Low Reef Playing Cards

[BenMorrisRains]

Hey guys:

I am working on this custom deck called Low Reef's.

I am into different sorts of cards, but my favorite are the more simplistic and minimal decks such as Wynn's, Ace Fulton's,Virginia Slims, etc.

One of my favorite back designs is also the original Smoke and Mirror's back from Dan and Dave.

I think that you can have best of both worlds, simple and ornate. I also like a bit of mystery in designs, hiding (or at least trying) odd things and incorporating them into the design.

I am only sharing the back design for now, as the courts are all going to be standard, but modified, taking out some of the details, similar to Smoke and Mirrors, but leaving a lot more than they did.

Here you have the original sketch, the back design, and an idea for the card box. I need to do jokers still and I am debating on the Ace of Spades. I want everything as normal as possible as I am more on the magician side of things and appreciate having normal cards for certain effects.

Please let me know what you guys think! I still have tinkering to do but I like to let things sit for a day or two and come back to them with a fresh mind.

[Don Boyer]

Is there a theme to the deck, or you just chose the name Low Reefs because it sounded interesting?  The design looks a lot more owl-like than reef-like.  It looks nice enough so far, but there's not much to comment on yet.

I'd suggest not putting the tuck box design on a template just yet.  You used what looks like USPC standard.  Some companies don't use that template for their tuck box, such as LPCC and EPCC.

[BenMorrisRains]

Hey Don

The name is an anagram. Like I said, incorporating symbolism within designs is something that I find fun. Whether you believe in the hidden messages is up to you, but the deck has built in patter pretty much. Yes there is an owl so that could give you a little clue.

As far as the tuck, this is for Make Playing Cards, as I am printing a few with them so I can have something to hold in my hands and see how it all looks.

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

-Ben 

[Don Boyer]

Hey Don

The name is an anagram. Like I said, incorporating symbolism within designs is something that I find fun. Whether you believe in the hidden messages is up to you, but the deck has built in patter pretty much. Yes there is an owl so that could give you a little clue.

As far as the tuck, this is for Make Playing Cards, as I am printing a few with them so I can have something to hold in my hands and see how it all looks.

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

-Ben

A lot of designers use MPC for prototype work before taking the job to a different printer.  Which printer are you considering?

[BenMorrisRains]

EPCC as of right now. They allow for a smaller print run than USPCC and I really like the way their Exquisite deck handles, but I am also really still a huge fan of USPCC. I feel like for my first effort I should try for the smaller run and less expensive option.

I am going to run a kickstarter campaign once I am all finished.

Currently I'm working on the jokers. Not sure if I am going to just have the same jokers or make each one unique. A lot of choices to be made for sure. I am going to be super stoked to get a prototype to hold. MPC is an awesome company making it super affordable for pretty much anyone to experiment with different designs. Wish it was around when I was creating effects eight or so years ago.

[Don Boyer]

EPCC as of right now. They allow for a smaller print run than USPCC and I really like the way their Exquisite deck handles, but I am also really still a huge fan of USPCC. I feel like for my first effort I should try for the smaller run and less expensive option.

I am going to run a kickstarter campaign once I am all finished.

Currently I'm working on the jokers. Not sure if I am going to just have the same jokers or make each one unique. A lot of choices to be made for sure. I am going to be super stoked to get a prototype to hold. MPC is an awesome company making it super affordable for pretty much anyone to experiment with different designs. Wish it was around when I was creating effects eight or so years ago.

Expert PCC and Legends PCC are both excellent choices for having a deck made.  They're cheaper than USPC and create top-notch cards.  Many around here have started to prefer them over USPC, though there's still a good number of hold-outs.

[Yashi]

I sense a free mason.

I'm not really into the whole minimalistic back but let's wait and see the rest of the cards.

[publius]

Anagram, eh? Owl Free? I got nuthin'...

[BenMorrisRains]

Working on one of the jokers:

[BenMorrisRains]

I sense a free mason.

I'm not really into the whole minimalistic back but let's wait and see the rest of the cards.

  Thanks for the comments. I am finding that a lot of people aren't too sure about minimalist backs. I am going to play around with some ideas. I'll probably print a few from MPC with the simple design for personal use.

