GP San Antonio Cosplayer Interview – Christine Sprankle #GPSanAntonio

Greetings all,

As you may know, we have a top-quality cosplayer coming for GP San Antonio, Christine Sprankle.  Christine has been cosplaying Magic events for three years, and cosplaying in general for longer than that.

At GP San Antonio, Christine will be wearing three costumes this weekend: Nissa, Worldwaker; Teysa Envoy of Ghosts; and Liliana Vess.  If you want to catch her and Peter Mohrbacher, the illustrator of Nissa, Worldwaker together, you are in luck, because they will both be on site.

I caught Christine for some interview questions, so if you are interested in her cosplay, or cosplay in general, keep reading.

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Rob: Christine, you are the cosplayer that we have at GP San Antonio, and you’ve been cosplaying for a while at conventions and other events. How did you get started going to events as a cosplayer?

Christine: It all started in 2011 when I made my very first Magic cosplay, Elspeth! She was my first big armor cosplay and I was so excited to wear her. That year Magic Worlds was conveniently being held in San Francisco which is a short drive from home. The way my friends described it It almost sounded like a Magic convention so I decided to bust out my newest cosplay. Needless to say when I got there it wasn’t what I expected at all, and I thought I would quickly be asked to leave. After a few minutes though (when the shock wore off maybe) a lot of people started coming up and asking for pictures! A few handshakes, questions and a rather infamous picture with Brian Kibler later, I was known at Christine Sprankle Knight Errant! I have been making Magic cosplays (including three more Elspeth cosplays) and going to GP’s and PT’s ever since!

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Rob: What is the most exciting thing about cosplaying at a Magic event for you? Is there anything different from a Magic event than a non-Magic event?

Christine: I would have to say the absolute best part about cosplaying at a Magic event is the connection you automatically have with everybody else in the room! We are all there to play Magic and have a good time. You can always feel the camaraderie and for the most part friendly rivalry at an event. I’ve gone to a lot of conventions but Magic GP’s and PT’s have a really unique atmosphere and I really love it!

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Rob: You have a wide variety of costumes you use at different events. Are there any you are exceptionally proud of, or think are unappreciated?

Christine: I really love making armor. Sewing is always rather stressful for me and I am still very much learning so I always lean towards costumes I feel more comfortable with making and honestly you feel so badass in armor! Liliana Vess was a perfect blend of armor and cloth and I am really happy with how she turned out, she is also quite the crowd favorite! I feel my most under appreciated has to be my Emmara Tandris. I got her art before they released her and wasn’t able to see her card. Sadly the card didn’t turn out the best and a lot of people forgot her quickly. I feel with each cosplay I make I really improve and learn a lot of new things and It just makes me want to keep going and going!

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Rob: Your costumes are incredibly well constructed and detailed. What kind of work and time goes into a costume like your Nissa costume?

Christine: Thank you so much! How long it takes to make a costume really depends on the costume! Nissa took me about a month or so to make. It’s a little hard to give exact time since I really just go with the flow and don’t exactly clock in and out as I work on it. I start with gathering as many pictures of the character as I can. If the character doesn’t have that much reference (the usual with magic cards sadly) I just contact the artist and ask them some questions. The artists always seem eager to help! Then I break the costume down visually from head to toe into separate pieces. Looking at it as a whole can overwhelm you, so breaking it down can make it easier. Then I collect material from anywhere and everywhere I can to start making it piece by piece! There is always contacts, wigs, elf ears, and other miscellaneous accessories to top it all off too!

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Rob: When you are doing your work building out a costume, do you use any special references or images? Do you ever contact the artist of a piece to get a high-resolution version to work from to match details better?

Christine: ALL THE TIME! Sadly Magic cards, especially the older cards, have to fit in a small frame and don’t show half the character. And you almost NEVER see the backside of a Magic character which can be a little bit of a problem when you are trying to bring the character to life. At the same time it also allows you to take a little artistic liberty and put a little piece of yourself in the costume and character! I never hesitate to ask the artist questions and they are always super helpful and rather eager to answer any and all questions!

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Rob: Are there “dos and don’ts” that fans should know about you when you are cosplaying an event versus just attending normally?

Christine: I am always down to take pictures! That’s what I’m there for! I appreciate it VERY much when you ask. I may be dressed as Liliana, but believe me you will not have to sign a demon contract to get a picture! But please if I am eating or have part of the costume off and resting up come back in a little bit so I can give you the full effect and not a picture of Liliana with pizza all over her face!

Rob: Is there a good way for fans to contact you if they want to try to arrange getting you to an event? We have you on GP San Antonio because of a contact like this, so I would love to hear your preferred contact path for fans to connect you up with organizers.

