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Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)

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Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« on: June 14, 2013, 02:22:22 AM »
 

Rob Wright

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http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dernjg/seelie-playing-cards-with-a-touch-of-fairy-magic

A fairy-inspired deck of playing cards featuring the four Great Houses of the Seelie Court.
Project by Darren J. Gendron
6th project, 2nd playing card
$5000 Goal w/$15,000 stretch goal for USPCC printing
Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.

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Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2013, 05:48:36 AM »
 

Bill Collins

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I like this type of art, but I kind of think it's missing something.
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Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2013, 09:47:17 AM »
 

Alex Willis

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i like the art but they are never going to make it for $5,000.  It's one thing to set your sights low and hope to make enough to fund the deck, but as mentioned so many times - in the end it'll cost you $10K - $12K to produce and ship.  What happens if they reach $5,001?  (Granted Posthumo made $39K, but this is a different audience)

10% to Amazon & KS = $500
10% taxes in general = $500
5% no pays = $250
10% shipping = $500 (assuming the quanity of decks equals the goal level)

Money left over to produce the deck:  $3,250

I love the art but I agree, there is something just not right about the design.  Someone put their finger on it and tell me.  Regardless, I'm pledging on the deck, my 5 daughters love faries!  (My son tolerates them as he does with all things related to having 5 sisters)
« Last Edit: June 14, 2013, 09:52:30 AM by ManMadeGames »
Alex Willis
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Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2013, 01:12:37 PM »
 

MrMollusk

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Ladies and gentlemen!

We have found it! The absolutely most gimmicky reward for a playing card project!



A FREAKIN POKER TABLE





Oh yeah, the actual deck.
I was never a big fan of this art style or the whole fairy theme. But even if this was right up my ally, I'd still be peeved. The art style for the human clashes with the full-blown fairies, almost as if they were designed for different decks, and just happened to be smashed together in this one. Plus, the name is cut off on the box. If it were printed, half of the "l" would be on the box's top. (EDIT: Just realized I'm blind and can't see lines properly) The box art really does look like they drew a picture and just laid a box template over it.
« Last Edit: June 14, 2013, 01:21:37 PM by MrMollusk »
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
 

Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2013, 01:17:43 PM »
 

Alex Willis

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Ladies and gentlemen!

We have found it! The absolutely most gimmicky reward for a playing card project!


A FREAKIN POKER TABLE

Man I wish it were a craps table, i don't play poker (at least no one will play against me). :t11:
« Last Edit: June 14, 2013, 01:18:06 PM by ManMadeGames »
Alex Willis
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Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2013, 01:29:00 PM »
 

Soliloquy

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Don't get me wrong, many aspects of this deck are beautiful taken by themselves.  I think the problem is that nine different artists (!) does not make for a cohesive style.  There's just something off about it.

Now if Brian Froud were to do a fairy deck on KS...
 

Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2013, 01:41:02 PM »
 

RandyButterfield

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Ladies and gentlemen!

We have found it! The absolutely most gimmicky reward for a playing card project!



A FREAKIN POKER TABLE

Hah! I have that exact same Poker Table, minus the Seelie top of course. Mine is with a standard Green Felt playing surface. It's actually a great table.

I'm not a fan of the cards though. For the Tuck Box flat, I think if they created a white mask to hide everything past 1/8" from the Dieline and change the Dieline color to a white or yellow it would help their project a lot more. Right now the Dieline gets lost. That, plus adding in the huge bleed elements it's tough to focus on where the separate panels are.

thanks, Randy

 

Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #7 on: June 14, 2013, 01:53:33 PM »
 

Rob Wright

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i like the art but they are never going to make it for $5,000.  It's one thing to set your sights low and hope to make enough to fund the deck, but as mentioned so many times - in the end it'll cost you $10K - $12K to produce and ship.  What happens if they reach $5,001?  (Granted Posthumo made $39K, but this is a different audience)

10% to Amazon & KS = $500
10% taxes in general = $500
5% no pays = $250
10% shipping = $500 (assuming the quanity of decks equals the goal level)

Money left over to produce the deck:  $3,250

I love the art but I agree, there is something just not right about the design.  Someone put their finger on it and tell me.  Regardless, I'm pledging on the deck, my 5 daughters love faries!  (My son tolerates them as he does with all things related to having 5 sisters)

Under the risk and challenges notes it says
 "Second, there’s the minimum funding. We want to work with the USPC to print this on Bicycle-grade paper, but will need to raise at least $15,000 for that upgrade."

The problem I see, is they have USPCC on the tuck that is pictured. That could come back to bite them if the don't hit the 15k
Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.

