ACTIVE playing cards

[Fud]

Hi Guys,

While I wait for the Prism cards prototype to arrive (which will launch shortly after), I have started work on my next idea. These are 'ACTIVE' playing cards; my first transformation deck. I have a plan for 90% of the faces, including courts, but would like some comments before I go ahead with creating them all.

The card back design concept is done, I am just fiddling around with making it look good. Ideally I am wanting the colour scheme of the deck to be black and white, with splashes of red (and 1 or 2 multicolours).

Please have a look and let me know if this has potential (I'm not a great fan of the Ace of Diamonds - I have to rework the balance of the image)

Thanks,
Fud.

[Don Boyer]

Hi Guys,

While I wait for the Prism cards prototype to arrive (which will launch shortly after), I have started work on my next idea. These are 'ACTIVE' playing cards; my first transformation deck. I have a plan for 90% of the faces, including courts, but would like some comments before I go ahead with creating them all.

The card back design concept is done, I am just fiddling around with making it look good. Ideally I am wanting the colour scheme of the deck to be black and white, with splashes of red (and 1 or 2 multicolours).

Please have a look and let me know if this has potential (I'm not a great fan of the Ace of Diamonds - I have to rework the balance of the image)

Thanks,
Fud.

First, a small technical point.  Based on the designs you've presented so far, your design is a semi-transformation deck, as opposed to a transformation deck.  The difference is that for a semi-transformation deck, some alterations are performed to the pips - shape, location, size, etc. - from what would be the standard, while a transformation deck makes no such modifications.  In simple terms, one could buy a standard pack of cards and add his or her own art directly to the cards AROUND the pips (not on them, because that would be altering them) to make a transformation deck, but a semi-transformation deck would require starting from a blank slate or drawing on the pips to alter them.

It's hard to say based on three cards how good the concept is.  It looks more like your theme is stick-figure men - a theme that USPC did once before on the Bicycle Stick Man deck, which was supposed to be first of a series but no second deck was ever made.

We've already seen monochrome and duochrome designs done as semi-transformation decks - Emmanuel Jose practically has the market cornered!  Why not make full-color transformation designs for all the cards?

[Fud]

Thanks for the comments Don. I know Emmanuel does excellent decks in this same style, and they are so iconic that a similar project would have to be different enough to stand beside his brilliant artworks. You are right in that I am going for a stick men theme, but it is much different to the previous Bicycle stick men deck.

In regard to a full colour transformation; I was trying to stick to a simpler design, but I understand that if I do go with the limited colour selection it will be competing with Emmanuel who is already quite established. I've attached a few more pictures - have a look and if you still think it is worth rethinking the concept, I'll have a go at reworking them. Your advice is always pretty spot on.

[Don Boyer]

Thanks for the comments Don. I know Emmanuel does excellent decks in this same style, and they are so iconic that a similar project would have to be different enough to stand beside his brilliant artworks. You are right in that I am going for a stick men theme, but it is much different to the previous Bicycle stick men deck.

In regard to a full colour transformation; I was trying to stick to a simpler design, but I understand that if I do go with the limited colour selection it will be competing with Emmanuel who is already quite established. I've attached a few more pictures - have a look and if you still think it is worth rethinking the concept, I'll have a go at reworking them. Your advice is always pretty spot on.

At least the concept so far looks fun and playful.  That will help - novelty factor will bring in interest from a more general, non-collector audience, which no good deck can succeed without.

[Fud]

I've changed up the colour palate to be more colourful and interesting; mainly red and blue with black pips and characters. I'm undecided on the border though - what do you think?

[Don Boyer]

I've changed up the colour palate to be more colourful and interesting; mainly red and blue with black pips and characters. I'm undecided on the border though - what do you think?

BAD.  You never want the faces of a single deck printed into the bleed in different colors for each suit or suit color at the die line.  Those colors will show at the edge of the deck when it's in a stack, allowing people to identify individual cards in the stack by color.

[Fud]

Definitely removed the color - that was a bad move.

I'm working away at the faces now, but have a first draft of the card back to show you. It is a pipmen take on the classic Bicycle rider card back, with a few twists. Let me know what you think

I have realised that there are some areas that are a bit more fuzzy than others which I have to fix up, and one side looks a bit unbalanced. I think I'll also switch out the lady with the umbrella for something that is less intrusive on the design elements. But overall, I think it's not bad.

[Don Boyer]

Definitely removed the color - that was a bad move.

I'm working away at the faces now, but have a first draft of the card back to show you. It is a pipmen take on the classic Bicycle rider card back, with a few twists. Let me know what you think

I have realised that there are some areas that are a bit more fuzzy than others which I have to fix up, and one side looks a bit unbalanced. I think I'll also switch out the lady with the umbrella for something that is less intrusive on the design elements. But overall, I think it's not bad.

Why not work on something more original, instead of basing your deck on the old Rider Back?  So many people have done that, mimicked or altered the Rider, that it gets a little boring to see.

[Fud]

Life is too short for boring playing cards...

