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Playing Card Chat ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ => Design & Development => Topic started by: maggock on March 06, 2014, 11:12:50 PM
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Okay, so my kickstarter for the parrot deck (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maggock/parrots-of-the-world-playing-cards) is doing pretty well, but it's obviously aimed more at people who love parrots than people who collect cards. I've really started to get more into the design aspect of cards - but I'm still stuck on birds, hehe. This time, owls, and for the King of Spades, the Eurasian Eagle Owl. I tried to put a bit of symbolism in the card.
I have a few thoughts/worries: are the details too fine? Is it too confusing/muddled, especially in the middle? How do the indices look? I obviously didn't spend a lot of time on them, or the tree branches. I think the card still needs a lot of work, but I'm curious if there's potential there.
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Wow, that is a great design, not to mention some amazing talent! I really like the detail in the design............I think your on to something ;)
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This is excellent, I like it a lot :)
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please excuse me, but i'd buy the shit out of a deck that had that card in it.
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This is pretty awesome, wasn't too into the parrots but this would definitely be a deck that I would want.
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Ha! Thanks guys. I've gotten good response on tumblr too, so I may just have to give this idea a little more serious thought! I think it still needs a fair amount of refining and clean-up, so I'll see what I can do.
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I like it a whole lot and would certainly go for a deck like that.
The mood of the trees in the middle doesn't match the mood of the owls, I think. I like the idea of trees in there but maybe not those trees.
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Okay, so my kickstarter for the parrot deck (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maggock/parrots-of-the-world-playing-cards) is doing pretty well, but it's obviously aimed more at people who love parrots than people who collect cards. I've really started to get more into the design aspect of cards - but I'm still stuck on birds, hehe. This time, owls, and for the King of Spades, the Eurasian Eagle Owl. I tried to put a bit of symbolism in the card.
I have a few thoughts/worries: are the details too fine? Is it too confusing/muddled, especially in the middle? How do the indices look? I obviously didn't spend a lot of time on them, or the tree branches. I think the card still needs a lot of work, but I'm curious if there's potential there.
If you're going strictly for art, it's a great piece of work and a full deck like this would be something to behold.
If you're also going for function, you need to make a few modifications.
Players like vertical indices rather than horizontal because they allow the cards to be held closer together in order to keep others from seeing their hand. Value is listed before suit because in many games, value is the more important of the two in many circumstances.
I would advise against printing the artwork all the way into the bleed (past the point where the card edge gets cut). When this occurs, the edges can reveal, to the sharp eye, what's on the face of the card, giving one knowledge of what's being dealt. Consider allowing at least a narrow border around the art, far enough from the edge that an accidentally-shifted deck sheet won't cut across the artwork. Consult with your printer as far as what their tolerances are for cutting accuracy.
If you have more questions, I do offer consulting services for deck designers at a very reasonable rate.
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The mood of the trees in the middle doesn't match the mood of the owls, I think. I like the idea of trees in there but maybe not those trees.
I definitely agree with you there - the time it took to do the trees could be measured in minutes (compared to the owl that took a few hours.) I need to go back and redo them, and spend some more time thoughtfully creating and placing the indices.
And thanks Don for the in depth critique! I do want this deck to have functionality and a wider appeal, so I'll take your comments into consideration as I further refine the style of the deck. :)
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And thanks Don for the in depth critique! I do want this deck to have functionality and a wider appeal, so I'll take your comments into consideration as I further refine the style of the deck. :)
Bear in mind that there are certain conventions, practically rules of design, that are used when creating playing cards - but that like any rule of design, you can break it if there's a good reason for it in the design. If you're doing so solely because you didn't know any better, that's not good design, but if you're doing so for a specific artistic reason, that can work, though in the process it takes the work a little more away from functionality and a little closer to the realm of art piece. That's not necessarily a BAD thing - people love art - it's just something you need to be aware of. A more artistic deck has the potential, with the right pool of potential buyers, of being a massive hit despite being less functional.
It sounds to me like you want to hit both art and function in your work to the proper degree - something that has potential to become successful in both worlds. It can be tricky to strike that balance just right, but that certainly doesn't mean you shouldn't try.
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Let us see more of these, looks awesome!
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Fooled around some more, hopefully in a forward direction!
I gave the queen a sword instead of a flower because I'm looking at cartomancy symbolism as well and I've found the spades suit to be quite confrontational. Also, swords are cooler than flowers and I always thought it was a little unfair that the ladies didn't get a neat sword. The swords are scimitars for the same reason they're used on horseback - they're light blades meant to be used while in motion and I just figured if owl ever became intelligent, that would be their weapon of choice. :P
I'm having fun with the illustrations, though I imagine I'll be slowing down as my kickstarter winds to a close. I already spent 8 hours yesterday putting together the art book for it. Man, that was fun.
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I gave the queen a sword instead of a flower because I'm looking at cartomancy symbolism as well and I've found the spades suit to be quite confrontational. Also, swords are cooler than flowers and I always thought it was a little unfair that the ladies didn't get a neat sword. The swords are scimitars for the same reason they're used on horseback - they're light blades meant to be used while in motion and I just figured if owl ever became intelligent, that would be their weapon of choice. :P
I think if I saw an owl flying around with a a scimitar I would be very worried.
Do like the update to the background of the designs.
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Fooled around some more, hopefully in a forward direction!
