Do i just toss my deck to photoshop now?

[John B.]

so i showed you guys this before but i dont know if i just need to toss this to photoshop and start editing it there or what? I know the artist and i were working on what we wanted to do for the AoS and courts but she is currently busy with school till the summer and i wanted to do all that i can now.

[Derek]

There's many many ways to do it. You can start in photoshop and then use illustrator. I scanned in my artwork with my sister's high quality scanner and then edited it in photoshop.

[dmbaggs]

I would scan it and then play around with it on photoshop. That's what I do with a lot of my sketches that I'm going to turn in to art on my laptop. Just play around with different ideas you have and see what direction you like the most and go that way

[Kanped]

I would advise against lined paper next time, tough.  You'll probably have to sit and edit it out.  You also want a really, really clear contrast between your design and the background, so a scanner or failing that, a camera with a flash is probably a better way to go.

[Paul Carpenter]

If it was me, I would scan that, put it in Illustrator, trace your very clean and simple lines as Vector art, then put that into Photoshop for coloring/texturing/shadowing/pattern-ing/etc.

The design is nice but obviously needs lots of further enhancements to really pop.

[John B.]

ok well i hopefully can find someone with both those programs and then i will work on it. @knapped that was all she had to draw.

[Don Boyer]

ok well i hopefully can find someone with both those programs and then i will work on it. @knapped that was all she had to draw.

From classroom doodle to finished deck.  Interesting... 

[Kanped]

ok well i hopefully can find someone with both those programs and then i will work on it. @knapped that was all she had to draw.

As I've said before, it's very easy (and wrong) to get a torrent of these problems for free, so you certainly shouldn't do that.

[moonexe]

As I've said before, it's very easy (and wrong) to get a torrent of these problems for free, so you certainly shouldn't do that.

I have better than torrents, actually. A simple OS trick and every Adobe program ever made will run smoothly without ever asking for an online verification. That's bad, though.

[Don Boyer]

So aside from the sketch of a classically-modeled card back, what other ideas do you have for this deck?  Custom what, besides the back, jokers and AoS?  What theme were you considering?

[Robert Butler]

The design is celtic and reminds me of the white knuckle a bit but I like it.

[John B.]

the deck will be all about the elements, for the AoS im working on a way to put all the elements in, and each suit will be a different element.

[Don Boyer]

That's a great theme.  What were some of the concepts you have in mind?


One off the top of my head: make the red suits a "spring/flower" color and have them represent spring and summer, and do a "harvest/barren" color for the black suits, which could represent fall and winter.


I can picture the winter court cards in fur coats, the summer court cards in short sleeves and linen blazers...

[dmbaggs]

Are you doing a seasons deck like @Sabacc is eluding to? Or are you doing an elements like water, earth, wind, fire? I'm a little confused haha

I think that you could do an elements deck that would look awesome! It will take a lot of time and work but I think it could turn out amazing.

What are some of the ideas you have floating around right now?

[moonexe]

There is some decks that use four colors for the suits, like for example blue diamonds and green clubs. You could do something similar with colors representing the elements(I think the most common colors are blue for water, red for fire, yellow for earth and green for air, but you could easily play around with this to have possibly more attractive color.)
You could also keep a red/black outline on the pips to avoid separating the two traditional colors too much.
German decks use green spades/leaves and yellow diamonds/bells, too.

[Don Boyer]

There is some decks that use four colors for the suits, like for example blue diamonds and green clubs. You could do something similar with colors representing the elements(I think the most common colors are blue for water, red for fire, yellow for earth and green for air, but you could easily play around with this to have possibly more attractive color.)
You could also keep a red/black outline on the pips to avoid separating the two traditional colors too much.
German decks use green spades/leaves and yellow diamonds/bells, too.

I like red for fire, blue for water, but I'd like to see green for earth (like a verdant field).  What about gray for air, like a storm-laden cloud?  I can even envision a cloud in the shape of a club pip already...

And yes, the idea you had for outlines in the traditional red/black is AWESOME - I've tried playing soliatire with the Tattoo deck and it's a headache.  The Lo-Vision Bikes are easier, because they use the four-color and two-color scheme on each card.

My idea earlier for seasons thrown in does still work - it's the elements, but it's also their connection to the cycles of life and time.  But it's a little bit of a stretch and might make the design too busy.  Perhaps for card backs?

[John B.]

the pic i showed was the back and the deck is elements, earth wind water fire. each suit will get one, working on which each will have, the royal cards will be custom depending on the element, my current plan is earth will have vines, fire will have flames, water something that looks like a wirlpool or wave, and working on something that looks good right now in my head for wind.

[moonexe]

There is some decks that use four colors for the suits, like for example blue diamonds and green clubs. You could do something similar with colors representing the elements(I think the most common colors are blue for water, red for fire, yellow for earth and green for air, but you could easily play around with this to have possibly more attractive color.)
You could also keep a red/black outline on the pips to avoid separating the two traditional colors too much.
German decks use green spades/leaves and yellow diamonds/bells, too.

I like red for fire, blue for water, but I'd like to see green for earth (like a verdant field).  What about gray for air, like a storm-laden cloud?  I can even envision a cloud in the shape of a club pip already...

And yes, the idea you had for outlines in the traditional red/black is AWESOME - I've tried playing soliatire with the Tattoo deck and it's a headache.  The Lo-Vision Bikes are easier, because they use the four-color and two-color scheme on each card.

My idea earlier for seasons thrown in does still work - it's the elements, but it's also their connection to the cycles of life and time.  But it's a little bit of a stretch and might make the design too busy.  Perhaps for card backs?

I actually think green suits the air element pretty well, the color goes wodnerfully with the right illustration style. But that's my opinion.

As for the season, what I would see if he does decide to go that way would be pretty much this:
Fire - Summer(Temperature)
Wind - Fall(No need to explain)
Water - Winter(Ice and snow)
Earth - Spring(New vegetation, flowers starting to appear...)

[John B.]

so to let you all know im not doing seasons. also im thinking of a joker reveal one i was thinking of was a pool of water with the card rippeled in it. what do you guys think?

[Don Boyer]

so to let you all know im not doing seasons. also im thinking of a joker reveal one i was thinking of was a pool of water with the card rippeled in it. what do you guys think?

Sounds good.  Sounds original, in fact.  I like it.  The rippling effect might make the card a little more difficult to see, and you'd need a skilled graphic designer - but said skilled graphic designer could tweak the ripples to make the card visible, no problem.

[John B.]

sweet well i live next to a college and im sure someone there is good in graphic designs, my other idea was a tree and it carved in the trunk.

[Evan]

sweet well i live next to a college and im sure someone there is good in graphic designs, my other idea was a tree and it carved in the trunk.

Just try not to do anything similar to the Cardistree deck

[Don Boyer]

The reflecting pool idea is much cooler, and fits the theme.  You can add the other elements visually - braziers ablaze, open sky with clouds, earthen surroundings...

[John B.]

i will be probably be doing the water one if i can. it will just take some work.