The second edition of the Lumberjacks

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

New Kings. Both at 200% so I know the will scale properly. The denomination size and pips will change once I begin to vector everything. I made them big here on purpose so I'll have extra room should I need it.

Thoughts?

[HandSkillz]

These are just above and beyond the modern designs out there for courts.  Phenomenal work.  Will there be a suicide king as well?

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

These are just above and beyond the modern designs out there for courts.  Phenomenal work.  Will there be a suicide king as well?

Thank you, and yes, there will be a suicide king!

-Kleetz

[jwats01]

Looking great so far! Can't wait for these!

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

Hey guys!

So things got really busy at work and this project had to be put on hold and I never really got past the sketches.

Recently though, I've had some extra time and decided to breathe some life back into the project. I finished all of the sketches for the court cards and began illustrating them last week.

I'm a really big fan of block printing and that type of art form so I took this deck in that direction. It's going to require a lot of work, but now that the first card is nearing completion I've got the style of how I want things pretty much down.

Here's a sketch of the King of clubs and what it looks like after 9hrs of illustration:


He still needs a few more hours of work so I can add more detail to the face and arm. The type treatment and pips are still in the experimental stage and what you see there is really just a placeholder. I'll probably be changing them with every new card I make until I land on something I really like.

Love hear some of your thoughts!

-Kleetz

[Don Boyer]

I dunno...  The art is good, but the black background takes it away from typical wood-block prints.  Try making an antique-paper look for the background.  Not dirty/grungy, just make it look like the paper one might use for such a woodcut print.  Antique laid paper would be nice for this, as would a parchment look.  (Parchment's a bit overused with the grunge effect - maybe it will look different/better without the grunge/aged look?)

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

Thanks for the comment Don, but I have to disagree with you on that. I've printed block prints on black paper before and they came out fantastic. Although I've never printed more than one color on black... that may be the only disconnect. I'm not going for an exact block print style, just an "inspired by..."

[10ofclubs]

I love the sketch but I don't know how I feel about the black background. Also, why the two clubs on the index?

[Don Boyer]

Thanks for the comment Don, but I have to disagree with you on that. I've printed block prints on black paper before and they came out fantastic. Although I've never printed more than one color on black... that may be the only disconnect. I'm not going for an exact block print style, just an "inspired by..."

I was thinking more along the lines of wood-cuts from before the printing press.  But if you're going for an "inspired by" thing, fine.

[sprouts1115]

I love the sketch but I don't know how I feel about the black background. Also, why the two clubs on the index?

I have to agree.  You don't need 3 markers to know what the suit is.  Get rid of a least one.  Hell, if it was me I would get rid of two and just have a slightly large one in the Index right under the rank index.  It leaves more room for your art.  The black background might be a hard sell, but who knows you might change my mind.  It's early. 

[Don Boyer]

I love the sketch but I don't know how I feel about the black background. Also, why the two clubs on the index?

I have to agree.  You don't need 3 markers to know what the suit is.  Get rid of a least one.  Hell, if it was me I would get rid of two and just have a slightly large one in the Index right under the rank index.  It leaves more room for your art.  The black background might be a hard sell, but who knows you might change my mind.  It's early.

I think see where he was going with that thing about the suit markers.  On a standard pack, you'll often see a large pip on a court card positioned right next to the index - or in some French decks, overlapped by the index.  Other courts may have it on the opposite side.  The third one in the corner looks more like an added decoration than a genuine suit indicator.

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

I think see where he was going with that thing about the suit markers.  On a standard pack, you'll often see a large pip on a court card positioned right next to the index - or in some French decks, overlapped by the index.  Other courts may have it on the opposite side.  The third one in the corner looks more like an added decoration than a genuine suit indicator.

Yep, exactly that!

[10ofclubs]

Ah, I understand your aim better now. I'm wondering if you've thought of the back design yet? Will it be black as well?

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

Currently, it's a strong possibility. I'll be honest and say I haven't really thought that one out yet, but with all the artwork I have as of now, there's still time to think about it as I'm working.

The tuck is kinda in the same boat, do I wanna make an all black deck? We'll see, I'll be posting up more updates as I have them.

I'm going to be saying this often, but thanks to you guys who've posted now and before, sometimes you get too close to a project and it really does take other eyes to really bring up some issues. So please, continue to ask questions, make suggestions, and poke holes in this.

It's still early and I can pivot this in many directions.

Thanks guys!

[Don Boyer]

Currently, it's a strong possibility. I'll be honest and say I haven't really thought that one out yet, but with all the artwork I have as of now, there's still time to think about it as I'm working.

