A Magic artist admits he painted over another artist’s The One Ring art

A veteran Magic illustrator says the new card may reuse older imagery A newly revealed version of The One Ring card for Magic: The Gathering’s upcoming crossover with The Hobbit drew criticism from within the game’s own artist community, ultimately revealing that the artist had copied the work of another. The One Ring originally appeared as the headliner card in 2023’s The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set with several different art treatments, and as revealed during a MagicCon: Las Vegas 2026 panel on Friday, it will be reprinted for The Hobbit. That reprint credits artist Dan Frazier for the illustration, which depicts the One Ring floating at an angle over a marbled gold background as it glows with a fiery light. The composition is minimalist and focuses almost entirely on the Ring itself. Despite the hot glow, there are no visible Elvish runes. That relatively simple presentation — and its similarities to earlier depictions of the Ring — quickly drew scrutiny online. In a lengthy Facebook post published hours after the reveal, veteran fantasy illustrator Donato Giancola — who previously worked with Wizards of the Coast for 28 years — accused the company of reusing an