Greg Hildebrandt has died. He was an influential artist who worked on Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Magic: The Gathering.

Greg Hildebrandt, his twin Tim Hildebrandt were known as "the Brothers Hildebrandt", legends in the world of fantasy and sci-fi art. Their work on the 1976 J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar was at the time, the best-selling calendar released. The warm light of the artists' vision of Middle-earth has accompanied many Tolkien books and calendars since. This vision influenced artists and the depiction of hobbits with extra-large shoes, something not mentioned in the book, became the standard even in Peter Jackson movies decades later.

The Brothers Hildebrandt, who were hired at the last moment to replace an unsatisfactory pre-release poster of the 1977 movie release, were chosen for their popularity in the calendar industry. The Brothers Hildebrandt were given only 36 hours to create a poster for Star Wars. They also had to use reference images without any stills of Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.

The Brothers Hildebrandt have illustrated over 100 Magic: The Gathering Cards, either together or individually, since 1999. Many of their Lord of the Rings illustrations from earlier were brought back in the Tales of Middle-earth collection. Greg Hildebrandt was responsible for Aether Vial and Tooth and Nail. He also contributed to Ravnica: Clue Edition in February this year.

Tim died in 2006 from complications related to diabetes, and Greg passed away on October 31, due to a side-effect of the heart medication he took. Jean, his wife, broke the news on Facebook, writing: "The light is out in my life." This afternoon at 12:36pm, the love of my heart, my bestie and soulmate died. Greg was 85. He was the most gentle man I've ever known. We worked together 45 years. We lived together for the first 33 years. We were blessed with a beautiful and happy life. Greg has been fighting to regain his breathing ability after a serious side-effect of a heart medicine for five months. He fought hard to win the battle, but he was too weak in the end. He died peacefully in my arms. He knew he would be safe, he would be loved, and he'll be missed. I can't imagine my life without his presence. He was my guy yesterday, today, and forever. "You are my heart, and it is broken!"