The tuck is kinda in the same boat, do I wanna make an all black deck? We'll see, I'll be posting up more updates as I have them.

I'm going to be saying this often, but thanks to you guys who've posted now and before, sometimes you get too close to a project and it really does take other eyes to really bring up some issues. So please, continue to ask questions, make suggestions, and poke holes in this.

It's still early and I can pivot this in many directions.

Thanks guys!

OK, since you asked... 

The king you've showed us - the eyes look a little creepy for some reason.  Perhaps it's all that black with the stark white in the center.  Maybe a more natural-looking eye would be better, perhaps with a ring of color?

He also reminds me a bit of a certain actor...

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

OK, since you asked... 

The king you've showed us - the eyes look a little creepy for some reason.  Perhaps it's all that black with the stark white in the center.  Maybe a more natural-looking eye would be better, perhaps with a ring of color?

He also reminds me a bit of a certain actor...

Haha, that's not a bad thing in my opinion. Wasn't he like the spokesman for Marlboro for a while? I know was the voice of the Dodge RAM commercials.

Regarding the eyes, those aren't done. And yes, very creepy!

Post em as you got em!

[Don Boyer]

Since it's a black deck, what exactly do lumberjacks do...at night?

I could see the court cards looking pretty cool...  Starry night over the forest, drinking a beer by the campfire, etc.

Maybe even make it a "midnight blue" deck instead of black!

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

Since it's a black deck, what exactly do lumberjacks do...at night?

I could see the court cards looking pretty cool...  Starry night over the forest, drinking a beer by the campfire, etc.

Maybe even make it a "midnight blue" deck instead of black!

Man, I really like that campfire idea!

[Don Boyer]

Since it's a black deck, what exactly do lumberjacks do...at night?

I could see the court cards looking pretty cool...  Starry night over the forest, drinking a beer by the campfire, etc.

Maybe even make it a "midnight blue" deck instead of black!

Man, I really like that campfire idea!

Let's expand on it further - what about a sort of a diptych with a King and Queen of one suit, where over the two-card spread they're dancing with each other at some kind of outdoor square dance or hootenanny?  Throw in the Jack playing music and you could make a triptych.  (But don't rip off the idea that Emmanuel Jose used for his decks - he made triptychs where the two male courts could actually be swapped from one side to the other in order to make a different image.)

You'd still want to maintain a "border" of sorts to keep the cards from being visible from the edge of the deck as well as to allow for registration errors - many of the decks I own made by USPC have the faces shifted to a side or to a corner just enough to be noticed because they focus more on centering the card backs (and even there, they're not quite perfect on all decks)!

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

This is very interesting! Man, that's going to require a lot of thinking and reworking. I'm going to really consider this... possibly do some sketching.

[Don Boyer]

This is very interesting! Man, that's going to require a lot of thinking and reworking. I'm going to really consider this... possibly do some sketching.

"Anything worth doing at all is worth doing well." - Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
"Anything worth doing, is worth doing right." - Hunter S. Thompson

It's the kind of thing that can make a deck stand out head-and-shoulders above the competition.  These days, it only gets harder to get noticed in a field that gets more crowded by the day, so pull out all the stops!

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

"Anything worth doing at all is worth doing well." - Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
"Anything worth doing, is worth doing right." - Hunter S. Thompson

It's the kind of thing that can make a deck stand out head-and-shoulders above the competition.  These days, it only gets harder to get noticed in a field that gets more crowded by the day, so pull out all the stops!

Agreed!

[Don Boyer]

"Anything worth doing at all is worth doing well." - Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
"Anything worth doing, is worth doing right." - Hunter S. Thompson

It's the kind of thing that can make a deck stand out head-and-shoulders above the competition.  These days, it only gets harder to get noticed in a field that gets more crowded by the day, so pull out all the stops!

Agreed!

Last time I saw a deck with a really deep blue back, it was the Bicycle Limited Edition #2.  Check it out and you tell me what you think of it.

http://www.shopbicyclecards.com/Bicycle-Limited-Edition-No-2-P86C42.aspx

Imagine something DEEPER than that, with stars in the night sky and such, for the FACES.  Sweet, hunh?

[JDoc]

I love the back design on the first!
Will you add seals and maybe consider cello-wrap it this time?

[Vadim Smolenskiy]

I love the back design on the first!
Will you add seals and maybe consider cello-wrap it this time?

Oh yeah! That was a huge mistake on the first deck. This next one will have at least one if not both of the things you've mentioned.