WEST ALLIS — There’s an artist in West Allis whose work is in tens of thousands of people’s homes and pockets. That’s because he helped design around 100 different Magic: The Gathering cards.
Magic: The Gathering is a trading card game played across the world and has been translated into dozens of languages. And one of the game’s artists is John Matson.
“It’s just a really, really good feeling to know that, wow, this stuff is all over the place," John Matson, a freelance illustrator and teacher at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, said.
He created the cards from 1996-2010. Each design told its own story.
“Illustration is essentially storytelling at its heart," Matson said. "You can tell a story and kind of hook an audience.”
Watch the story below to see more of John Matson's illustrations...
Matson also takes requests to modify Magic cards and hits the global convention circuit to autograph fans’ cards.
“Expanding the design, painting over into the borders or something, and occasionally you might even be holding on to just a little bit of the original card and painting the entire front of it," Matson said.
While filming this story, I actually recognized a few of the cards in his collection. My brother and I played Magic: The Gathering for years. I didn't realize he was the artist behind a lot of the cards in my deck.
I learned about Matson after asking the Milwaukee Reddit page for interesting people to interview. His name came up.
Matson's work goes beyond Magic: The Gathering. He has made art for Game of Thrones, a German trading card game, tarot cards, and other games that didn’t become as popular as Magic. He also accepts one-off commissions.
He never expected to make a career from illustrating card games and eventually teaching, but it turned out to be everything he wanted.
“That touches your soul in a sense.”
You can find more of his illustrations by going to his website.
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