From Whimsical Teapots to VIZAĜO Playing Cards - The Journey

[leangyan]

Just one word: Wow...I like 'Harlequin' btw.

[Connor X]

Oh my gosh...

I'll take 2. 

[NineLives]

Firstly, I'm so sorry for my delay in replying ... Time has a way of running away from me when I'm drawing... 

this is turning out great.  It started as wonderful and has moved into full-blown magnificence. I like the suggestion put forth by Don calling this deck "Whimsy."  But, I'd love to hear what other ideas you might have besides Harlequin. 

Thanks Helshawk - your support and feedback truly means a lot

Just one word: Wow...I like 'Harlequin' btw.

Thanks so much Sunish - let's see if you're swayed by the naming rambles below

Oh my gosh...

I'll take 2. 

Thank you Connor X - glad to hear

----

Names and titles are often elusive to me until the work is complete ... And so, following Helshawk's prompt, here are some of the ideas bouncing around, with a little background on where they come from - to see if any stands out as 'the name' ...


IRIDIUM - is a rare metal in the platinum family. Named after the Greek goddess Iris (derived from the Latin word meaning rainbow), for the striking and diverse colours of its salts.

[Ramble Alert] Many colours have fascinating and almost magical names (Vanadium, Aquamarine, Cerulean, Tangarine, Vermillion ... ahhh!), yet choosing one colour to represent many didn't seem quite fair in this case ... As colours are often derived from metal oxides, I searched the periodic table for an element which could represent all colours - and found Iridium. Small amounts of this metal oxide can produce colours and enhance the effect of ceramic glazes, and, because of its impressive resistance to corrosion and high melting point (above 2000 degrees Celcius), it's also used in ceramic refractories. During my years working in clay and teaching glaze technology (the chemistry of ceramic glazes), I developed many glazes where the addition of different metal oxides produced specific effects in the fired result. Fascinating, especially for someone like myself who found high-school chemistry a drag, that practical use and the ability to test and observe tangible results - made all the difference While the drawing/painting style comes from my love of drawing faces loosely inspired by cross-contour drawing ... my teapots with faces involved the use of metal oxides, glazes and high-temperature firings, which in a way brings a 'rainbow metal name' into focus...

Following the journey into the world of chemistry I looked for more descriptive names ... Harlequin draped in colours and fun has sat at the top of that list, with Mosaiko coming in close behind (until I discovered the no-bake cake). Honestly, going over the names I find I'm leaning more towards Iridium again (going around in circles)

HARLEQUIN - a reference to the fanciful, multicoloured and jester like nature of the courts
HARLEQUINA - same as above but with a feminine touch

MOSAIKO - inspired by stained glass, mosaic and colour, although just did a search online and discovered it's also a no-bake cake 

VIZAGO - Esperanto word meaning face

SEJA - Latvian word meaning face (this one comes from my Latvian background...)



Moving on to Aces and Number cards ...

The theme of faces continues throughout the deck and the Ace of Hearts has two faces framed within. The colour scheme follows that of the royal hearts, with the emphasis being on red. There may still be some tweaks before I'm happy, but here's version 1:



10 of Hearts

Initial idea is to maintain the detail from the Ace in each of the number pips, though I've done a few versions with slightly less detail to see if it makes a difference.

1. Identical to the Ace - though smaller in size ...



2. Scaled back amount of detail in faces



3. Contrast variation - more within the red spectrum



Thanks for looking!
Annette

[Fess]

Vizago strikes me as a great name for a deck for two reasons, a V and a Z in the name. Those provide some great design opportunities for the tuck box. The I and the G are always fun but really with Vizago a they're just a bonus. Really great name and it fits the deck so well.

About the heart pips. It isn't the design or the color choice, the designs look good and it works on the ace. With so many faces built upon shapes and color, locked within familiar shapes outlined in color these are really busy to the eye. I'm having a terrible time focusing in general on the number cards. Not to be mean but they make me want to look away, and quickly! I feel like less is more in situations like these. If you're in love with the idea of faced pips throughout the deck maybe consider seeing how it looks with only 2 pips per number card using the designed faces while the remaining pips are solid. I'd go with the two pips nearest the indices over the two in the center. That could provide some form of balance that is completely missing at the moment.

