WELCOME TO THE FOUR HORSEMEN PLAY MATS & SPECIAL ART PROJECTS!
The Four Horsemen support one of our favorite and most cherished artists from the Four Horsemen Expansion sets of Magic and take advantage of this Kickstarter to support the Launch of the new Four Horsemen Old School Magic Play format and our new community. We have commissioned a spectacular and unique custom artwork piece hand painted in watercolor by the renowned Magic the gathering Artist, Ken Meyer, Jr., for the benefit and enjoyment of our fellow Four Horsemen Old School Magic Player's Community and anyone who loves Ken's art.
We are very proud to support Ken's art and work, which is so iconic and nostalgic for all of us. Gazing upon this masterpiece instantly brings back childhood memories of some of the most recognizable and memorable Old School Magic experiences! Ken has graciously granted the Four Horsemen EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS AND OWNERSHIP of this new amazing, beautiful, and iconic work of art. This means you can ONLY GET THIS FROM THE FOUR HORSEMEN. You can review our past Kickstarter here. kickstarter.com/projects/thefourhoursemenmtg/ken-meyer-jr-guardian-beast-purple-moonlight-magic-playmats/ . You can order all of the items below at our Four Horsemen Etsy Store here - www.etsy.com/shop/TheFourHorsemenMTG.
We could think of nothing better than Guardian Beast on a full moon purple sky night in the jungle protecting the Power Jewelry and Moxen from all the Ken's infamous Arabian Nights Characters attempting to take their shot at the powerful riches at hand, and several other surprise guest appearances in this piece! Zoom in and Look closely, as there is so much going on in this intricate scene and it tells an entire story!
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What also makes this piece even more special is that Ken Meyer Jr. Painted this in watercolors, and for anyone who has worked with this medium, you know how challenging it can be! The artistry, the skill, the uniqueness of Ken's craft and talent are abundantly expressed in this beautiful work of art.
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This project started as an initiative by The Four Horsemen Old School Magic Players Group to endeavor to create a unique and special piece of artwork by one of the most well-known, recognized, and beloved artists, Ken Meyer, Jr. that could be enjoyed by us all and become the official graphic of our Four Horsemen Group. The original goal of this project and special commissioned artwork was to have something iconic that can represent the group well. With this now achieved in spades, we want to share this with you and offer you the opportunity to support our Four Horsemen Old School Magic Format and Community at the same time!
All of the following items are were offered via our Four Horsemen Ken Meyer Jr. Guardian Beast Purple Night Sky commissioned artwork KickStarter and the remaining items are now available on our Etsy Store here: etsy.com/shop/TheFourHorsemenMTG.
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OPTION 1 - SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION GUARDIAN BEAST PURPLE MOONLIGHT PLAYMATS SIGNED & NUMBERED BY KEN MEYER JR - EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH US (LIMITED TO 100 IN QUANTITY)!
Stitched Edges Play Mats with this Beautiful Custom Unique artwork from Ken, hand-signed autographed and numbered in silver art pen ink, as well. You will not be able to get this Play Mat from anywhere else, as we own the full rights to this work. So this will be truly a special and unique item that you will not find available anywhere else. Limited to 100 in quantity and numbered as such.
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Ken Meyer Jr. Signed Numbered Special Limited Edition 100 Qty Guardian Beast Purple Moonlight Stitched Edges Playmat
OPTION 2- FOUR HORSEMEN EDITION GUARDIAN BEAST PURPLE MOONLIGHT PLAYMATS - EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH US AT THE FOUR HORSEMEN
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- Due to the overwhelming popularity and rapid sales of the limited special edition Guardian Beast Purple Moonlight playmat, Ken Meyer Jr. has produced as newly commissioned update to include a set of the Four Horsemen Riders with unique original artwork painted by Ken in Watercolor and integrated specifically into this work of art; removing the original fountain, Mystic Remora, and Devils, and including the Four Horsemen riders emerging from the jungle mists behind the Guardian Beast!
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- This playmat will comes hand-signed by Ken Meyer Jr., and will also include a special unique custom sketch of a hand-drawn figure by Ken on the mat as well!
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- Beautiful Custom Unique artwork from Ken, hand-signed autographed. To make this truly a Limited Edition Four Horsemen playmat distinctly different from the artwork of the original special edition playmat, Ken has also digitally modified the artwork to remove the fountain and the 2 Stone Throwing Devils behind the fountain & has included a set of shadowy 4 horsemen riders emerging from the jungle amidst the jungle mist!
