As the dust clears and the patch notes cool, I love patch day; there's lots to pore over each month, from hot information about future seasons to balance updates, but for a comic art fiend like me, my eyes go first and foremost to all those excellent new variants.
And it got me thinking— with variants as big a part of the game as they are, we ought to discuss them more. I thought it might be fun to do a bit of a primer on the different kinds of variant art in Snap— something I sometimes see questions about here and there.
Now, I'm not talking about distinctions like Rare, Super Rare, or even the premium Anything-But-A-Pixel tier— all that is to subjective taste, determined by the whims of Second Dinner marketing. But…
What Different Kinds Of Snap Artists Are There?
Now, there seem to be a few categories of artists that contribute to the art in Marvel Snap. When people talk about variants and their opinions on variants, it can be helpful to understand some of the differences they might be aware of without realizing it.
Base Art (And House Style Variants)
The first is who seems to be Second Dinner's base roster of artists— the unsung heroes that help unify Snap's base look with Snap-specific original art. This includes, most prolifically, folks like Eduardo Mello, Ryan Kinnaird, Ryan Benjamin, Eric Guerrero, and Joverine, though that's far from a definitive list. (If Ryan Kinnaird colors it, we're discussing it here.)
It's important to note that one significant pitfall that Snap has avoided is recycling existing comic assets for the base art of the game. I may dunk on a variant with the 'house style' here and swipe at Kinnaird's coloring there, but Snap must have that consistency: it keeps the game from feeling cheap or recycled and lets Second Dinner use existing covers as variants instead. The base roster of artists are unsung heroes in Snap, and I'll always be the first to acknowledge just how Herculean their efforts to help unify Snap's look are.
[Incredible Hercules #122, pencils by Salva Espin and Clayton Henry, colors by Raúl Treviño]
This base art team is also responsible for many original variants— notably many of the 'themed' variants that feature characters in different costumes (sometimes seasonal!) in that same house style. These variants often aren't my cup of tea— as crucial as that house style is for the base set of cards, having it featured in a variant can feel less attractive, primarily when variants so often feature wildly different artists and styles. Still, they can be fun, and players who are more interested in a fun gag or themed skin (a la other games) might find these ideally suited.
Other Commissioned Art
[The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber]
Importantly, this might be a distinction without a difference. I don't know the business end of Second Dinner's art department. However, I can surmise that Second Dinner's incredibly prolific base art team may be on commission, like every artist doing original art for the game.
Still, there's a distinct difference between the mountains of variants in the house style and the artists commissioned to do smaller runs of cards in their style. Crucially, you can usually tell when a specific artist has been commissioned for certain variants. Mateus Manhanini, for example, on top of his existing covers, has made several Snap-specific variants for the Hellfire Gala in December, including Blob, Selene, and Sebastian Shaw. (Appropriately) Long before, Alex Horley did the art and variants for the Savage Land season in a similar situation.
For both of these, it's pretty clear the artists were commissioned once for a specific set of cards under a theme— and with the album system now rolled out, there's likely going to be more attention paid to these 'sets' of art that they can group by artist.
Meanwhile, evergreen artists like Dan Hipp and Rian Gonzales are fan favorites. They may even be on some similar terms as the base art team just based on how often they come out with new variants— either way, they are approached by Second Dinner in an ongoing relationship to continue creating new art.
Commissioned art for Snap has the advantage of being developed with the 3D process of Snap cards directly in mind: pictures and compositions can be made with the layers in mind, no doubt allowing for a much easier time going from art to card.
Importantly, art commissioned directly by Second Dinner is essential for cards with less prominent characters. Without many source covers to pull from, most variants for characters like Miek will be direct commissions.
Art Studios
While this still falls under commissioned art, I consider it slightly different from a specific artist's piece. We've seen more pieces from art studios like PANDART or ADIA, and they're most notably credited to the whole studio rather than to any specific artist. The art demands for Snap are immense, and I suspect that game art studios might be more accessible to commission large swaths of pieces from— purely from a labor perspective. The recent PANDART album, as well as the general prevalence of more and more studio work, certainly supports this idea.