Christine: Facebook is a fantastic way to get ahold of me! I always try to help out with cosplay if I can! People can also get a hold of me at Cspranklerun@hotmail.com for booking me for a show or general questions/fan mail. Sadly costumes cost a LOT of money to make and while I would really love to make it to more GP’s and meet more people (and play a lot more Magic!) I just cannot afford the travel. So please if you want to see me at a GP near you email that GP and let them know! If enough people are interested hopefully they will extend a helping hand!

 

Christine, thank you tons, and I am as excited as you for this weekend.  GP San Antonio is going to be a great show, and you are going to be one of the stars.

If you want to see Christine, you can just stop by the hall – entrance is free to come check out our artists, vendors, and Christine.

You can also sign up to play in the GP, which is going to be a great time.
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GP San Antonio Artist Interview – Daarken #GPSanAntonio

And finally, the artist interview of our featured artist, Daarken.  Daarken does not need a lot of introduction, but I do have a few things that might interest you.  Daarken worked on the style guide for Khans of Tarkir, and has illustrated Sarkhan on cards three times.  (Sarkan Vol, Form of the Dragon, and Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker.)  Daarken is also our playmat artist, and did a really great writeup of his process on the playmat art here.

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156633 Sarkhan, the Dragon's Voice 02 (1)

Rob: You’ve done quite a bit of Magic art (readers, you can see those cards here). Are there any pieces that have a really interesting story or history behind them?

Daarken: Sarkhan Vol probably has the longest history behind him. I originally concepted and painted Sarkhan back in either 2007 or 2008. I know Shards of Alara came out in 2008, but usually we do the paintings up to a year before the release date.

In 2012 I was approached to redesign Sarkhan for Khans of Tarkir. It was fun to revist an old painting and give him a bit more attention. It is pretty interesting to see how my painting style had changed between the two paintings.

I actually wrote a blog post about the design process of Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker if you want to check it out.

Rob: Is there anything that has surprised you about doing Magic illustration? Is there anything you have been excited about in Magic illustration you don’t get from other illustrations?

152932 Kyros, God of Storms (1)Daarken: I’m pretty surprised by the amount of press and recognition you get from being a Magic artist. I always knew it was a huge IP and that it was played around the world, but I guess I never really considered how many people would recognize me after creating art for the game.

No other game flies you around the world to sign autographs. I have been incredibly grateful for the opportunity to visit other countries. In fact, aside from the one time I went to London with my parents when I was a little kid, the only time I have ever been able to visit another country was because I was flown there as a guest artist. It is pretty awesome.

Rob: Are there any alters or signings you have done at events that are significant or memorable for you?123734_Bloodghast

Daarken: I think Boba Ghast is always a memorable one. Lately I haven’t been doing very many, but that is probably because most people tend to alter more recent cards.

Rob: Do you work traditionally, digitally, or both?

Daarken: I was trained traditionally in school, but all of my professional work is digital. I haven’t really painted traditionally since school. I would love to get back into it, but I really don’t have the time. I did a few acrylic border extensions, but I don’t know if that really counts.

soul of new phyrexiaRob: What kind of modeling or references do you use when creating fantastic art? Are they any different than models you have used in non-fantastic pieces?

Daarken: I don’t use reference very often. Sometimes I’ll shoot reference of my hands or of myself holding a sword, or maybe of some folds if I can’t get the clothing to look right, but usually I just paint from my imagination.

Rob: Do you have anything non-Magic related you want to talk about? Any interesting other projects you have done or are working on?

Daarken: For the past year or so I’ve been teaching an online mentorship. I just started the advanced class and the intro class is on its third term. I love seeing everyone’s progress over the course of the class and I feel that I have made some new friends.GP-San-Antonio-Playmat-reduced

It is also amazing that I have students from all over the world. I think my current advanced class has students from the US, England, Argentina, Chile, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

Rob: Is there any way for players to get in touch with you outside of events to order alters or prints if they miss you at the Grand Prix?

Daarken: Yeah, I have an online store located at www.daarken.com/shop.

 

Daarken, thanks tons, and I know I’ve said it before, but this playmat art is amazing.

If you want to get your hands on the playmat for GP San Antonio, with Daarken’s incredible art, all you need to do is sign up.  Everyone that plays in the main event at GP San Antonio this weekend gets a copy of the playmat.

You can also meet Daarken and get your Sarkhans and playmats signed by coming by the hall this Friday through Sunday.

See you at the GP!

 
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Peter Mohrbacher Kickstarter #GPSanAntonio

Greetings all,

Peter mentioned during his GP San Antonio artist interview recently that he does occasional kickstarters, and he is doing one right now. The Binding of Tibalt is a last hurrah for Tibalt prints, including sweet custom playmats. This closes in 4 days, and includes a sweet custom playmat from Peter.

