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Messages - NineLives

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76
Introduce Yourself / Re: G'Day from Australia!
« on: October 15, 2016, 10:48:45 AM »
Welcome Claire :)
Didn't realise you were a local - it's nice to meet a fellow girl from Oz :)
Like you, I have a furry feline assistant and love the process of designing cards - Good luck with your new deck project and I look forward to seeing more from you around here!

*wave*

77
Playing Card Plethora / Re: ROME: Antony & Caesar Playing Cards - KS Thursday
« on: October 14, 2016, 10:32:02 AM »
I've really enjoyed following this through the design stage - all the more exciting to see your ROME decks go live - well done! :) :D

78
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Divine Art Playing Cards (Live on KS)
« on: October 14, 2016, 10:04:51 AM »
Thanks for the update - backed and looking forward to seeing this one succeed :)

79
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: October 14, 2016, 08:27:05 AM »
Quote from: Fess on October 09, 2016, 09:12:25 PM
And there is the AoD. My favorite suit and so far my favorite card!

Thanks so much Fess - glad you like this Ace, it feels like the direction is set for bringing the four together, along with some tweaks to the heart and club ... and then (after Ace of Spades) it's time for  'round two' of number cards  :)

Quote from: Claire G on October 09, 2016, 11:25:45 PM
Oh wow these cards are absolutely lovely. Loving the colour scheme!

Thank you Claire, nice to see you pop in here - and glad you like the colours! :)

80
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: October 09, 2016, 10:53:22 AM »
Oh that is fabulous - a Calvin & Hobbes fan!
Don, I dug this one out for you :)



Back in art school I made a couple of Calvin & Hobbes 'fan mugs' for friends - Hobbes (not visible here) is chasing Calvin around the mug and his tail forms the handle. It's not the best photo, but it was a fun tribute thing to do - and I do envy your collection! 

Quote from: Cardfool on October 06, 2016, 10:47:18 AM
Love the AoCs!  You are on a roll with the Aces!  I really can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve for us!  :D

Thank you so much Cardfool, I really appreciate your support :)
There will be some adjustments to the aces as I go - For me, things tend to come together more when I see the cards working together... this is also why I leave the back and the box to the very end...

Ace of Diamons - draft



A single face looking through the diamond shape.

Thanks for looking
Annette :)


81
Design & Development / Re: Feedback On Coloring Cards I'm Working On
« on: October 09, 2016, 10:12:44 AM »
Hi Claire :)
These are lovely! Definitely designs to inspire people to get colouring - especially the number cards and aces. I like the mandala theme, even though I too would like to see characters depicted in the court cards - so it's nice to hear you have that planned for the future :) As far as being playable, it sounds like you are doing your best to source a supplier who can meet your needs (and all the happy colouring-in people's), which is great.
 
Daughters of the Moon (a tarot deck, published I think some time in the '80s) was available in colour and also a black and white version, which people took to with all sorts of colouring tools - In offering people the inspiration to 'make the deck their own', I think a small compromise on stock can be acceptable?

Don's suggestion to supply your deck with the tools to colour-in is clever - that way you can (in part) direct people to the ones [crayons, pencils, or markers] that will work best on your chosen card stock.

Best of luck with your project :)

82
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Gemini Playing Cards - KS
« on: October 06, 2016, 11:02:08 AM »
Thanks for sharing this with enough time to back - KoH especially (though they're all gorgeous) simply irresistible :)

83
Playing Card Plethora / Re: NINE LIVES Playing Cards [Poker size] Launched June 2016
« on: October 06, 2016, 10:31:45 AM »
Thanks so much Sunish :) I'm truly glad you like your decks!
*wave*

84
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Skateboard Playing Cards - KS
« on: October 06, 2016, 10:19:25 AM »
Quote from: Don Boyer on October 06, 2016, 07:42:25 AM
Ah.  I look for the subtle, while the obvious is hitting me in the head...

