First Art & Compare Frames

[Joan Marie]

These are the first 3 submissions I've received.

I've put them in a frame so that we can get an idea of where we are going with these.
This is just a preliminary frame, not necessarily the final one. But I do kind of like it.

Also, I haven't looked for fonts yet, so this is also temporary but I think in order to fit with all the different art the frame and font need to be fairly neutral.

Looking forward to your comments and ideas. (as always, click to enlarge)

[reall]

I like! imo plain text & color is best! maybe try purple or white with gold line & text bit larger??

p.s check your pm for samples i've just send!

[Joan Marie]

A couple more cards came in today. Here is a comparison of different frame colours. Again, these are just test frames and font to help us decide on a direction. Please share your thoughts.

[reall]

Wow! I like font on gray borders!;)

[Charlie Brown]

I like the grey borders a lot. I would like bigger text in a different font.

[Joan Marie]

I like the grey borders a lot. I would like bigger text in a different font.

I will work on the font next. I just popped that one in as a place holder.

In fact, these are all just eye-balled-centered etc, rough drafts that need fine-tuning.

I kinda like the grey too, I was a little surprised how good it looks.

[katrinka]

Would the gold line be actual metallic? That would be very nice. Or maybe metallic silver if you go with the grey.
I don't think bigger text is needed (ducks blows). And if you did metallic text, it would pop nicely.
A not-too-embellished Art Deco font would be nice. Attractive and readable.

[Charlie Brown]

Somehow the grey version of both my cards got a big black spot in the middle of them

[katrinka]

The last four images have black spots. Not big, but they appear to be in the same place near the center of each card.

[Joan Marie]

The last four images have black spots. Not big, but they appear to be in the same place near the center of each card.

Yeah, I see that.

These were just quickie mock-ups and I probably accidentally dabbed a spot on there. It's in the same spot on every one because I made the border and then just popped each piece of art under it.
If you look really close, you may see I also just eye-balled centering things etc. Also, the fonts are not properly kerned.

But I think, although there wasn't a lot of feedback, the mottled grey is the better choice so now I know what to work on.

The gold inner ring is metallic. Using silver on the inner ring would not be enough contrast to the grey frame. It would not pop at all.

Today I will try and create the precise frame/border and take a stab at a font.

I will post the updates and ask for your opinions on font, font colour, etc.

Thanks everybody!

[attilablaga]

Personally, I like cards with no borders. Far as I know, the general public prefers the cards with no borders recently.
The size of the font is big enough. The bigger text would take away from the impact of the design.
The writing should stay neuter, so, I would not recommend any fancy font type.
The black border is soberer and classic.
The grey border is friendlier.
Not sure if it was mentioned, if you are going to print the deck, the submitted artwork must be CMYK.
Nice work everybody!
Attila

[Joan Marie]

Personally, I like cards with no borders. Far as I know, the general public prefers the cards with no borders recently.

I think with a deck like this with totally disparate styles of art, there needs to be some consistent element to tie it all together. A border with a font performs that task nicely imho.

[Joan Marie]

Okay, I worked on the frame and font. This is actually constructed fairly precisely.
Please share your thoughts.

The font is called Raleway.

[attilablaga]

Personally, I like cards with no borders. Far as I know, the general public prefers the cards with no borders recently.

I think with a deck like this with totally disparate styles of art, there needs to be some consistent element to tie it all together. A border with a font performs that task nicely imho.

Right! Good point!

[reall]

Personally, I like cards with no borders. Far as I know, the general public prefers the cards with no borders recently.

I think with a deck like this with totally disparate styles of art, there needs to be some consistent element to tie it all together. A border with a font performs that task nicely imho.

agree, collaborative deck Must have uniformed look somehow & frame/border & font do job! see 78 Tarot for ideas!

btw Congrats JM I totally like this new gray border & larger font!

p.s cmyk not needed for most pod will accept rgb as well & do conversion on their own!

[Joan Marie]

p.s cmyk not needed for most pod will accept rgb as well & do conversion on their own!

Let's start a separate thread for technical discussions. (UPDATE: Technical Discussion Thread)

I don't want to bother everyone who's focused on their artwork with any kind of specs or parameters that they don't need to be concerned with.
I also don't want to derail threads meant to focus on the art and design of the cards.

Thanks!