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- Are the riders swooping in to take advantage and try to steal the power jewelry and moxen protected by the Guardian Beast? Or, are they arriving to save the day and help the beast protect the power jewelry from the ongoing attempted larceny?
This is a special Four Horsemen tribute version of this playmat that will be limited to 200 in quantity and available exclusively from Ken Meyer Jr through the Four Horsemen!
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- You will not be able to get this Playmat from anywhere else, as we own the full rights to this work in collaboration with Ken hand-signing and drawing the sketches on each playmat. So this will be truly a special and unique item that you will not find available anywhere else and the included custom character sketch hand-drawn and signed by Ken makes this even more special!
Choose one of the Sapphire Kickstarter Backer Packages for this playmat!
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You can order these via Four Horsemen Etsy Store here: www.etsy.com/shop/TheFourHorsemenMTG.
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Ken Meyer Jr Signed Limited Four Horsemen Edition 200 Qty Guardian Beast Purple Moonlight Playmat
HIGH QUALITY GICLEE STYLE 13 X 19 LIMITED EDITION PRINTS - EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH US!
Ken and I will also be producing a very limited number of high quality Giclee prints of this amazing work in 13 inches x 19 inches traditional frame size. You can Choose either the original watercolor printing, the Special Limited Edition artwork for the premiere playmat limited to 100 in quantity, or you can choose the enhanced artwork for the playmat for the Limited Four Horsemen Edition version limited to 200 in quantity. All three options are great, it's up to you to choose based on your preference. You can order these via Four Horsemen Etsy Store here: www.etsy.com/shop/TheFourHorsemenMTG.
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CUSTOM KEN MEYER JR ARABIAN NIGHTS CHARACTER PROXY CARDS - EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH US!
Ken has a created for our Four Horsemen Old School Magic Play Group a special series of custom proxy cards of the most infamous and recognizable characters from the Arabian Nights Magic Expansion set, including: Erhnam Djinn, Kird Ape, Abu Jafar, Stone Throwing Devils, and of course, Guardian Beast
INSIGHT INTO THE CREATIVE PRODUCTION PROCESS
A few of our backers have expressed interest in learning more about the production process behind this kickstarter and the playmats we have produced for our backers. Here we would like to showcase some of the aspects of the process behind this newly created artwork and how we have transformed this into the play mats for this Kickstarter.
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THE FOUR HORSEMEN PLAY MATS PRODUCTS
This Kickstarter is based on new, custom artwork hand-painted by the famous artists, Ken Meyer, Jr. (http://www.kenmeyerjr.com/) that has never been available previously. The playmat products produced for this Kickstarter were created from this original new artwork created by Ken and were produced between July and August of 2022.
This newly-created artwork is being utilized for this Kickstarter to create the products featured in the Kickstarter and provided to the backers.
THE INSPIRATION
The inspiration for the artwork came from the the historical context surrounding the famous Magic Arabian Nights characters, and the character of the Guardian Beast in particular.
"I always thought the Beast was the guardian of the power jewelry, moxen, and the Black Lotus, and the bones laying on the ground around the Guardian Best were those of whoever had tried to get them." - Ken Meyer, Jr.
The Foundational New Custom Artwork Process by Ken Meyer, Jr.
The process for the artwork that would eventually become the foundation of the play mats produced in this Kickstarter started with a sketch. The draft sketch was done in early July 2022.
Early Conceptual Sketch of the Ken Meyer Jr Guardian Beast Purple Moonlight Magic Playmats Concept Artwork - July 2022
Ken Meyer, Jr. Initial Watercolor Painting Progress over the Pencil Foundation Ken Meyer, Jr. Initial Watercolor Painting Progress over Pencil Foundation - July 2022
Ken Meyer, Jr. Watercolor Painting Progress over the Pencil Foundation Ken Meyer, Jr. Initial Watercolor Painting Progress over Pencil Foundation - July 2022
Once the watercolor painting was completed by Ken, he produced a certificate of authenticity and the new custom original artwork and certificate were sent in late July 2022 to the Four Horsemen Founder, Chadster, granting the following:
"Certificate of Authenticity for Commissioned Artwork by Ken Meyer, Jr., 2022 Watercolor on Paper "Guardian Beast Purple Moonlight Protecting the Power Jewelry Arabian Nights Cast.
