The Esquire Deck

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InvictusPlayers
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by InvictusPlayers »

Hey everyone, thanks for replying so quickly, always good to get feedback so I can start making decisions and moving forward. :D
montecarlojoe wrote:Wow - every time you come back this design just leaps ahead!

I love the new look - intricate but with a slightly hand-drawn quality to it which actually works quite nicely.

Nice one!
Thanks so much, I really wanted to push myself and my design skills to new levels with the back. I hope I pulled something together that the community will enjoy working with.
MagikFingerz wrote:
Eoghann wrote:Deck isn't exactly going to fan like that but hot damn it looks nice.
Yep, pretty much all "fan" renders are way too spaced out.

This new back looks good, but I still feel like it needs something to break the monotony. Like highlighting the logos (slightly brighter/darker than the rest) and/or some of the other elements.

Having an inversed edition works really well with this though, good call on that!
Thanks for your feedback. When i'm trying to get a feel for the fan, should I simulate the look of a thumb fan? Or a table spread? I've carefully considered the idea of adding accent colors, but I'd like to stick with my monochrome look with the black and silver. Do you think there's a way to add separation to the logos without shifting the color? I sort of tried to do that with the large negative area around the E's, but I guess it wasn't enough. Any suggestions here would be really appreciated. Thanks again! :)

Do these fans look more accurate?
https://s3.amazonaws.com/esquire/WIP/5-4-14/black_thumbfan.jpg
https://s3.amazonaws.com/esquire/WIP/5-4-14/white_thumbfan.jpg
Eoghann wrote:Agree. The dark ones need a bold white accent and the white some black to really make these look amazing.
Hey thanks for commenting again! This would totally work, I agree. I would love to keep a monochrome positive and negative thing going on with the cards if I can. I really like how this kind of mimicks the original Bicycle backs. I'm not completely shutting out the idea of going back and adding accent colors once all of my other options are exhausted, but I would love to pitch a design that showcases the lines offset by the silver on the black or the silver on the white because I really think it showcases the quality of the line weight and layout better than adding multiple colors. Once I get the design to a point that it works in a monochrome setting then deciding to go back and add accent colors will only enhance things further. (If I decide that they really need them in the end.)
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by MagikFingerz »

That's definitely a better rendering of the fans, still not quite accurate regarding the pivot point though. I'll attach a fan of my own (disclaimer: not perfect), you can see how it differs from your rendering on how the upper right corner of the deck becomes visible. Not a complaint though, very few actually take time to do this, so kudos :)

http://playingcards.wdfiles.com/local--files/split-spades:white-lions/Split%20Spades%20White%20Lions%20fan%20backs.JPG

PS. This is a good example of why I dislike thick borders, and relatively speaking these aren't even that thick!
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by Eoghann »

Borderless should be the norm. :)

Or super thin borders!
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by InvictusPlayers »

Alright, sorry if this seems a bit obsessive, but I really want to get the best previews I possibly can in front of you guys. I took the image from above and made a setup so my future previews will have a more accurate thumb fan. Man, i've spent way too much time in front of Photoshop this weekend! :)

https://s3.amazonaws.com/esquire/WIP/5-5-14/black_thumbfan.jpg
https://s3.amazonaws.com/esquire/WIP/5-5-14/white_thumbfan.jpg
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by volantangel »

Now those fans look really good ! great work =)
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by MagikFingerz »

That's perfect! And it's not obsessive when it's us who pointed it out ;)

I hereby grant you permission to use the image of my hand in your renderings :ugking:
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by montecarlojoe »

Sweet!
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by Eoghann »

Very nice!
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by InvictusPlayers »

I still wasn't quite happy with the overall feel of the back design. The texture felt a little haphazard to me and I'm determined to get this thing looking as good as I possibly can. I played with the last design for more than a week shifting bits and pieces around and trying different versions, but I just wasn't happy with my scroll work. So this past weekend I had a chance to sit down and sketch out some new ideas.

I switched to a 4-way back just to see if the change was for the better. And as persistent as I've been about doing a borderless back I've been reviewing border options just to keep an open mind. It is my opinion that borderless backs may only be suited for backs that are completely uniform in design. Or if it is possible, maybe this just isn't the proper design for it.

Anyways, as always please let me know what you think, please excuse the crudeness of the linework, I wanted to give you guys a preview ASAP. I've tried my best to incorporate your last round of critique into the new revision. Thanks! :D

https://s3.amazonaws.com/esquire/WIP/5-27-14/4-way-black-border.png
https://s3.amazonaws.com/esquire/WIP/5-27-14/4-way-black-border-thumbFan.jpg
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by ryzellon »

I see that the vertical bars/empty space to either side of the central "E"s are pretty consistently present in all your iterations. Is that a design aesthetic you're set on keeping? I don't see the necessity of a tripartite design, and having a little more interplay between the sections would do a lot to alleviate the starkness of the black bars (which I think are boring, but if that's something you want to keep, well, you're the boss).

I wish I could be more helpful in describing what I'd prefer to see, but the best I can manage is something rather MS Paint-y. The arrows indicate the direction I'd like to see the design expand, and the curves/lines indicate the edge of what I'd like to see moved.
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Re: The Esquire Deck

Unread post by InvictusPlayers »

ryzellon wrote:I see that the vertical bars/empty space to either side of the central "E"s are pretty consistently present in all your iterations. Is that a design aesthetic you're set on keeping? I don't see the necessity of a tripartite design, and having a little more interplay between the sections would do a lot to alleviate the starkness of the black bars (which I think are boring, but if that's something you want to keep, well, you're the boss).

I wish I could be more helpful in describing what I'd prefer to see, but the best I can manage is something rather MS Paint-y. The arrows indicate the direction I'd like to see the design expand, and the curves/lines indicate the edge of what I'd like to see moved.
Thanks for the input! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I settled on having the large center piece quite early on in my design and it's something I've carried over from iteration to iteration. I actually like the split from the centerpiece on both sides especially in conjunction with the thin black border because I feel it gives the design some unique character. From a distance the 3 separate panels have a nice regal quality. At least that's how I think of it when I see it from a distance. When it's printed full size the size reduction gives an entirely different feel than when you see it blown up huge on a computer screen.
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