<![CDATA[BALANCE OF POWERS (1996)Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 40" x 30"]]>BALANCE OF POWERS (1996)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 40" x 30"

When I agreed to provide art for a Magic: The Gathering promotional card giveaway at DragonCon in 1994, I didn't anticipate the frenzy that would follow. 1/4

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/084d7c25-3db5-46a4-886f-b0908af71459/balance-of-powers-1996-acrylic-on-watercolor-board-40-x-30RSS for NodeThu, 14 May 2026 23:36:29 GMTFri, 24 Apr 2026 12:50:49 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to BALANCE OF POWERS (1996)Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 40" x 30" on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:09:14 GMT]]>@Plamobot @MichaelWhelan same! I was managing a comics/games shop when this issue came out.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/Shanmonster/statuses/116459841440729914https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/Shanmonster/statuses/116459841440729914Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:09:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to BALANCE OF POWERS (1996)Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 40" x 30" on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:06:51 GMT]]>@MichaelWhelan This brings back so many memories. I remember seeing this exact issue at my local comic book store! Thank you for sharing this!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/Plamobot/statuses/116459832019582654https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/Plamobot/statuses/116459832019582654Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:06:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to BALANCE OF POWERS (1996)Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 40" x 30" on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:53:40 GMT]]>The initial brief described action between equally matched opponents, so I thought of the composition in a sort of yin/yang balance. 4/4

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BALANCE OF POWERS

When I agreed to provide art for a Magic: The Gathering promotional card giveaway at DragonCon in 1994, I didn’t anticipate the frenzy that would follow. I simply put together a mashup of exi…

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The Art of Michael Whelan (www.michaelwhelan.com)

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.art/users/MichaelWhelan/statuses/116459780202360206https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.art/users/MichaelWhelan/statuses/116459780202360206Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:53:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to BALANCE OF POWERS (1996)Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 40" x 30" on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:52:32 GMT]]>When InQuest magazine later commissioned a cover, I had the opportunity to take on MTG in a more traditional assignment.

The illustration would feature a battle between a Serra Angel and a Hurloon Minotaur, creatures from the original MTG lineup. 3/4

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.art/users/MichaelWhelan/statuses/116459775785455941https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.art/users/MichaelWhelan/statuses/116459775785455941Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:52:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to BALANCE OF POWERS (1996)Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 40" x 30" on Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:51:48 GMT]]>I simply put together a mashup of existing art in Photoshop.

I should have known, of course. Magic was already incredibly popular, cards were in short supply, and Nalathni Dragon would be their first promotional card. It was the perfect storm. 2/4

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.art/users/MichaelWhelan/statuses/116459772862574397https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.art/users/MichaelWhelan/statuses/116459772862574397Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:51:48 GMT