[Anthony]

Love how the deck is coming along Annette

As for names, I agree with Fess on this one VIZAGO! I think he also brought up a good point regarding the pips, I like his two pip suggestion. Coming together nicely

[ecNate]

And the Aces have faces!     And the number cards!  All in, love the custom details.

[NineLives]

Vizago strikes me as a great name for a deck for two reasons, a V and a Z in the name. Those provide some great design opportunities for the tuck box. The I and the G are always fun but really with Vizago a they're just a bonus. Really great name and it fits the deck so well.

About the heart pips. It isn't the design or the color choice, the designs look good and it works on the ace. With so many faces built upon shapes and color, locked within familiar shapes outlined in color these are really busy to the eye. I'm having a terrible time focusing in general on the number cards. Not to be mean but they make me want to look away, and quickly! I feel like less is more in situations like these. If you're in love with the idea of faced pips throughout the deck maybe consider seeing how it looks with only 2 pips per number card using the designed faces while the remaining pips are solid. I'd go with the two pips nearest the indices over the two in the center. That could provide some form of balance that is completely missing at the moment.

Thanks Fess for your awesome feedback - I really appreciate it
I agree with you about the V and Z in VIZAGO and I am warming to this one a lot. What threw me in the beginning was a search for 'how to pronounce' ... and the computerised voice made it sound strange, but then I tried a known word (frangipani) and the result was hilariously terrible... I think first audio impression can be discarded - and probably visual is more important anyway?

With the number cards, you're right that they are on the busy side at the moment - partly, the left/right mirroring may be responsible for some of the eye-jumping, though more needs to be done - I don't want to make you have to look away

To be honest, I would like to maintain custom pips throughout (related to the aces, even if they're less detailed), though I promise I won't bang my head against the brick wall to make the impossible work

Love how the deck is coming along Annette

As for names, I agree with Fess on this one VIZAGO! I think he also brought up a good point regarding the pips, I like his two pip suggestion. Coming together nicely

Thanks so much Anthony, and for the 2nd vote for VIZAGO - still work in progress on aces and number cards, though I'm having a lot of fun and enjoying the process of bringing this deck closer to reality.

And the Aces have faces!     And the number cards!  All in, love the custom details.

Thank you ecNate - delighted to hear

10 of Hearts - continued Work In Progress

In these versions I have omitted mirroring the hearts left to right and stuck to just rotating (top - bottom for the two-way view).

First - a look at Fess' suggestion to have 2 detailed pips and the rest solid:


Second - taking out more detail and bringing the colours even more into red:


Third - introducing black accents and emphasising the area around the eyes:



The Ace does need a bit more work before I'm happy with it, so there's bound to be a few more changes along the way ...

Thanks for looking - and for your awesome support and feedback!
Annette

[Fess]

Not everyone does this but most people do, we try to pronounce words based upon other words we know. It's part of being human and how we associate things to make sense for us in our minds. So, I simplify things by going with the vowel structure I know. Example of Vizago, it's meaning is close to the word I do know how to pronounce Visage. I'm sure there is some correlation between the two words through history at some point, coming from vulgar Latin and evolving into the romance languages Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, etc. Example Brazil in american and Brasil in Spanish, Portuguese etc. Sure they aren't exactly the same in pronunciation but they're close enough for most people. While English is a Germanic language the English vocabulary is heavily influenced by the romance langues so without over pronouncing the vowels I think it's alright to say that Vizago and Visage can sound fairly similar and it'll be okay. Some people don't use sound association when they're trying to pronounce a new word and will make that sucka sound as alien as possible, this tends to happen a whole lot less but it's fun as hell when you hear people doing it! I'd consider that a bonus myself.