[katrinka]

The font could use a little more pizzazz, TBH. I'm not throwing stones, but it looks like the one they use for the labeler at my job. A little too generic.

Bernhard Fashion is nice. Or if you want to go with cursive, Harlow is attractive and readable. Or maybe a typewriter/old book style font? Nothing too elaborate, but it needs a little style.

[Joan Marie]

it looks like the one they use for the labeler at my job.

You must have one fancy label-maker! (I'm kidding)

The thing about the sans serif fonts (which I think we need here) is they, to a large extent, really look alike. I used to wonder why there were so many. I have changed my opinion though and am able to see the fine differences. Sometimes you think one will work but when you go to use it you find it just doesn't have the proper "weight" .

It can be very subtle. Sometimes the difference in size between the uppercase and lowercase can also make a difference in how it plays in one thing or another.

Bernhard Fashion is a nice san-serif font. (I am not fond of the small "r" though)

I think we agree that the font has to be very neutral, like the frame, because of the wild differences in the individual cards. The font doesn't need to draw any attention really but must be functional, easily readable and in balance.

I think it might be best to wait until we have some more finished cards in, and then do a little "font parade" and see what we think. It'll be easier to judge when there are more cards to see how it plays across the board.

Sound good?

[AstralPasta]

I personally hate the color grey, but I do love metallic gold. Also hey I'm sort of back, still recovering. That's also one thing I learned from being in Ethiopia (though I'm Eritrean) is my people love the shinies hahaha. So it must be genetic. And you'll see once I've done my art haha. Curiously I've historically worn grey a lot though....weird. I guess it's a good invisible color.

Also wow the art is amazing! Good job everyone!!! I'm so impressed.

I think the color combination is attractive anyway, though maybe the borders are a bit thick especially on the bottom. It feels to me like they're taking up a lot of the actual card. Ah, also something to keep in mind is if folks decide they want to trim their decks, the backing might be uneven. Though that might be OK depending on what the backing is.

This is just personal preference, and I'm sure folks will recoil at the gaudiness, but I like the idea of a sort of lavender with metallic gold, or a deeper turquoise and metallic green. Hehehe. Or maybe something thematically in line with the forum.

Of course I'll live with the mottled grey (especially since metallic gold is on there ). I might like it better if it was lighter, instead of stormy cloud-y.

This is just me anyway! If it was print on demand I suppose folks could pick their color or whatever, but I suppose that's much further down the line.

edit: meant metallic gold not green

[Joan Marie]

This is just personal preference, and I'm sure folks will recoil at the gaudiness, but I like the idea of a sort of lavender with metallic gold, or a deeper turquoise and metallic green. Hehehe.

I love all those colours.

The problem is the cards are all so different that choosing a "real" colour is going to clash with some and not others. That kind of leaves, white, black and grey. The grey is actually meant to be silver but It's hard to make that come across. There really isn't too much difference.

We could def make the card-back colourful.

Maybe in a future deck, we could design the frame up front as part of a theme, and artists could match their work to it.

This fIrst deck is just kind of to get everybody involved and going on a project together and it seems to be working great!
I am working now on opening up the minors.

I can't decide if I should open them all at once or do a suit at a time. (I'm leaning toward all at once)

Glad to hear you had a safe trip.
And don't hesitate to use all those colours in your design!

[Joan Marie]

Another beautiful entry arrived today, The Lovers card from Painterspoon

[Joan Marie]

and another arrival today from Painterspoon

In the next days I will put all the finished work together in a more final format for display.

I will also start organising all the text that goes with the cards.

[Joan Marie]

Here's my card, just finished it, The World:

[Joan Marie]

And here is our High Priestess from Marigold:

[reall]

I do love metallic gold.

I like the idea of a sort of lavender with metallic gold, or a deeper turquoise and metallic green. Hehehe. Or maybe something thematically in line with the forum.

This is just me anyway! If it was print on demand I suppose folks could pick their color or whatever, but I suppose that's much further down the line.

I like dark metalic (old rusty) gold brass texture & lavander!;)

also beige/old paper look not bad if we are going for neutral but i would like to see sepia old camera /cinema photo glowing around frames look (imo it would complement all cards perfectly?;)

also no you can't pick your own border color with pod you get what you upload only option they offer is black or white!;)