Pictorial Review: Playful decks (Noir Arts)

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Pictorial Review: Playful decks (Noir Arts)

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*** Unique Playing Cards from Noir Arts ***

I appreciate things that are artistic, and you can tell already from the name of this outfit that these guys are really into art: Noir Arts. That's confirmed by their tag line: "We are Arts! Unique playing card designs". Noir Arts was officially formed in 2014, but their history goes back much further than this. Based in Ukraine, the people involved with Noir Arts have been producing beautiful playing cards for the local Ukrainian market already since 2005. I've seen pictures of some of the decks they produced during this phase, and while the majority of those decks were souvenir decks that will primarily have localized interest, they feature some beautiful designs and artwork.

Initially operating just under the label Noir Playing Card Company (NPCC), in 2014 they expanded to begin producing playing cards for the worldwide community. They began by designing their own decks, and soon began cooperating with talented independent artists and design studios. Presently they work not just with designers from Ukraine, but from all over the globe, and wherever they see talent that fits with their style. But always, the focus has remained on art. The result is a very strong portfolio of custom playing cards that represent diverse styles, but a very unique bent. They describe their vision as follows: "We strive to create each deck eye-catching, combining various features and styles, experimenting with new materials and techniques." Noir is French for "black", and so quite a number of their decks are more dark in theme. You'll find decks that reflect skull themes and horror, but equally royalty and humour. But what they all have in common is that they all are unquestionably unique and stylish.

The man behind Noir Arts is Roman Kotiv, and he and two partners are the team of three that is primarily responsible for making all of this happen. Roman is an engineer-constructor by trade, but has a love for collecting playing cards, and producing his own playing cards was a long-time dream come true. Since embarking on this road, he's learned an enormous amount along the way about how to produce premium playing cards. With the help of his partners and of more than a dozen workers who are involved in producing the actual cards in a printing factory, he's now producing a steady stream of quality playing cards.

In addition to creating an impressive range of playing cards under their own design, Noir Arts offers a printing and fulfilment service under their original name NPCC, to create and print custom decks of playing cards for other designers and creators. While they continue to produce budget quality playing cards for the Ukrainian market with souvenir type decks branded with local company names, they have a division within NPCC that focuses on printing premium quality playing cards for the global market. Creators of custom playing cards are always looking for good sources to produce and fulfil their projects, so this will certainly be of interest to many designers - but only if they produce a quality product, and of course that's one of the things I'll be considering in this review. In this feature, I will showcase the custom playing cards Noir Arts has produced, to give an overview of their work and style, and a glimpse of the artistic talent that is evident from their portfolio. I'll also come to some of my own conclusions, based on my personal experience with a wide range of their decks.

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*** PLAYFUL DECKS ***

Geistreiz Playing Cards (2015)

I'll begin with one of my favourite decks in the entire Noir Arts portfolio, the Geistreiz Original version pictured here on the left in red, and later the Geistriz Classic version on the right in blue. Both of these have attractive tuck boxes with a smooth matt finish, with eye-catching and playful designs that immediately capture one's attention and interest.

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The illustrations for this deck were created by Maike Venhofen and Stefan G. Halbuer. In a striking departure from many other decks in the Noir Arts portfolio that are darker in tone, this is more playful and fun deck, which yet retains a "noir" feel, accompanied with an incredibly unique style which I've never seen before.

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The concept behind the Geistreiz deck was to focus on "unique characters with a modern touch, unique and interesting-looking. The main intention was to create a style of cards, never seen before." Judging by what you see here, I'm sure most people will agree that this aim was accomplished!

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In addition to the unusual characters, each of the court cards (and especially the aces) all contain one added item of interest. Examples include a King with a tv-remote and a beer cup (King of Diamonds), or a glamorously looking Queen with long cigarette (Queen of Diamonds) or a glass of wine (Queen of Clubs). Here's a college of some of the cards:

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The illustrations were hand-drawn and use a unique stipling technique in which small dots create shading and shadows.

