Matt Cavotta
Encyclopedia
Matt Cavotta is an American artist
and writer. His artwork is currently focused on the fantasy genre, with notable contributions to popular games such as Magic: The Gathering
and Dungeons & Dragons
.
, Manual of the Planes
, and Deities and Demigods.
Matt is the second of three children born to his parents Mike ("Finn") and Maureen Cavotta, after his older brother Michael but before his younger sister Haley. Matt was raised in Moreland Hills, Ohio. He was educated at the Orange Schools in neighboring Pepper Pike, Ohio. He graduated from Orange High School
in 1989. In his late high school days Matt played in several rock bands, mostly within the hard-rock and heavy metal genre.
Matt is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design with a focus on painting and illustration.
After an early art career that included freelance illustration and successful projects in toy development, Matt gained notoriety for his Magic card illustrations. A lifelong hobby game player, he worked at Wizards of the Coast as Magic creative lead from 2004 to 2006.
Matt's wife Kylie is also an Orange High School graduate and now teaches English at Orange High School. They reside together with their two children in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and writer. His artwork is currently focused on the fantasy genre, with notable contributions to popular games such as Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
and Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
.
Career
He wrote a weekly column for MagicTheGathering.com called "Taste the Magic" from February 2005 to September 2007. The column focused on development of the world, art, characters, and other intellectual property for Magic, the first to do so comprehensively. He has also written and illustrated three unpublished children's books, and provided interior illustrations in Oriental AdventuresOriental Adventures
Oriental Adventures is the title shared by two hardback rulebooks published for different versions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
, Manual of the Planes
Manual of the Planes
The Manual of the Planes is a manual for the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. This text addresses the planar cosmology of the game universe....
, and Deities and Demigods.
Matt is the second of three children born to his parents Mike ("Finn") and Maureen Cavotta, after his older brother Michael but before his younger sister Haley. Matt was raised in Moreland Hills, Ohio. He was educated at the Orange Schools in neighboring Pepper Pike, Ohio. He graduated from Orange High School
Orange High School (Ohio)
Orange High School is a public high school located in Pepper Pike, Ohio, an eastern suburb in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan area and part of the Northeast Ohio region. Orange High School primarily serves the affluent communities that historically formed Orange Township, which are Hunting...
in 1989. In his late high school days Matt played in several rock bands, mostly within the hard-rock and heavy metal genre.
Matt is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design with a focus on painting and illustration.
After an early art career that included freelance illustration and successful projects in toy development, Matt gained notoriety for his Magic card illustrations. A lifelong hobby game player, he worked at Wizards of the Coast as Magic creative lead from 2004 to 2006.
Matt's wife Kylie is also an Orange High School graduate and now teaches English at Orange High School. They reside together with their two children in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.