Viceroys

Find out about the latest and greatest playing cards hitting the market.
shimmering
Deck Artist
Deck Artist
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:20 am
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 58 times
Contact:

Viceroys

Unread post by shimmering »



I'd like to show you some pictures of my latest playing cards design: Viceroys.

The deck is similar in concept to my last design (the Inglewood hunting deck) in that it explores the early history of playing cards. But the appearance is quite different: while the hunting deck had 52 picture cards, this deck has none.

I imagine some of you will be familiar with the so-called Mamluk playing cards. These are a 4x13 set of playing cards (modified) probably from around the 15th century, probably from somewhere around Egypt. The Mamluk cards have suits of coins, cups (myriads), swords, and polo sticks, which are obviously related to the suits that would become standard on Spanish, Italian, and tarot cards.

The idea behind my Viceroys deck then is this: how could a deck of cards look if drawn with the French (International) suits but in the Mamluk style?

And this is what I came up with.
viceroys-test2.jpg
viceroys-test2.jpg (306 KiB) Viewed 2280 times
viceroys-test1.jpg
viceroys-test1.jpg (311.27 KiB) Viewed 2280 times
Each of the 52 cards in the Viceroys deck is unique. The patterns were drawn in ink. The colours were then done in watercolour over a trace of the pattern outline. And then the layers were combined digitally.

I am hoping to raise funds on Kickstarter for a print run of these cards (the plan is to do this early in the new year), and for this I have added corner indices and a further outer pattern in red or black to each of the designs. These corner-indexed cards shown in the pictures are "poker sized". I may also have an index-free variant printed. We shall see.
User avatar
Räpylätassu
Member
Member
Posts: 2641
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 7:29 pm
Collector: Yes
Player: Yes
White Whale: Black Palekh from 1937
Decks Owned: 700
Location: Kuopio a ka The Bellybutton of the World
Has thanked: 837 times
Been thanked: 1341 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by Räpylätassu »

Pretty nice! It's always nice to have different kinds of custom decks. I do hope that these will be poker sized.

I might back this, let's see.

Also I am a fan of how you make decks that are historical, but with your own artwork.
Left my heart in SIERRA MADRE

"Finding it... that's not the hard part. It's letting go."

"One makes a trip by day, but by night one sets out on a journey." -Moominmamma

I dream of a world where wars are fought only by having dance offs. I also dream that a Finnish playing card designer would exist. The former seems more likely to happend.

Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a penguin. Have you ever met a sad person with a penguin?

Are lobsters mermaids to scorpions?

"I did not hit her, it's not true, it's bullsh*t, I did not hit her, I did naaaht! Oh hai Mark!"

MY TRADELIST

MY TOP 150 DECKS

MY PORTFOLIO52 PAGE
User avatar
RichK
Member
Member
Posts: 1797
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2015 12:06 pm
Collector: Yes
Decks Owned: 250
Has thanked: 791 times
Been thanked: 447 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by RichK »

Really nice artwork.

If I may suggest removing the black and red "frill" under the pip because the pip is hard to see to me. Or put some more white space between the pip and colored "frill" design.
Move on, nothing to see here.
User avatar
Jock1971
Member
Member
Posts: 1301
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 2:00 pm
Collector: Yes
Has thanked: 162 times
Been thanked: 395 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by Jock1971 »

shimmering wrote:how could a deck of cards look if drawn with the French (International) suits but in the Mamluk style?
Hi Ian.
I think you`ve hit the nail on the head , Nice idea and done rather well.
Beautiful Artwork (again) and the colour scheme works well.
However the blue used in the top archways on the number cards looks darker than the blue used on your courts,could be due to it being water-colour or my eyesight, but i would prefer the light blue colour used on all cards.

I also agree with RichK , i would also like to see that extra border removed , i don`t see the need for that extra "frill".

I`ll be in on the kickstarter :D
User avatar
Justin O.
Member
Member
Posts: 908
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:31 pm
Collector: Yes
White Whale: Jaqk Cellars V1
Decks Owned: 400
Location: Portland, OR
Has thanked: 385 times
Been thanked: 269 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by Justin O. »

This is a really beautifully executed design. I typically will give a deck a hard time for not having characters for their courts but this is just so attractively done. I'm in, when and where?
Jackson completely revolutionized the way I waste money...
shimmering
Deck Artist
Deck Artist
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:20 am
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 58 times
Contact:

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by shimmering »

Many thanks for all your comments. I am waiting on a test print of these cards at the moment.

The dark blue is all basically the same colour ... there is some variation in the shade and intensity, but I'll have a look again at how well it has survived the scanning, and also how it turns out on the test print.

