Saw this come by Twitter today, and hadn't heard of them before. Anyone else?


http://www.onewidow.com/collections/decks


My conclusions: 1. wow expensive 2. possibly the most one-wayish cards I've seen 3. "stylish" but not really usable. Seems like they've been around for a little while though, as they have multiple decks available.


Maybe I should do a crazy design and sell it for $30.

With as many decks of cards as I've opened, I should know this, but never paid attention when opening up a deck.


With a fresh deck of cards, if you are looking "through" the front of the tuck case would you see the back of the cards, or the faces? I think it's back, but can't visualize it.


No reason...

Check this out! My wife just FOUND these cards in a cabinet. I didn't even know we had them! Look how well they fan! The paper exists, and they can be held in your hand. The box is white, and the cards have ink of them! And the back art! HOLY COW, it is so totally art on the back. Like, I am SO lucky I can barely stand it.


My rating, out of 5 lumps of poo is totally a 5!


 


But seriously, to make this topic worthwhile, what decks would you consider to be a "must have" for a decent collection? There are so many amazing decks, but if you had to pick a handful that any respectable collector would have on the shelf, what would they be?

Hi all,

If you haven't taken a moment to 'Like' Encarded on Facebook, now may be a good time to do so. When the page gets to 100 likes, I will pick one random Like-ee to get this:

A signed, 5”x7”, 1/1 edition of the Tendril back design, framed up and ready for display. The lucky winner of this piece will be the first person on Earth to have the design in their possession, months before the public will see this in detail. If you haven’t already, LIKE Encarded on Facebook and spread the word

The Tendril deck is coming along, a Kickstarter trailer video is in the works today, custom court is being drawn up, and the final features are being defined. Liking Encarded on Facebook is a painless way to keep track of the latest, and we'll have some more contests and giveaways soon.

Thanks all, it's cool to be part of such an awesome community.

Buy my program today! Only $39.95!


OK, just kidding. I've spent quite a few years doing a variety of things, and over that time I've determined that a good way to actually add a new skill to your repertoire is the following. Now, this works great for me and some folks I've trained, but maybe won't fit you as well. Still, it's worth a try.


Step 1:


This is, by far, the most important step and one that cannot be skipped. This is of core importance. It's a pretty simple one, however. Here it is: Think up a REAL project for yourself. Something you actually want or need. Don't follow tutorials. Don't just read a book. THINK of something (whether that's a drawing, a website, whatever) that you actually want to use in real life. This will give you the incentive to actually create something real, which is incredibly more valuable than running through someone else's material. Once you have this idea, then you can move on.


Step 2:


Work out the details. Write things down, make lists, organize the usage pattern, note down similar things you can take inspiration from, Google competitors, look at source code, see how other people accomplish similar tasks. Without some kind of clear plan or vision, you'll just be wandering around in the dark.


Step 3:


Assemble your tools. Maybe this is software. Maybe a camera. Maybe pen and paper. Get the tools you need. If you are young and poor, perhaps you can, um, "borrow" something for a little while. I'm sure you know where to look.


Step 4:


JUMP IN. Don't mess around with drawing circles or typing in your name. If you have a plan, you know the tasks you need to create. Google them all. "how to add a pattern overlay to a layer in photoshop"  Do this every time you get stuck. If searches don't seem to find what you are looking for, reword it. I still do this, almost everyday.


Step 5:


Keep at it until you are done. Maybe it will suck. Maybe it won't work. Maybe it looks terrible. Whatever. You learned something in the process, and numero 2 will be all the better.




Now repeat those 5 steps about 8,321 times over a span of decades and you will be awesome. Go!

For this topic I'm not so much interested in your favorite to look at, but more about which deck works best for handling flourishes? I don't have too many decks now but can see some definite differences in how they handle and fan.

For me, I'd have to put my Artifice and Tally-Ho Viper at the top of my list. Those two seem to work great for me, consistently staying straight, cutting well and fanning smoothly. (Compare to my Sentinels, which I adore the look of but can't get to fan short of taking each card and laying it on a table one-by-one)

I'm curious what decks fellow cardists put at the top of their lists, to see if there are any great ones that I need to look for.

And here's a smiley eating a carrot  :-X

OK, I guess these aren't exactly new, and unless you are a graphic designer you probably wouldn't have run across these, but I saw them today and am going to try to get a deck. Not sure what stock or finish they use or where they were printed but they are definitely a lot more unique than most everything we see normally. Don't imagine they are USPCC quality but as a graphic designer I just can't pass them up.

http://fab.com/sale/1379/product/14201/