Same... I spent 5min staring at the details trying to find the difference, before I scrolled down to read the next comment :D

Nice design, I like the colours and that it has plenty of quirky fun details :)

85
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: October 06, 2016, 10:10:47 AM »
Quote from: Don Boyer on October 04, 2016, 03:56:59 AM
If the pronunciation is more like "vih-zah-jo," almost no one is going to pronounce it right, at least not in countries like the US where the circumflex is non-standard.  Putting a small-print pronunciation guide under the title might help, if it matters to you personally.

Thanks Don :)
I had thought to include a pronunciation guide (and probably the meaning of the name too) - and I like your idea of it being small print. Though I don't mind if pronunciation varies - the visual look and the meaning are more important :)

Quote from: Don Boyer on October 04, 2016, 03:56:59 AM
I think you misunderstood my definition of transformation deck - it's standard placement of STANDARD pips, incorporating the pips into a unique piece of art.  Semi-transformation also uses standard pips, but with unique placements that are tweaked to suit the artwork.  Because each and every card is a unique piece of art, it involves a lot more work to make either type of deck, but the end result is well worth it.

Sorry for muddling things up Don - you made me think of one of my favourite cartoons :) :


When my head stops spinning with definitions I'll see if I've got it right ... Would the 10 of hearts (versions above) be custom pips (neither transformation or semi-transformation)?

Quote from: Helshawk on October 04, 2016, 11:00:56 PM
As soon as I saw the word "Iridium" come up, I immediately fell in love with it, knowing somewhat about glazes and the connection to tea pots here.  I was set to declare this the best name ever until............I saw Vizago.  I have earthly love for "Iridium" but I have heavenly love for "Vizago."  LOVE the Ace of Hearts, BTW!

Thanks so much Helshawk :) Curious that you know about glazes ... such a fascinating world of fire and magic! Like you, I felt Iridium made the connection to both colour and earth - but with Vizaĝo, the meaning of the deck seemed to 'fall into place' and I'm truly glad you like it :) Glad you like Ace of Hearts, still a little more work to do before I'm happy ... :)

Ace of Clubs - Draft
Made a start on the second Ace - like a triple mirror, it reflects three slightly different aspects of the same face ...still thinking about size and placement - at the moment it feels a bit squat...



Thanks for looking!
Annette :)



86
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: October 02, 2016, 08:36:56 AM »
Quote from: Don Boyer on October 02, 2016, 04:53:55 AM
Vizago is a good name - it has a "g" sound as in the word go, a short "i" as in image and a short "a" as in ah.

Try this with the two-faced hearts - reduce the level of detail (except for the ace, of course!), make one face a distinct shade of red and the other face a different shade, notably lighter or darker in its entirety.  That might be the happy compromise you're seeking, where you have unique pips with faces in them but they're not too busy or distracting.  Alternately, you could try something akin to a semi-transformation or transformation deck, where you use the pips to make an image in each card - it entails a lot more work, but will make for an absolutely gorgeous design overall.  Transformation would use the pips in situ without altering their positions from standard, while semi-transformation would allow you to play with the placements a little and tweak the pips themselves.  Emmanuel Jose's decks are a fine example of good semi-transformation decks.

Thanks Don :)
My bad with the spelling - VIZAĜO with circumflex over g - and the only thing that's different from your excellent pronunciation guide is 'g' like in gem ... The Esperanto word meaning 'face' continues to grow on me and I'm almost ready to say this baby has a name... :)

Thanks too for your suggestions on the pips - doing some more work on Ace of Hearts at the moment, which will flow through to the number cards (I think). I had thought to go with transformation (like you say - custom pips in traditional placement), though I'll keep an open mind to semi-transformation, especially if the pips decide that's the way they need to go ...

Annette :)

87
Design & Development / Re: Wooden cards project
« on: October 02, 2016, 07:58:38 AM »
I think the cards look really cute in the sand - it almost looks like the kind of beach sand that squeaks when you walk on it ... :)

Best of luck with the project, exciting to see you moving forward!