[Don Boyer]

Anagram, eh? Owl Free? I got nuthin'...

Perhaps "Feeler Ow"?  Wait, not enough e's... 

So, where's the rest of the deck?  I'm bored!

[publius]

I'm a minimalism fan as well, and a designer. Designing in true minimalism is almost more difficult than complex designs, because every little nuance declares itself extremely loudly. You have to strike a fine balance, which I'm still learning myself in a lot of ways. My first reaction to the back design is that your art is too complex to be situated in such a minimalist environment. Madison Rounders is a deck generally considered a masterpiece in minimalism. The back is a very simple concept - an "M" with a couple of flourishes around it. It's a minimal construct in a minimal environment. And it works. You may disagree - just some food for thought.

[Don Boyer]

I'm a minimalism fan as well, and a designer. Designing in true minimalism is almost more difficult than complex designs, because every little nuance declares itself extremely loudly. You have to strike a fine balance, which I'm still learning myself in a lot of ways. My first reaction to the back design is that your art is too complex to be situated in such a minimalist environment. Madison Rounders is a deck generally considered a masterpiece in minimalism. The back is a very simple concept - an "M" with a couple of flourishes around it. It's a minimal construct in a minimal environment. And it works. You may disagree - just some food for thought.

...and that Rounders design was based on the Wynn casino deck that T11 used to sell.  In turn, that general design has been used by casinos before.  The simplicity of the design is apparently among the reasons for the popularity with casino purchasing agents.

[BenMorrisRains]

Wynns are one of my all time favorite designs. The cards don't handle that well, but design-wise I love them.

My computer crashed and I am currently resetting everything. Luckily I was able to back up my Low Reef files, but I haven't had a chance in the last few days to work on anything. I'll be up at it here again soon. 

[BenMorrisRains]

Finally up and running again. Messing around with some late night ideas on the back design.

[Don Boyer]

Finally up and running again. Messing around with some late night ideas on the back design.

While the original design looked a lot like so many before it, it was also a cleaner and better-looking design.  There's a reason for the popularity of that kind of design.

[BenMorrisRains]

I agree, I liked the first one better. Thanks for your continued input it helps a lot.

[BenMorrisRains]

Here is an example of the court cards. There are different symbols tied into most of them. Like I said, a lot of influence on these was the first few versions of Smoke and Mirrors, but I still enjoyed some of the details of the now classic courts:

[Don Boyer]

Here is an example of the court cards. There are different symbols tied into most of them. Like I said, a lot of influence on these was the first few versions of Smoke and Mirrors, but I still enjoyed some of the details of the now classic courts:

I like the stripped-down wardrobe detail for the King of Spades, but the crown just doesn't look right in black.  I suggest you make it yellow (gold) or, if that's too bright, brown-yellow (like authentic deli mustard) or orange-red (similar to copper).

What's with the tattoo under the right eye?

[BenMorrisRains]

As of now all the courts have black crowns. The eye is not a tattoo but the eye of Horus, an Egyptian God/symbol still used in certain societies.

I've been exploring a lot of other decks and some of the work done with foils/metallic inks is really interesting. Adding some gold accents to the crowns might make them pop a little bit.

[Don Boyer]

Well, verify that your mathematics are correct in your presentation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_Horus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhind_Mathematical_Papyrus

Scholars today consider it to be untrue, but I'm sure some purist die-hards out there will want you to use a proper representation.

[BenMorrisRains]

I really like the way these are shaping up now:

[sprouts1115]

Circles in the corners are becoming  popular.  I'm starting to see it a lot lately.  It's a nice simple element that shows up in the fan of the cards.  Can I suggest just move it up to the true corner.  It would probably look better. 

[Don Boyer]

Circles in the corners are becoming  popular.  I'm starting to see it a lot lately.  It's a nice simple element that shows up in the fan of the cards.  Can I suggest just move it up to the true corner.  It would probably look better.

...if by "better", you mean "like a pool table"!

They're fine as is.  They're near the corner but not quite in it, and will look just fine in a fan or a spread.

[sprouts1115]

...if by "better", you mean "like a pool table"!

Yea like that.  Find out where that sweet spot is.  How far can you go to the cut border with a circle?  Ppl like thiner borders...