You should check it out at The Binding of Tibalt.

You can meet Peter at GP San Antonio next weekend, if you want to chat with him about the kickstarter, or get some awesome prints.
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GP San Antonio Artist Interview – RK Post #GPSanAntonio

Greetings all,

Time for another artist interview for GP San Antonio, this time with the witty and engaging RK Post!

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Rob: You’ve done quite a bit of Magic art (you can see all of RK’s cards here). Are there any pieces that have a really interesting story or history behind them?14_DefilingTears_P

RK: The one that generally people love to ask about from way back when is Defiling Tears. Most don’t realize that this is no where near the full art. The original card, Dead Walk, was cancelled, so the art was re purposed. The tear was just a random thing I had in the art.

Rob: Is there anything that has surprised you about doing Magic illustration? Is there anything you have been excited about in Magic illustration you don’t get from other illustrations?

RK: It’s longevity and continued popularity! I was crazy popular when I started working on it 16 years ago. Who knew that it would continue to grow and expand?   You get a great and dedicated fan base…instantly.

156598_MagisterOfWorth_RGB_3Rob: Are there any alters or signings you have done at events that are significant or memorable for you?

RK: I have done so many that it is really hard to remember….and oh yeah..my memory sucks. Every once in a while somebody will remind me of something that they were personally in awe of and I had totally blanked it out of my memory. 😉

Rob: Do you work traditionally, digitally, or both?

RK: The first half of my Magic career was in oils and the second half was digital. I am in the process of trying to transition back to traditional. Or at least balance it some.

Rob: What kind of modeling or references do you use when creating fantastic art? Are they any different than models you have used in non-fantastic pieces?Unmask.jpg

RK: If it’s culturally or time specific, I really try to research. Google is my friend. If I have the time and notion, I may use people reference. It never hurts.

Rob: Do you have anything non-Magic related you want to talk about? Any interesting other projects you have done or are working on?

RK: I’m doing that weird amorphous transition into developing myself as a brand. Trying to get that next art book out too. You really can’t say I am doing “X”…which is kind of odd for me.

Rob: Is there any way for players to get in touch with you outside of events to order alters or prints if they miss you at the Grand Prix?

RK: Sure enough…I have all of that info on my website: www.rkpost.net. Also, follow me: facebook.com/rkpostart, twitter, tumblr, and Instagram: @postrk

Lightning Angel DownsizedThanks, RK!  I always appreciate having you at a GP.  When I see you at an event I know a ton of people are going to have a good time and get some high quality sketches and alters.

If you want to come see RK, you can catch him at GP San Antonio, November 28-30.  Hall access is free, so you can come and chat with our artists and cosplayer, but if you want to get in some Standard action, you can register into the main event.  The price is just $45 right now, and increases to $50 this Saturday the 22nd.
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GP San Antonio Early Bird Registration Ending #GPSanAntonio

Greetings all,

GP San Antonio early bird registration is ending tonight – if you want to get into GP San Antonio for only $40, this is your last chance.  After tonight, the price goes up to $45 until November 21st.  After November 21st, it is $50, including all on-site registration.  Register tonight and save!

On top of that, we are running down on VIP slots.  If you want the sweet playmat, bag, access to the VIP lounge, and artist access, we only have 30 VIPs spaces left open.

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GP San Antonio Artist Interview – Peter Mohrbacher #GPSanAntonio

Greetings all,

GP San Antonio is on the way this November 28-30, and we have four great artists coming to it.

I’ve interviewed each of these artists, and for the second in my artist interview series I would like to cover Peter Mohrbacher.

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Rob: You’ve done quite a bit of Magic art (you can see all the cards Peter has done here). Are there any pieces that have a really interesting story or history behind them?

Peter: The first card I was ever assigned was an Island for M12. You’ve probably seen it because it got reprinted in M13 and M15.

tibalt__the_fiend_blooded_by_one_vox-d4w3mf2At that point, I had never completed a single landscape painting and I hadn’t even shown any complex backgrounds in my work leading up to Magic. I couldn’t figure out why they assigned this card to me, but it was my first time out, so I didn’t want to question it. My solution was to just throw everything I had into it. I worked up a dozen possible options and I wracked my brain over it for a month. It was probably one of the most difficult assignments I’d ever gotten.

Years later, when I asked the art director why he assigned it to me, he simply replied “I wanted to see what you would do with it”.

I guess it turned out alright since they’ve reprinted it twice. But I definitely felt like I started my Magic career off by being thrown in the deep end.