 Steven Wright
http://neverforgotten.storenvy.com
Facebook- Never Forgotten Project

My Playing Card DB
 

Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #8 on: June 14, 2013, 02:36:46 PM »
 

Bill Collins

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i like the art but they are never going to make it for $5,000.  It's one thing to set your sights low and hope to make enough to fund the deck, but as mentioned so many times - in the end it'll cost you $10K - $12K to produce and ship.  What happens if they reach $5,001?  (Granted Posthumo made $39K, but this is a different audience)

10% to Amazon & KS = $500
10% taxes in general = $500
5% no pays = $250
10% shipping = $500 (assuming the quanity of decks equals the goal level)

Money left over to produce the deck:  $3,250

I love the art but I agree, there is something just not right about the design.  Someone put their finger on it and tell me.  Regardless, I'm pledging on the deck, my 5 daughters love faries!  (My son tolerates them as he does with all things related to having 5 sisters)

Under the risk and challenges notes it says
 "Second, there’s the minimum funding. We want to work with the USPC to print this on Bicycle-grade paper, but will need to raise at least $15,000 for that upgrade."

The problem I see, is they have USPCC on the tuck that is pictured. That could come back to bite them if the don't hit the 15k

Might just be I missed it, but if they don't hit $15,000 who are they going to have print it?
Cordialement : The Other Look
 

Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #9 on: June 15, 2013, 08:19:19 AM »
 

Collector

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IMHO:

- The general idea is nice. But there are too many different artists with different skills for one deck having unified theme. It’s better to decrease artists involved or to ensure the same quality of art. I think all those artists are talented by from my subjective point of view with different degree of perfection. To be honest I’d like to see one deck or even two different decks designed by Sarah Ellerton and Obsidian Abnormal.

- I am ok with the tuck case. Yes they put the picture on it and it’s cool. I’ve been waiting for this approach for a long time. The Name of the Wind will be the first USPCC deck with this approach (and $500.000 in the pocket of its creators  :P). Of course it’s very unusual for admirers of classic USPCC tuck cases. But it doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s more interesting actually.

- Backs are a little bit boring especially for such theme. I think the stone can have more engraving (additional small elements).

- Court cards are not ok even for The House of Leaf and The House of Fauna. Too many empty white space. If you want only main figures to be on court cards – remove those black frames and do not underline that white emptiness. If you want those black frames – give court cards some background. So many interesting backgrounds can be done for this theme. If you are afraid that cards will be overladen with details – use B&W backgrounds. By the way I think that even with backgrounds these cards will be better without black frames.



Not bad early bird prices (for USPCC deck) even for international customers these difficult days!

Good luck.

p.s. To post or not to post  :-\


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"Life consists not in holding good cards, but in collecting beautiful ones" ~ PlayingCardCollector.net
 

Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #10 on: June 15, 2013, 11:58:57 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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i like the art but they are never going to make it for $5,000.  It's one thing to set your sights low and hope to make enough to fund the deck, but as mentioned so many times - in the end it'll cost you $10K - $12K to produce and ship.  What happens if they reach $5,001?  (Granted Posthumo made $39K, but this is a different audience)

10% to Amazon & KS = $500
10% taxes in general = $500
5% no pays = $250
10% shipping = $500 (assuming the quanity of decks equals the goal level)

Money left over to produce the deck:  $3,250

I love the art but I agree, there is something just not right about the design.  Someone put their finger on it and tell me.  Regardless, I'm pledging on the deck, my 5 daughters love faries!  (My son tolerates them as he does with all things related to having 5 sisters)

Consider two possibilities: 1) he's using some of the excess from Postumo to make this, or 2) he's just using a really inexpensive printer - believe it or not, they're out there.

Gendron did exactly the same thing with the Postumo deck - it had a $1,000 goal, a pittance.  If this is about $9 average per deck, he needs to sell 556 decks to meet the goal (again, assuming he offered nothing but decks).  At USPC prices for a project in the 2,500-5,000 deck range, an on-the-high-side estimate would be a little over $2,000 to make all those decks.  There are a number of printers overseas, largely in places like China and Taiwan, that can make a deck for a lower per-deck price and are willing to take on smaller print runs.  Some printers I know of would cost LESS THAN HALF of what USPC charges while still delivering a good-quality product, minus the fancy name branding, shipped right to the major port of your choice.

So given all of this, he has a comfort range within which he can work if he doesn't make it to USPC funding.

Ladies and gentlemen!

We have found it! The absolutely most gimmicky reward for a playing card project!


