High Flyers by Squiddle Ink

[Squiddle_Ink]

A first look at the new deck from Squiddle Ink... HIGH FLYERS. This deck is a celebration of the highest and the fastest flying birds. First I would like to present the court cards which depict the world's champion feathered beasts in vintage aviator gear. I am pleased with how these designs turned out and I look forward to sharing the tuck and the card back with you...

[Honeybee]

Sorry, not for me - they are too busy and I do not like the color scheme. Good luck

[GandalfPC]

I think the Queen of Clubs is just ducky

[manu]

I like bird-themed decks, and I'm loving the fun colors and the postage theme. Excited to see more!

[Squiddle_Ink]

My concept for the card back was my original inspiration for this deck... a feather that runs along the edge so that when the card deck is fanned we see it unfold like a bird's wing feathers spreading. A lovely little detail for cardistry fans to make eye-catching flourishes.

[Adamthinks]

I really like what you've shown so far. It's a very fun deck. It's a liiiiitle too busy, but not enough that it overwhelms it. Who are you planning on printing with?

[Squiddle_Ink]

I think reducing the size of the birds helps to balance the card faces.

[Evilgamer]

very colorful and playful.

[Squiddle_Ink]

Pip cards have custom airmail (PAR AVION) ink stamps with names like "Royal Albatross Airlines". The dates on the stamps correspond with notable dates in aviation history so no detail has been overlooked.

The Ace of Spades has a special feature which will be revealed when I post the tuck box.

[Squiddle_Ink]

I really like what you've shown so far. It's a very fun deck. It's a liiiiitle too busy, but not enough that it overwhelms it. Who are you planning on printing with?

Legends PCC.

[Honeybee]

I would be all in for the backs without the feathers.
I really don't think the Courts need the postal mark or any of the writing
I don't see why you need to combine the bird theme with the postal theme.
The pip cards may want something for customizing but not all those postal stamps (maybe the circular one only if you really must combine the themes)

[hsbc]

These look fantastic

[Squiddle_Ink]

This is a Par Avion (by air - airmail by aeroplane) theme (not simply postage). Which has been linked to bird imagery from the very beginning given the history of the carrier/mail pidgeons. Because I have focused my theme around vintage aviation and birds, Par Avion imagery is cohesive. If you Google "airmail birds" you can see a wide array of vintage designs and stamps celebrating birds. One of the original symbols of Mail Par Avion is an ink bird stamp.

Avion, the French and Spanish name for airplane (powered fixed-wing [[aircraft); coming from Latin "avis" (bird). Same family as "aviation"

[Honeybee]

I understood the link (I am almost old enough to remember carrier pigeons ) I just have a preference for the simplicity of one theme. Personally I think it would be great if there were 2 versions - the current and a non-feather bird only version

[Squiddle_Ink]

The tuck box will have die-cut googles to reveal the owl eyes peering through from the Ace of Spades, the difference in feather colour from the tuck front to the card face will give the illusion of tinted lenses. The white areas on the tuck will be shiny foil and will experiment with embossing for the goggles also.

[Honeybee]

Gosh the birds on the backs are so stunning

[Harvonsgard]

I barely see a deck where I find nothing I would personally change - above shown is one of those rare finds.

[Squiddle_Ink]

Come on Havonsgard... there must be something.

[Adamthinks]

I'm really digging this project. Do you have an estimate for when you're going live on KS?

[Squiddle_Ink]

These will be available to pre-order or KS back in the next month or two. I will be sending the tucks off to be prototyped this week and I will provide updates following the feedback. Thank you all for your feedback, very useful.

[Harvonsgard]

Come on Havonsgard... there must be something.

Okay, okay; if you put a gun to my head: maybe the center pips of the aces shouldn't break with the colour scheme of the number cards. It's a tad odd to have the red suits red but then the aces in purple and the black suits in a brownish/orange colour.

[Squiddle_Ink]

Come on Havonsgard... there must be something.

Okay, okay; if you put a gun to my head: maybe the center pips of the aces shouldn't break with the colour scheme of the number cards. It's a tad odd to have the red suits red but then the aces in purple and the black suits in a brownish/orange colour.

Ooooohhhh thats a very good spot and here is my logic with regards to that...
As I am working with a restricted colour pallette I had three options for the Ace of Spades colour scheme, below you can see a rough mock ups for the 3 options; a teal ace, a purple ace or an orange ace.

I think the orange gives the best illusion of tinted goggles and the best contrast against the blue tuck which was my reason for the colour switch. However I agree it is unusual to have a colour switch for the ace cards. The "red" pips across the entire range are infact a bold orangey red rather then straight red. I think the purple ace is the second contender and would perhaps make more sense in terms of the suits, however I do feel the orange steals the limelight in terms of contrast. What do you think?

It may also just work better just to make all the Ace cards orange feathers so there is no disparity between them. I will have a think about this issue and see what I can do.

[Harvonsgard]

Switch the colour scheme of the number cards would be my take. Just make clubs and spades orangey red as well and make the hearts and diamonds purple. But that might be just me, who values consistency througout a deck higher than keeping the classic French colour scheme.

[wingedpotato]

I agree with Harvonsgard, but I do wonder if we'd be in the minority. I'd be okay with 4 red-orange Aces also.

[Squiddle_Ink]

This has unlocked a new fear... but is worth consideration. I think it looks pretty good. I have been trying to find other examples of decks that switched suit colour. It is surprising how few there are. Plenty use alternative colours but it appears few switch the suit colours in this way. I wonder if anyone else knows of any other examples?

[Honeybee]

Tic Tac Toe

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19168&p=247705#p247705

[Squiddle_Ink]

After consideration... I don't think the reverse suit colours work for this deck. I worry it will become too large a feature which was not intended in this deck's original concept. I have been trying to find ways to unify the Ace cards so they do not feel red or black. I think I have found a solution that celebrates the colour palette of the deck. It leaves enough of the Ace of Spades orange to work with the die-cut goggles on the tuck box but allows the Aces to work as a set. Thank you for the feedback on this.. It was really useful.

[manu]

I like this solution

[Squiddle_Ink]

...

[kevork]

Great execution of the feedback. I like these aces a lot more now.

I'm wondering if the text needs to be on both the court cards AND the aces? If I had to choose, I'd want them on the aces and have the court card art unaffected by the text. It would be fun to see the names on the aces and then cross reference them to see which one is which. Others may prefer the text on the court cards instead for their own reasons, but I feel it's redundant to have them on both and detracts from the art.