Ron Spencer

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Ron Spencer is an illustrator whose most famous work has been for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering.^{[2][dead link][3]}

Early life

Ron Spencer grew up on a farm in Aurora, Nebraska. As a child, his reading material included such Marvel Comics as Conan the Barbarian.^[3]

Artwork

Spencer is primarily self-taught though he did attend a two-year college in Idaho.^[1][4] He uses various elements of mixed media, including colored pencils, ballpoint pens, watercolors, and acrylic paint.^[1] His trademark on a vast majority of his earlier trading cards is a hidden name somewhere in the artwork. For example the name DALE can be clearly seen in the Alliance expansion card Misfortune. He lists his inspirations as Richard Corben and Swamp Thing illustrator Bernie Wrightson.^[1]

He has also created artwork for several books of the World of Darkness series from White Wolf, Inc, as well as the Talislanta line of role-playing games.

Ron Spencer lives in Aurora, Nebraska, with his wife Stacey and their six children.^[3] He is also brother to fellow artist Terese Nielsen.^[2]

Plush Toys

Ron Spencer is also actively working with Toy Vault creating new plush toys, his past toys include Red Dragon, Cthulhu, and several other "Here Be Monster" plush toys. Some upcoming plush include the Necromonican Plush Pillow and Red Dragon Plush Slippers. Troll And Toad is the sister company for Toy vault and carry a full line of his work.

Altered Cards

Ron Spencer releases periodically altered Magic cards also commonly known as Extreme Alteration. The cards are painted over with different artwork incorporating the original picture. Other Magic: The Gathering artists such as Terese Nielsen and Mark Poole also provide this service for their fans.

Bibliography

Magic: The Gathering Sets

Some cards listed are reprinted from set to set.^[5]

• Alpha (1993) - 1 card
• Beta (1993) - 1 card
• Unlimited (1993) - 1 card
• Revised (1994) - 1 card
• The Dark (1994) - 10 cards
• Fallen Empires - (1994) - 8 cards
• 4th Edition (1995) - 4 cards
• Ice Age (1995) - 5 cards
• Alliances (1996) - 2 cards
• Mirage (1996) - 7 cards
• Visions (1997) - 3 cards
• Fifth Edition (1997) - 10 cards
• Weatherlight (1997) - 6 cards
• Tempest (1997) - 10 cards
• Stronghold (1998) - 9 cards
• Exodus (1998) - 7 cards
• Urza's Saga (1998) - 12 cards
• Urza's Legacy (1999) - 5 cards
• Urza's Destiny (1999) - 3 cards
• Classic (Sixth Edition) (1999) - 4 cards
• Mercadian Masques (1999) - 5 cards
• Nemesis (2000) - 3 cards
• Prophecy (2000) - 3 cards
• Invasion (2000) - 9 cards¹
• Seventh Edition (2001) - 7 cards
• Planeshift (2001) - 3 cards
• Apocalypse (2001) - 5 cards
• Odyssey (2001) - 9 cards
• Torment (2002) - 2 cards
• Judgment (2002) - 3 cards
• Onslaught (2002) - 10 cards
• Legions (2003) - 3 cards
• Scourge (2003) - 4 cards
• Eighth Edition (2003) - 8 cards
• Ninth Edition (2005) - 3 cards
• Tenth Edition (2007) - 5 cards
• Magic 2010 (2009) - 1 card
• Magic 2011 (2010) - 1 card

Dungeons & Dragons

• Ghostwalk (2003)
• Draconomicon (2003)
• Complete Warrior (2003)
• Book of Exalted Deeds (2003)
• Unearthed Arcana (2004)
• Races of Stone (2004)
• Complete Divine (2004)
• Complete Arcane (2004)
• Sandstorm (2005)
• Lords of Madness (2005)
• Complete Adventurer (2005)
• Player's Handbook II (2006)

References

Notes

1.^ Includes 2 versions of Swamp.

External links

• Ron Spencer Gallery at Pen & Paper^{[dead link]}
• An Interview With Ron Spencer
• RPG Database listing for Ron Spencer archive
• Magic: the Gathering - Cards illustrated by Ron Spencer
• Plush Toys
• Altered Cards^{[dead link]}