Andrea Modesti
Explore the stories behind the works of Andrea Modesti, a Freelance Illustrator and Author specializing in historical artworks, illustrations of Nature, Wildlife and Landscapes. Alps and mountains, lakes and forests, moors and animals, castles and ancient villages.
Hot Links to Behind the Art articles:
Spear of Destiny
Andrea Modesti
Spear of Destiny is proving early on to be one of the more coveted cards in the game. At the time of this writing in early July, 2022, it is known that there were sample/test cards (referred to here as "sample cards" for this article) printed and in circulation to an extremely limited number of social media personalities and lucky event giveaway winners. The numbers were recently detailed in my article about sample cards, their extreme rarity, and high value. To summarize, there is strong reason to believe that there is less than 10 copies of this sample card that exist in the world. In an era where sample cards from recent upstart TCGs sell for hundreds and thousands of dollars even with population sizes of 100+ copies, that point is notable.
The card design for the Spear of Destiny, like many Sorcery: Contested Realm cards is particularly flavorful. The type line reads: "A Unique Relic guided by divine providence".
Consider the language choices and their definitions in this narrative:
-
"Divine" - of, from, or like God or a god.
-
"Providence" - the protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power;
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Or alternatively: timely preparation for future eventualities
-
The text masterfully matches the mechanic of the card:
-
Throw this Spear in a cardinal direction. It kills the first enemy minion it hits.
Flavorful text paired with flavorful gameplay mechanics is the magical elixir that captures the imagination and enthusiasm of Sorcery fans. This particular card mechanic delivers in a way that only a grid-based design concept like Sorcery can; it projects the spear in a cardinal direction, killing any enemy minion in its path, regardless of size and power level. It is powerful mechanics like these that prove worthy of the "Unique" rarity label.
The illustration work by Andrea Modesti is beautifully fitting for the card mechanic. The spear's design resembles that of an ancient era weapon, perfectly pairing with the type line text's origins in late Middle English and Old French or Latin parlance.
Mr. Modesti shared some insights about the art direction that he received from Sorcery creator, Erik Oloffson, and his process for evolving the design:
At first I was not very sure how to set the spear, I had doubts both about its position in the painting and whether it should be depicted as a "new" weapon, in current use, or an ancient object.
This is where ... Erik helped me, telling me it had to be an ancient object, a relic "from a legendary past" ... With this and other useful tips the painting took shape. And also for the suggestion to finally add some sort of halo, brightness or light rays around the spear, I have to thank Erik.
The light rays, extending in any given "cardinal direction" is the fabric that masterfully marries card mechanic with illustration design.
Mr. Modesti was generous enough to share several process sketches and water color process images that were used in his development process. Those were profiled in a YouTube Video on my Collector Arthouse Channel, and are included below as well.
Finally, at the end of this article are images of the first ever sample card for this impossibly rare "Unique" card, which will be offered via Collector Arthouse exclusively through the Sorcery: Contested Realm Fan Page & Marketplace; with updates mirrored in the Collector Arthouse Discord Channel during the live auction for those who do not use Facebook and would like to participate in the auction through Discord private message. I will be standing by to proxy bid on any such participant's behalf; and one lucky hardcore Sorcery: Contested Realm collector will walk away with one of the most rare cards that will ever be printed for the game.
My thanks to Mr. Modesti for his insights and the inspiring illustrations he has contributed to this game!
Spear of Destiny is proving early on to be one of the more coveted cards in the game. At the time of this writing in early July, 2022, it is known that there were sample/test cards (referred to here as "sample cards" for this article) printed and in circulation to an extremely limited number of social media personalities and lucky event giveaway winners. The numbers were recently detailed in my article about sample cards, their extreme rarity, and high value. To summarize, there is strong reason to believe that there is less than 10 copies of this sample card that exist in the world. In an era where sample cards from recent upstart TCGs sell for hundreds and thousands of dollars even with population sizes of 100+ copies, that point is notable.
