I'd like to introduce myself, I'm Jack Brutus Penny, a writer and illustrator from England, living in Japan. I'd like to say hello to everyone, and introduce my current project. I have design a deck of highly-detailed hand-drawn art playing cards, that took me over 6.5 months to illustrate (every card including all pips has a unique design). You can see my profile on instagram, my writing work on my website, and explore the kickstarter page that's live now. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jackbrutuspenny/culturae-animalis-art-playing-cards?ref=creator_nav
I took a look at the project - the art is great!
I do have a few ideas/suggestions.
1) Consider full-color versions. The art is really gorgeous, but the line work is harder to distinguish when it's all one color, especially the red works. Gradients of the one color might help, but full color would also work and probably be a little easier. Looking at your cards and the artworks that inspired them, all of those artworks are in color, while your homages are monochrome. The color just looks nicer to my eye.
2) Consider a better printer as a stretch goal. There's a number of high-quality printers not far from you in Japan. A good domestic choice would be Angel Playing Cards in Kyoto. A little less local would be Legends Playing Cards based in Hong Kong and Expert Playing Cards based in New York City - both use printers in Taiwan and mainland China that do superior-quality work, so they can ship easily to Japan. Just ask the collectors around here! Expert and Legends both are extremely popular with playing card collectors.
3) Consider making the artwork with a slim border. This is a lesser concern with an artistically-oriented deck such as yours, but when cards have art that prints into the bleed and that art varies from card to card as it does with your faces, it can actually make the cards identifiable from the deck's edge, as if the deck was a gambler's/magician's marked deck. For some, this would reduce the playability of the deck.
4) Consider a non-gilded version - an "everyday" edition. Gilding looks lovely on playing cards when first removed from the box. But unless you have an excellent gilder working for you, the metal has a tendency over time to flake off and wear away. I know only one shop that really does the work justice, but they're quite expensive and do all the work by hand - their decks typically sell for over $100 a pack. Having a non-gilded version for everyday use means people can keep the pretty gilded deck in great condition while still having the pleasure of playing with a pack that won't lose its luster because it doesn't have gilding to wear away.
Best of luck to you!
First, thank you Don for the thorough feedback, it's both very kind and helpful of you. Allow me to address your comments individually.
1 - I appreciate what you're saying and in the future I may consider making coloured versions or decks. This in fact is all hand-drawn and took over 6 months to create. I write and illustrate nonsense and so a common theme in my work is having beautifully intricate details that the eye/brain has to search for. I have published a book series of original linguistic riddles, for instance, and I see my art in a similar way. That you can appreciate it at a glance, and then again, and again, and each time for a different reason. However I take your suggestion entirely on board and look forward to adding a richer colour pallet to future projects.
2 - This is something that has been mentioned by others. May I ask, do you say this because you have negative experience with PrintNinja, or because you have no experience with them and are suggesting printers with a more developed reputation? Either way I respect your feedback. My issue is that I like working with smaller groups or independents that can be more personable with me and that are passionate about doing what they do and growing with it. I did extensive research before selecting a printer, including examining test samples, but I admit I am not a cardist as people here (I'm only an avid player who appreciates a gorgeous deck).
3 + 4 - I put these together because I considered the experts may question the ink to the edge but having a gold gild would remove that concern. Of course, as you say, that is dependent on the gild not flaking. The way I approached the deck was to create a stunning deck of cards that any collector would love to own, but that were also pieces of art, commentary on moments of stunning history and insights into different world art and culture. However, I entirely agree with your concern that if someone plays seriously and frequently with such cards then alternate processes may be better. I will certainly consider this as the project continues and we hopefully reach our goal and I can work on the 'stretches'.
Please know I am not being defensive or dismissive of your comments - I have found them very useful and appreciate the thought you put into your advice.
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