Card altering

Sensei's Divining Top - Winter Theme ->

Here is a video I took while altering Sensei's Divining Top (I apologize for the poor quality, I used Windows Movie Maker and that was the biggest mistake ever).

Many people from all around the world wonder how people alter cards. When I started altering I did not have any help because I started quite some time ago and I had to figure everything on my own. Nowadays many people alter cards and I believe there are many tutorials or tips on the internet. Here is my take on card altering. If you have any questions just post a comment.

Type of alters

Alterers either extend the original illustration or paint over it with something original. Anything in between is not uncommon (for example keeping some of the original elements, or changing only the background). Both normal and foil cards can be altered. People can also alter cards in another way than just paint on them. For example there are people that do 3d alters or foil peel alters.

If you will be painting on cards there are three types of alters.

Borderless alters

Textless/Full Art Alters

Partial Alters

Tools

What one needs in order to alter cards?

• acrylic paints - I use Vallejo Model Color paints but anything that works for you is fine. Many use Golden Fluid Acrylics. The paint should be of high quality. In order to start you should buy at some kind of Yellow, Red, Blue, Black, White and Brown. From this you can pretty much mix anything. If you do not know much about mixing paints it's time you start looking that up. (Fortunately for me learning how to produce the color I wanted in hexadecimal code is what made me learn how to mix colors, I mention this here because many people starting to alter ask me this.)
• brushes - so far I use Citadel Fine Detail/Insane Detail brushes. Usually brushes are marked with numbers. I use 0, 00, or 000 brushes.
• toothpick - to get rid of paint that got where it shouldn't. The toothpick should always stay dampened (when you use it).
• clear varnish - when the alter is finished it is good to use some kind of finish - acrylic paint varnish (I'm using Citadel Matte Varnish).
• ink rubber - if you want to blank a card this is one of the ways to go. it takes time and patience. Acetone can be used for this purpose but I would advise against it unless you know what you are doing because it can be harmful for your health and/or the card when used too aggressively. When working with foils this is the only way to go though (or you can use nail polish).
• artist tape - if you want to blank or prime only certain parts of a card the tape comes handy. Be careful when taking it off the card. Be gentle!
• markers/liners - some artists use markers to do alters. They can be used in addition to acrylics. Most people use Sharpies or Copic Markers. I also use Copic Multiliners for finer work (these actually are soluble in water unlike the permanent markers!). Markers are also glossy which is often looked upon as bad. Matte varnish will make it matte though in the end. But you can also use the markers to create some nice effects. Especially when used on foils.
• palette - this is something you can either buy or create one yourself. In general what you need to achieve is something that keeps some moisture so the paint won't immediately dry. I'm too lazy to get something proper so I use a card sleeve and a top loader (water blobs under the sleeve). If you want to do something better just google wet palette.
• daylight lamp - without enough light you won't be able to match colors properly. The light should not be colored or anything (normal light bulbs will skew your perception of color of your paints), look for something that imitates daylight.

Preparation

The first step when altering a card is its preparation and this is a very important step. The card should be clean and without any grease on it (otherwise it gets a bit complicated to paint on, so for starters grab a new card). I prime the card with a certain grey hue paint. How bright is the grey depends on how bright or light the colors I want to have on the card. Priming the card is not necessary as there are people who don't do it but you can run into trouble, especially if you want to alter red cards or white bordered cards. Try it with and without priming and then you can decide what is better. The paint adheres better on primed surface and won't do crazy things you don't want the paint to do so that is why I prime everything nowadays. In earlier days I used to get rid of the ink from the card using a rubber or acetone, but painting simply over the card is better. It allows for a better control of the paint. I use Vallejo Model Color - Natural Grey for priming. Depending on the overal darkness/lightness of the card I use lighter or darker tone. The quality of these basecoats will show on the final alter so one should learn how to do it properly. Several layers should be applied and should be as thin as possible (this applies to altering in general) without any bumps or texture.

Painting

When the card is primed one can start actually painting. Some people draw (you can use pencil, mind the surface, do not scratch it) what they wish to paint and then 'color' it but that is up to you. I paint the areas with more or less the colors I need need and then I start adding more detail and later highlights.

In general when painting you need to be doing thin layers of paint. So even if you are using already quite liquid paints, dilute them with water. The right ratio of paint and water is something one needs to figure out on his own and it depends on the paint one uses. In my case the Vallejo Model Color paints require quite a lot of water. The more thin layers the better (the more layers the more vivid the color will be). When the area gets the color you want you can stop with the layering. It takes time and patience. The layers should be thin so that the paint won't add too much weight to the card. If the card will become too heavy it won't be tournament legal. The higher quality of the paint use the less layers is needed (because it contains more pigment).

Tip: Dry brush technique is good for clouds, nebulae etc. If you are going to use this technique use some old brush for it so you won't ruin your precious brush.

Tournament Legality
If you will be altering cards that the player will want to play at tournaments note that the card's name, mana cost and power/toughness or loyalty need to be visible. The game text does not necessarily need to be present. The card should be recognizable at first glance, shouldn't contain anything that could offend someone (naked females included) and shouldn't be misleading or giving information relevant to the game (for example Trinket Mage with Sensei's Divining Top painted on it is not in general considered tournament legal). Anyway if a card will be allowed or not depends on the head judge.

Details

When this was done I tried painting the sakuras and some petals. This is the part of the process one spends the most time usually. This is when you need to match the artist's style, pay attention to all the colors and detail. Details is what makes a nice alter. But sometimes you will simply get stuck the same way I got stuck with this Top. I did my best at that time because simply I did not know how to proceed. But I always come back to that later when I have more experience and I come up with something. This alter did not turn out the way I wanted but I certainly learned something. If you are ever going to alter a card don't give up. Just alter the cards and you will eventually get better. Each alter helps a lot.

Finishing touches and correcting mistakes

When the alter seems finished one usually looks at it and does final touches. This is the time during which I sometimes use 'washes' (very diluted paint) and use it to slightly change tones of some painted areas. I add more contrast in general. When this is done one needs to get rid of all the mistakes and paints that are where they shouldn't be. If excessive paint is on the card's non-painted surface it is easy to get rid of it. Simply wet a tooth pick and scrape the paint of the card (or use the brush to wet certain area - don't use too much water) and than get rid of it with a tooth pick).

Finish

When your alter is finished it is good to use acrylic varnish on it but not all artist use it. I would suggest one thing though. After you finish your alter just let it be for a while (let's say a night or day) and come back to it to see if you are still content with the work you produced. If not you can still do some final touches and only after that seal the card.

Card altering is tedious work and requires thus a lot of patience. For those of you who actually paint on canvas painting on something so small as a Magic card can be pretty unnatural. It takes time to get used to it. Anyway with each alter all of you will get better at it. So don't give up if your first alters won't look good or the way you envisioned them. Sooner or later they will.

Hope you found this article helpful and I wish you fun and good luck with altering cards.

You can view some of my alters on my site -> http://stsungalters.com/index.php