The card design for the Spear of Destiny, like many Sorcery: Contested Realm cards is particularly flavorful. The type line reads: "A Unique Relic guided by divine providence".
Consider the language choices and their definitions in this narrative:
-
"Divine" - of, from, or like God or a god.
-
"Providence" - the protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power;
-
Or alternatively: timely preparation for future eventualities
-
The text masterfully matches the mechanic of the card:
-
Throw this Spear in a cardinal direction. It kills the first enemy minion it hits.
Flavorful text paired with flavorful gameplay mechanics is the magical elixir that captures the imagination and enthusiasm of Sorcery fans. This particular card mechanic delivers in a way that only a grid-based design concept like Sorcery can; it projects the spear in a cardinal direction, killing any enemy minion in its path, regardless of size and power level. It is powerful mechanics like these that prove worthy of the "Unique" rarity label.
The illustration work by Andrea Modesti is beautifully fitting for the card mechanic. The spear's design resembles that of an ancient era weapon, perfectly pairing with the type line text's origins in late Middle English and Old French or Latin parlance.
Mr. Modesti shared some insights about the art direction that he received from Sorcery creator, Erik Oloffson, and his process for evolving the design:
At first I was not very sure how to set the spear, I had doubts both about its position in the painting and whether it should be depicted as a "new" weapon, in current use, or an ancient object.
This is where ... Erik helped me, telling me it had to be an ancient object, a relic "from a legendary past" ... With this and other useful tips the painting took shape. And also for the suggestion to finally add some sort of halo, brightness or light rays around the spear, I have to thank Erik.
The light rays, extending in any given "cardinal direction" is the fabric that masterfully marries card mechanic with illustration design.
Mr. Modesti was generous enough to share several process sketches and water color process images that were used in his development process. Those were profiled in a YouTube Video on my Collector Arthouse Channel, and are included below as well.
Finally, at the end of this article are images of the first ever sample card for this impossibly rare "Unique" card, which was offered via Collector Arthouse exclusively through the Sorcery: Contested Realm Fan Community Group and mirrored in the Collector Arthouse Discord Channel.
My thanks to Mr. Modesti for his insights and the inspiring illustrations he has contributed to this game!
Hamlet
Andrea Modesti
Hamlet emerges in Sorcery: Contested Realm's first expansion set, Arthurian Legends, as one of the more powerful Atlas Sites in the set. An Ordinary rarity allows you to run four copies of the card in your deck. The gameplay mechanic has a powerful 'accelerator' effect that reduces casting cost of Ordinary minions by one threshold at this site; "A Site where Ordinary families thrive".
This is a beautiful piece by Andrea Modesti as we've come to enjoy with his colorful and richly detailed watercolour portrayal of historical nature scenes.
The concept story behind Hamlet Village is one of simple beginnings which evolved through an exchange of ideas with Sorcery Creator and Art Director, Erik Olofsson. The story begins with Andrea's initial concept sketch,
The scene depicts a simple hillside village with three focal structures. The foreground is largely barren, allowing space for the card title and gameplay mechanic box that displays at the bottom of Sorcery TCG Atlas Site cards.
After submission of the initial sketch concept, Erik asked Andrea to add various features to further develop the character of the scene.
Per Andrea, Erik recommended the inclusion of the wagon wheel, the well, the barrels and the wooden wagon. Andrea credits Erik with these details really making the village scene come to life.
Andrea explains the next evolution of the process:
In the photo with the intermediate color you can see the most important figures and details covered by the liquid masking fluid or by the paper tape, to preserve the white of the paper from the first basic watercolor draft.
Then, once the protections have been removed and the background is mostly dry, you can start working on the details.
Here is where you get a full appreciation for Andrea's talents and incredible skill. The color choices and texture that he delivers in his works are really remarkable. They create a warm and welcoming vibe that transports the viewer to the scene in a touching way that makes you strongly resonate with the environment as if you are actually physically emersed in it.