The frilly border ... yes it doesn't correspond to anything on the actual Mamluk cards. In widening the cards to poker size to fit the corner indices there opens up a widish white edge to the card that I found a little disconcerting. Similar frilly borders can be seen around the edges of most illuminated pages in Mamluk manuscripts (I noticed ...). So that's why I added that there. Again, we'll see how it looks in real life.

Of course I'll keep you updated!
shimmering
Deck Artist
Deck Artist
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:20 am
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 58 times
Contact:

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by shimmering »

So I have got a prototype deck printed by MPC ... and the cards have come out nicely I think. So that's good.

I thought I would post some pics of the back and the box:
viceroys-back.jpeg
viceroys-back.jpeg (89.54 KiB) Viewed 1951 times
viceroys-box.jpeg
viceroys-box.jpeg (79.62 KiB) Viewed 1951 times
I have also been talking to printers ... and my plan at the moment is to get the cards printed here in the UK with Cartamundi (UK).
User avatar
Justin O.
Member
Member
Posts: 908
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:31 pm
Collector: Yes
White Whale: Jaqk Cellars V1
Decks Owned: 400
Location: Portland, OR
Has thanked: 385 times
Been thanked: 269 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by Justin O. »

shimmering wrote: I thought I would post some pics of the back and the box

So much color and beauty on the faces for such an unappealing, monochromatic card back
Jackson completely revolutionized the way I waste money...
joeblow
Member
Member
Posts: 301
Joined: Sat May 02, 2015 11:36 am
Has thanked: 110 times
Been thanked: 87 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by joeblow »

They look like two totally unrelated decks. Tuck and faces are very interesting. The back is ok but doesn't fit this deck.
User avatar
MagikFingerz
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 7778
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:32 pm
Cardist: Yes
Collector: Yes
Player: Yes
Magician: Yes
White Whale: Sawdust and Delicious + uncuts
Location: Norway
Has thanked: 1763 times
Been thanked: 1508 times
Contact:

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by MagikFingerz »

Justin O. wrote:
shimmering wrote: I thought I would post some pics of the back and the box

So much color and beauty on the faces for such an unappealing, monochromatic card back
^This^. That back design would break this deck for me.
- Tom

Check out my collection

My (abandoned and now severely outdated) Playing Card Wiki
jerichoholic
Member
Member
Posts: 2672
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:13 pm
Collector: Yes
Player: Yes
White Whale: Many
Decks Owned: 4800
Has thanked: 218 times
Been thanked: 346 times
Contact:

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by jerichoholic »

Yeah the backs are kind of meh and as for the faces I think the pips get lost in the artwork which kind of defeats the purpose of them
Save 10% at Playing Card Decks here - https://app.marsello.com/Portal/Custom/ ... 561772eaee
Save 10% at Card Addiction here using code VJOSE32 - https://card-addiction.com/?ref=1efow7c06m
Check out my collection - http://portfolio52.com/profile/124
Check out my reviews - https://www.youtube.com/vjose32
The Card Club - https://www.facebook.com/groups/vjose32
Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/vjose32
Game Collection - https://boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/vjose32
User avatar
RichK
Member
Member
Posts: 1797
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2015 12:06 pm
Collector: Yes
Decks Owned: 250
Has thanked: 791 times
Been thanked: 447 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by RichK »

The back of the tuck should be the card back or something like that. The black back kills the art on the front.
Move on, nothing to see here.
User avatar
montecarlojoe
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 2529
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:10 am
Collector: Yes
Player: Yes
White Whale: Avant Guard UL Gr - No17 Crown
Decks Owned: 690
Location: Portsmouth, England
Has thanked: 253 times
Been thanked: 268 times
Contact:

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by montecarlojoe »

RichK wrote:The back of the tuck should be the card back or something like that. The black back kills the art on the front.
I thought the exact same thing!

The tuck design would be perfect for the card back.
shimmering
Deck Artist
Deck Artist
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:20 am
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 58 times
Contact:

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by shimmering »

Thanks for all the comments ... keeping the thread alive!

Of course I'm surprised so many of you disliked the back.

I don't think the back should resemble the front of the cards, not just in this case but in general. And I don't think that's a particularly controversial view either. For these cards I want to have above all a contrasting design, and I want to use a relatively simple repeating pattern.

If anyone is curious as to where that pattern comes from, it is not completely unrelated. It is a simplified version of what is formed when the square geometrical object that appears on the king cards is used as a tile.

Anyway I have redrawn it again. Lighter. And more ragged ...
blue-back-s.jpg
blue-back-s.jpg (133.76 KiB) Viewed 1655 times
User avatar
MagikFingerz
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 7778
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:32 pm
Cardist: Yes
Collector: Yes
Player: Yes
Magician: Yes
White Whale: Sawdust and Delicious + uncuts
Location: Norway
Has thanked: 1763 times
Been thanked: 1508 times
Contact:

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by MagikFingerz »

shimmering wrote:I don't think the back should resemble the front of the cards, not just in this case but in general. And I don't think that's a particularly controversial view either. For these cards I want to have above all a contrasting design, and I want to use a relatively simple repeating pattern.
But why? Contrast just for the sake of having contrast? Not trying to argue, just spark a discussion to help me understand and see it from your perspective.