On the pips, just a little something something, it may be good to use the dominant color of the artistic pips in the solid pips. It allows for the eye to flow over the solid pips easier and draws attention to the artistic pips at the same time. An interesting thing that could happen if you're thinking about having the faces smooch on all the aces/pips would be to use a color from the male as a dominant color on two suits and a color from the female as the dominant color on two suits.

A lot of fun going on and I'm interested to see the direction you go in. I think this deck is going to be brilliant both in color and in design.

[NineLives]

I love the idea of making new words sound as alien as possible
Just listened to Adele's 'Hello' performed in Esperanto - sounds  quite beautiful. With the actual pronunciation, I think you're right about the similarity to visage - having seen the 'g' both with and without the roof-like accent [Vizago / Vizaĝo] - the correct spelling is probably with the accent, which would make it a soft g.

Thanks again for your fascinating input I'm going to do some more work on the aces and update soon - only hearts [lovers] have the smooching couple - the others will have different faces

[Don Boyer]

Vizago is a good name - it has a "g" sound as in the word go, a short "i" as in image and a short "a" as in ah.

Try this with the two-faced hearts - reduce the level of detail (except for the ace, of course!), make one face a distinct shade of red and the other face a different shade, notably lighter or darker in its entirety.  That might be the happy compromise you're seeking, where you have unique pips with faces in them but they're not too busy or distracting.  Alternately, you could try something akin to a semi-transformation or transformation deck, where you use the pips to make an image in each card - it entails a lot more work, but will make for an absolutely gorgeous design overall.  Transformation would use the pips in situ without altering their positions from standard, while semi-transformation would allow you to play with the placements a little and tweak the pips themselves.  Emmanuel Jose's decks are a fine example of good semi-transformation decks.

[NineLives]

Vizago is a good name - it has a "g" sound as in the word go, a short "i" as in image and a short "a" as in ah.

Try this with the two-faced hearts - reduce the level of detail (except for the ace, of course!), make one face a distinct shade of red and the other face a different shade, notably lighter or darker in its entirety.  That might be the happy compromise you're seeking, where you have unique pips with faces in them but they're not too busy or distracting.  Alternately, you could try something akin to a semi-transformation or transformation deck, where you use the pips to make an image in each card - it entails a lot more work, but will make for an absolutely gorgeous design overall.  Transformation would use the pips in situ without altering their positions from standard, while semi-transformation would allow you to play with the placements a little and tweak the pips themselves.  Emmanuel Jose's decks are a fine example of good semi-transformation decks.

Thanks Don
My bad with the spelling - VIZAĜO with circumflex over g - and the only thing that's different from your excellent pronunciation guide is 'g' like in gem ... The Esperanto word meaning 'face' continues to grow on me and I'm almost ready to say this baby has a name...

Thanks too for your suggestions on the pips - doing some more work on Ace of Hearts at the moment, which will flow through to the number cards (I think). I had thought to go with transformation (like you say - custom pips in traditional placement), though I'll keep an open mind to semi-transformation, especially if the pips decide that's the way they need to go ...

Annette

[Don Boyer]

Vizago is a good name - it has a "g" sound as in the word go, a short "i" as in image and a short "a" as in ah.

Try this with the two-faced hearts - reduce the level of detail (except for the ace, of course!), make one face a distinct shade of red and the other face a different shade, notably lighter or darker in its entirety.  That might be the happy compromise you're seeking, where you have unique pips with faces in them but they're not too busy or distracting.  Alternately, you could try something akin to a semi-transformation or transformation deck, where you use the pips to make an image in each card - it entails a lot more work, but will make for an absolutely gorgeous design overall.  Transformation would use the pips in situ without altering their positions from standard, while semi-transformation would allow you to play with the placements a little and tweak the pips themselves.  Emmanuel Jose's decks are a fine example of good semi-transformation decks.

Thanks Don
My bad with the spelling - VIZAĜO with circumflex over g - and the only thing that's different from your excellent pronunciation guide is 'g' like in gem ... The Esperanto word meaning 'face' continues to grow on me and I'm almost ready to say this baby has a name...