I gave the queen a sword instead of a flower because I'm looking at cartomancy symbolism as well and I've found the spades suit to be quite confrontational. Also, swords are cooler than flowers and I always thought it was a little unfair that the ladies didn't get a neat sword. The swords are scimitars for the same reason they're used on horseback - they're light blades meant to be used while in motion and I just figured if owl ever became intelligent, that would be their weapon of choice. :P
I'm having fun with the illustrations, though I imagine I'll be slowing down as my kickstarter winds to a close. I already spent 8 hours yesterday putting together the art book for it. Man, that was fun.
The art is gorgeous. As usual!
The indices are good but the pips in them should be simpler. Go super-decorative in the face art, but indices need to be quickly and easily read. (In other words, simple.)
Am I a fusspot, or what? :))
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The art is gorgeous. As usual!
The indices are good but the pips in them should be simpler. Go super-decorative in the face art, but indices need to be quickly and easily read. (In other words, simple.)
Am I a fusspot, or what? :))
I don't mind your fussiness! Your criticisms are extremely valuable to me, and very focused as well. Much better than the people who say 'I don't like it' and don't give anything of value beyond that. ;) I was actually wondering if the pips were too much - I'll see about toning them down.
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I don't mind your fussiness! Your criticisms are extremely valuable to me, and very focused as well. Much better than the people who say 'I don't like it' and don't give anything of value beyond that. ;) I was actually wondering if the pips were too much - I'll see about toning them down.
You can still make them a little decorative if you like - but the key is that they should be immediately recognizable at just a glance, without any chance for confusion. You can go crazy with pips in the art!
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Got a few more cards done - I'm finding the number cards to be more of a challenge than the courts! Still not sure how the 3 of spades is going to look but I'll do some sketching and figure it out.
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Your artwork is great! And the changes you've made are looking good. I'm definitely in for a few decks.
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Got a few more cards done - I'm finding the number cards to be more of a challenge than the courts! Still not sure how the 3 of spades is going to look but I'll do some sketching and figure it out.
I'm curious to see how you plan to do the red cards!
BTW: current index is improved. You can shorten the white field, now that you have less flourish on the spades pip - it'll make more room to show off the art.
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Got a few more cards done - I'm finding the number cards to be more of a challenge than the courts! Still not sure how the 3 of spades is going to look but I'll do some sketching and figure it out.
I'm curious to see how you plan to do the red cards!
BTW: current index is improved. You can shorten the white field, now that you have less flourish on the spades pip - it'll make more room to show off the art.
How I do the red cards is a mystery to me too, at the moment! And I did scale down room for the indices, but I wanted to give them a little room to breathe. I'll see about experimenting with shortening the space further.
Thanks for the comments, everyone!
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I really like where you are going with this. I really like the Ace of Spades! Looks great!
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Got a few more cards done - I'm finding the number cards to be more of a challenge than the courts! Still not sure how the 3 of spades is going to look but I'll do some sketching and figure it out.
I'm curious to see how you plan to do the red cards!
BTW: current index is improved. You can shorten the white field, now that you have less flourish on the spades pip - it'll make more room to show off the art.
How I do the red cards is a mystery to me too, at the moment! And I did scale down room for the indices, but I wanted to give them a little room to breathe. I'll see about experimenting with shortening the space further.
Thanks for the comments, everyone!
I'm LOVING this so far! It's extremely cool!
You could just add splashes of red color here and there. A red beak, a red feather, etc. Or you could just fill the pips in with red.
Another option would be to just have a dark red background. That might be a bit too intense, though.
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I'm not a big fan of the Parrot deck (not my kind of deck). But this deck looks very good. I will surely back that project.
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Haven't updated this in a while, but I'm still working on it as I have time. I've finished most of the Spades suit but I can't decide if I like what I've done. Here's the King of Clubs and a WIP of the card back.
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I nice to know you've updated the thread. I'm still looking forward to this deck.
I like the king but not so much the card back. I find the back quite ambiguous. At first glance it seems kind of tribal and the lack of detail doesn't match the superb detail on the court cards.
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Is it meant to be a fully black back or a bordered back? I also feel that it doesn't have a distinct avian look at a quick glance, whether that's the intention or not I'm unsure.
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The back is still in progress and I'm open to suggestions on it. Let me see what I can do with it!
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Did a little more work on the card back - finished the wings and started on something of a border. I may need to set this aside until I finish the rest of the pips, however.
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Did a little more work on the card back - finished the wings and started on something of a border. I may need to set this aside until I finish the rest of the pips, however.
That's kinda nice, that back. I like it.
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Looking better and better. Are you planning quite thin borders or all the way to the edge?
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Your line work is very crisp, I look forward to seeing this hit Kickstarter.
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And I appear, almost a year later to the day to say all the face art is finished! I was distracted by a few other projects (my comic and some novels) and put this away for a while. I will most likely not be doing anything with this project for a few months as I still need to fulfill rewards on another Kickstarter, and I'll probably be moving in July. I'll also be redoing the card back - I want something in color to contrast all the black and white on the faces. When I DO get this printed, I'll also definitely be going with one of the big companies - Legends or EPCC, or even MPC. The printer I used for the parrot deck was just blegh.
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And the rest!
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i like it!
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Beautiful artwork! Definitely in for a few decks!
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Owls are one of my favorite birds of prey. I'll be in for a pair of these! Good work!
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This is most beautiful! Very nice work.
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Just discovered this thread - such beautiful artwork & wonderful detail! :)