Magic: The Gathering artist gets dinged at MagicCon because one does not simply rip off their colleague to depict the most popular item in all of media

The world of MTG is in turmoil as fans pointed out mid-MagicCon that the art for the upcoming The One Ring reissue in the new The Hobbit expansion looks too much like the artwork for the same item by Marta Nael from LOTR's 2023 crossover.

I'm no art major, but I take my MTG art very, very seriously. And the accusations proved hard to ignore, as the ring on the left, by longtime MTG artist Dan Frazier, looks like a mirrored and smudged version of Marta Nael's famous depiction of The One Ring from 2023.

Both depictions are nearly identical, featuring even matching inner reflections to the background of the original card's artwork. The only differences are the lack of the elvish writing and some inconsistencies on the lower and right sides of the ring, which betray the legendary artifact's perfect shape.

From a close-up perspective, we might be looking at the kind of forgery that would perhaps have fooled the worlds of men, dwarves, and elves, but not that of Internet sleuths.

Wizards of the Coast directly addressed the situation, posting a message where Frazier admits to using his colleague's work as a reference to paint over, and calling his action a mistake.

It's good that we're getting an admission of guilt, but first off, painting over something means actually painting over, not somehow reusing all the unique nuances of the original. Secondly, Frazier is a seasoned artist, how much in need of a reference for the simplest ring possible (once you've already brushed off its unique inscriptions, at least) can he really be?

Still, I'm glad Frazier used Nael's artwork as a reference, as otherwise this act could've flown under everyone's radar. After Frazier's message, we get Wizard's own account, which regrets how this made it past the company's review process, and that Nael will be properly compensated and credited for her surprise collaboration.

This really strikes me as a half-baked apology, but, well, you know, fans will at least make up for the company's shortcomings through some great memes.

I couldn't have put the community's reaction to this apology better than Twitter user memeslich's single-image reply.

Or maybe CTownEnjoyer's:

Though Twitter user HiddenYoshi also raises the important point, "This is what happens when you puke out new sets at a blistering pace. Slow down and bring some semblance of quality control back into the brand. The level of greed has been utterly disgusting."

Anyway, Magic: The Gathering's The Hobbit collab releases on August 14.

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