88
Playing Card Plethora / Re: NINE LIVES Playing Cards [Poker size] Launched June 2016
« on: October 02, 2016, 01:32:46 AM »
A little bump to let you know I have a special offer running at the moment:



*wave*

Annette :)

89
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: September 30, 2016, 01:24:22 AM »
I love the idea of making new words sound as alien as possible :D
Just listened to Adele's 'Hello' performed in Esperanto - sounds  quite beautiful. With the actual pronunciation, I think you're right about the similarity to visage - having seen the 'g' both with and without the roof-like accent [Vizago / Vizaĝo] - the correct spelling is probably with the accent, which would make it a soft g.

Thanks again for your fascinating input :) I'm going to do some more work on the aces and update soon - only hearts [lovers] have the smooching couple - the others will have different faces :)

90
Design & Development / Re: Making cards at home
« on: September 30, 2016, 12:36:29 AM »
I too stumbled on this one a while back - and it does look like a lot of fun :)

91
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: September 29, 2016, 04:29:16 AM »
Quote from: Fess on September 27, 2016, 02:50:09 PM
Vizago strikes me as a great name for a deck for two reasons, a V and a Z in the name. Those provide some great design opportunities for the tuck box. The I and the G are always fun but really with Vizago a they're just a bonus. Really great name and it fits the deck so well.

About the heart pips. It isn't the design or the color choice, the designs look good and it works on the ace. With so many faces built upon shapes and color, locked within familiar shapes outlined in color these are really busy to the eye. I'm having a terrible time focusing in general on the number cards. Not to be mean but they make me want to look away, and quickly! I feel like less is more in situations like these. If you're in love with the idea of faced pips throughout the deck maybe consider seeing how it looks with only 2 pips per number card using the designed faces while the remaining pips are solid. I'd go with the two pips nearest the indices over the two in the center. That could provide some form of balance that is completely missing at the moment.

Thanks Fess for your awesome feedback - I really appreciate it :)
I agree with you about the V and Z in VIZAGO and I am warming to this one a lot. What threw me in the beginning was a search for 'how to pronounce' ... and the computerised voice made it sound strange, but then I tried a known word (frangipani) and the result was hilariously terrible... I think first audio impression can be discarded - and probably visual is more important anyway?

With the number cards, you're right that they are on the busy side at the moment - partly, the left/right mirroring may be responsible for some of the eye-jumping, though more needs to be done - I don't want to make you have to look away ;)

To be honest, I would like to maintain custom pips throughout (related to the aces, even if they're less detailed), though I promise I won't bang my head against the brick wall to make the impossible work :)

Quote from: Anthony on September 27, 2016, 03:21:18 PM
Love how the deck is coming along Annette :)

As for names, I agree with Fess on this one VIZAGO! I think he also brought up a good point regarding the pips, I like his two pip suggestion. Coming together nicely :)

Thanks so much Anthony, and for the 2nd vote for VIZAGO :) - still work in progress on aces and number cards, though I'm having a lot of fun and enjoying the process of bringing this deck closer to reality.

Quote from: ecNate on September 27, 2016, 06:20:30 PM
And the Aces have faces!   ;)  And the number cards!  All in, love the custom details.

Thank you ecNate - delighted to hear :)

10 of Hearts - continued Work In Progress

In these versions I have omitted mirroring the hearts left to right and stuck to just rotating (top - bottom for the two-way view).

First - a look at Fess' suggestion to have 2 detailed pips and the rest solid:


Second - taking out more detail and bringing the colours even more into red:


Third - introducing black accents and emphasising the area around the eyes:



The Ace does need a bit more work before I'm happy with it, so there's bound to be a few more changes along the way ...

Thanks for looking - and for your awesome support and feedback!
Annette :)


92
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: September 27, 2016, 02:05:47 PM »
Firstly, I'm so sorry for my delay in replying ... Time has a way of running away from me when I'm drawing...  ???

Quote from: Helshawk on September 21, 2016, 07:01:43 PM
this is turning out great.  It started as wonderful and has moved into full-blown magnificence. I like the suggestion put forth by Don calling this deck "Whimsy."  But, I'd love to hear what other ideas you might have besides Harlequin. 

Thanks Helshawk - your support and feedback truly means a lot :)

Quote from: leangyan on September 22, 2016, 10:24:36 AM
Just one word: Wow...I like 'Harlequin' btw.

