Broken Unicycle Cards - a work in progress

[James Johnson]

Hi everyone!

Well, if most of you know, I've been working on the extremely detailed fantasy deck for over a year now ( and still at it), and wanted to take a break, as it were, and create something completely different. I created a book, REALLY DORKY, a few years back and always wanted to make a card deck with some of the characters... well now I have.

At the moment, I am waiting for USPCC/Cartamundi to reopen so I can get guidance on how to go about making this and cost, any outsourcing for the animation aspect of it, etc... but the files are pretty much there ( except for a few tweaks).

Let me know what ya think. I want to make things you just don't normally see when you think about cards, or art, or pretty much anything. There are so may amazing creators out there that it inspires me to push it out there a bit farther just to be noticed in the card world, and I think it makes for a better product in the end.

[James Johnson]

and some more...

[Don Boyer]

The design of the court cards is very reminiscent of old Monty Python animations.  Very nice, indeed.

But that makes the spot cards stick out like a sore thumb all the more - they're deadly-dull in appearance!  Consider jazzing them up in some manner, or perhaps even just going a little more traditional in their design.

I also don't recommend using black borders for the faces or backs - any deck that gets a lot of play/shuffling will start to chip at the edges and black borders make that chipping really stand out and look terrible.

[James Johnson]

Thank you so much for the compliments and criticisms Don, it helped push me much further on the card design... I think it?s coming out much much better now.

Sorry it?s taken me a bit to respond, with everything going on, and just lost my job of 20+ years this last week, been trying to figure out what to do next. Still, of course, working on the fantasy deck also. Hoping I?ll have the final version of the Broken Unicycle deck ready to kickstart in June.

Got feedback from USPCC/CARTIMUNDI on both decks, so glad that they are extremely helpful and supportive. Who knows... maybe I can make it as a card designer? Will see....

Because I can?t attach a video, I have a link for a short demo of what I want to do for the tuck case.... something I personally haven?t seen for a deck of cards before.... it animates an image as you slide it on and off. Let me know what you think!   On Reddit....  https://www.reddit.com/r/playingcards/comments/g88occ/created_a_quick_tuck_case_mockup_for_the_broken/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

And again, thank you for the kind support you and everyone has given me on my projects, it means so much more than ever!

Stay safe and healthy everyone! 

[James Johnson]

Updated the look a bit, especially the pip cards. Let me know you like the direction on them, or should I just go traditional looking pip cards?

[Don Boyer]

Updated the look a bit, especially the pip cards. Let me know you like the direction on them, or should I just go traditional looking pip cards?

You could go a little less "on the nose" with the labeling - perhaps just let the indices tell the story and leave the other labels out.

[Brodyds]

Really nice work. I love the face cards, but I think it would also be great if they were two-way: one rightside up and one upside-down, like traditional cards. Your other cards follow this pattern, so I think it would be good to standardize and do it with court cards too.
The backs are nice too. I would want to see a little more detail in the unicycle rider and in the black background. The silhouette is great, but I think it just needs a little something... think detail like in classic rider-backs.
Great work though. Can't wait to see where you go with these cards.

[Ron]

Hi James! I'm in the early stages of creating a deck, my background is in architecture... Your deck is progressing well, nice work! Agree with previous comments made.. may I ask what font you used for the "Broken Unicycle" title/heading?