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Because the Geistreiz Original deck featured unusual pips, to enhance playability a Geistreiz Classic deck was also developed that had a more traditional layout and pips, while still retaining the unique artistic flavour and style of the original.

Here you can see the unusual suit icons used in the original deck, including the fact that each suit has its own colour.

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A very energetic deck, the Geistreiz Playing Cards is a colourful and memorable creation that will be appreciated by those who have an eye for something different and lively, and with these decks, Noir Arts has made a very novel contribution to the custom playing card industry.


Carnaval De Muertos Playing Cards (2017)

The Carnaval De Muertos decks were produced earlier this year by Noir Arts with the help of nearly 1000 backers on Kickstarter. Two versions were made: the burgundy/yellow-themed Carnaval De Muertos Marigold deck and the white-green Carnaval De Muertos Alheli deck.

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It's themed after the Mexican Day of the Dead, which is a Mexican holiday tradition to celebrate the lives of the deceased with food, drink, and parties. Celebrations typically take place with street parties, parades, and vibrant clothes and festivities, with skeletons and skulls being common symbols, but depicted in a playful and colourful way.

All of these elements are captured in the lively court cards you see here, which are from the Marigold deck.

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The card-backs of the Marigold deck have an intricately patterned design with vibrant colours, and the Jokers continue the playful theme which runs through the entire deck.

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Even the number cards feature unusual pip designs and arrangements, and thin borders add a touch of style and class. However the indices remain easily recognizable for those who might want to use this creative deck for playing a card game.

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The tuck cases of both decks are absolutely splendid, with the Marigold deck finished off with lavish red foil accents, while the companion Alheli deck is touched with magnificent gold accents. Photos really can't do justice to how amazing both of the tuck boxes look.

And the positive impressions only continue once you open the box, with both having interior printing that includes extensive foil - red foil in the case of the Marigold deck, blue foil in the case of the Alheli deck. You really need to see these boxes first-hand to see how impressive they are!

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The companion deck to the burgundy/yellow Marigold is the white/green Alheli, which has a similar style to the Marigold deck but a different colour scheme. I was especially delighted to discover that although the Jokers in both decks have matching artwork, the court cards of the Alheli deck have completely new characters, for added variety.

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The card backs of this deck - seen here with the Jokers - also feature an entirely different design.

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Like the holiday that they celebrate, the Carnaval de Muertos decks are celebratory in nature, and take a light-hearted and playful look at what would normally be considered macabre subject matter. Noir Arts has done a fantastic job in bringing these wonderful decks to life in a very colourful and quality product, that is both fun and incredibly classy at the same time.


*** Recommendation ***

So is Noir Arts (NPCC) for you? I came across Noir Arts and NPCC quite by accident, when exploring aspects the world of playing cards, but I'm very pleased that I did. They have produced some stunning decks of their own, using the artistic talents of creators internationally. In addition they provide what seems to be a good printing service for their many customers around their world. Knowing that this is a source that can be used to produce playing cards and fulfil crowd-funded projects will mean that many designers of custom cards will want to take note of this option they might otherwise not know about. As for the overall quality and handling of the cards, their quality is improving, although it doesn't match the best in the business like USPCC and LPCC/EPCC just yet, but is on par with second-tier publishers like MPC. Look for more extensive comments on the card quality and handling, plus a more detailed comparison with other publishers, in the final article of this series. The Noir Arts tuck boxes, however, are typically much more exquisite and impressive than MPC, and are first-rate.

While not geared towards producing playing cards that will satisfy the highest quality and exacting standards demanded by cardistry or card magic, Noir Arts is certainly focused on creating decks with a more artistic look, which they present in very impressive and high quality tuck boxes. Their playing cards cards have an air-cushion style finish and are of a quality that works well for playing card games or for collectors who admire an artistic style of deck. If that's what you're looking for, then do check them, their range, and their services out!

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Want to learn more? Noir Arts: http://www.noir-arts.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Web-store: https://shop.trycelery.com/page/shopnoirarts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Printing: https://noir-arts.com/npcc-info/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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