The Planets — Vanda Artists Series

[portcullis]

This look gorgeous!!

I just have a query regarding the launch of this series: will you be launching deck(/s) individually at regular intervals - ala the recent "Natural Disasters" series or will you be offering a block series with all decks in both tucks as the final campaign?

[davegk]

Hi portcullis,

Glad to hear you're as excited about these decks as I am!

The plan is to launch each of the 8 decks separately. The timing for release of the remaining 7 decks will depend on how successful the Mercury kickstarter campaign is.

[Azid]

The plan is to launch each of the 8 decks separately. The timing for release of the remaining 7 decks will depend on how successful the Mercury kickstarter campaign is.

I understand your plan to do it separately as it it very risky to launch a campaign with 8 decks.
But for internationl backers it's a pain to pay 8x shipping.

[RichK]

That tuck is incredible!

I'm not sure on the wording "First deck of an original series" though. I'd hate to see a deck fail then the numbers, Mercury = first, Venus = second, etc. get messed up.

I'll be backing!

[pablo]

Just read the entire thread. Love the ideas. As azid mentioned, pleas keep international shipping reasonable!! I've had to pass on too many cool decks just because of this issue..

Enviado desde mi Aquaris_M4.5 mediante Tapatalk

[portcullis]

The plan is to launch each of the 8 decks separately. The timing for release of the remaining 7 decks will depend on how successful the Mercury kickstarter campaign is.

I understand your plan to do it separately as it it very risky to launch a campaign with 8 decks.
But for internationl backers it's a pain to pay 8x shipping.

Precisely why I asked. The guys that did the "Natural Disasters" decks were roundly - and fairly - criticized for charging through the nose ($42) for the individual decks, then if you backed the set in the final campaign, shipping was $15.

[davegk]

Just so you know, we'll be using Keen Hong for international fulfillment so the international shipping prices will actually be much more reasonable than past projects.

I would love to launch all 8 decks as a set but we haven't even created all the art yet and I can't budget for that until after Mercury is completed. All the decks will definitely get made...it's just a matter of timing.

[portcullis]

I understand: just ..... 8x shipping.

[Räpylätassu]

Any news on this? When is the launch?

[Levent Suberk]

Good work.

[nur1988]

Just so you know, we'll be using Keen Hong for international fulfillment so the international shipping prices will actually be much more reasonable than past projects.

I would love to launch all 8 decks as a set but we haven't even created all the art yet and I can't budget for that until after Mercury is completed. All the decks will definitely get made...it's just a matter of timing.

Are you not able to do 4 projects with 2 decks each project?
Or 2 projects with 4 decks each project?

So many projects in the past have been successful with 2 deck and 4 deck projects, including your own.

[davegk]

Hey all,

Just a quick update to say the time has finally come! The Kickstarter campaign will launch in less than 72 hours. Specifically, we launch on Sunday, September 10th at 3pm PST.

Please check out the campaign draft here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/go ... n=1a1e3819

Thanks!
-David

[Räpylätassu]

Looks great! Well designed page. And a great price of just 10 USD per deck!

[davegk]

Looks great! Well designed page. And a great price of just 10 USD per deck!

Thanks! I should point out that the reward prices do not include shipping costs, but the total price will be comparable to other decks of this caliber. I wish I could offer products at a lower price point but it really is very expensive to produce high quality decks with custom art and have proper fulfillment operations in place.

[montecarlojoe]

The shipping is actually very reasonable (compared to other projects)

[portcullis]

The shipping is actually very reasonable (compared to other projects)

Initially I would have disagreed with you, but I think that's down to a pretty ordinary exchange rate here to US$. $5 per deck - if you buy the whole set, is actually not too bad.

[davegk]

Hey folks,

As you probably know, the Kickstarter ended a couple weeks ago and was successfully overfunded. Here's the link, in case you missed it:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/go ... ury-1-of-8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, here's the other forum thread that references the Mercury deck:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10474" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now for something new and exciting...
Srdjan has started working on concept for Venus and I just received his initial concept art (image below).

Notes from him:

I read that "Venus and Earth are often called twins because they are similar in size, mass, density, composition and gravity.", so I imagined creatures from Venus to be the most similar to humans, because they develop in similar conditions.

But, they have to be different somehow. I din't want to make them with one eye, big nose, or something like that, because then they would appear ugly and Venus is the goddess of "love, sex, beauty, and fertility." So, they would have to be beautiful. So I thought maybe they could have long ears and long hair, like fairies are often presented.

Kings don't have to be so tough, they are more lovers then fighters. My idea for Jacks is to draw a woman instead of man ( and that can be something special for this deck ), because "women are from Venus", as the saying goes.

I tried to keep illustration in the same style like in Mercury deck, but with different kind of clothing.

[BfPC]

looks great, i'm loving the concept of the Planets series, keep up the great job

[Bradius]

I like the concept and direction for Venus. If this is about beauty, then go for it within the original design constraints. The move away from armour and more frilly outfits makes sense. Perhaps a bit more jewelry as well.

[davegk]

Going to post an update on Kickstarter as well...

After some discussion, the plan is to make the Venus courts entirely female, as Venus is associated with femininity & beauty.

Here's a progress image from Srdjan:

Mercury deck printing by USPC is complete. Now waiting on tucks and assembly should happen 1st week of December:

We've revised the Planet color scheme based on input from a few people. The final colors will be:
Mercury: Copper
Venus: Magenta (feminine/beauty)
Earth: Green
Mars: Red
Jupiter: Purple (royal/regal/grand expansion)
Saturn: Gold (wealth/value)
Uranus: Silver (innovation/electricity/surprise)
Neptune: Blue (water/Triton/Neptune)

[BfPC]

I love the colors, specially Earth and Jupiter. Can't wait to see what the other species will look like

[davegk]

I've posted these in Kickstarter updates but wanted to share here as well...

Venus spade court images:

First look at Earth courts (basically a stylization of original Bicycle court artwork)...Earth will look the most familiar to you all:

And proofs of the holographic foiling that will be on the tucks:

[portcullis]

These are going to be worth the wait. That holo-foil looks amazing. Is it planned for all 16 decks?

[davegk]

Yup, holographic foil on all decks. The SE decks have 1 holographic colored foil + white foil. The LE decks have 2 holographic foils (silver + gold).

+Pluto...

[Azazaaz]

Gorgeous!

[davegk]

Official Venus launch date:
This Sunday, Feb 4th at 6pm PST

Woohoo!

[CupcakeBaron]

Semi patiently waiting on the Earth deck to go live! Any idea when that will happen?

[davegk]

Waiting on photography of the Earth deck but hoping to launch April 8th. I’ll post updates everywhere once I confirm the details.

[th4mo]

Waiting on photography of the Earth deck but hoping to launch April 8th. I’ll post updates everywhere once I confirm the details.

Might i humbly suggest... ahem... April 22nd?

[davegk]

Waiting on photography of the Earth deck but hoping to launch April 8th. I’ll post updates everywhere once I confirm the details.

Might i humbly suggest... ahem... April 22nd?

I’d considered launching April 22nd but we’re already running behind schedule to get the whole series printed and shipped in time for the holidays so instead the campaign will end on Earth Day