Colonial Unrest advice!

[rjtomlinson1977]

As many of you know the Unrest Series was intended to be a three part series... Civil Unrest (based on Civl War), Global Unrest (based on WWII) and Colonial Unrest (based on the American Revolutionary War). Now that Civil and Global are out of the way I've moved my attention to the crown jewel of the series (Colonial Unrest). Of coure,many of you also know of a deck by Jackson Robinson which also happens to be based on the American Revolution. When Jackson first came out with his deck I thought about scrapping plans to produce Colonial Unrest but after thinking about all the work I've already invested (plus the fact that without it the Unrest Series is incomplete) I ended up deciding to move forward with it.
So, basically I want to know what (if anything) I can do to make my project not seem like a copycat. For the record I did mention Colonial Unrest in my Kickstarter pages way back in September of last year.
The last thing I want to do is make people angry, but I feel this project is key to the Unrest Series.

[Eoghann]

Show us whatcha got.

Even if it's the same theme, it's the style that will set you apart. I feel sticking to the same key elements as the previous decks is crucial in maintaining uniformity throughout series. Or are you trying something different?

[rjtomlinson1977]

I'll post something later today or tomorrow to show a sneak peak of what I have. I'm not currently at my home computer. Well the design will be similar to what I have but at the same time similar to JR. With the Unrest Series I tried to create a look that you could imagine seeing at the time it was representing. During the American Revolution I'm imagining a sketch book where (for example) Thomas Jefferson would doodle while writing the Declaration of Independce. So the images are more sketched rather than engraved like how JR does them.

[rjtomlinson1977]

Here's a sample of what the face characters would look like. I'm still working on pips, borders and what have you. I haven't decided whether I should add a splash of water color or leave it natural. Keep in mind the look I'm going for is as if Thomas Jefferson had fun doodling pictures of his friends while writing the declaration of independence. I'll problem embed text and/or maps into the background like the rest of the Unrest Series.

[Eoghann]

I know this is definitely not the way you wanna go, but when you said you wanted it to look like Jefferson's sketchbook I imagined him not taking it very seriously and sketching them in candid shots. Like one eating a sandwich, tying their shoelaces, etc. And the jokers could be them posing in a group like a bunch of kids, pulling faces and stuff. Some early drafts, smudges, eraser marks and scribblings to accentuate the sketchbook feel.

Again, I know you're going for a serious approach but I thought I'd share.

I still think it would be cool to make the cards look like worn pages. With torn, bent and weathered edges. Maybe the jokers could look like hand bound leather covers, closing the sketchbook. But that might be stepping outside the unrest canon.

[rjtomlinson1977]

I plan on having worn pages for Colonial Unrest.

[Mike Ratledge]

I a green with Eoghann, RJ. Show us what you have now and we'll comment more.

[rjtomlinson1977]

In addition to Ben (which I already posted) here's my President George, King George and Paul Revere. Notice how they're all pissed off. They're ready for Colonial Unrest. I plan on using a background similar to what is shown (old paper). As I said I've only been sketching out the face characters so far. I'll work on the pips and borders in the coming weeks (months). I've been busy getting Global print ready over the last few days. I plan on sending files to USPCC either tonight or tomorrow. Once I do I can focus more time on this project. I hope to have it listed on or around July 4th (for obvious reasons). I'm still deciding whether to do two separate decks or just one. There's easily enough people to do two full decks. If I did I would sub title the one the "Founders Edition" and the other the "Loyalists Edition".

[rjtomlinson1977]

By the way, the subtitle "Founders Edition" is meant as a poke in the eye to that guy who screwed all those people. If he won't produce a Founders deck... I WILL!!!

[rjtomlinson1977]

I'm half tempted to ask USPCC if they'll let me use the old style Bicycle logo... but the other half tells me the time period is wrong for Bicycle. But then first half reminds me I used the Bicycle logo for the Civil Unrest deck (which the Civil War happened before Bicycle was around).

[rjtomlinson1977]

Here's a few more. Benedict Arnold and Thomas Jefferson.

[montecarlojoe]

One thing to consider to make this a little more distinct from Jackson's - the US was not the only part of the Americas (or world) to be colonised. Each suit could be a different continent heavily colonised by Europe that became or regained independence - North America, South Ameica, Australia, Africa, Asia (India and China in particular)

[rjtomlinson1977]

One thing to consider to make this a little more distinct from Jackson's - the US was not the only part of the Americas (or world) to be colonised. Each suit could be a different continent heavily colonised by Europe that became or regained independence - North America, South Ameica, Australia, Africa, Asia (India and China in particular)

Sounds interesting... but I'll need to brush up on my world history. I know the French and the Russians forcefully removed their Ruling parties, but they can't really be called Colonies. As far as actual colonies I can't think of any that rose up against the empire like the US did. Isn't Canada and Australia still kind of subjects of Great Britain

[montecarlojoe]

They are in the commonwealth - which is to say the Queen is the head of state (but no more than a figurehead really).

The Brits weren't the only colonialists though/ The Spanish and Dutch had huge navies and loved a bit of land grabbing.
Also if you allow that the colonies could be the antagonists too there are plenty or rebellions against colonialist rule (some successful, some not) e.g. (courtesy of goowicklepedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Wa ... dependence" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_War" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathurst_War" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagan" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellions_of_1837" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada_Rebellion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_War_of_Yucat%C3%A1n" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matale_Rebellion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepoy_Mutiny" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Revolution" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maji_Maji_Rebellion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Boer Wars might count too (depending how far you stretch the remit!)