The buildings, the terrain and rich foliage, the added elements and details to round out the scene, and the facial expressions of the characters. The scene captures the essence of "a site where ordinary families thrive".
My sincere thanks to Mr. Modesti for his insights, images used in this article, and the inspiring illustrations he has contributed to this game!
If you are enjoying the content from Collector Arthouse, please check out my LinkTree and consider joining the many communities I have developed centered on Sorcery TCG and my passion for the arts, and consider supporting my efforts through Collector Arthouse Patreon.
Thank you!
Sir Perceval
Andrea Modesti
Sir Perceval enters the realm as one of the more notable illustrations by Andrea Modesti for the Arthurian Legends expansion set. In addition to being one of the new "Sirs" and a Unique rarity, the illustration also features prominently on the beautiful box design and in the company's teaser video release.
Sir Perceval is one of the noble Knights of the Roundtable in the lore of Arthurian Legend. In some versions of the lore, he is thought to be the son of King Pellinore. He is most notably known for his involvement in the quest for the Holy Grail. During his travels Perceval arrives at the castle of the Fisher King who he finds wounded. At this castle there is a procession in which many marvelous items are seeing carried from one room to another by young men and women - a bleeding lance, candelabra, a silver platter, and a type of dish called a ‘graal’. This dish, or cup, later became known as the Holy Grail After leaving the "Grail Castle", Perceval is crticized by a maiden for not asking questions about the grail, which would have healed the King.
Eventually Percival is able to find the Grail Castle again with the help of the wizard Merlin, King Arthur’s advisor. This time he witnesses the procession again and asks about the grail. The Fisher King is healed and his lands restored from the wasteland conditions that they had been doomed to endure. Before the Fisher King ascends to the heavens, he appoints Perceval as the new keeper of the Holy Grail.
With this context, the concept evolution for Andrea's portrayal of Sir Perceval finds purpose and meaning rooted in the tales of Arthurian lore. Here is the story in Andrea's words:
The initial sketch, in which Perceval was a boy who lived almost wildly in a forest and in his mother's mansion, who wanted to keep him safe from the dangerous life of the knights.
Naturally, as in all legends and fairy tales, the thing from which his mother wanted to protect him, the adventurous and dangerous life of knights, awaits him like a destiny, when, hunting in the woods, he sees in admiration some magnificent knights in their armour. This was the first idea that came to me on how to represent Perceval.
Andrea continues:
The second idea was to show Perceval in his "second life" (Perceval was a subject that I adored because he practically has two opposing phases of life, and enormous potential), that is, already a knight of King Arthur, when he finds himself in front of the castle of the Fisher King and the Grail.
this image was certainly more evocative of the character (the scene of the young man in the woods probably wouldn't have been a very evocative card) but the character was too static.
But yet as a consummate storyteller, Andrea's work was not complete. He further matured the concept to really capture the essence in a way that is as artistically profound as Sir Perceval's story...
Finally the last sketch that I show you finds its balance, which will then be that of the final drawing, visible in the photo of the line art.
The watercolor background for the base is unforgiving: if the light is wrong you have to redo everything!😂
It was a job that I loved being able to do, because it is an incredible story, and the honor that Erik gave me by giving so much importance to the final painting filled me with gratitude.
I hope this little story of an art process is interesting for you.
A truly inspirational piece by Andrea; rich with meaning and flavorful context fitting for a storied knight of King Arthur's Roundtable!
My sincere thanks to Mr. Modesti for his insights, images used in this article, and the inspiring illustrations he has contributed to this game!
If you are enjoying the content from Collector Arthouse, please check out my LinkTree and consider joining the many communities I have developed centered on Sorcery TCG and my passion for the arts, and consider supporting my efforts through Collector Arthouse Patreon.
Thank you!