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Playing Card Chat ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ => Design & Development => Topic started by: Lotrek on January 25, 2014, 11:17:49 AM
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Hi gang,
As some of you may already know, I took up the challenge to design the UnitedCardists annual deck for 2014. Since the theme of the deck is not directly related to UC (just the name of the site is mentioned) I thought that it would be interesting to see what the community here says.
Thanks,
Lotrek
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I like it so far .. Greek inspired?
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Wow! That's actually a very cool design thus far!
I like it so far .. Greek inspired?
I'd say more Italian than Greek.
Here's a really cool article about Grotesque art.
http://www.spamula.net/blog/2006/06/faces_of_the_grotesque_1.html
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Cool. I say greek because the image looks like Zeus lol
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Awesome. I'm excited for this deck :D
I can't log in to UC at the moment. I'm not sure why..
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Looks pretty nice to me!
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Awesome. I'm excited for this deck :D
I can't log in to UC at the moment. I'm not sure why..
Read this; the new posts may answer your question. http://aethercards.com/discourse/the-conversation-parlor/united-cardists-changes-hands-to-mike-ratledge/
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Saw this on the facebook page. So awesome!
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A few words about "Grotesque" Is it Greek inspired? Yes and no.
The original meaning of 'Grotesque" was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art (which directly derived from ancient Greek art) rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century. Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, fantastic, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant and thus is often used to describe weird shapes and distorted forms such as Halloween masks. Although there is an immense variety of motifs and figures in Grotesque style, the three main tropes of the grotesque are doubleness, hybridity and metamorphosis. During Renaissance, artists began to give the tiny faces of the figures in grotesque decorations strange caricatured expressions. In the 17th and 18th centuries the grotesque encompasses a wide field of teratology (science of monsters) and artistic experimentation.
Below are a few examples of Grotesque art which is the main source of inspiration for the deck.
However, as an artist I try to bring "Grotesque" to my taste and make a deck which will be at the same time strange and beautiful.
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It reminds me a lot of the joker from the Infinity deck. I knew the "grotesque" had a definition beyond the one commonly used today - thanks for the edification!
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It reminds me a lot of the joker from the Infinity deck. I knew the "grotesque" had a definition beyond the one commonly used today - thanks for the edification!
Yes, I think the infinity Joker is clearly influenced by grotesque style.
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And here is the back design...
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And here is the back design...
That's very attractive.
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Very beautiful! Is the back supposed to be a subtle one-way (the spiral columns flanking the central oval)?
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Very beautiful! Is the back supposed to be a subtle one-way (the spiral columns flanking the central oval)?
Thanks Emmanuel,
Ha! It was meant to be a two way back but I see what you mean. I'm not sure now... I guess most people want an one way back so I'll probably have to fix that.
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I thought you'd like to see a court...
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This is shaping up to be an extremely cool deck!
Will every king have a separate face, or will it just be the same face in a different shape?
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Great so far. Reminds me of beautiful & strange inlaid Florentine furniture .....
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This is shaping up to be an extremely cool deck!
Will every king have a separate face, or will it just be the same face in a different shape?
:) Each court will be different. The only thing they have in common is the frame and the general shape of the suit to which they belong.
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Looking forward to this deck. Looking very nice so far.
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Wow, talk about falling on one's own sword...that's gonna leave a mark...
Looks great, LoTrek!
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Wow, talk about falling on one's own sword...that's gonna leave a mark...
Looks great, LoTrek!
Thanks Don! I have to admit, I like it too! Usually I'm not completely happy with the result no matter what others say. I guess all artists suffer from that.
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Thanks Don! I have to admit, I like it too! Usually I'm not completely happy with the result no matter what others say. I guess all artists suffer from that.
I heard somewhere that artists never actually finish their work - they just abandon it.
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Very nice work Lotrek, intricate yet clean....if that makes sense, lol
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Thanks Don! I have to admit, I like it too! Usually I'm not completely happy with the result no matter what others say. I guess all artists suffer from that.
I heard somewhere that artists never actually finish their work - they just abandon it.
Haha! Right! It just doesn't work with playing cards!
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This deck looks great. I'm surprised (not in a bad way at all) that I don't see a marble texture on the back. I like how you are trying to keep it all stone. I'm sure you have tons of reference, but if you need anymore, be sure to check out some of Europes plague statues. The figure they tend to use as the plague figure fits in well.
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Thanks Lukeout, very interesting photo!
Well, I think the back is already very intricate to add a marble texture. I want a balance between illustration and graphic design. This requires to sacrifice some obvious choices sometimes. :-)
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I love the court card, Lotrek! Such an excellent interpretation :D
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I love the court card, Lotrek! Such an excellent interpretation :D
Thanks Emmanuel! ;)
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Launching tomorrow!
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This deck is now live on KS! :)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unitedcardistsdotcom/grotesque-deck-of-playing-cards-unitedcardists2014
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And off to an awesome start, too! As of this time, $7,000 of the $16,000 goal has already been raised!
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Awesome!
Those courts look absolutely amazing, too!
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The deck got funded in 40 hours!!! ???
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The deck got funded in 40 hours!!! ???
Well done! Congratulations :D
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The deck got funded in 40 hours!!! ???
Pretty cool. Congrats!
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The deck got funded in 40 hours!!! ???
Doesn't surprise me in the least. You made a great design!
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Congratulations, Lotrek! Grotesque is a beautiful deck :D
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Congratulations, Lotrek! Grotesque is a beautiful deck :D
"It's a solid, but it's juicy. It's a contradiction!"
(Couldn't resist. It's a reference to the current TV ad campaign in the US for Starburst candy. You can probably find the videos on YouTube.)
I mention all of that because yes, it's beautiful, but also yes, the modern meaning for grotesque is anything but beautiful. You did a fine job on this and the UC forum should be proud of it.
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Thank you all guys! :)
Don, the choice of the name seems that worked well along with the theme. And I love contradictions. Life is full of them...
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Congratulations, Lotrek! Grotesque is a beautiful deck :D
"It's a solid, but it's juicy. It's a contradiction!"
(Couldn't resist. It's a reference to the current TV ad campaign in the US for Starburst candy. You can probably find the videos on YouTube.)
I mention all of that because yes, it's beautiful, but also yes, the modern meaning for grotesque is anything but beautiful. You did a fine job on this and the UC forum should be proud of it.
I knew someone was going to point out the contradiction, haha.
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You should try another version of the back, just in the middle. Otherwise it looks very nice. That circle just caption all your sight and it's a little confusing. Is like in photography, where is emptiness or fullness, the sight of the it's going in that point. So for me, it's just like a black hole...bird's eye view.
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Hehe, I see it's all ready on KS. Good luck! Nice deck, like I said. That god is like Aeolus or Pontus.
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NEW!!!!
But there is more!
I've been working on another very special add on, that has never before appeared on Kickstarter: An original branded Grotesque Rubik's cube! Below you can see an animated Grotesque cube from the official Rubik's site:
http://rubiksanimations.com/cube/United%20Cardist?_lang=en
http://rubiksanimations.com/cube/rotated/United%20Cardist?_lang=en
Only 100 pieces will be produced and you can get them by adding $50 to your pledge. Shipment worldwide is included.
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Amazing, so far it looks good!
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Wow beautiful