In December 2022, I introduced an artist series where I look at favorite or prolific Magic card artists.
Today, I look at Melissa Benson.
Melissa Benson started illustrating Magic cards in 1993 (she had seven cards in the Alpha, the very first set). Her work appeared in many early core sets (Beta, Unlimited, Revised, Fourth through Sixth Edition) and expansions (Legends, Fallen Empires, Ice Age, Chronicles, Homelands, Portal, Starter 1999, Urza's Saga block). She had the most cards in Legends (14). She was active through 1999, with only reprints since in subsequent releases.
Her style often includes bold colors with a soft quality, evoking a sense of the surreal and fantastic. Her one card, Segovian Leviathan, is one of the few with a Bible verse on it (I don't know if she had a hand in that choice).
I use Scryfall for searching for Benson's illustrations. The following syntaxes in scryfall
artist:"Melissa A. Benson" not:digital not:artseriesartist:"Melissa A. Benson" not:digital not:artseries unique:prints
yield the following results, respectively:
63 cards
63 cards
205 cards
So she has illustrated 63 Magic cards that have appeared 205 times (some show up in multiple sets or special releases). Here are some of my favorites (Kjeldoran Dead, above, is number one):
So she has illustrated 63 Magic cards that have appeared 205 times (some show up in multiple sets or special releases). Here are some of my favorites (Kjeldoran Dead, above, is number one):
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