Matt Cavotta
| Matt Cavotta | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Status | Inactive: Mercadian Masques to Throne of Eldraine |
| Scryfall Statistics | |
Matt Cavotta is an illustrator, the Principle Art Director and Creative Director for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast.[1][2]
Career
As an artist he has illustrated numerous Magic cards, such as Alloy Myr, Etched Oracle, Jaya Ballard, Task Mage, Questing Phelddagrif and Twiddle.[3] Mark Rosewater hired him in 2004 for Wizards of the Coast, where he worked in the Creative team in charge of names and flavor text. Then he left for a while and he came back and now he's in charge of overseeing the look and feel of Magic. He works at CAPS (Creative and Professional Services).[4]
Cavotta wrote for the "Taste The Magic" column on magicthegathering.com until December, 2007.[5] In his articles card flavor, card art, interviews MTG artists, and talks about all things Vorthos were discussed (in fact, the term Vorthos was coined by Matt in his column).[6][7][8][9]
Additionally he wrote the short story "Expedition" for the Shadowmoor anthology and was part of Future Sight R&D. In that last capacity, he came up with the idea for planeswalker cards.
Matt Cavotta used himself and his wife as the models for Shared Fate (Mirrodin).[10]
Cavotta Terms
A recurring topic in Cavotta's "Taste the Magic" column was "Okra, Twinkie, Tofu".[6] He talked about card names and whether the words used can be found in a dictionary or if they are just made up.
- Okra are "words that are actually real but may seem fake." These are frequently obscure mythological, literary, or historical references.
- Twinkies are words that are "completely fake and not of this world" and were made up by Magic R&D.
- Tofu are words that are "made up of real stuff but seems bizarre and alien", usually by combining word roots.
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (January 31, 2005). "Ninjas & Pirates & Myrs… Oh My!". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03.
- ↑ Richard Whitters (February 16, 2011). "Milk and Cookies with Matt Cavotta". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- ↑ Toby Wachter (March 27, 2002). "Behind the Canvas: Matt Cavotta". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 12, 2010) "Episode 3: Planeswalkers (Special guest Matt Cavotta)" ,Drive to Work (transcript)
- ↑ Matt Cavotta (August 30, 2007). "Wizardcycling 3". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- ↑ a b Matt Cavotta (August 31, 2005). "Snack Time with Vorthos". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-05-30.
- ↑ Matt Cavotta (May 17, 2006). "Vorthos Breaks Free". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2019-08-12.
- ↑ Matt Cavotta (August 31, 2006). "Parlez Vous Vorthos?". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-05-31.
- ↑ Matt Cavotta (September 14, 2006). "Parlez Vous, Part Deux". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-01-16.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (November, 2006). "Ask Wizards - November 2006". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-09-26.