NOW LIVE: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Vanda Artists / Bob Case)

[Fenrir]

Here's a look at my original colorized back (left) and Bob's color version (right)
His definitely captures more of a magical feel and the items pop much more...

backdesign-colors2.jpg

They are both great but I really like the right. The different colours and gradients go a long way.

[davegk]

I've been working on a display box set concept for this project...

The outer box is book-shaped, black with foil printing (similar to the attached image but modified design)

Inside it would contain:
- Standard Alice deck
- Jumbo Alice deck (3.5"x5", red gilded edges, rigid outer box - black w/ foil printing)
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland pin
- Alice coin (design in progress)
- Signed authenticity card with serial number

Here's a rough mockup of the open book

[Honeybee]

I am not into collectors boxes nor oversized cards as I prefer my deck storage system. The tuck is still so so IMO

[kevork]

Yeah, I'll personally skip that box and stick with the deck.

[davegk]

Getting closer to final artwork...

Made some modifications to the court cards so they feel a little less heavy on the border titles while adding the extra crown element. Note the deck will be printed with CMYK for the full colorization that Bob did such a great job with + pantone inks for a rich clean black and metallic gold elements.

And a look at one of the things I'm most excited about for this deck—the number cards

[Fenrir]

Looking great so far. The enhancements work well and the courts are super fun. Exactly what you would expect from Alice in Wonderland.

[Honeybee]

The deck is looking fantastic so why not improve the tuck. The B&W large deck box looks more promising

[vasta41]

The changes to the cards are amazing! But the tuck box just still seems out of place, especially with the new adjustments. I'm still probably in but I do wish that would change somehow.

[Harvonsgard]

Card faces are fine. The back is a tad too busy for me personally but I'm able to make peace with that. Unison with others in here, the box is a drop off though. For me even to a point where I'll not buy the deck. I'm far from a tuckist but after I hit a certain amount of decks, the bar for what is getting purchased has just naturally risen. The tuck needs more colour to match the inside imho.
Not saying it isn't a well designed tuck box but it just doesn't do the trick for me personally.

[STLBluesNut]

i agree. for me it has to be a great overall package these days. i have passed on decks with great card art and design because of a tuck i did not like and i have passed on decks with an amazing tuck with bad card design or art.

[brownsl]

I agree, I am also not a fan of the card backs. Too busy.

[Swiski66]

I agree, I am also not a fan of the card backs. Too busy.

Are you confused by the blending colors on the back? That suppose to simulate a foil effect, and will probably look nicer and brighter on the final product.
I think the cards and cardbacks are perfection! The tuck box is very boring and doesn't show off the intricate artwork used on the cards - lots of wasted space.

[davegk]

Well, thanks for the feedback, folks!

I'm a little disappointed by the strong opposition to the tuck design but at the same time I'm not really that surprised...I always strive to push the envelope and create products that stand out from what everyone else is doing—I'm definitely a non-conformist in general. I know I've released decks in the past that initially received a lot of criticism and doubt from folks on this forum and often those same people changed their minds once they saw the final result.

I've received extremely positive feedback on the design of everything you've seen here from people outside of UC and I'm not planning to change the tuckbox design at this point. I will say that the mockups here don't really do justice to the vision for the box and I think you'll appreciate the look once you see it in final printed form.

In the meantime, here's the 4 kings...

[kevork]

I'm okay with the tuck box design as long as you are planning to keep it consistent for future volumes.

What assurances can be provided given the delay with Stories?

[davegk]

I'm okay with the tuck box design as long as you are planning to keep it consistent for future volumes.

What assurances can be provided given the delay with Stories?

Yes, I already have tuckbox designs for 2 other decks in this collection...

The delay with Stories was initially caused by pandemic-related issues—everything was shut down/delayed and my available time to move things forward in general completely disappeared. It was further delayed when the cost of everything went way up and the funding raised through KS no longer covered the production and fulfillment costs (and it took me a while to raise the additional funds to move forward).

With this project, the kickstarter budgeting/planning is set up to cover production costs with plenty of buffer and there is no expected reason for any extensive delays—the only delays that may happen will be based on production time at USPC (note: I've heard they are slower these days than in the past to get new decks printed).

[GandalfPC]

And should the unexpected happen, how might one expect a difference in level of updates and communication from Stories?

[davegk]

And should the unexpected happen, how might one expect a difference in level of updates and communication from Stories?

As I mentioned, the pandemic was extremely taxing for me in terms of personal available time. Between working a full time day job around having to provide childcare for 2 kiddos (one a newborn), I had zero available time to focus on Vanda projects. Note that Vanda is my passion project and I do everything myself aside from fulfillment that's handled by GW. I design and produce playing cards because I love doing it.

Fortunately, with life now mostly back to normal, I now have time available (as you can see from my level of interaction here) to focus on this next project. That includes updates and support through direct message conversations.

Prior to Stories, I have a long track record with Vanda—I've been designing cards for 11+ years now, have funded and fulfilled 14 kickstarter projects, and produced a number of decks directly as well. There have definitely been some bumps in the road but as you can see I've always worked through them and continued on (even if this last one took quite a while).

