Tragedy of Macbeth Playing Cards - Design Thread

[CallOn84]

Hi guys,

I've been hard at work with the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards and I would like to share new samples that I've been working on which I hope is vastly an improvement compared to the last samples I posted. Feedback is much appreciated.

Kind Regards,

CallOn84

[Harvonsgard]

Best to keep everything in one thread imho.
Looking good so far.

[CallOn84]

Best to keep everything in one thread imho.
Looking good so far.

Yeah, good point. I'll do that for the future.

A few sample prints will be arriving shortly, so I'm pretty excited to share that with you all. The samples include a B&W and Colour version.

I've been getting a decent amount of interest on a B&W version of this deck, which I might do as a more affordable, standard edition.

[CallOn84]

Many people on r/playingcards on Reddit have asked for a BW version of our Tragoedia Macbethi deck. Here are side-by-side views of some of our court card illustrations in Colour and BW. Would you like to see more of this? Any feedback is appreciated.

[rousselle]

The color version looks like a colorized version of the B&W, rather than the B&W version looking like a B&W version of the color, if you know what I mean. I wish the color version had just a tad more color in the faces. Other than that, I think both are fine. As time moves on and my collection has grown super large, I've started to lose interest in monochrome faces unless they are done *super* well. These are done well, but slightly dark for my tastes. YMMV.

Edit: BTW, if you are illustrating these yourself: well done! There's a lot of talent on display here!

[CallOn84]

The color version looks like a colorized version of the B&W, rather than the B&W version looking like a B&W version of the color, if you know what I mean. I wish the color version had just a tad more color in the faces. Other than that, I think both are fine. As time moves on and my collection has grown super large, I've started to lose interest in monochrome faces unless they are done *super* well. These are done well, but slightly dark for my tastes. YMMV.

Edit: BTW, if you are illustrating these yourself: well done! There's a lot of talent on display here!

I see what you mean. It's hard to determine what differences I could add between the two other than the colour. Any suggestions are welcome!

[Adamthinks]

The color version looks like a colorized version of the B&W, rather than the B&W version looking like a B&W version of the color, if you know what I mean. I wish the color version had just a tad more color in the faces. Other than that, I think both are fine. As time moves on and my collection has grown super large, I've started to lose interest in monochrome faces unless they are done *super* well. These are done well, but slightly dark for my tastes. YMMV.

Edit: BTW, if you are illustrating these yourself: well done! There's a lot of talent on display here!

I see what you mean. It's hard to determine what differences I could add between the two other than the colour. Any suggestions are welcome!

The main thing to add would be skin color.

[CallOn84]

It's been a hot minute since the last update I made regarding the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards. A colleague of mine printed a few sample cards, and they arrived! It looks great on paper, and I'm happy with how everything has turned out. As always, I would greatly appreciate feedback from you guys. If you have any questions, please let me know!

[Harvonsgard]

The colours could be a tad brighter if you ask me. Other than that I still do like what I see.
Don't forget to add pips and indices though, haha.

[CallOn84]

The colours could be a tad brighter if you ask me. Other than that I still do like what I see.
Don't forget to add pips and indices though, haha.

My camera was probably under-exposed, so that's why the colours look a little unsaturated. As for the pips and indices, that's coming soon

[CallOn84]

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I posted an update regarding the work for the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards. There's been a little delay here and there, but progress is being made. I would like feedback and suggestions about a particular court card and what you think is the best way to approach it.

Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards will have a Standard and Limited Edition for those who need to learn. The Standard Edition will be in Black and White, while the Limited Edition will be in full colour. There's a particular court card that I'm a little stumped on.

Below is the coloured version of Banquo:

This is Banquo after he is killed and becomes a sort of hallucination/ghost that appears before Macbeth during the banquet scene. This is a partially-coloured, as I plan to increase the saturation to match the saturation of the other court cards.

The main problem at the moment is the Black and White version. Considering he's a ghost/hallucination, I'm not sure how to approach the ghostly appearance in Black and White without making it look practically the same as the one above.

Here's the current proposed B&W version:

Looking at the two, what do you guys think regarding the best way to differentiate the two versions? Keep in mind that I am planning to increase the saturation of the coloured to match the other court cards (You can see below what I'm talking about):

Let me know what you guys think!

[CallOn84]

Hi guys! I wanted feedback on the Spades court cards for the Macbeth playing cards. Please let me know what you think of it.

Coloured

B&W

[Sophisticarded]

Looking good. I really like the black fathers in contrast to the red flowy robes.

[rousselle]

I really like your macabre take with the art.

I favor the color version, fwiw.

[CallOn84]

Looking good. I really like the black fathers in contrast to the red flowy robes.

That's great news!

[CallOn84]

I really like your macabre take with the art.

I favor the color version, fwiw.

When the Kickstarter campaign becomes available, you have the option of either

It's great to hear the positive feedback so far. Next up is the aces!

[CallOn84]

So, here are some updates regarding the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards.

