MTG: Kithkin Brinefarer (2025)

One more before the Eclipse ends

I’m thrilled that Wizards has given me this preview to share with you all, my first time getting to preview a card featuring my own art!

Releasing as part of the Alchemy: Lorwyn Eclipsed set for Magic: Arena, we have Kithkin Brinefarer!

Within Alchemy, the card will release as a Depth art card (L) and a Base card (R)

Kithkin Brinefarer will be available when Alchemy: Lorwyn Eclipsed goes live ~10am on February 3. Read on below to learn more about this artwork and its creation.

Kithkin Brinefarer (2025), digital over oil and acrylic

When I was assigned Kithkin Brinefarer by Art Director Emily Mazza, it was a good bit after the main work on Lorwyn: Eclipsed was done. Commissioned as an online-only Arena Alchemy game illustration, it was enjoyable to get one last chance to play in Lorwyn, since who knows how long it’ll be until we’re back? Hopefully, not too long!

To be precise, I had done another illustration, “Angler’s Shield” for Through the Omenpaths, which was also themed within Lorwyn, a few months earlier. So I got to work on this world over a period of roughly 9 months, in total, for four illustrations including the set’s “Command Tower,” and, “Requiting Hex,” which I discussed previously.

Kithkin Brinefarer figure study (2025), 6x8” pencil and acrylic on paper. Titles change.

Our Brinefarer is intended to be less purely heroic and tough—although she is that— but also to be a sort of local heroine, community-minded and kind. The assignment called for her to in some sense be assisting Kithkin citizens who have disembarked from a boat. I cast about for a bit, finding a few solutions I enjoyed, but on the 9^th composition I arrived at a solution where I had her assisting an elderly Kithkin. This felt like it conveyed the right spirit, while also giving me the opportunity to paint an elderly Kithkin, which seemed like an unusual opportunity.

Submission study, digital over the earlier drawing. I frequently draw out background details digitally, focusing on figures for more detailed drawings

It also gave me the chance to include some children in the background, awaiting their turn. Indeed a few other thumbnails had her carrying a couple of kiddos prominently.

Kithkin Brinefarer thumbnail sketches (2025), pencil, ink and acrylic. I usually work out compositions at actual size of a printed Magic card.

Painting this aged Kithkin was a lot of fun, and while she has a kindly face with the characteristic facial structure, including the worn, aged hands was a meaningful way to portray her physical frailty, along with her exaggerated curved spine. Acknowledging the weight of years was important for me, here.

In-progress, this is how far I went in acrylic before switching to oils.

As a last-minute tweak, I was asked to make some significant adjustments to her robe, as it was appearing a bit too kimono-like, which was fine, however I did not have the time to render these changes out in paint, so they were done digitally and appear on the card only, my painting remained as it was at submission. These are the kinds of details the Magic team often considers to make for a coherent world across what can be hundreds of illustrations within a world.

Kithkin Brinefarer (2025), 9x12” oil and acrylic on illustration board. The final art contains digital additions.

The original art for this card (minus the clothing rework, which was done digitally) is available here.

The figure study is available here.

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Shared with permission from WOTC, TM and © Wizards of the Coast