Quote from: Don Boyer on July 31, 2019, 01:52:56 PM

Simple - you buy what speaks to you and your interests. And you stay within your budget, whatever that budget happens to be.  You can’t have it all, but you can have some really cool stuff!

Generally speaken yah, of course.
What I meant was, for example the Lotrek Silk decks sold pretty slowly (due to their high retail price), so there was no rush to buy them and you could focus on other decks on the bucket list. Lotrek's Less on the other hand sold immediatly for $25 retail and if you would have missed out, but want it in your collection you now have to pay scalper prices of $50-70 (there even was an eBay listing for $200(!) - LOL - nice try). I'd like to avoid such things  . And praised be, have most of the times, since I'm good informed and have a good sense for what will sell and what not.
So the topic was more meant to be about any tips on how to look into the crystal ball and after what criterias other collectors organise their bucket lists.

I understand what you’re saying but agree with Don, playing cards are to some extent a form of art for collectors/appreciators, and as with art, if it doesn’t speak to you then any amount is a waste of money (assuming you’re not purely in it for resale business), and if it truly speaks to you then it’s priceless.

Quote from: excelsior on August 06, 2019, 08:57:35 PM

When you all say border it means on the back of the card right? sorry, english is not my mother tongue lol

The border is the margin that goes around the outer edge of the card.  It usually refers to the backs, and it's usually white, unless the deck has a design that's "printed into the bleed," which means that the design is printed into the area of the paper that gets cut off by the die cutter, making the design go right up to the edge of the cut.  Faces can have borders as well - technically, they sort of do have borders on most decks, as there's nothing printed at the edge of the paper and for a certain distance from that edge - but most of the time, people simply refer to the backs when they're talking about bordered versus non-bordered decks.

That’s very interesting. I assumed it was both back and face when discussing boarders but assumed the magician issue was about the face side as boarderless meant different?

I'm totolly okay with non boarder deck.
E.g. I like the v1 artifice more than v2

I understand from perspectives such as use by magicians boarders are preferred, but I’m glad to see someone with a similar opinion as me on the aesthetics. Sometimes boarders are lovely, but sometimes bleeding to the edge has great impact - as I hope my art deck currently on Kickstarter has. It was a difficult choice but I wanted them to fill the visual pallet - and also it lends to my court cards being a tryptich panorama. So, I agree that there’s a place for decks without boarders.

I’ve seen PrintNinja samples and found them to be inferior to many other printers.

If you really need to print on a budget, try MakePlayingCards.com - they’re not the best, but they’re good for the price and can do small print runs.


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Hey Don - I’ve tried to listen to what you and others in this community are saying they want. Perhaps you’ve seen, but I’ve added the next stretch goal to upgrade printers to EPCC! I want to make the most gorgeous deck possible and so if the community helps and gets behind the project I think we will all be delighted with what we can make together!

Tuckbox designs now posted in update and I wanted to involve the community so options of inside designs have been given for you to comment on and let me know which you prefer!

Quote from: Jackbrutuspenny on July 30, 2019, 06:59:33 AM

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.

Dear All,

I'd like to introduce Culturae Animalis - art playing cards.

With heavy 330 black core stock, linen texturing for a better shuffle, gold gild edges and more, the deck will stand out in your collection. But the main reason to support this deck is the passion and attention to the design of every card. For those that don't care too much for the pips - take a second look. And from the approach to the court cards of making them into single panoramic scenes to the detailed cultural architecture of the Aces, there's so many reasons this will catch your eyes.

What's more, they are environmentally friendly (made from recycled paper and soy ink) and made in support of animal welfare with a portion of all profit donated to a charity to help rehouse abandoned animals in Japan.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jackbrutuspenny/culturae-animalis-art-playing-cards?ref=creator_nav

(I hope this is appropriate to share, I have posted elsewhere once but am still getting familiar with the forum)