UPDATE: Wizards of the Coast has released a joint statement with Dan Frazier, confirming that, yes, the reprint of The One Ring was traced. In the statement quoted below, Frazier apologized for directly using the original artwork, from Marta Nael, as a reference. Frazier and WotC have both reached out to Nael to try to rectify the situation. Notably, it does not appear that Wizards is blacklisting Dan Frazier from future work, unlike what happened to Fay Dalton.
A Message from Dan Frazier and Wizards of the Coast
Recently, fans noticed the similarities between The One Ring by Marta Nael, and the newly released image of The One Ring by Dan Frazier. Those similarities are not coincidental, unfortunately.
From Dan,
I made a mistake, and I feel awful. I especially feel for Marta, whose work I adore. In trying to create an iconic version of The One Ring, while looking at references online, I ended up using Marta’s Ring as a reference and painted over it to try to prove the item the fans hold dear in their hearts. In doing so, I didn’t make it my own. I’m reaching out to Marta privately, to apologize appear to artist. I love creating art for Magic, I’ve loved being a part of this artist community for more than 30 years, and I’m sorry I’ve let my fans down.
Sincerely, Dan Frazier
From Wizards of the Coast
Dan Frazier is a titan of the art industry and of Magic: The Gathering. He has created so many iconic pieces of art for the game that he will forever be a part of the game, and we value his contributions tremendously. With that i mind, we’re disappointed our review process didn’t catch the issue. Like Dan, we have already reached out to apologize to Marta Nael for not caching the use of her art in the piece.
None of this was intentional, but we’re going to make it as right as much as we can. On digital versions of the card, we will credit both Dan Frazier and Marta Nael. We will also make sure Marta is compensated for her work here.
This is a good moment to recognize that we are all humans who make mistakes. Dan made a mistake. We made mistakes in our process to not catch the error. We don’t confit it accept either, but we still value Dan and his contributions and are grateful for his place in the game.
Thank you to the Eagle-Eyed fans who noticed this, and for all of you for being strong advocates for amazing art and artists.
Sincerely, All of us at Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast | Via: Bluesky
The original copy of the article continues below.
Yesterday, Wizards of the Coast went all out, revealing major details about three upcoming MTG sets. While Reality Fracture and Marvel Super Heroes aren’t to be scoffed at, The Hobbit was undoubtedly the star of the show. With tons of spoilers being unveiled, MTG players have plenty to enjoy and digest; however, this set has already sparked controversy.
An All-Too-Similar Reprint?
As expected, given it’s another Lord of the Rings MTG set, The Hobbit is reprinting The One Ring. First printed in Tales of Middle-earth, this card is currently selling for $86+, so many players were understandably excited to see it. Even if it is only appearing as a box topper, this is still undeniably a fantastic reprint.
That said, while The One Ring sees widespread play and is a financial slam dunk, this MTG card isn’t perfect. After looking more closely at the reprint’s new art, many MTG players realized it looks shockingly familiar. On Reddit, user Stiggy1605 even claimed that the new art is simply a mirrored and blurred version of the old artwork.
Looking at the details, it’s very easy to see how Stiggy came to this conclusion. While the blurred text does muddy things somewhat, the shine is seemingly in the exact same spots. On top of this, some MTG players even claim there’s excess glow on the new ring, making it look lifted from the old scene.
Sadly, art theft isn’t entirely unheard of within MTG; however, it’s remarkable that these accusations are against Dan Frazier. Having created art for 188 cards over the years, Frazier is a hugely prolific artist. In fact, Frazier even did the original art for the five Moxen, all the way back in Alpha.
With this in mind, many MTG players are absolutely baffled that the art theft looks so clear-cut. To justify this, some players theorize that Frazier may only be responsible for the background, but that’s unclear. Sadly, now that Wizards of the Coast has released an official statement, it’s clear that wasn’t the case.
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