The Originating artist, Ken Meyer, Jr., hereby grants fully exclusive rights to "Chadster" to control the use and distribution of this copyrighted work, referred to here as "the work", the full copy rights to which are owned solely by "Chadster" as of the purchase of this artwork in July of 2022 sold by Ken Meyer, Jr.
These fully exclusive rights granted include, but are not limited to: the exclusive power to reproduce and make copies of the work, create derivative works based on the work (i.e., to alter, remix, or build upon the work), distribute copies of the work to the public in various physical and digital online forms, publicly display the work, and provide a performance with the work."
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FOUR HORSEMEN PLAYMATS PRODUCTION PROCESS
From here, Ken Meyer, Jr. digitally scanned and enhanced the watercolor image and customized this digitally to fit into the standard sized playmat. This altered the original watercolor artwork, dimensions and key character placements so that they would strategically and aesthetically fit into the proper playmat dimensions.
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Once this digital image was produced, Ken then contacted the best playmat company in the world who has the highest quality production and a long-standing relationship with Ken and ordered 100 copies of this playmat to be produced. Ken received the play mats, signed and numbered them and then they were shipped to the Kickstarter and Four Horsemen founder, Chadster.
From here, the play mats will be prepared for shipping in cardboard tube mailers.
We hope each of our Kickstarter backers appreciate this exclusive and insightful "behind the scenes" look at the creative inspiration and process behind the play mats for this Kickstarter.
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We want to sincerely thank the beloved artist, Ken Meyer, Jr. for his amazing talent, artwork, for what he means to all of us in the Magic community, and for his collaboration on this Kickstarter project.
Ken Meyer, Jr. Watercolor New Custom Artwork for the Guardian Beast Purple Moonlight Magic Playmats - July 2022
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For anyone who may be unfamiliar with Kickstarter Rules, please read the rules site carefully at https://www.kickstarter.com/rules. Kickstarter Projects are not allowed to fundraise for charity. While nonprofits are welcome to launch projects on Kickstarter, projects can't promise to raise funds to donate to a charity or a cause. Funds raised on Kickstarter must go towards facilitating the project outlined by the creator on the project page. These are the rules established by Kickstarter. For details on how Four Horsemen funds from this Kickstarter will be utilized, please see the P.S. below.
By participating in the Four Horsemen Ken Meyer Jr. Guardian Beast Purple Moonlight commissioned artwork our Kickstarter Backers contributed to one of the newest, most unique, dynamic and fun Old School Magic Formats ever created. We thank our backers for bring a part of this community and invite everyone join in the fun today at our Four Horsemen Facebook Group as well.
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You can purchase all of the items highlighted here at The Four Horsemen Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheFourHorsemenMTG
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Cheers,
Chadster
Chief Horseman
Four Horsemen Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fourhorsemenmtg
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Four Horsemen Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/fourhorsemenmtg
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Four Horsemen Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheFourHorsemenMTG
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Join The Four Horsemen Discord Server here! https://discord.gg/jQtpcWVT23
Four Horsemen YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@4HMOSMTG
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Four Horsemen Instagram: https://instagram.com/fourhorsemenmtg @fourhorsemenmtg
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P.S.
In addition to funding the production of the playmats, prints, proxies and related items in this Kickstarter, if there are any potential profits that result from this Kickstarter beyond the productions costs, the proceeds will be utilized to support the costs of the following:
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All Four Horsemen operations expenses
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All Production of four Horsemen products, memorabilia, playmats, art prints, tokens proxies, tournament prizes, group membership prizes, etc.
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All Patronage of Magic the Gathering Artists and artwork and all rights copyrights, reproduction rights, and intellectual property rights to all said items purchased or funded by the Four Horsemen, which are legally required in order to reproduce said artworks as reproductions, promotional items prizes, playmats, prints, etc.
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Support all costs of domain name registration, web hosting, and support, and other related Four Horsemen online, web, internet e-commerce and business operations cost
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Support the costs of any in-person events and in-person tournaments which may be hosted
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Pay the costs of accounting, related corporate operations expenses, and any required filing of required taxes or tax forms. Support the costs of filing all forms, paperwork and required legal fees for the legal paperwork and related corporate forms
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Support the costs of copyright, intellectual proprietary rights, trademarks and related branding and marking and advertising for the Four Horsemen