I've been working with an illustrator to craft illustrations for the past 12 months. The project started in February of last year. It has undergone significant delays due to my illustrator's pressures regarding balancing the work for the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards and her Master's degree studies. I've been very accommodating for the past couple of months, even giving her December off to focus on her studies, but I think it's gotten to the point where I need to restart with a fresh coat of paint.

No offence to my illustrator; I wish her all the best with her studies.

I'm now searching for a new illustrator, but thanks to a friend of mine, I might be able to have a couple of shortlisted illustrators that could take up the mantle of producing the work. The project will get delayed for another year, but hopefully, there won't be as many significant delays this time.

[PiazzaDelivery]

So, here are some updates regarding the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards.

I've been working with an illustrator to craft illustrations for the past 12 months. The project started in February of last year. It has undergone significant delays due to my illustrator's pressures regarding balancing the work for the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards and her Master's degree studies. I've been very accommodating for the past couple of months, even giving her December off to focus on her studies, but I think it's gotten to the point where I need to restart with a fresh coat of paint.

No offence to my illustrator; I wish her all the best with her studies.

I'm now searching for a new illustrator, but thanks to a friend of mine, I might be able to have a couple of shortlisted illustrators that could take up the mantle of producing the work. The project will get delayed for another year, but hopefully, there won't be as many significant delays this time.

I mean, are you in a rush to produce this deck? Personally, I think the art looks GREAT thus far. Why not just put it on the backburner and resuscitate the project once she has a little more free time?

[CallOn84]

So, here are some updates regarding the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards.

I've been working with an illustrator to craft illustrations for the past 12 months. The project started in February of last year. It has undergone significant delays due to my illustrator's pressures regarding balancing the work for the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards and her Master's degree studies. I've been very accommodating for the past couple of months, even giving her December off to focus on her studies, but I think it's gotten to the point where I need to restart with a fresh coat of paint.

No offence to my illustrator; I wish her all the best with her studies.

I'm now searching for a new illustrator, but thanks to a friend of mine, I might be able to have a couple of shortlisted illustrators that could take up the mantle of producing the work. The project will get delayed for another year, but hopefully, there won't be as many significant delays this time.

I mean, are you in a rush to produce this deck? Personally, I think the art looks GREAT thus far. Why not just put it on the backburner and resuscitate the project once she has a little more free time?

No, I'm not. However, she was the one who said that finding a new illustrator would probably be for the best.

For context, she's studying a Master's course in Art and recently started in September of last year. Combine that with her working five days a week, from 9-5 PM, she's got a lot going on. She would realistically have time after she finishes her course, which is September of this year.

As an academic support staff, I know how brutal Master's course can be.

Trust me, I would love to stick with her as her illustration looks great. But, difficult discussions had to be made to continue the progress of the project as it is.

[rousselle]

Sounds like a legitimately tough call. Sometimes you do have to make adjustments if only to keep the project moving forward. Best of luck to your illustrator as she pursues her goals, and best of luck to you, too, while you pursue yours.

[Harvonsgard]

Unfortunate news.

[CallOn84]

Hi everyone!

The last two weeks have been hectic.

Since the departure of my previous illustrator, my friend and I have been looking for a new illustrator to fill in the role for this project. My friend, who's Indonesian, recommended me four illustrators that I should contact. All four illustrators used etching/engraving styles for this project to fit the art style.

I'm happy to say that I have found a new illustrator who will be starting the work to design the Tragoedia Macbethi Playing Cards this month. We're starting from scratch because trying to combine previous work with a different art style with the new illustrator's art style is too complicated and would look jarring, in my opinion. The project will take 12 months, enough to experiment and make revisions if needed.

As a sneak peek, here's a test sketch for the Jack of Spades, which is one of the witches:

Here's a comparison to the old version, which is the same as above, but Queen of Spades instead:

If you have any first impressions of our new illustrator, whose name is Alvian, by the way, let me know! Thanks for the kind comments from the earlier post; I appreciate that. BUT WE'RE NOT DEAD YET

[Adamthinks]

That's super disappointing. It was the art from the previous illustrator that had me at all interested in this deck. I'm not feeling these early images from the new illustrator, but it's pretty early in their work, so that could change.

[CallOn84]

That's super disappointing. It was the art from the previous illustrator that had me at all interested in this deck. I'm not feeling these early images from the new illustrator, but it's pretty early in their work, so that could change.

Thanks for letting me know you're feelings towards it. My illustrator will now be doing the inking process for this card, so hopefully, a more sizeable impression can be made.

[Harvonsgard]

Better than what I could draw/sketch, even if my life would depend on it so... there is that, haha. I'm getting a positive vibe from the sketches so far. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more.

[CallOn84]

Better than what I could draw/sketch, even if my life would depend on it so... there is that, haha. I'm getting a positive vibe from the sketches so far. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more.

Thanks for the kind words!

[CallOn84]

The inking process has finished for the Jack of Spades!

[CallOn84]

Greyscale or Colour, which Jack of Spades would you choose?

[Harvonsgard]

Colour.

[GandalfPC]

Color, though I am suddenly a bit upset that I am on the wrong side of the pond to say colour