The Slick Deck (...again)- WIP custom deck

[Olly Swinyard]

Hey, I started this deck ages ago and it's a slow working progress but I just wanted to get some feedback as I'm halfway through the court designs and wanted to see what people thought.

Any form of feedback, positive or negative is welcome

Thank you

[NineLives]

Nice detail in your drawings Are you planning on adding colour or keeping them black and white (and red)?

[Olly Swinyard]

Nice detail in your drawings Are you planning on adding colour or keeping them black and white (and red)?

Thanks:) I wanted to keep them black and white I think.

[Don Boyer]

I get the whole "suicide King" thing, but stabbing himself in the head and through his own eye?  It's a little extreme.

I point this out because some of your potential buyers might be kids whose parents supervise their purchases and wouldn't want their kids to have access to grotesque art.  (Not that it's gross or whatever, but in terms of the definition.)

Definition of GROTESQUE (as applied to art). 1. a : a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity, ugliness, or caricature.

[Cardfool]

Though I find some of the courts to be a little too decorative/detailed, which is somewhat distracting (i.e. QoH), I still like the overall artwork.

[fotcards]

I like the Design of your Paying Card.

[Olly Swinyard]

I get the whole "suicide King" thing, but stabbing himself in the head and through his own eye?  It's a little extreme.

I point this out because some of your potential buyers might be kids whose parents supervise their purchases and wouldn't want their kids to have access to grotesque art.  (Not that it's gross or whatever, but in terms of the definition.)

Definition of GROTESQUE (as applied to art). 1. a : a style of decorative art characterized by fanciful or fantastic human and animal forms often interwoven with foliage or similar figures that may distort the natural into absurdity, ugliness, or caricature.

I understand what you mean but I really quite like the stabbing through the eye design I know it might put people off but unless I get a lot of feedback saying the same thing I think I want to keep it as it is to be honest, I think its something a little different and fun.

Though I find some of the courts to be a little too decorative/detailed, which is somewhat distracting (i.e. QoH), I still like the overall artwork.

Thanks. Im gonna try and change the line thickness to make it thinner as some of the details seem to merge together so hopefully the details will be more visible and less of a blur.

[Don Boyer]

Though I find some of the courts to be a little too decorative/detailed, which is somewhat distracting (i.e. QoH), I still like the overall artwork.

Thanks. Im gonna try and change the line thickness to make it thinner as some of the details seem to merge together so hopefully the details will be more visible and less of a blur.

I would say go thinner, but use a deeper shade of black.  This looks more like gray in these images.

[NineLives]

Going thinner is good advice to separate the intricate detail, though if you want the design to 'pop' I'd also introduce some thicker lines - or perhaps block areas of black, which would provide more contrast and 'lead the eye' through the detail... Can I ask if you're drawing these on paper or digitally? - just curious

While I don't have a problem with your suicide king, I can see how he may come across a little 'in your face (or eye)' to some ... How would you feel about giving him a smirk or comical expression to emphasise that sense of fun?

[Don Boyer]

Going thinner is good advice to separate the intricate detail, though if you want the design to 'pop' I'd also introduce some thicker lines - or perhaps block areas of black, which would provide more contrast and 'lead the eye' through the detail... Can I ask if you're drawing these on paper or digitally? - just curious

While I don't have a problem with your suicide king, I can see how he may come across a little 'in your face (or eye)' to some ... How would you feel about giving him a smirk or comical expression to emphasise that sense of fun?

This is a good suggestion - using more thin lines, but using thicker lines for emphasis in certain areas, perhaps like "borders" in the clothing.  In fact, you could take a "fractal" approach, making the gross details thick, the next level of detail medium, the next level of detail thin, etc. down to the last level of detail (but not too many levels - your printer is only going to be able to do so much with printing fine details).

[Olly Swinyard]

Going thinner is good advice to separate the intricate detail, though if you want the design to 'pop' I'd also introduce some thicker lines - or perhaps block areas of black, which would provide more contrast and 'lead the eye' through the detail... Can I ask if you're drawing these on paper or digitally? - just curious

While I don't have a problem with your suicide king, I can see how he may come across a little 'in your face (or eye)' to some ... How would you feel about giving him a smirk or comical expression to emphasise that sense of fun?

Alright cool I'll fiddle around with it this week.

It's all done digitally using the tracking pad on my laptop.
 

[NineLives]

Alright cool I'll fiddle around with it this week.

It's all done digitally using the tracking pad on my laptop.

Tracking pad - WOW! Going by the laptops I've used, that is seriously impressive
Looking forward to your updates!

[Shane Sanders]

Looks great to me. You've got a good work ethic!

