Alan Pollack

When I begin the sketching process, I refer to the art order/suggestion. My goal is to visualize the suggestion as clearly as possible. When creating art for Sorcery: Contested Realm I feel it is important to interpret the idea as clearly and simply as possible.

I also think it’s important that there is a focus on the main subject. I believe card art should be visible from across a table and also for passers-by. This is why I zoom in a lot when I create card art. I’m not interested in a chaotic, overly detailed piece of art. There needs to be focus.

The purpose or action of the card needs to be obvious at first glance. I also use extreme angles as much as possible to draw the viewer in and to create tension.

Preferred Medium

I prefer the traditional method of painting with oils. I start out either fixing a drawing to a board using Matte Medium or I go the old school route of applying gesso to a board and transferring the drawing by scribbling on the back of the drawing and retracing it on the front which creates something like a carbon copy. I then create an underpainting with acrylics and finish and add detail with oils.”

Achievements

In addition to my Sorcery work, and the Hugo Award, my art appeared on the cover of Spectrum Volume 8, an annual collection of the years’ best imaginative realism which includes sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and surrealism.