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My first ever playing card deck design! Spirits is all about the ebb and flow of life, told through the stories of spectres, ghosts, wraiths, and spirits!

I am in the design stages and would love feedback on everything! Nothing is final, and every bit of feedback is taken into consideration.

I want to have the deck up on Kickstarter by the Ned of the year.

You can follow me here on UC, on instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/playthevillainstudios, or on artstationhttps://www.artstation.com/witchandweaver for updates!

So please, indulge me with your wisdom!

Thanks!

Here are some card images:

It's off to a great start! Loving the enthusiasm as well. I'd be curious to see if the tuck could have any embossing.

Who are you thinking of printing with?

kevork wrote: ↑Sat Jul 08, 2023 11:59 am It's off to a great start! Loving the enthusiasm as well. I'd be curious to see if the tuck could have any embossing.

Who are you thinking of printing with?

Thanks!
The tuck design is definitely not the final design, but yea, I want to have some embossing, and a custom seal as well.

I was going to go through uspcc, but they now go through Shuffled Ink for custom cards apparently and I don't have any information about them.

So MPC is my only current option, however I don't have any experience in this world yet. Are there any companies I should look into?

Cartamundi owns USPCC now and has their own printing with a 500 print run minimum last I checked.

There are some Chinese printers that are cheaper:
https://expertplayingcard.com/
https://legendsplayingcards.com/pages/custom
https://www.hanson-chien.com/pages/custom-printing
https://wjplayingcard.com/

USPCC continues to be the best handling decks in my opinion but they come at a hefty price and 1,000 minimum print run. I'm surprised to hear they go through Shuffled Ink for their custom cards. Where did you hear that?

MPC has various cardstocks to explore and has a sample pack of their cardstocks you can purchase and check.

kevork wrote: ↑Sat Jul 08, 2023 12:33 pm Cartamundi owns USPCC now and has their own printing with a 500 print run minimum last I checked.

There are some Chinese printers that are cheaper:
https://expertplayingcard.com/
https://legendsplayingcards.com/pages/custom
https://www.hanson-chien.com/pages/custom-printing
https://wjplayingcard.com/

USPCC continues to be the best handling decks in my opinion but they come at a hefty price and 1,000 minimum print run. I'm surprised to hear they go through Shuffled Ink for their custom cards. Where did you hear that?

MPC has various cardstocks to explore and has a sample pack of their cardstocks you can purchase and check.

I didn't know that Cartamundi owns them now, you'd think that Bicycle would buy out Cartamundi rather than the opposite. Lol

I have never heard of any of those sites, so thanks for that!

Yea, I went on the uspcc site and when I go to the custom section it says they go through Shuffled Ink now.

MPC is very expansive with what they offer, and I like that I can just do everything myself through their client rather than have to correspond with someone. I will definitely do some sample decks through them to get a feel for what the deck would be like.

Thanks for the research!

Yeah, back in 2020, they "merged" but Cartamundi is the mother company. Bicycle is actually a USPCC brand and not the actual company.

Shuffled Ink does have an extensive history of printing playing cards, so might be worth checking them out too if USPCC is using them.

Here's the card sample: https://www.makeplayingcards.com/design ... ample.html

Keep in mind MPC prints to order using standard printing and isn't like some of these larger printing companies that use custom printing plates to print their cards. Part of the added cost.

I have been given some great feedback from many different sources and one of the most common was that the card back didn't fit the theme.

Well, here is the new card back I designed last night!



Let me know what you think!

Judging by the fact that the court cards aren't mirrored, I'm guessing this isn't really aimed to be playable?

CallOn84 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:55 am Judging by the fact that the court cards aren't mirrored, I'm guessing this isn't really aimed to be playable?

The pips are all that matter when it comes to playing, really.

There's many decks with one-way cards that people love and use.

However, I will say that I enjoy the art and design aspect of playing cards more than playing with them.

All my designer decks are art to me and I use crap dollar store decks to play cards with.

Plus, the Jack's are two-way. Just the Kings and Queens are one-way.

Thanks for the question! I love your cards! (Macbeth is my fave)

PlayTheVillain wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 8:43 am

CallOn84 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:55 am Judging by the fact that the court cards aren't mirrored, I'm guessing this isn't really aimed to be playable?

The pips are all that matter when it comes to playing, really.

There's many decks with one-way cards that people love and use.

However, I will say that I enjoy the art and design aspect of playing cards more than playing with them.

All my designer decks are art to me and I use crap dollar store decks to play cards with.

Plus, the Jack's are two-way. Just the Kings and Queens are one-way.

Thanks for the question! I love your cards! (Macbeth is my fave)

I guess that's true. Traditionally, the mirrored design was used to prevent players from knowing if another playing had a King, Queen or Jack court cards, because it would be easy to tell if you had to turn it around. But that doesn't matter nowadays, as we have transformation decks.

Also, thank you for the kind comments!

I think it still matters unless taken into account, as people know what deck they are playing with and know which ones want flipping - if you were playing with this deck you would have to either leave them all as you got them, or randomly flip pip cards and leave some courts unflipped to make sure the other players couldn’t decipher clues.

In general I don’t think a serious card game should use one way courts or backs, but they aren’t all serious.

GandalfPC wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 11:33 am I think it still matters unless taken into account, as people know what deck they are playing with and know which ones want flipping - if you were playing with this deck you would have to either leave them all as you got them, or randomly flip pip cards and leave some courts unflipped to make sure the other players couldn’t decipher clues.