Thanks too for your suggestions on the pips - doing some more work on Ace of Hearts at the moment, which will flow through to the number cards (I think). I had thought to go with transformation (like you say - custom pips in traditional placement), though I'll keep an open mind to semi-transformation, especially if the pips decide that's the way they need to go ...

Annette

If the pronunciation is more like "vih-zah-jo," almost no one is going to pronounce it right, at least not in countries like the US where the circumflex is non-standard.  Putting a small-print pronunciation guide under the title might help, if it matters to you personally.

I think you misunderstood my definition of transformation deck - it's standard placement of STANDARD pips, incorporating the pips into a unique piece of art.  Semi-transformation also uses standard pips, but with unique placements that are tweaked to suit the artwork.  Because each and every card is a unique piece of art, it involves a lot more work to make either type of deck, but the end result is well worth it.

[Helshawk]

As soon as I saw the word "Iridium" come up, I immediately fell in love with it, knowing somewhat about glazes and the connection to tea pots here.  I was set to declare this the best name ever until............I saw Vizago.  I have earthly love for "Iridium" but I have heavenly love for "Vizago."  LOVE the Ace of Hearts, BTW!

[NineLives]

If the pronunciation is more like "vih-zah-jo," almost no one is going to pronounce it right, at least not in countries like the US where the circumflex is non-standard.  Putting a small-print pronunciation guide under the title might help, if it matters to you personally.

Thanks Don
I had thought to include a pronunciation guide (and probably the meaning of the name too) - and I like your idea of it being small print. Though I don't mind if pronunciation varies - the visual look and the meaning are more important

I think you misunderstood my definition of transformation deck - it's standard placement of STANDARD pips, incorporating the pips into a unique piece of art.  Semi-transformation also uses standard pips, but with unique placements that are tweaked to suit the artwork.  Because each and every card is a unique piece of art, it involves a lot more work to make either type of deck, but the end result is well worth it.

Sorry for muddling things up Don - you made me think of one of my favourite cartoons :


When my head stops spinning with definitions I'll see if I've got it right ... Would the 10 of hearts (versions above) be custom pips (neither transformation or semi-transformation)?

As soon as I saw the word "Iridium" come up, I immediately fell in love with it, knowing somewhat about glazes and the connection to tea pots here.  I was set to declare this the best name ever until............I saw Vizago.  I have earthly love for "Iridium" but I have heavenly love for "Vizago."  LOVE the Ace of Hearts, BTW!

Thanks so much Helshawk Curious that you know about glazes ... such a fascinating world of fire and magic! Like you, I felt Iridium made the connection to both colour and earth - but with Vizaĝo, the meaning of the deck seemed to 'fall into place' and I'm truly glad you like it Glad you like Ace of Hearts, still a little more work to do before I'm happy ...

Ace of Clubs - Draft
Made a start on the second Ace - like a triple mirror, it reflects three slightly different aspects of the same face ...still thinking about size and placement - at the moment it feels a bit squat...



Thanks for looking!
Annette

[Cardfool]

Love the AoCs!  You are on a roll with the Aces!  I really can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve for us! 

[Don Boyer]

If the pronunciation is more like "vih-zah-jo," almost no one is going to pronounce it right, at least not in countries like the US where the circumflex is non-standard.  Putting a small-print pronunciation guide under the title might help, if it matters to you personally.

Thanks Don
I had thought to include a pronunciation guide (and probably the meaning of the name too) - and I like your idea of it being small print. Though I don't mind if pronunciation varies - the visual look and the meaning are more important

I think you misunderstood my definition of transformation deck - it's standard placement of STANDARD pips, incorporating the pips into a unique piece of art.  Semi-transformation also uses standard pips, but with unique placements that are tweaked to suit the artwork.  Because each and every card is a unique piece of art, it involves a lot more work to make either type of deck, but the end result is well worth it.