[BlueToy]

First off: wow! Pretty nice, playful concepts. I think this has the potential to be  really good deck!

My gripes are with consistency. If you will use multiple colors in the faces, make sure you use them on all cards. The same with gradients. Personally, I like the charming simplicity in your 3 of Diamonds and 2 of Hearts. I think this deck will work better with a red and black only color scheme - solid colors, no gradients. The scheme can work on all the cards you've done so far, for example, make the flames on the clubs a solid red. Also, remove the little black wave on the ace of diamonds, it can be misconstrued as part of the black oitline of the diamond - plus, the red wave works just as well without the black wave outline. Regarding the painting man cards (the ace of spades you presented earlier plus this new one), I think the base color should be red, with the man painting black paint over it - to indicate that he's recoloring it to the suit's natural color.

The blavk and white backs are really charming! Have you considered doing tarot designs? Your figures in this card back design have the potential to be applied to a tarot deck project. PM me if you need help on that one.

Overall: good job! Nice concepts, charming style. Just needs some reworking. Good luck!

[BlueToy]

Also, make the top heart in the 2 of Hearts upside-down.

An idea for your ace of diamonds (if you still want to change it): just add a faucet to it, with a couple of red drops dripping off. Maybe add a stick man with a glass, catching the drops.

-Ly

[variantventures]

I am not a fan of transformation decks but I really like these cards with the white background.  For the card back I suggest something recursive/fractal using the active figures as the component pieces.

[Collector]

Please, go on, but with white background.

[ecNate]

Please, go on, but with white background.

Per prior update that will be the plan, nobody took to the colors well, especially as gradients. 

Definitely removed the color - that was a bad move.

This is one of the most anticipated decks for me, hopefully we will get a date for the KS launch soon! Be sure to plan in uncuts for this one too!!!

[Fud]

Hi Guys,

I'm sorry for stringing you out if you are so keen! This is my first (semi) transformational deck, and I want to get it right! Some of the cards are just downright bad at the moment, I'm trying to redo them.

I'm also juggling the Prism deck which is doing quite well on Kickstarter. It doesn't look like we will unlock the 'Day' deck, but I want to launch that as a separate campaign in a similar style with a 'Dusk' deck as well to complete the trilogy. As I'm a serial campaign novice, should I plan to launch the Day/Dusk campaign very soon after the Night one has finished?

As thanks for your input, I'll share another few images. I should preface them by saying; in transformational decks, the courts can be so boring! How do you do a mirrored image while staying in step with the theme of the deck? I think I have found a way So, as I can only post 5 pictures at a time, the cards I have for you today are: the new Ace of spades (and front of box design), The King of Spades, The Jack of Clubs (needs more detail), the Queen of hearts and the 3 of clubs. Just ignore the corner indices, I am focusing on getting the first draft of the faces done so I can tweak them for a final draft.

They are first drafts, so comments are welcome Again, sorry for the long silence, but I'm working out where to put my time, and I'm not sure if chaining campaigns is better than pushing for a new deck.

[Don Boyer]

As you're new at it, it's best to completely fulfill your first project before moving on to your second.  It gives you a track record people can look to with confidence.

[ecNate]

As you're new at it, it's best to completely fulfill your first project before moving on to your second.  It gives you a track record people can look to with confidence.

I hate this suggestion because it means I have to wait longer for this deck, but he's totally right.  Some like myself will gamble on a new designer and even a new designer with multiple projects open, but most won't and given I will want an uncut of this I would be more hesitant here.  Definitely wait for the other one to ship, then you could launch this one (possibly also day one quickly after or right after this ships).

It looks like the courts are revealing what's inside of them, their inner demons, their secret workings, but a secret.  It's a compelling story and interesting.  However, the QoD is confusing because it just shows them in their undergarments and no real secret, plus the orientation is all off on the other side and doesn't seem like it's showing "their other face/side".  Make the layout of the QoD similar to the others and have both sides tell a story, I would even have the Queen solo instead of with a partner since that doesn't add much here and breaks a bit too far from tradition without reason.

[Don Boyer]

As you're new at it, it's best to completely fulfill your first project before moving on to your second.  It gives you a track record people can look to with confidence.

I hate this suggestion because it means I have to wait longer for this deck, but he's totally right.  Some like myself will gamble on a new designer and even a new designer with multiple projects open, but most won't and given I will want an uncut of this I would be more hesitant here.  Definitely wait for the other one to ship, then you could launch this one (possibly also day one quickly after or right after this ships).

It looks like the courts are revealing what's inside of them, their inner demons, their secret workings, but a secret.  It's a compelling story and interesting.  However, the QoD is confusing because it just shows them in their undergarments and no real secret, plus the orientation is all off on the other side and doesn't seem like it's showing "their other face/side".  Make the layout of the QoD similar to the others and have both sides tell a story, I would even have the Queen solo instead of with a partner since that doesn't add much here and breaks a bit too far from tradition without reason.

