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I illustrated a deck of art cards. Theme: Elements title Line's Deck Of Elements

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Line

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Howdy all!

I'm Line, (see my intro post on the forum here: http://www.playingcardforum.com/index.php?topic=9712.0 )

I have illustrated a deck of art cards with the them of the elements, earth, wind, water and fire. I call my deck Line's Deck Of Elements.



 It's a very unique deck because every card is completely illustrated. i even drew the numbers and icons.The illustration style is in the realm of comic/cartoon art.  What also makes it very unique is that unlike most decks where only the Jacks, Queens and Kings have a illustrated face...



... I drew a face on every card rank from 2 through Ace. Also, Like a normal painted/face card that has 2 halves, I actually drew both halves from scratch on each face. The only time there's a duplicated half, is on the back, which I did just to help stop any chance of cheating but i realize now that I'm posting this note that DUH! if they're all the same back, how can people tell?! ( i may have to go back and edit it )

You can see all the art for all the cards i posted up on my facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/LineArtist/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10152974920851904

Anyhow, I am doing a kickstarter project to help get these cards printed and the kickstarter campaign ends this coming Saturday the 24th of September 2016. if you'd like to see the project, here's a link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/line/lines-deck-of-elements

Thanks for taking time out to read my post and check out my work. I hope you will like my work and hopefully you will become a backer to grab a deck for yourself and/or share my link with others.

Thanks so much,

-Line
My Kickstarter Campaign, Line's Deck Of Elements: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/line/lines-deck-of-elements
 

 

Don Boyer

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I have a few observations for you.  They're not positive, but they're not meant in a mean way - they're given objectively as someone who's seen a lot of decks and who does consulting work for deck designers.  It's nothing against you personally and they're given in the spirit that you should take them, learn from them and make something BETTER.

As a theme, elements have been done quite a bit - they're not always successful, either.  The theme tends to not be as appealing - there's no characters, no storyline, it's just the elements.  Visually, they're not as interesting as even some of the heavily-overused themes such as steampunk, zombies and Lovecraft Mythos.  You're trying to make up for that in the court cards, making the elements into characters after a fashion, but it feels a little forced and by sticking so closely to the narrow color palette for each element in your court cards, the end result is visually not as eye-catching as standard, multi-colored court cards.  They don't really stand out against your spot cards in any way that makes them appear special.

The diagonal line you're using to divide your cards seems like a primitive solution to the problem of making a two-way card face.  It stands out all the more because you're using it not just on the court cards, but on every card.  Why do this at all?  Either make a proper two-way design without a border line separating the halves/faces, or toss two-way out the window - lots of people make ONE-WAY faces these days as well, and they can be quite beautiful when done well.  You can especially do this with the spot cards (Ace through 10), make them one-way - in their present form, they all have twice the number of pips as normal, something that some people won't like.

The dealer button card seems a bit odd to include.  It's also unlikely to be in the final product, depending on whom you've chosen as your printer - the US Playing Card Company (USPC) uses a 56-card deck sheet, but these days they're more the exception than the rule; more card manufacturers are using a 54-card sheet and will charge you extra to have more than 54 cards in your deck.  That means your dealer button card either won't be printed or will come at the expense of one of your jokers.  It makes more sense anyway for a dealer button to be just that, a button: a largish, probably round, three-dimensional object that won't accidentally get confused for being one of the cards in the deck.

The art is a little cartoonish.  Some people find this appealing, some don't - test the waters first, find out if there's enough demand for art like that on your deck.  Regardless, I suggest you eliminate the cartoonish indices.  Indices are meant to be simple, clean and easily read with a high degree of uniformity from card to card.  Cartoon artwork doesn't fit the bill and reduces the functionality of the deck.

Your design uses a four-color pip design, sometimes referred to as a "no-revoke" deck because it makes it easier to avoid mistaken plays in games like bridge due to confusion over suit and color, confusing a red heart for a red diamond or a black spade for a black club, etc.  You should know that four-color decks are not as popular outside of bridge, and most bridge players don't use poker-sized decks for playing because of the number of cards they have to hold in their hands.  Many solitaire games actually become difficult to play using four-color decks because they were designed for two-color decks.  In general, straight-up four-color decks such as yours aren't as popular, at least not without some serious design tweaks.

Regarding the card back, the design suffers the same flaw as the faces in regard to having a large border dividing the two halves of the design.  Also, it's practically the kiss of death to place the deck's name so prominently on the back of the card.  Visually, it's as subtle as trying to drive a nail into a wall for hanging a picture by using a two-handed sledgehammer.  The imagery alone should be enough to let people know what deck this is, as well as the standard titling on the Ace of Spades and the tuck box.  Most decks I've seen - decks that aren't advertising a product or aren't licensed merchandise for a product of some kind - have no writing on the backs at all, and the few that do have it in a subtle manner and often in Latin, to make it seem more integrated with the design rather than standing out like a billboard.

Whew...that was a lot...

Now, consider this - not every word I just wrote is made of spun gold, nor was it transmitted to me from the heavens on high.  I'm human, as flawed as the rest, and can just as easily be wrong about the things I've stated and suggested.  You might strongly disagree with a lot of what I said - good.  If there are certain things about your design that you're resolute about, you should as the artist stick to your guns.  But hopefully, you're able to see that there is at least a grain of truth in most if not all of what I said, and if you disagree with some of it, that you at least have solid reasons for disagreeing other than the fact that you don't like my opinion.  I often tell designers that there are certain rules to design, and that yes, you can occasionally break a design rule - but you need to have a very good reason for doing so, not simply because you didn't know any better, or the end result won't be well received.  If you want to do something in a specific way, have a very good reason for it, especially if it's a way that flies in the face of convention.