In general I don’t think a serious card game should use one way courts or backs, but they aren’t all serious.

Well, here's how I solve this problem: all my cards will be one-way except the Jack's.

Like Vivid Kingdoms! The most backed playing card kickstarter as of now.

CallOn84 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 11:27 am

PlayTheVillain wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 8:43 am

CallOn84 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:55 am Judging by the fact that the court cards aren't mirrored, I'm guessing this isn't really aimed to be playable?

The pips are all that matter when it comes to playing, really.

There's many decks with one-way cards that people love and use.

However, I will say that I enjoy the art and design aspect of playing cards more than playing with them.

All my designer decks are art to me and I use crap dollar store decks to play cards with.

Plus, the Jack's are two-way. Just the Kings and Queens are one-way.

Thanks for the question! I love your cards! (Macbeth is my fave)

I guess that's true. Traditionally, the mirrored design was used to prevent players from knowing if another playing had a King, Queen or Jack court cards, because it would be easy to tell if you had to turn it around. But that doesn't matter nowadays, as we have transformation decks.

Also, thank you for the kind comments!

Completely understandable! I'll just make all the cards (Except the jacks) one-way. But the Jack's have two characters on them so you can flip to which one you want upright. That way all the cards are still playable but can be flipped.

I just love one-way designs for my stuff personally. Maybe in the future I can do a two-way version.

PlayTheVillain wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 11:49 am

CallOn84 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 11:27 am

PlayTheVillain wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 8:43 am

CallOn84 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:55 am Judging by the fact that the court cards aren't mirrored, I'm guessing this isn't really aimed to be playable?

The pips are all that matter when it comes to playing, really.

There's many decks with one-way cards that people love and use.

However, I will say that I enjoy the art and design aspect of playing cards more than playing with them.

All my designer decks are art to me and I use crap dollar store decks to play cards with.

Plus, the Jack's are two-way. Just the Kings and Queens are one-way.

Thanks for the question! I love your cards! (Macbeth is my fave)

I guess that's true. Traditionally, the mirrored design was used to prevent players from knowing if another playing had a King, Queen or Jack court cards, because it would be easy to tell if you had to turn it around. But that doesn't matter nowadays, as we have transformation decks.

Also, thank you for the kind comments!

Completely understandable! I'll just make all the cards (Except the jacks) one-way. But the Jack's have two characters on them so you can flip to which one you want upright. That way all the cards are still playable but can be flipped.

I just love one-way designs for my stuff personally. Maybe in the future I can do a two-way version.

As long as it's a good design, one way or two way doesn't matter. Good luck with your campaign in the future!

Here is the queen of clubs!

The club suit houses fallen warriors. The spirits of war.



And here is my illustrator layers after taking it from photoshop.

I really should be better at organizing my layers after 10 years as a graphic designer. Oh well. Lol

I mean, it's not REALLY a transformation deck as much as it is a polyprch deck. But still, I am having fun coming up with the kingdoms of these characters.

Really digging the number cards layout.

Adamthinks wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 2:01 pm Really digging the number cards layout.

Thanks so much! I have some crazy ideas for how to incorporate the courts too, and some secrets you'll have to find for yourself ;P

I have finished the Hearts suit! I redesigned the courts and how I will handle pips! Due to the artistic nature of th3 deck I wanted the pips to compliment the art, not take away from it. Plus, if you flip through them in order the pips animate and cascade down the cards!

This is a very intriguing and compelling design. When you launch the project for the deck, you'll do well to make uncut sheets available, as well.

rousselle wrote: ↑Mon Jul 24, 2023 1:38 pm This is a very intriguing and compelling design. When you launch the project for the deck, you'll do well to make uncut sheets available, as well.

This sounds like a great idea. He'll need to plan the uncut layout to ensure the images line up properly.

rousselle wrote: ↑Mon Jul 24, 2023 1:38 pm This is a very intriguing and compelling design. When you launch the project for the deck, you'll do well to make uncut sheets available, as well.

Absolutely. I am in talks with WJPC for my printing and I am waiting on their response about custom Uncut Sheet arrangements!

Here is the mockup for how I want the Uncut Sheets for SPIRITS to look. Also the full sheet, with every card in the deck for your viewing pleasure.

Pre launch page is LIVE!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pl ... ying-cards

The first stretch goal unlocks once the project is fully funded! May I introduce:

SEANCE

The deck and Uncut Sheet will become available once fully funded.
Any backers that have pledged for the bundled rewards will automatically have their reward upgraded at no additional cost to include: SEANCE deck(s) and some will even get an Uncut Sheet.
They will also be available as Add-Ons, however the deck is limited to 5 per backer.

The variant deck features a greyscale color-way, with silver gilt edges and silver foiling.

Only 250 will be available

Buying one of the bundles Guarantees you'll receive at least 1 SEANCE deck.

THE KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!!!!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pl ... ject_build

I'm in. I wish you the best of luck with your project.
The only slight concern I have is that the diamond pips, when viewed alone, could be mistaken for a spade? The colors are different and clear when I put them side by side, and I don't think the deck was that important for playability in the first place, but when I first saw the diamond index, it looked like a spade... maybe it's just me.

I agree with the fact that the Diamond pips look like Spades a bit. I think they would look better if the bottom of the diamond was extended/elongated some.