Rob: Is there anything that has surprised you about doing Magic illustration? Is there anything you have been excited about in Magic illustration you don’t get from other illustrations?

erebos__god_of_death_by_one_vox-d6ed2pqPeter: I never thought I was going to see fan art of characters that I’d drawn. Seeing characters that I’ve designed like Tibalt and Erebos become part of the visual identity for Magic was not something I anticipated would happen when I started. There aren’t a lot of projects that allow a concept artist or illustrator to have their work take on a life of its own like that and that’s one of the reasons I love working on Magic in specific.

 

 

Rob: Are there any alters or signings you have done at events that are significant or memorable for you?

nissa__worldwaker_by_petemohrbacher-d7nzj3iPeter: My first GP was out in Yokohama, Japan. I’d never done any alters before and I didn’t know what I was doing. Eric Deschamp was with me and he’s always cool and composed so he made it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. But oh man, I didn’t know what I was doing.

Tibalt had just come out at the time so I was getting a lot of players dropping 4 at a time asking for alters. I wasn’t just figuring out what alters I could do, I had to create ideas 4 times over. I really liked doing sets of popular Japanese tropes with 1 magical school girl Tibalt slipped into the set.

Rob: Do you work traditionally, digitally, or both?

Peter: I work digitally, but I’ve been meaning to move away from it. When next year’s set rolls around, my answer may be split.

 

Rob: What kind of modeling or references do you use when creating fantastic art? Are they any different than models you have used in non-fantastic pieces?

brimaz__king_of_oreskos_by_petemohrbacher-d72hw54Peter: All my work falls in the surreal of fantastic territory. I love playing with shapes and working out ways of defying people’s expectations. Trying to balance believable figures in these scenes can be really difficult sometimes, so trying to find the right reference is always crucial.

Rob: Do you have anything non-Magic related you want to talk about? Any interesting other projects you have done or are working on?

Peter: This year, I am building a world out of a series that I’ve been working on since college. It’s a surreal take on the angelic realm called Angelarium. The work that’s been done so far is on my website, but I’ve got some big plans for later this year and early next year. It’s the work that got me hired on Magic, so I hope Magic fan will like it as much as the stuff they know me for.

Rob: Is there any way for players to get in touch with you outside of events to order alters or prints if they miss you at the Grand Prix?

Peter: I’ve started doing yearly Kickstarter campaigns called Mohrbacher: The Gathering where I do special edition playmat designs and offer my most popular prints in special bundles. Next year’s campaign will also include an artbook that looks back on my Magic career so far. Outside of that, I fulfill a few print requests via email, but I like to keep all the orders as part of these online events so it feels more special. Keep an eye out for Mohrbacher: The Gathering 2015 next summer on Kickstarter!

 

 

Peter, thanks so much for the information, and I am super excited to see you at GP San Antonio.  I’m looking forward to next year’s Mohrbacher: The Gathering, where I just might snag a playmat.

 

As a reminder, tomorrow is the last day to register for GP San Antonio at our $40 rate – after tomorrow the price goes up to $45.  You can catch Peter at GP San Antonio even if you don’t register for the event, however.  Access to the hall, artists and cosplayer, and vendors is free.

See you at GP San Antonio!
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GP San Antonio VIP Package #GPSanAntonio

Greetings all,

GP San Antonio is coming up in a little less than three weeks, and we still have some VIP slots left open.

This GP, our VIP package is a bit better than prior GPs.  This time around, you get:

  • Sleep-in Special (if you have byes).  The cost of the Sleep-in Special is included in the VIP package.
  • Access to the VIP Lounge.  This room is for VIPs only, and acts as a safe space to store your cards or other things.  It has water service, a charging station, and is across the hall from the main event rooms, so it is quiet.
  • A VIP Concierge.  Alex Lammminen is our VIP Concierge, and he makes sure only VIPs enter the Lounge, does bag checks on your bags, and can get other staff members if there is an issue a VIP needs sorting out.
  • Artist and cosplayer Access.  There will be two different hours on Sunday for artist access.  Exact schedule of which artists are which hours will be posted on Friday at the venue, but on Sunday there will be time you get with our four artists and our cosplayer.  Those artists are Daarken, RK Post, Clint Cearley, and Peter Morbarcher.  Our cosplayer is Christine Sprankle.  You can check out links to their work on our Artist Page.
  • A VIP kit.  I could tell you what is in the kit, but I would rather show you:

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  • The kit includes the VIP version of the playmat, a metal water bottle, and first at this GP, a messenger bag.  We only have our sample version of the bag, but the final version will have the GP playmat art on the front – look for a post about that next week when we get it in.  In the bag will be sleeves, a deckbox, and  some snacks to keep you focused at the GP.

 

As a reminder, normal registration for GP San Antonio is only $40 through this Friday the 14th, and VIP registration is an additional $60.  After the 14th, the main event price increases to $45, and after November 21st main event entry increases to $50.  Register early to save!

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