The reason I would want, for example, the front of the box as the back design (as was suggested), is because it would fit the theme and tie the deck together. A good back design encompasses the theme and the general "feel" of the deck, and displays it better than any of the individual face cards.

I would also think that it should be possible to create a back design that is contrasting but still fits the theme in at least one way, but I am no designer.
- Tom

Check out my collection

My (abandoned and now severely outdated) Playing Card Wiki
User avatar
Stepchild
Member
Member
Posts: 169
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2016 11:40 am
Collector: Yes
Decks Owned: 146
Location: Central Jersey
Has thanked: 171 times
Been thanked: 32 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by Stepchild »

Before your comment I did not see the relationship between the Kings and the back design. I do like that. But I think the adjustment in color and "tightness" you did makes the link more evident. While I agree that back designs historically do not generally have or require deep design connections to the card faces, the all-black design field here did seem somewhat jarring against the deck theme, imo. The redraw is going in the right direction.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
User avatar
RichK
Member
Member
Posts: 1797
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2015 12:06 pm
Collector: Yes
Decks Owned: 250
Has thanked: 791 times
Been thanked: 447 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by RichK »

MagikFingerz wrote:
shimmering wrote:I don't think the back should resemble the front of the cards, not just in this case but in general. And I don't think that's a particularly controversial view either. For these cards I want to have above all a contrasting design, and I want to use a relatively simple repeating pattern.
But why? Contrast just for the sake of having contrast? Not trying to argue, just spark a discussion to help me understand and see it from your perspective.

The reason I would want, for example, the front of the box as the back design (as was suggested), is because it would fit the theme and tie the deck together. A good back design encompasses the theme and the general "feel" of the deck, and displays it better than any of the individual face cards.

I would also think that it should be possible to create a back design that is contrasting but still fits the theme in at least one way, but I am no designer.
I agree with MagicFingerz with the back and I'm no designer either. I do like your new back design much better than the black. I hope the star elements are in the Mamluk style.
Move on, nothing to see here.
shimmering
Deck Artist
Deck Artist
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:20 am
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 58 times
Contact:

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by shimmering »

All right, here comes the live link ... Hope some of you like the design.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/73 ... ying-cards" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
Justin O.
Member
Member
Posts: 908
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2015 1:31 pm
Collector: Yes
White Whale: Jaqk Cellars V1
Decks Owned: 400
Location: Portland, OR
Has thanked: 385 times
Been thanked: 269 times

Re: Viceroys now live on Kickstarter

Unread post by Justin O. »

Why do you insist on ignoring all of your beautiful design and illustration for the back of the cards? you have this rich, vibrant and beautiful aesthetic and you seem to very genuinely not want to include it on the back of the cards. I don't understand. I have no doubts you will fund with this beautiful artwork, but without a different back I think you are losing backers that would otherwise be on board
Jackson completely revolutionized the way I waste money...
User avatar
Räpylätassu
Member
Member
Posts: 2641
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 7:29 pm
Collector: Yes
Player: Yes
White Whale: Black Palekh from 1937
Decks Owned: 700
Location: Kuopio a ka The Bellybutton of the World
Has thanked: 837 times
Been thanked: 1341 times

Re: Viceroys now live on Kickstarter

Unread post by Räpylätassu »

I just backed for one.

Although I'm not a huge fan of the backs, the faces won me over. Also curious to see a Cartamundi printed custom deck, so far I have only really seen Star-Wars-Prequels-bullshit-George-take-your-CGI-Jar-Jar-and-absolutely-everything-about-those-"movies"-and-go-shove-it-up-your... themed ugly tourist decks.

But anyways, I like this and I hope that it does not remind me too much that there are movies called Star Wars Episodes 1, 2 and 3 in this universe :D
Left my heart in SIERRA MADRE

"Finding it... that's not the hard part. It's letting go."

"One makes a trip by day, but by night one sets out on a journey." -Moominmamma

I dream of a world where wars are fought only by having dance offs. I also dream that a Finnish playing card designer would exist. The former seems more likely to happend.

Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a penguin. Have you ever met a sad person with a penguin?

Are lobsters mermaids to scorpions?

"I did not hit her, it's not true, it's bullsh*t, I did not hit her, I did naaaht! Oh hai Mark!"