Thanks so much Sunish - let's see if you're swayed by the naming rambles below :)

Quote from: Connor X on September 24, 2016, 03:46:51 PM

Oh my gosh...

I'll take 2.  ;)

Thank you Connor X - glad to hear :)

----

Names and titles are often elusive to me until the work is complete ... And so, following Helshawk's prompt, here are some of the ideas bouncing around, with a little background on where they come from - to see if any stands out as 'the name' ... :)


IRIDIUM - is a rare metal in the platinum family. Named after the Greek goddess Iris (derived from the Latin word meaning rainbow), for the striking and diverse colours of its salts.

[Ramble Alert] Many colours have fascinating and almost magical names (Vanadium, Aquamarine, Cerulean, Tangarine, Vermillion ... ahhh!), yet choosing one colour to represent many didn't seem quite fair in this case ... As colours are often derived from metal oxides, I searched the periodic table for an element which could represent all colours - and found Iridium. Small amounts of this metal oxide can produce colours and enhance the effect of ceramic glazes, and, because of its impressive resistance to corrosion and high melting point (above 2000 degrees Celcius), it's also used in ceramic refractories. During my years working in clay and teaching glaze technology (the chemistry of ceramic glazes), I developed many glazes where the addition of different metal oxides produced specific effects in the fired result. Fascinating, especially for someone like myself who found high-school chemistry a drag, that practical use and the ability to test and observe tangible results - made all the difference :) While the drawing/painting style comes from my love of drawing faces loosely inspired by cross-contour drawing ... my teapots with faces involved the use of metal oxides, glazes and high-temperature firings, which in a way brings a 'rainbow metal name' into focus...

Following the journey into the world of chemistry I looked for more descriptive names ... Harlequin draped in colours and fun has sat at the top of that list, with Mosaiko coming in close behind (until I discovered the no-bake cake). Honestly, going over the names I find I'm leaning more towards Iridium again (going around in circles) :)

HARLEQUIN - a reference to the fanciful, multicoloured and jester like nature of the courts
HARLEQUINA - same as above but with a feminine touch

MOSAIKO - inspired by stained glass, mosaic and colour, although just did a search online and discovered it's also a no-bake cake  ::)

VIZAGO - Esperanto word meaning face

SEJA - Latvian word meaning face (this one comes from my Latvian background...)



Moving on to Aces and Number cards ...

The theme of faces continues throughout the deck and the Ace of Hearts has two faces framed within. The colour scheme follows that of the royal hearts, with the emphasis being on red. There may still be some tweaks before I'm happy, but here's version 1:



10 of Hearts

Initial idea is to maintain the detail from the Ace in each of the number pips, though I've done a few versions with slightly less detail to see if it makes a difference.

1. Identical to the Ace - though smaller in size ...



2. Scaled back amount of detail in faces



3. Contrast variation - more within the red spectrum



Thanks for looking!
Annette :)

93
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: September 20, 2016, 12:53:47 PM »
Thanks Don :)

and ... for the name suggestion too :) I have a few that have been jumping around in my head for a while - and somewhere it's about finding the one that sticks...

At the moment, my favourite name is 'Harlequin' - I don't know if it's possible though given that a deck with that name came out in the early 1900s... I even thought about running a poll here - but my jumbled ideas may be more confusing than helpful  ???

There will be colour and detail in both aces and pips (or spot cards) - I'm drawing aces at the moment (nothing scanned as yet..) - update to follow soon :)
Indices will be traditional black and red and while I'm not aiming for a 'no revoke' deck, I want to be sure that there won't be any confusion for players.

Brett Jones work is lovely and the detail, while subtle, is really something :)





94
Design & Development / Re: I illustrated a deck of art cards. Theme: Elements title Line's Deck Of Elements
« on: September 20, 2016, 12:09:46 PM »
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*

95
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Divine Art Playing Cards (Live on KS)
« on: September 20, 2016, 04:41:14 AM »
So sorry to hear Sunish :(
Like Don said, your project is only on hiatus and will come back bigger and stronger, especially thanks to your dedication to delivering a product both you and future deck owners will feel proud of.