Sorry for muddling things up Don - you made me think of one of my favourite cartoons :


When my head stops spinning with definitions I'll see if I've got it right ... Would the 10 of hearts (versions above) be custom pips (neither transformation or semi-transformation)?

Ace of Clubs - Draft
Made a start on the second Ace - like a triple mirror, it reflects three slightly different aspects of the same face ...still thinking about size and placement - at the moment it feels a bit squat...



Thanks for looking!
Annette

For me, pronunciation is important.  My last name is French and I pronounce it as such, which means the final consonant sound is silent.  I don't use the Anglicized pronunciation of it, so whenever I tell someone what my name is, especially when talking over the phone with someone who's looking my name up in their computer database, I tell them my name as it's properly pronounced in French, then spell it - in extreme cases where they can't hear me, I'll use the "military alphabet" and say "Bravo, Oscar, Yankee, Echo, Romeo..."

I'm a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes - I have the entire run of comics in a giant boxed set of books; every single strip, black-and-white and color, all in one collection!

Your pips are custom - but your cards are NOT in any way transformation cards.  It is possible to combine the concepts, but it requires a light touch to do it well.  For example, in the semi-transformation decks made by Emmanuel Jose, most of his pips are indeed standard, but occasionally he does rework a few or even all of his pips on a given card into a custom design to make it suit his concept for the card's art - a pip might be made to look like a bird, a fish, a baloon, a tree, etc. and in the process be made as a custom pip design, as opposed to taking an completely ordinary pip and drawing new lines on it or around it or both to make the transformation art.

A genuine full-transformation art deck is easy to envision when you think of it this way - if you bought an ordinary, standard pack of cards and drew, painted or sketched your art onto the spot cards, with the pips on those cards not being moved or reshaped in any way, that's a handmade version of a proper transformation deck.  Of course, the courts are a different ballgame altogether, but you can't really to a lot to them after they've been printed because there's so little white space left in the typical standard court card design.

A decision to make a full or semi-transformation deck isn't something to take lightly - you're making a unique piece of art for each of the cards, all 52 at the least, and usually the jokers as well.  I suppose one could make some cards as transformation cards while leaving others alone, but the effect isn't the same as transforming all of the cards and leads to having a deck that looks like two different decks cobbled together from spare parts.  It's why transformation decks in general aren't very common these days.

[NineLives]

Oh that is fabulous - a Calvin & Hobbes fan!
Don, I dug this one out for you



Back in art school I made a couple of Calvin & Hobbes 'fan mugs' for friends - Hobbes (not visible here) is chasing Calvin around the mug and his tail forms the handle. It's not the best photo, but it was a fun tribute thing to do - and I do envy your collection! 

Love the AoCs!  You are on a roll with the Aces!  I really can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve for us! 

Thank you so much Cardfool, I really appreciate your support
There will be some adjustments to the aces as I go - For me, things tend to come together more when I see the cards working together... this is also why I leave the back and the box to the very end...

Ace of Diamons - draft



A single face looking through the diamond shape.

Thanks for looking
Annette

[Fess]

And there is the AoD. My favorite suit and so far my favorite card!

[Claire G]

Oh wow these cards are absolutely lovely. Loving the colour scheme!

[NineLives]

And there is the AoD. My favorite suit and so far my favorite card!

Thanks so much Fess - glad you like this Ace, it feels like the direction is set for bringing the four together, along with some tweaks to the heart and club ... and then (after Ace of Spades) it's time for  'round two' of number cards 

Oh wow these cards are absolutely lovely. Loving the colour scheme!

Thank you Claire, nice to see you pop in here - and glad you like the colours!

[NineLives]

Sorry for the delay folks, unexpected events have kept me preoccupied recently, which unfortunately has meant less time for creative work ... Though as things settle, I'm looking forward to be back on track with this truly exciting project. Just wanted to let you know, I'm still here

From other design/development posts I gather that there is little point in seeking quotes from printers, until both back and box design are complete? (my top favourites would be EPCC or Legends for this deck)...  The tricky part is that with the way I work, the back and box become the last to complete ... and I suppose I'm wondering if I actually need to wait until they're done before approaching printers; given that quotes can take some time ..?