Welcome to the world of playing card design and best of luck on your project.
Card Illusionist, NYC Area
Playing Card Design & Development Consultant
Deck Tailoring: Custom Alterations for Magicians and Card Mechanics
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Line

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Hiya Don!

Wow, thanks again for another amazing reply. I just realized you are admin here. You're awesome. I run 2 communities online as well and I really can appreciate that you are responding and welcoming as you are and filled with positivity and a wealth of info to boot!

As far as my cards go:

I started my card creating idea many years ago with many different styles. Some were amazing and took a lot of time, but I never settled and never completed anything. But the single art pieces still looked great even if they were one directional. But without a family or suit to connect with.

I decided to make this year be the year that I would finally make it happen. And this is it!

I agree, I was mighty stubborn in sticking to the color schemes I had chosen for each suit and it made quite a challenge to complete.

Agreed, some pieces feel forced, but still under great scrutiny by myself to try to be as creative as possible.

I decided that it made sense to do a 2-way card because after shuffling and laying the cards on the table, only half the people may see them correctly if only one way.

I am using the USPCC to print the cards and to avoid confusion, there will be a button illustration on the back and the front.

Same with the.illustrated cut card I am including.

The one thing you mentioned that I don't understand is, and probably with a lack in vocabulary.. what is an indices?

Thanks again for your awesome response. I have taken everything into consideration and if I am able to do a second deck, your info will help!

I apologize if my response is lacking, I'm typing via commute to work in NYC and am afraid I might lose info on post. Hopefully not.

Thanks again Don!

-Line

My Kickstarter Campaign, Line's Deck Of Elements: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/line/lines-deck-of-elements
 

 

NineLives

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Hi Line,

Congratulations on making this the year to make a deck from your art - that in itself is an achievement :)
I think this will appeal to fans of comic art (there's almost a traditional - pen & ink feel about your drawings, even though you are creating them digitally from scratch). As far the design goes, I do agree with Don's feedback, though it has to be said that your response is simply fabulous. Most design projects tend to develop in stages, and while critique can feel daunting, the fresh eyes of others often push us to raise the bar and climb higher :)

Best of luck with the campaign and I look forward to see you embarking on another deck soon.

*wave*
 

 

Line

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Hiya NineLives!

Thanks for your cool words :D

I have an idea for my next deck already. Just need to figure out how to make it all copacetic

Thanks again,
-Line
My Kickstarter Campaign, Line's Deck Of Elements: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/line/lines-deck-of-elements
 

 

Don Boyer

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I decided that it made sense to do a 2-way card because after shuffling and laying the cards on the table, only half the people may see them correctly if only one way.

Backs should definitely be two-way.  Faces, you have a little more freedom over.  Think of standard playing card face design.  The standard is "quasi-two-way" in that there are pips turned in both directions, which on some cards works out to be perfectly two-way, but not on other cards, where it's "mostly two-way" instead.  People have been using that design for hundreds of years with few enough complaints to make it a standard...

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I am using the USPCC to print the cards and to avoid confusion, there will be a button illustration on the back and the front.

Same with the.illustrated cut card I am including.

USPC does good work, to be sure, but they have a higher minimum than many printers - at least 2,500 decks, last time I looked.  (Though that does have a habit of changing, so don't take that as the Word from On High!)  At the very minimum, you'll pay a high per-deck cost for a short print run, no matter the printer, but USPC tends to be a little more costly than most.

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The one thing you mentioned that I don't understand is, and probably with a lack in vocabulary.. what is an indices?

"Indices" is the plural of "index," and the index is the little bit in the corner where you have a miniature suit symbol and a letter or number representing the card's value.  "Indexes" is considered an acceptable modern variant of the plural of "index," but being the older guy that I am, I use the older version I learned when I was younger, and that's "indices."

The index is meant to be quickly and clearly read and understood by the player, allowing for immediate identification of the card.  As such, the font and style used for the index should be more plain and simple if you're aiming for a highly functional deck design.  Some people go for florid or baroque index designs because that's what they want for their aesthetic - that's great if you're a collector of pretty things, not so great if you're trying to tell if you have a straight flush or ace-high garbage at the poker table!  Yours aren't in the extreme of that particular category, but they're different enough that you may want to consider standardizing them by using a typeface instead of a hand-drawn font.

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Thanks again for your awesome response. I have taken everything into consideration and if I am able to do a second deck, your info will help!

I apologize if my response is lacking, I'm typing via commute to work in NYC and am afraid I might lose info on post. Hopefully not.

Thanks again Don!

-Line

No sweat.  The important thing is that I made you think when you looked over what I wrote and formulated your responses.  That made you more carefully consider your design - whether it changes in any way or remains the same is your call, but the thought process itself is valuable.  You've already stated that the process has influenced your second, as-yet-incomplete design, so perhaps something good will come from it!  :))

Feel free to look me up - we're in the same metropolitan area, after all...
Card Illusionist, NYC Area
Playing Card Design & Development Consultant
Deck Tailoring: Custom Alterations for Magicians and Card Mechanics
Services for Hire - http://thedecktailor.com/
Pre-Made Decks for Sale - http://donboyermagic.com/