[Olly Swinyard]

Looks great to me. You've got a good work ethic!

Alright cool I'll fiddle around with it this week.

It's all done digitally using the tracking pad on my laptop.

Tracking pad - WOW! Going by the laptops I've used, that is seriously impressive
Looking forward to your updates!

haha thanks guys, looking forward to getting one of those digital pen pads one day make life a bit easier

I've thinned the lines of the Spades and Hearts along with the new Diamond Courts so you can see the detail more.

I do plan to take your advise and do a mixture of thickness with the lines to make them 'pop' a bit more but for now I'm gonna focus on getting all the designs finished and then do all the details later (I just find it easier to work that way ).

Again let me know what you think...

[Jay Losa]

These look phenomenal !

I vote for standard pips however.

[Don Boyer]

These look phenomenal !

I vote for standard pips however.

At the minimum, you should use standard pips and solid, filled-in letters for the indices.  They're easier and faster to read, makes the design more functional.

[Olly Swinyard]

These look phenomenal !

I vote for standard pips however.

At the minimum, you should use standard pips and solid, filled-in letters for the indices.  They're easier and faster to read, makes the design more functional.

Thanks Jay and yeah I agree with you guys. Here's a quick example of a few cards to get an idea. Defiantly easier to read!!

[Cardfool]

This deck is definitely shaping up to be a really nice deck,

[NineLives]

The indices are definitely popping now The bold letters add a nice contrast to your detailed drawings. Will be interesting to see what you do with line variation down the track

[Don Boyer]

These look phenomenal !

I vote for standard pips however.

At the minimum, you should use standard pips and solid, filled-in letters for the indices.  They're easier and faster to read, makes the design more functional.

Thanks Jay and yeah I agree with you guys. Here's a quick example of a few cards to get an idea. Defiantly easier to read!!

It's an improvement.  Make the index pips more distinct and sharp - the heart looks like a red blob.  You want those index pips to be distinctive and really show their differences from each other, super-easy to identify.  In the card art, you can go a little crazy if you like, but for good function, clear indices are a must.

BTW: is it coincidental that the line-version pips all have capital "A" shapes in them?  Might consider using a name that starts with "A" as well...

[NineLives]

BTW: is it coincidental that the line-version pips all have capital "A" shapes in them?  Might consider using a name that starts with "A" as well...

Wow, well spotted I should have noticed (given that AA are my initials) - though I'm sure Olly has a much more interesting thought behind this one

[Mr.parangot]

from an artistic point of view, and I guess thats what you were aiming for, consistency is way more important than readability. The last version with the stronger pips does not look as elegant anymore. Why leave your design ideas and use too many line thicknesses. players who won't be able to read it properly won't play with custom playing cards anyway. its mainly a collectors or playing card enthusiasts item, so why reduce the art aspect for some practical reason. no artist should do that, if one has to sacrifice some of his design ideas for that.

[Olly Swinyard]

from an artistic point of view, and I guess thats what you were aiming for, consistency is way more important than readability. The last version with the stronger pips does not look as elegant anymore. Why leave your design ideas and use too many line thicknesses. players who won't be able to read it properly won't play with custom playing cards anyway. its mainly a collectors or playing card enthusiasts item, so why reduce the art aspect for some practical reason. no artist should do that, if one has to sacrifice some of his design ideas for that.

I understand what you mean but when it comes to playing cards I do feel that 'practicality' is important. I have seen to many playing card designs that focus purely on the artwork and the 'uniqueness' of their designs that make playing a simple card game inconvenient and tricky, despite them looking so good.

Having said that, your comment has made me think that the current pips aren't quite right and don't really fit with the rest of the deck. I don't think I'll go back to the old pips because when I printed them out they weren't instantly clear which suit they were but I think bold pips with a different font that fit better with the decks design will look better.

BTW: is it coincidental that the line-version pips all have capital "A" shapes in them?  Might consider using a name that starts with "A" as well...

Wow, well spotted I should have noticed (given that AA are my initials) - though I'm sure Olly has a much more interesting thought behind this one

Hhaha that was completely coincidental I didn't even notice. 'Aztec' perhaps?

[Olly Swinyard]

Here's a font I made for the pips which I think is an improvement. It's still bold, simple to read and fits with the rest of the deck better I think  

[Don Boyer]

Here's a font I made for the pips which I think is an improvement. It's still bold, simple to read and fits with the rest of the deck better I think

They're not bad.  Functional enough, I think.  This is more of an art deck anyway.  (That's not a bad thing - just an observation.  Many collectors prefer a more artistic, customized design over a more standard, functional one.)