Jehan Choo
Principal concept artist Jehan is also a loyal follower of the game
Tell us a little about your background as an artist.
I actually didn’t create art seriously until attending art school, which I did mostly because my grades weren’t good enough for anything else. My professional career began as a concept artist for video games, working on projects such as Dante’s Inferno, Dead Space and Battlefield.
Is the genre of fantasy/sci-fi a focused area for your art or do you work in wider fields?
Definitely a focus. When not working on fantasy stuff for Wizards of the Coast, I spend my free time building a sci-fi world of my own.
What does Magic: The Gathering mean to your art? Has this universe informed your creative choices?
Magic: The Gathering has been a monumental part of my life ever since elementary school, when a friend and I saved our lunch money to buy and split a Revised Edition booster pack (unfortunately for me, he took the side with the Rare and Uncommon cards). My interest in art was subsequently ignited the moment I sifted through my first Fallen Empires pack. Its strikingly dark and visceral art opened new pathways in my young brain and left a lasting impact to this day.
With my professional career, my goal has always been to work on projects that would build my skills and portfolio to some day work on Magic: The Gathering. For example, my character concept work on Dante’s Inferno was heavily inspired by my favourite Magic: The Gathering cards, and I think it shows.
Are there any artists who have worked on the Magic: The Gathering game who have inspired you and your work over the years?
My first Fallen Empires pack featured the unnerving yet alluring art of Anson Maddocks. He would be the first artist I’d ever become a fan of. One of my most accomplished childhood memories is following a monster drawing tutorial Anson did for a Magic focused magazine.
During art school, Tony Diterlizzi became my go-to for inspiration, with his expert draftsmanship and whimsical creativity blowing my mind with each card.
Professionally, I am now honoured to work alongside many of my favourite Magic artists, brainstorming and creating concept art together for each new set.
I always aim to please the long-time fans with faithful, nostalgic designs
Tell us a bit about your process. Are you traditional or digital? How do you approach a new piece? What tools do you use?
I had a heavy traditional schooling, but I am mostly digital now. I have the most fun when I’m incorporating new tools and technology into my workflow. Learning Zbrush and Blender have been essential to bolstering my illustrations with the qualities I’m seeking.
I work with a small team of in-house concept artists at Wizards of the Coast, and every couple of months we bring in a mix of outside artists from around
the globe to help begin development of new worlds for Magic.
What about the Dominaria expansion excites you as an artist?
My time in the world of Magic: The Gathering began with Dominaria, and it’s been a thrill to revisit the locations, creatures and stories that meant so much to me as a child. I’ve created personalised stories and visuals in my head over the years of playing Magic, and to have the opportunity to release them all into the actual world of Magic has been surreal. Kind of like how you’d play old pixel-art video games and imagine what characters would ‘actually’ look like, I’ve done that and can now share my interpretation with the world!
How do you feel about being part of such an extensive universe with such a large and loyal following?
As a loyal follower myself, it’s an honour and unique privilege to work on an IP that shaped so much of my life, my friendships, and my artistic vision. Now that I’m the one contributing to that extensive universe, I can only hope to inspire a young mind out there as much as I was inspired. I always aim to please the long-time fans with faithful, nostalgic designs, while also presenting something new for them and the generations to come to enjoy!