Thanks for visiting *wave*
Annette

[Don Boyer]

Sorry for the delay folks, unexpected events have kept me preoccupied recently, which unfortunately has meant less time for creative work ... Though as things settle, I'm looking forward to be back on track with this truly exciting project. Just wanted to let you know, I'm still here

From other design/development posts I gather that there is little point in seeking quotes from printers, until both back and box design are complete? (my top favourites would be EPCC or Legends for this deck)...  The tricky part is that with the way I work, the back and box become the last to complete ... and I suppose I'm wondering if I actually need to wait until they're done before approaching printers; given that quotes can take some time ..?

Thanks for visiting *wave*
Annette

You kinda sorta have to complete the whole design first.  You might end up wanting certain bells and whistles for your backs or tuck boxes that will alter your price quote - metallic inks, foil stamping, embossing, side-loading tucks, interior printing, custom seals, UV inks, etc.  If you know you're going to go plain vanilla for certain, using only CMYK-blended colors and no fancy add-ons, then it practically doesn't matter; yes, you can approach them for a quote - but they might want to see the finished design before they can give you that quote.

[NineLives]

You kinda sorta have to complete the whole design first.  You might end up wanting certain bells and whistles for your backs or tuck boxes that will alter your price quote - metallic inks, foil stamping, embossing, side-loading tucks, interior printing, custom seals, UV inks, etc.  If you know you're going to go plain vanilla for certain, using only CMYK-blended colors and no fancy add-ons, then it practically doesn't matter; yes, you can approach them for a quote - but they might want to see the finished design before they can give you that quote.

Thanks Don
I do like 'kinda sorta' - and yes I can relate to that it's best to have all details locked in before providing a quote. I'll need to think about the bells and whistles - at this point the 3 that seem cool to me are: embossing (on box), interior printing and custom seals ... I don't think metallic inks or foils would be the go on this one ...

My focus is more on the design and I fear I'm less enlightened as to what collectors like, so if anyone has a wishlist I'm all ears!

*wave* Annette

[Don Boyer]

You kinda sorta have to complete the whole design first.  You might end up wanting certain bells and whistles for your backs or tuck boxes that will alter your price quote - metallic inks, foil stamping, embossing, side-loading tucks, interior printing, custom seals, UV inks, etc.  If you know you're going to go plain vanilla for certain, using only CMYK-blended colors and no fancy add-ons, then it practically doesn't matter; yes, you can approach them for a quote - but they might want to see the finished design before they can give you that quote.

Thanks Don
I do like 'kinda sorta' - and yes I can relate to that it's best to have all details locked in before providing a quote. I'll need to think about the bells and whistles - at this point the 3 that seem cool to me are: embossing (on box), interior printing and custom seals ... I don't think metallic inks or foils would be the go on this one ...

My focus is more on the design and I fear I'm less enlightened as to what collectors like, so if anyone has a wishlist I'm all ears!

*wave* Annette

Actually, an interior of metallic foil might be nice - it lends the box a rather royal look, especially depending on the color chosen.  Red's a good option, though if purple's available, go for it!

Metallic inks have become less popular since foil stamping on the cards has become a revived art.  But it's VERY expensive.  Cheaper to get foil on the box - collectors like shiny things.  Ironic, considering that matte finishes on tucks are also very popular rather than glossy finishes.

If you're going for a limited edition of a specific size, a serially-numbered custom deck seal is another popular option.

[Fess]

Just tossing this out there, I love the synthetic paper tucks they've come up with. The stuff is fantastic. I usually carry my deck in a little case but it's pretty thick and can be annoying. The synthetic paper tucks slip in my pocket and I don't have to worry about the tuck being mangled like paper ones so no case, pack jacket or clip required. It's a beautiful thing.