And if you want the most iconic example of this category thus far, look no further than everyone's favorite love-to-hate variant type: Pixels, brought to you by G-Angle!
(Honestly? Pixels deserve their category. Pixels have single-handedly defined an entirely new variant rarity in Premium, which means any variant that isn't a pixel. That's unbelievable.)
Now, Pixels aside, recent studio pieces tend to have a specific widely appealing combination of stylization and detail to them, with sets like Pandart or ADIA, in particular, appealing to a certain level of 'glossiness' that tends to signal quality to people. I find them less attractive in voice and style in a piece; however, some are undoubtedly vital pieces, and they likely help Second Dinner meet the tremendous demand for art that the variant system invites.
Existing Covers
What might surprise some players is just how many variants in Marvel Snap are existing pieces! (Like the iconic Todd McFarlane above, which we've got a variant of in the game.)
There's a rich history of variant covers in Marvel comics, and it acts as a neat way to let strong, interesting artists leave their spins and marks on Marvel art. Most notably, beloved artists like Artgerm and Peach Momoko have many pieces in the game that were existing variant covers for various comic issues. (Many people are surprised just how prolific Artgerm was long before Snap existed!)
One thing I love about Snap is how it turns some players' heads to the incredible world of art and writing that everything Marvel has been drawing on. And if you've been paying attention, almost any article I've written has featured no shortage of a wishlist of existing covers. I'd love for variants.
Some variants even use comic interiors, a tricky business, considering interior art is often necessarily less rendered/detailed than covers because their chief concern is telling a sequential story instead. Still, the existing ones mean that we might, down the line, see more iconic interior panels find their way onto a variant.
(Shout out to the Shockermobile variant, pulled alongside the Doom panel from earlier from the pages of Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber's delightful Superior Foes of Spider-Man.)
One important practical distinction between Snap commissions and existing covers is compensation for the artists— with little exception, these existing covers have already been commissioned and now belong to Marvel. The artists have already been paid for their work on the cover when it was first ordered (often years ago), and they don't receive royalties or anything to that effect. Snap's original art is commissioned directly by Second Dinner. At the same time, in both cases, artists were compensated for their commissions. Artgerm won't make additional money for his piece showing up in Snap, while Dan Hipp will have been paid directly for creating art for Snap.
(This is part and parcel of doing work for a Big Two comics company like Marvel— writers and artists for the comics are contracted and compensated for their work, but the art and stories themselves are the property of Marvel. Whether that's equitable or ought to change is a much larger discussion— but for the Snap player unfamiliar, it's good to keep perspective.)
Still, showing your interest and support for artists is always beneficial, and names like Artgerm and Peach Momoko have likely jumped in recognizability since Snap's launch, possibly even opening the door for more direct collaboration with Second Dinner down the line. And while converting existing covers to Snap's layered 3D is undoubtedly more effort, Second Dinner is aware of the world of incredible covers done by talented artists from the comics that have inspired this game.
[Amazing Spider-Man #41 Variant, by Miguel Mercado]
Whew!
So What Art Do I Pick?
I don't know, dude.
Seriously!
I'm serious! Art's subjective, and what appeals to somebody massively is bound to be someone else's least favorite piece of all time. As I said, the value assigned to variant 'rarity' is arbitrary— higher rarity variants might have specific qualities that signal 'value' to the average consumer (lots of detail, high levels of rendering, a certain sheen or gloss) (see: Artgerm). Still, those are ultimately just another subjective drop in the bucket. I'll voice my opinions but not impose my tastes on anybody else.
Instead, I wrote this to give a glimpse into an undeniably huge part of the Marvel Snap experience: finding and collecting variants you love, chasing splits, and yadda yadda. Knowing some basics of how variant art is made in Snap can help you learn more about what you want from your Snap experience and help you prioritize just what you want out of the art in Marvel Snap. So go forth! Contemplate art! And find an artist you love. It's a lot of fun.
[X-Men Legacy #8, by Mike Del Mundo]