Another Frame Option: CoT Deck

[Joan Marie]

reall created another concept for the frame and font. Here we can compare some of the cards.
I have to apologise because I just did a kind of quick mock-up with reall's frame, it's not 100% accurate center-wise and the inside frame needs a little work, but it's very close. Basically here you can just consider the colour difference, etc.

Take a long look. They are really different, the effects and how they contrast/compliment the art are really different.

[Charlie Brown]

I like that better still.

[qndynes]

Oooh well I really like the grey still.

[reall]

I like that better still.

Haha! Thank You!^^ i have another version that is *most different & would like to hear your opinion about?
as these may be bitzy too yellow?

[AstralPasta]

Oooooh gold

I like it a lot but I think it might be too epic feeling. Maybe if it was a solar or kaleidoscopic deck, or a deck with some grand theme.

It’s still beautiful though!

I’m starting to feel more keen on the mottled grey slowly but surely, but I’m still interested in seeing more borders throughout the duration of this project.

edit: Some of them really pop in that gold frame though. Hmm.

[Diana]

The Gold is too bright. Detracts I think from the pictures. Sort of makes one want to put sunglasses on!! Would be nice to see a less flashy version. It could maybe work. Gold is a nice colour and goes with everything I would think.

The grey however is also nice, I still like it.

[Joan Marie]

The lighter feeling that reall's gold frame gives is nice, very different vibe from the grey.

In my opinion, it's too bright for this deck though and tends to overpower the artwork.

We're still working on this everybody.

Here is a kind of compromise I just made real quick. What do you all think of this direction?

You can see all the completed cards in the grey frame here for comparisson.

[Joan Marie]

I also made these composite pics to advertise our project on Social media (please feel free to share by the way) and then I thought they also provide a nice comparison for us here of the frames (in addition to my last post)

I recommend clicking on them to really see them.

[Joan Marie]

And one last submission from Painterspoon, the lovely Queen of Cups. I saved in both frames:

[AstralPasta]

I think I like this gold....hmm.

Is there such a think as shimmery forest green? Like metallic mottled green, but a bit on the dark side. I just looked at them and couldn’t imagine one that wouldn’t not compliment it.

Like this or this maybe

[Diana]

Gorgeous composite pics.

I would be happy with the gold frame. Grey looks very dull when compared actually and when one sees a number of cards together.

[Joan Marie]

I think I like this gold....hmm.

Is there such a think as shimmery forest green? Like metallic mottled green, but a bit on the dark side. I just looked at them and couldn’t imagine one that wouldn’t not compliment it.

Like this or this maybe

There are still a lot of cards left to come in. I'm wary of going with strong definite colours like greens or blues because of the fact they will definitely clash with at least some of the cards. Also, I think we would have the problem of the frame starting to dominate. We have to be careful of that and remember that our deck has no cohesive palette to accommodate any strong colours.

[reall]

I would advise against green as it usually end up terrible printed!x,x facepalm
so far gray looks best/aka most neutral
& I would like to see those *experiments more brass/coppeer maybe?

[PamelaSteele]

I think a more neutral color, like the greys, would better suit the variety of art we're going to be dealing with in this deck. That color or even a medium sandstone brown with the gold inner line such as you have in the bright yellow ones. I try to avoid more vibrant greens, as you can see in the Empress card I submitted, as working in CMYK can make that tricky and more than a bit difficult.
Has anyone else noticed the most popular decks are borderless or have a minimum width to the border? I like the tiny gold trim around the images. I would go with the greys and the gold line border next to the picture. If you wanted to get fancy, you could use a gold "style" and do the text to match the gold trim.

[LindseMercury]

All the frame options are wonderful. I think the grey is still my favorite. It seems to stay in the background but provide uniformity.

[AstralPasta]

I hadn't known that about printing greens! That's a bit of a shame. I wonder how people get around that in really earthy printings and such.

[Joan Marie]

Has anyone else noticed the most popular decks are borderless or have a minimum width to the border? I like the tiny gold trim around the images. I would go with the greys and the gold line border next to the picture. If you wanted to get fancy, you could use a gold "style" and do the text to match the gold trim.

I think we can't go totally borderless because we need somewhere to put the name of the card, and I think that has to be a neutral space like a border. I also think that for the deck to be easily usable, we'll need to put the name on every card, including the minors, because of the wide variety of depictions of the individual suits.

That said, I wish I'd made the border a little less wide. I will try to tweak it some while maintaining the aspect ratio of the art. Let me see what I can do. The next deck we can go for something less bordered. Although I think that having a border all the way around the art (as opposed to just a banner across the bottom for example) lends a much needed consistency and unifying element. It makes them look like "a deck of cards" as opposed to a bunch of beautiful but disconnected images printed on card-size paper.

And, I agree that while the art can be as free and original as it wants, the frame and text need to remain subdued and in the background. I will try out the gold letters. That might be nice to match the font to that little inner frame.

I am personally still torn between the grey and the lighter frame. They have very different effects.
The grey really recedes into the background and seems to push the art forward. The lighter frame does the opposite, but it also sort of "brightens up" everything.

And as Pamela suggested, the grey could be improved by uniting the font colour with the inner gold frame.

[Diana]

If I keep my gaze on the cards for some time, after a while, the grey borders almost make me feel a bit "heavy", a bit sad. Not really, but that kind of feeling.

With the lighter more golden frames, I feel sort of happy and contented. More peaceful like.

[reall]

I hadn't known that about printing greens! That's a bit of a shame. I wonder how people get around that in really earthy printings and such.

Basically you go around it by printing another hue But your grass green?