*wave*

Annette :)   

96
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Origins - Shadows of History
« on: September 20, 2016, 04:21:21 AM »
I really like this :)
The colours and line-work are just beautiful - it's also nice to see the side-by-side comparison, where your re-interpretation brings out the essence (stance and personality) of each character while bringing them to life with something new. I like the idea of full figure, but I also think these look fabulous!

97
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: September 19, 2016, 12:30:59 PM »
Quote from: Don Boyer on September 19, 2016, 06:31:45 AM
It's definitely a unique and striking look - you could be onto a winner with this one!  Surrounding the pips looks a little strange at first, but there's no denying that it does make them stand out better.

Thanks so much Don :) I think I need to find a name for this baby soon or I'll be in trouble ...
The artwork pips have definitely been on a journey and if they stand out better without taking over too much, then I'm happy :)

Quote from: Cardfool on September 19, 2016, 10:05:09 AM
Overall, I agree with Don, you have a winner  :bosswalk:

I love this deck more and more...there is just one thing I would like to throw out there for consideration.  As you have decided to go the use a different color scheme for each suit, in line with no revoke decks, would you consider following traditional no revoke deck colouring scheme?  In other words, switch the clubs and diamonds so that the clubs are green and diamonds are yellow (or golden)?  Either way, I am definitely on board to support this deck...and not just one! 8)


Thank you Cardfool :) I'll keep your suggestion in mind and might have a play with the colours. Rather than the traditional no revoke (or four colour) decks, I chose the colour scheme loosely based on the tarot - where Diaomonds/Pentacles have more green being connected to the Earth element - and Clubs/Rods have more yellow, being connected to the Fire element... That said, if tweaking the colour scheme would make more sense to playing card aficionados - I'm open to giving it a go :)

Have to say I really appreciate all your feedback and comments!
Annette :)

98
Design & Development / Re: Hand drawn design to vector images???
« on: September 19, 2016, 11:21:19 AM »
The style of artwork may also help decide on whether vector or high-resolution bitmap works best for you. Curious to see examples :)

99
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: September 18, 2016, 12:24:27 PM »
Quote from: Don Boyer on September 07, 2016, 12:36:16 PM
The light blue background is a good choice, but the mid-blue might be the best.  It looks very good, providing the best way to show off the light and dark elements of the artwork.

Thanks Don for your feedback and so sorry it's taken forever to reply :)

It's been a while since I posted any updates ... I've been tweaking all the courts to bring them together and instead of boring you with a multitude of little changes I wanted to wait until I had a more complete look of the courts to share.

A change to the background and Floating Pips.

I settled on a very light blue for the artwork pips in the royal Spades - a contrast to the dark blue background ... yet, as most pips sit partly outside the background this light blue had way too little contrast against the white edge... To solve the contrast predicament I extended the background around all floating pips, which also feels like it brings everything together a bit more. The background is a royal tapestry with embroidered (or painted) suit symbols - with the focus  being on the royal faces in the foreground...

Introducing the King of Spades


 
Updating the Royal Cards









There will likely be a few more tweaks along the way - but at this stage I feel ready to move on to the Aces :)

Thanks for looking!
Annette :)

100
Design & Development / Re: From Whimsical Teapots to Playing Cards - The Beginning
« on: August 28, 2016, 10:39:19 AM »
Quote from: Don Boyer on August 27, 2016, 01:44:56 AM
Try this as an experiment on that Queen - swap the dark blue color on the background with the light blue color of the in-art spade pips.  I think it might set off both the pips and the hair much better.

Thanks Don :) I tried the lighter background at the early stage of working out the spade palette, but it didn't really grab me  ::) I prefer a darker blue background, though I am definitely open to feedback, as finding a good balance between colours in a darker palette, while not compromising too much on contrast is an interesting challenge :)

Dark vs Light background comparisons for Jack and Queen:





And ... a quick test with a mid-blue background and black in-art spades:



Thanks for looking!
Annette :)

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