MY TRADELIST

MY TOP 150 DECKS

MY PORTFOLIO52 PAGE
User avatar
UtterFool
Member
Member
Posts: 269
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:03 pm
Location: Vatican Holy See
Been thanked: 34 times

Re: Viceroys now live on Kickstarter

Unread post by UtterFool »

I am unfortunately thrown off to much by the back. The difference from front to back is so "off putting" for me to enjoy the cards.
I would back these in a heart beat if the back art matched the beauty (and color) of the front art.

Räpylätassu wrote:
But anyways, I like this and I hope that it does not remind me too much that there are movies called Star Wars Episodes 1, 2 and 3 in this universe :D
This is a common mistake.
There are no episodes 1, 2, or 3. Lucas (the original director) started his series with episode 4. Although when it was first released it was not labeled or named as such.
This starting with 4 confuses many people.
Many young people have just started learning about Star Wars with Episode 7.
Not having seen the original trilogy, they assume that there are 6 other movies. When the series actually began with episode 4.
So in total there are 4 Star Wars movies. 5 if you count Rouge One (which I don't)

I hope that clears things up for you Räpylätassu
"I have nothing to declare except my folly"
User avatar
Räpylätassu
Member
Member
Posts: 2641
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 7:29 pm
Collector: Yes
Player: Yes
White Whale: Black Palekh from 1937
Decks Owned: 700
Location: Kuopio a ka The Bellybutton of the World
Has thanked: 837 times
Been thanked: 1341 times

Re: Viceroys now live on Kickstarter

Unread post by Räpylätassu »

UtterFool wrote:
Räpylätassu wrote:
But anyways, I like this and I hope that it does not remind me too much that there are movies called Star Wars Episodes 1, 2 and 3 in this universe :D
This is a common mistake.
There are no episodes 1, 2, or 3. Lucas (the original director) started his series with episode 4. Although when it was first released it was not labeled or named as such.
This starting with 4 confuses many people.
Many young people have just started learning about Star Wars with Episode 7.
Not having seen the original trilogy, they assume that there are 6 other movies. When the series actually began with episode 4.
So in total there are 4 Star Wars movies. 5 if you count Rouge One (which I don't)

I hope that clears things up for you Räpylätassu
I assume that next you will tell me that water is wet?
There are 4 Star Wars movies and 3 abominations that are unfortunately Star Wars movies. As much as I would like to forget that they were actually made, there is no escaping the horrible truth.

And what's with Rouge One? It wasn't great but it wasn't a bad movie by any means, I quite enjoyed it although I hoped that it would be better.
Left my heart in SIERRA MADRE

"Finding it... that's not the hard part. It's letting go."

"One makes a trip by day, but by night one sets out on a journey." -Moominmamma

I dream of a world where wars are fought only by having dance offs. I also dream that a Finnish playing card designer would exist. The former seems more likely to happend.

Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a penguin. Have you ever met a sad person with a penguin?

Are lobsters mermaids to scorpions?

"I did not hit her, it's not true, it's bullsh*t, I did not hit her, I did naaaht! Oh hai Mark!"

MY TRADELIST

MY TOP 150 DECKS

MY PORTFOLIO52 PAGE
User avatar
RichK
Member
Member
Posts: 1797
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2015 12:06 pm
Collector: Yes
Decks Owned: 250
Has thanked: 791 times
Been thanked: 447 times

Re: Viceroys now live on Kickstarter

Unread post by RichK »

I hate to kill J.J. Abrams reputation but Star Wars 7 was a 4-6 mashup. I felt after watching 7 that nothing was new about it.

As for Viceroys I backed it. The blue back much better than black one but still needs color. The pattern is on a King so there's a lose tie together of back and front.
Move on, nothing to see here.
User avatar
cartamundicards
✔ VERIFIED Seller
✔ VERIFIED Seller
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2017 4:52 am
Cardist: Yes
Collector: Yes
Player: Yes
Magician: Yes
Decks Owned: 600
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 29 times

Re: Viceroys ... soon

Unread post by cartamundicards »

shimmering wrote:All right, here comes the live link ... Hope some of you like the design.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/73 ... ying-cards" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

If you are going to order through Cartamundi, ask for our B9 finish and the DMC ELITES Rouge as reference! I'm 100% sure you will prefer the quality of these over anything else we can provide.

Kind regards

Jirs
Jirs Huygen
Cartamundi Playing Card Ambassador
(and all round playing card fanatic)
shimmering
Deck Artist
Deck Artist
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:20 am
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 58 times
Contact:

Re: Viceroys now live on Kickstarter

Unread post by shimmering »

If any of you are interested in getting some of these cards, see here:

http://www.northerndisplayers.co.uk/viceroys.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Attachments
viceroys-all.jpg
viceroys-all.jpg (55.39 KiB) Viewed 1090 times
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], brownsl, kevork, KGthePrince, laitostarr777 and 61 guests