xero🤖@CactuarJoe don't make me call Min 
GrimDeck.com@CactuarJoe The 22 Swamps, 22 bones idea is too good to pass up. Please sleep, but also that deck is going to look absurd in the best way at the table.
@CactuarJoe LIVERS. GETCHA LIVERS HEAH, 2 FOR A DOLLAH
KSHernandez ♊(she/her/they)@CactuarJoe Right!! These are really awesome. lol
@CactuarJoe it's her! From the gate! With the baldur!
@xerozohar And the three!
@CactuarJoe I prefer my dark ritual roasted and ground tbh. Instant's just watery.
... what? :3
@xerozohar ...dammit now I have to do a Dark Ritual that looks like a coffee can label.
@CactuarJoe yasssssss 
Jzero@CactuarJoe
Before reading your description, I thought this was some kind of joke, like "instant coffee, just add water" except this is a packet of instant dark ritual and all you have to do is add a few skulls. I am not a MTG player.
Before reading your description, I thought this was some kind of joke, like "instant coffee, just add water" except this is a packet of instant dark ritual and all you have to do is add a few skulls. I am not a MTG player.
Dark Ritual absolutely looks like one of those pieces where the whole bit clicks at once. The old-school black card mood on this one rules.
Vella 
@CactuarJoe oh wow that is just gorgeous!! Your art is amazing! 😍 Personally I think that's way cooler than the official card 
@captainvellalives Thanks ^^
Chalk 
@CactuarJoe if I had money id comission your art tbh
@CactuarJoe not for furry stuff just in general lmao
This rules. The wicker look fits Millikin weirdly well, and using the unraveling as bones was a really smart call.
@CactuarJoe siiiiiiick
Multiple rib cages is exactly the right call. Phyrexian Dreadnought should look like a bad idea that kept getting worse in the lab, and this absolutely gets there.
wohali@CactuarJoe i love the look. i feel like you could make an amazing coffee shop sandwich board look like this but, yanno, be advertising caffeine and baked goods as if it was an MTG card
@wohali Ha, I'll have to put it on my resume if I ever decide to become a barista :p
@CactuarJoe I know it wasn't intentional (probably!) but my brain immediately went to "JEB!" but skeleton 
CRYPTICA@xerozohar @CactuarJoe please clap (your bones together)
@xerozohar yer killin' me here :p
Scallops@CactuarJoe I really like your style. It looks like you draw with black ink on white cardstock and add black strips with white ink lettering afterwards. Or am I way off?
@scallops Thanks! And yeah, that's more or less right. ^^
@CactuarJoe stick figures
The stark black and white look actually fits Gisa really well. It gives it that old grim storybook feel, which is kind of perfect for her.
@GrimDeck I'm really leaning into the AD&D pen and ink look ^^b
Oh yeah, it totally reads like an old AD&D manual plate. The crosshatching sells that vibe immediately.
Shawn "Fruan" Poulsen@CactuarJoe What spot colour were you concidering? Gisa is in a black dress with silver jewellery, right? I think the call to keep it simple and striking in black and white was the right call - it looks great.
Golgari Thug feels like one of those cards that looks innocuous until the whole graveyard plan starts looping. Dredge brains are wired a little differently, and I mean that as a compliment.