Another angle could be "Revolutionary unrest" - plenty of famous revolutions out there with more iconic figures...

[rjtomlinson1977]

Yeah, I think it would be cool to cover the French revolution or even the 1917 Russian revolution. For this deck, I should have some actual cards layed out within the next few days. Once all items for Global Unrest have been submitted for printing there's a two month waiting game... which will give me the perfect opportunity to work on Colonial Unrest.

[rjtomlinson1977]

So does anyone have an feedback on the drawings?
The entire court will feature:
George Washington
Ben Franklin
King George III
Benedict Arnold
Paul Revere
Thomas Jefferson
William Franklin
Myles Cooper
Abigail Adams
Ann Bates
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Martha Washington
If I decided to do two seperate decks the other deck will feature an entirely different line up with the exception of the two George's since they're the main figure heads. I'll just have them in different poses. However, I might segregate all the Loyalists to one deck and all the Patriots to the other deck. What do you think?

[MagikFingerz]

Drawings look great, RJ. And the separation sounds like a logical one.

[rjtomlinson1977]

For the bodies, should I mirror them connected together (as shown) or should I divide the two halves with a name banner? Also, should I leave them natural or give them a splash of color?

[MagikFingerz]

I'm not a fan of banners myself. Mirrored like above looks good when it's well done, which it is above IMO. I prefer having something like an artbook add-on that explains who the courts are, as long as it's cheap anyway. Some campaigns have had expensive high-quality hard-cover artbooks, which only pissed me off. I get the reasoning behind making it look nice, but at least offer a cheaper alternative to those who don't want to pay $30-40 for some pieces of paper that isn't a deck of cards

Sorry for the rant lol. TL:DR, the above looks good.

[rjtomlinson1977]

Looks like Boston is having a tea party! Colonial Unrest Jokers.

[volantangel]

Really nice drawings on the jokers, liking this more than the previous deck already

[rjtomlinson1977]

Really nice drawings on the jokers, liking this more than the previous deck already

Thanks. I'm hoping to make this the crown jewel within the Unrest Series. I haven't decided if I'll be launching this one first or my Titanic deck. I have two decks I'm working on at the same time.

[chach]

I agree with Volantangel there, I'm liking this one the most so far,these drawings are superb. My one critique though is for the courts, when mirrored I prefer that they're offset from one another rather than straight up and down like you have them pictured.

[MagikFingerz]

I agree with Volantangel there, I'm liking this one the most so far,these drawings are superb. My one critique though is for the courts, when mirrored I prefer that they're offset from one another rather than straight up and down like you have them pictured.

Just a matter of taste, I think. I have no issue with them being straight up and down as long as they're merged nicely in the middle.

And yes, this is looking awesome, Rob!

[Mike Ratledge]

Looks like Boston is having a tea party! Colonial Unrest Jokers.

Nice, Robert: "Lookin' good!"... You're getting better as time goes by, likely true of any successful playing card deck designer/artist. Sweet looking jokers!

[rjtomlinson1977]

Thanks for the kind words. I'll post more artwork as I complete it.

[ecNate]

One of the reasons I really like Jackson's Reserve Note over the other Federal decks is that the court cards are not forced into the traditional style. By that I mean the entire portrait looks period correct and is actually a drawing of their body vs being 'pasted' on to a traditional court body (still love Jackson's work otherwise though FYI). Because of this, I really appreciate how you are keeping the theme on these and am quite interested in this deck.

As for the name on banner or without, I have a slight preference for without, but either could work if done right.

I like the idea of adding some color, but I'm guessing it will lose that period authenticity look. Kind of like when you see b/w photos from early 1900s colorized and they look more vivid, but lose that nostalgia and historic look. Give it a trial look, but proceed with caution.

[Mike Ratledge]

I know this flies in the face of reality with today's market, but it would be interesting to offer an edition that WAS truly period correct just to see if it flies: what I'm talking about is leaving the indices off the corners, like they really were during that period. I've got a picture I've been looking for and I'll come back and attach it here in a minute (I'm not using my phone right now, and the pix is over there and not on the laptop I just got). It shows the "Dead Man's Hand" as it really appeared "back in the day" when Wild Bill got shot during his poker game. I guess I'm just day-dreaming, because they wouldn't sell, of course. Still an interesting thought - just to see how well (or poorly) they were received because technically these are exactly what they looked like at the time.

And - here it is: (I always give credit where do - Lee Asher sent me this when we were talking about potential logos for 52+Joker)

I remember somebody asking about this a couple of days ago so I'll see if I can find that topic and link it to this response so I don't duplicate the pix...

[ecNate]

I think the Highlanders serves that purpose for me just fine. I suppose offering a slightly more period correct version as a limited edition might work, but typically that would mean removing so much of the intricate artwork.

http://www.amazon.com/Highlanders-1864- ... 00000IVGK/

[rjtomlinson1977]

At first I thought about doing the Unrest Series truly period correct but decided the commercial appeal wasn't there. So I decided to do what Disney does... create my own version of history. I try to capture the feel of the time without going all the way there. Just like with Disney, all of their Fairy Tales are cleaned up versions too.