A FREAKIN POKER TABLE

Man I wish it were a craps table, i don't play poker (at least no one will play against me). :t11:

Actually, gang, wouldn't the most gimmicky be their $10,000 goal - everything but the kitchen sink AND a trip minus airfare to New Orleans to hang out with the artists?

Despite the fact that practically no one will be interested and have the cash to pick up one of those rewards, it's good to have pie-in-the-sky stuff like that.  Think of it like this: if you want the moon, the sun and the stars and you only ask for the moon and the sun, you're very unlikely to get everything you want.  Once in a blue moon you WILL find a backer for a project who wants in on that level and is willing to pay for it - but if you don't make the offer, you'll never find that backer, at least not at the level at which you could get him or her to commit.

Don't get me wrong, many aspects of this deck are beautiful taken by themselves.  I think the problem is that nine different artists (!) does not make for a cohesive style.  There's just something off about it.

Now if Brian Froud were to do a fairy deck on KS...

I agree that there's a lack of a cohesive style in the art and it's a little jarring.  If you can't get one artist doing all the work, at least get all the artists in agreement as to just what a fairy looks like.  With the "clan" structure, you could even get some agreement in terms of what a particular fairy clan looks like, much like how different tribes of elves, orcs, dwarves, etc. from something like Dungeons and Dragons have cultural and at times physical differences in appearance.

Randy, I agree about the dieline on the tuck box.  If one wants to show off the box art, then show it without the die at all, then show it as it will appear after running through the press but before being assembled.

Collector, I'm in agreement in that the frames on the courts aren't needed and take away from this design rather than contribute to it.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2013, 12:07:33 AM by Don Boyer »
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Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #11 on: June 17, 2013, 08:09:01 AM »
 

Alex Willis

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USPC as a goal.

I may try doing the same thing on my next deck.  It's what i tried on my first with no success.  I would definitely like the option to not have to use USPC.  The people who pledged and received my first deck loved the cards and were impressed by the manufacturer (not USPC).  The nicest things about them were that  they shipped quick, their production time was short, I didn't have a minimum order ... but, they were not cheaper per deck!  Had I purchased 2,500 units from they they still would have been about $1 more per deck.

Alex Willis
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Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #12 on: June 17, 2013, 05:05:38 PM »
 

Don Boyer

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USPC as a goal.

I may try doing the same thing on my next deck.  It's what i tried on my first with no success.  I would definitely like the option to not have to use USPC.  The people who pledged and received my first deck loved the cards and were impressed by the manufacturer (not USPC).  The nicest things about them were that  they shipped quick, their production time was short, I didn't have a minimum order ... but, they were not cheaper per deck!  Had I purchased 2,500 units from they they still would have been about $1 more per deck.

That's still pretty cheap - $1 more than USPC is $4-5 a deck, sold for an average of $9 per deck.
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Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #13 on: January 06, 2014, 08:11:17 PM »
 

vmagic

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They just posted an update making a bunch of excuses and offering 25% refunds which is bs and I doubt is even allowed by KS terms!
 

Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #14 on: January 06, 2014, 08:38:09 PM »
 

Lukeout

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They just posted an update making a bunch of excuses and offering 25% refunds which is bs and I doubt is even allowed by KS terms!

So the "backer only" update is "We are not shipping, how about we refund 25%"? - If that's true, then Wow... I mean Wow. That's crazy-bad. At $7,300 raised, I have it that they should lose about $1800 assuming they don't pay for art up front. That's bad I guess, but it's not terrible considering they should have tons of decks to sell afterwards. It's not like Faery stuff doesn't sell (even if it's not Froud or Jasmine Beckett-Grifith). Hell, even if they just remaindered all the rest of the decks to 3 or 4 on-line companies at print cost+shipping, they could have delivered. That's an epic fail.

Pre-KS times changed the way I think about these projects. I have no problem with setting a goal that doesn't break even upon delivery as long as I have confidence that I can move product afterwards. Before KS, I would take ALL the risk and print before getting any orders at all! I guess I've been lucky to have the cash-flow to make that work in the past or been able to raise the money, but it seems like this is just lazy. I have to think a few on-line shops would happily buy a few hundred of these decks for $2.50 a piece - if they sell 1000 that way, they are in the money (depending on art) and would have built up KS credibility.
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Re: Seelie: Playing Cards with a Touch of Fairy Magic (KS)
« Reply #15 on: January 06, 2014, 09:14:38 PM »
 

vmagic

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He intends to fulfill everything but I've lost confidence especially since he claims a $50,000 hole in his budget.