can i ask why you chose the ape design? Whats the story behind it?
Hes a mascot.. of sorts. He is the Ultra Ape. We came up with him when we made our first thing, which was a comic book. If we ever made a company for ourselves ( and we will soon once we have done all the paperwork for the steampunk cards ) wed use him as our mascot.
Consider using the company mascot on a very distinctive joker design, and/or the ad cards. It would look better than on the back, especially if you're aiming for serious card players. He's great for a comic book, but not for a poker deck back. Jokers you can get whacky with, no problem.
I don't mind the ape and cigar design, though most serious poker players would really scoff at it.
Try for a classier design, either mirrored top and bottom or a design that mirrors itself placed in the center. Need not be overly fancy - simple is actually good. In no way should the deck have any marks or one-way indicators.
Have you considered a design for the faces? Texas Hold 'Em poker is the most popular variant; it gets the most TV coverage, for certain. It has two contrasting requirements: small indices to keep your "peek" from getting seen by the rest of the table and jumbo indices for the community cards to be easily visible. But you can't go too crazy with face innovations, because if they aren't improvements (or in some cases, if they're just plain different), players will reject them, as what happened at the 2007 WSOP when "PokerPeek" faces were introduced.
I actually have an idea along those lines. In the top left & bottom right corners, standard indices. In the top right and bottom left pips, mini indices on a 45-degree diagonal for peeks. In the center, to the left, a jumbo index with pip, and to the right, a reduced-size image (much like you'd see on a jumbo deck) of the standard pip layouts and court faces. It's a good compromise and has familiar elements to it.
Hmm this is a good Idea I might steal this from you. If thats ok.
For the faces, sure. I'd love to see it made. (Give me a design credit, though, and a pair of decks!)
If you adopt this face style, you won't need custom courts, so no ape faces on the courts. Best to keep that part simple. Poker players aren't really fond of wild design variations that don't improve game play. Also, maybe for the court cards, instead of the entire two-headed court, since you have a one-way face just use one traditional court head done large. Makes for easier identification, I think.
Another tip - make the border white. I've never seen a single pro poker deck without a white border except for Bee Diamond Backs, but even those aren't used by casinos these days as much as the Stinger Backs with the fade-to-white border. Patterned edges allow for easier execution of certain card-cheating moves. I don't think a colored edge would have that problem, but it's the whole "traditional look" thing. If you're adopting a really unique face like the one I described, keep a really simple and classic back design.
No offense : shouldn't you design a pattern that players/magicians/cardists like?
Hold on. No. I don't think he should be at all. Magicians, cardists, and card players all have very different uses for a deck. While creating a deck that is good for all is entirely possible and has been done a variety of times in the past, I do not believe it is a requirement. People have said before that marketing is key. People have also said that designing a deck shouldn't be about churning out something to make a profit, but about bringing a piece of artwork into existence. If this art means classy poker playing with a film noir feel to him, then why should he try to cater to the magicians and cardists of the world? I think that would be bad advice. Cater to your target audience, after all they are the ones you want to buy your product.
As an added piece of advice: I've done some work with digital art in the past, I know how long it must have taken to do his teeth, but consider a closed mouth, and maybe a lit cigar with a little smoke.
The definite target audience here is POKER PLAYERS, period. Serious poker players don't go for gimmicks that don't improve gameplay or are too much of a distraction.
@AceGambit: Thats a good idea, Ill draw it up. The main thing im worried about is the background and how the ape fits into it. Do you guys think the background is busy enough?
@K: I might not be able to, however he would probably fit perfectly well for the box art. And yes, I am aiming for the poker crowd, it seems like a bit of an untapped market.
A busy background makes for a suspicious background. Simple means it's tougher to hide card markings.
Poker players are NOT an untapped market. Kem, Piatnik, Copag, Modiano, Fournier... They all do thriving business in the poker-players' market. They keep the designs simple, they add "poker peek" corners, they don't customize the court cards.