Since when do you wear a tuxedo under your clothes?  Those aren't undergarments!

You might be misinterpreting that one.  Faced one way, they're dancing standing up, faced the other way, he takes her for a "dip."

Consider using more colors.  A LOT of people will say that you're copying the cut-paper style of Emmanuel Jose.  Additional colors will make your project more distinct, like an evolution to the next step.

[Fud]

Thanks for the advice about production. I understand what you are saying.

Based on the information provided by LPCC, I am expecting to have the printing completed early-mid November.

I have 2 more projects which I want to do; the prism Day / Dusk one, and the Pipmen one. I am also going away on holiday at the end of November for 6 weeks or so, so wouldn’t be able to start a campaign until mid-Jan. If I wait until the Prism: night cards have been shipped, that means that it will be 6 months from now until the next campaign can begin. And even then I’m not sure if it would be better to run out Pipmen before completing the Prism set.

Alternatively, I could wait until the digital proofs are processed (early September), and launch a new campaign then. That would mean that I could see the whole campaign and survey process through and approve digital proofs before taking a break (while the physical proofs take 1 month to create), before finalising the production in January. There would be an extra 2-3 weeks in that production time between the production of the physical proofs and the acceptance of them, but at least it’s not 3 more months.

Does that second option sound like a reasonable idea? I don’t want to leave too long a gap between projects, especially now that Pipmen is almost finished.



With regards to the artwork, I know the style is similar to Emmanual's, though that is truly just because I think this works best as black figures. It was a completely unintentional style similarity (though I do like his designs), and I see that people would think that I'm copying it, even though it's completely independent :S I'll see what I can do.

[Don Boyer]

Thanks for the advice about production. I understand what you are saying.

Based on the information provided by LPCC, I am expecting to have the printing completed early-mid November.

I have 2 more projects which I want to do; the prism Day / Dusk one, and the Pipmen one. I am also going away on holiday at the end of November for 6 weeks or so, so wouldn’t be able to start a campaign until mid-Jan. If I wait until the Prism: night cards have been shipped, that means that it will be 6 months from now until the next campaign can begin. And even then I’m not sure if it would be better to run out Pipmen before completing the Prism set.

Alternatively, I could wait until the digital proofs are processed (early September), and launch a new campaign then. That would mean that I could see the whole campaign and survey process through and approve digital proofs before taking a break (while the physical proofs take 1 month to create), before finalising the production in January. There would be an extra 2-3 weeks in that production time between the production of the physical proofs and the acceptance of them, but at least it’s not 3 more months.

Does that second option sound like a reasonable idea? I don’t want to leave too long a gap between projects, especially now that Pipmen is almost finished.



With regards to the artwork, I know the style is similar to Emmanual's, though that is truly just because I think this works best as black figures. It was a completely unintentional style similarity (though I do like his designs), and I see that people would think that I'm copying it, even though it's completely independent :S I'll see what I can do.

Complete the first project.  Have the groundwork done for project two while working on project one, but don't launch until the last deck is shipped.  ESPECIALLY if you're taking a big vacation - damn, who get six weeks off these days?  Also, unless you happen to be headed to the Marianas Trench or some similarly isolated, desolated locale, you should have access to the Internet and I presume you have a powerful-enough notebook computer that you can use to work on the preliminaries for the second project.

In fact, I wouldn't launch until January.  A year-end holiday project is only good if you're delivering in time for the holidays, and nobody's in a mood to buy much of anything when the credit card bills come around in early January.  Early February, the wallets start to crack open for Valentine's Day gifts - but in Asian countries, many girls and guys celebrate "White Day" exactly a month later on March 14 - it's the "Sadie Hawkins" version of Valentine's Day, where women taken out the men and buy them gifts.  If you can complete the project and deliver in time for White Day, perhaps even promote it as a great White Day gift, it might help a little with your sales.  January launch, end-of-January close (bills are paid by then), a month-and-a-half to deliver.  Yeah, it's possible.

[Fud]

Hey guys; it's been a while since I have updated these and I have got quite a few more designs done. I am not planning on launching until late January 2016, but thought that I'll give you some more to look at for comment. It is better to change things now before they go off for printing So, I present you with the 3's!

[Fess]

This is fun, I really like this. I think you have a hit on your hands. I'm so glad you choose to go with white stock instead of the colored backgrounds haha.

[Cardfool]

I really like this deck and I can't wait for it's release!   Hope it is soon!

[Fud]

Hi Guys,

I would like some help with the card back for this deck. I have flip flopped around going from one idea to the other but have now settled on a concept. I would also like to add some colour to it and have mocked up a few rough patterns; which do you think looks best? (One of the diagonals is a bit messy I know; I'll neaten it up in the final version)

[Fess]

The single color back is by far the best. It's the easiest on the human eye and that's a very big deal especially when you're dealing with distinctive forms like this. The multiple color backs aren't as comfortable to look at as the single color back. The very basic patterns of straight lines either up or down are more comfortable than the other two though.

Interesting card back. It's definitely fun.