[GandalfPC]

For me full time job and family leaving zero time is not a valid reason, and while I figured the reasons that caused that silence were likely quite personal and “none of my business”, from your description of “life, tough as normal” put me on the sidelines for a while…


It just feels more like a change of circumstance than a change of mind, without full recognition of the error made that should not be made again.

I just think there is a reason it’s called “the unexpected”, and it means unless you have limitless resources it can happen and you may not have the resources to deal with it. I would at least like to make sure you both have the will, and the understanding that planning will not make sure that nothing goes wrong, nor will it prevent a family or work issue from arising. You must be ready to treat it as an equal commitment, and people must be ready to understand that you do have limited resources. Realistic expectations, and an attitude that means business.

[PiazzaDelivery]

For the record, I really like the lines emanating from the background on the cards. Especially on the courts, it seems to serve to fill the empty space and it works. A lot of designs that suffer from an over-abundance of negative space could learn from this.

[davegk]

Looking more at the 4 kings together I realized that the background solid color felt pretty flat. especially behind the white rabbit with so much dead space...so I created a chessboard pattern to give some texture.

Using a similar pattern for the tuckbox interior as well...

[Honeybee]

Can you tell us what are the 2 other classic stories that you have on the drawing board?
It may convince me that I will want this to have the whole collection.
The tuck has me wavering - put the above interior on the outside!
It is funny how the small examples of the Kings above make them look ordinary (I suggest you stick to showing us the good looking large versions)
ps In the answers to your fulfillment and commitment - Did you promise to keep up communication no matter what?

[davegk]

Heh, okay okay...here's a peek at the next two in the works

and for fun, a closeup of the queen...this will likely be the hero image for the kickstarter campaign.

And yes, I will be communicating regularly moving forward

[vasta41]

My main issue with the tuck is that it doesn't match the cards. The cards have such nice, muted coloring through. Yet they're sheltered inside a red, white and black tuck. Just seems out of place. But it doesn't bother me enough to be out but on this particular project; it's a general pet peeve of mine. It's unaesthetically pleasing to my eye- that's the best way I can describe it.

[STLBluesNut]

we can be a hard lot to please around here, i may be one of the worst in some ways. the tuck could be a little different, but it is not at the im not going to buy it level. i think just coloring in Alice would do the trick for some. that court illustrations are great and i like the addition of the pattern in the color blob behind the characters. the card back could be different for me as well. i thought it was cool looking little items that was supposed to be on top of a treasure pile or coins but when i enlarged them i can see it is tiny scroll work and dots. not sure it really translates well. it kind of looks like there were some neat illustrations of these items that were wanted on the back and you guys just came up with something to fill in the blank spots.

for me, the excellent court character design is enough to outweigh the objections i have to the backs and tuck design IF the price is right. if this turns out to be a plain glossy tuck for $18+ that will likely be a no from me. anything over $15 should have matte stock, embossed and foiled red parts.

[davegk]

we can be a hard lot to please around here, i may be one of the worst in some ways. the tuck could be a little different, but it is not at the im not going to buy it level. i think just coloring in Alice would do the trick for some. that court illustrations are great and i like the addition of the pattern in the color blob behind the characters. the card back could be different for me as well. i thought it was cool looking little items that was supposed to be on top of a treasure pile or coins but when i enlarged them i can see it is tiny scroll work and dots. not sure it really translates well. it kind of looks like there were some neat illustrations of these items that were wanted on the back and you guys just came up with something to fill in the blank spots.

for me, the excellent court character design is enough to outweigh the objections i have to the backs and tuck design IF the price is right. if this turns out to be a plain glossy tuck for $18+ that will likely be a no from me. anything over $15 should have matte stock, embossed and foiled red parts.

To be clear, this tuckbox will be on black matte paper with 3 exterior foil colors (red/white/black) and red foil interior pattern. This is why the tuck art only has red/black/white coloring. It will also include a numbered custom-shaped red metallic sticker (similar to the ones used on the Stories decks but slightly different placement). Retail pricing is $20/deck and they'll be available on Kickstarter at $15 each.

[Swiski66]

I'm confident the printing effects on the tuck deck will look nice on the final product. These decks are probably a long way off until final print production, but I'm in for a deck of each...as long as I'm still alive.

[davegk]

I'm targeting February for getting Kickstarter rewards shipped out. As I mentioned, it will depend mostly on the timeline from USPC (and I know they tend to get busier at the end of the year with holidays and whatnot).

Here's the serial # sticker prototype...

[PiazzaDelivery]

Guys, I'm curious; does ANYONE apart from those who buy unfolded tucks care at all about what is printed on the inside of a tuck case? Because it does not make a smidgen of difference to me.

[hsbc]

Guys, I'm curious; does ANYONE apart from those who buy unfolded tucks care at all about what is printed on the inside of a tuck case? Because it does not make a smidgen of difference to me.

Having something printed on the inside, as opposed to plain white, does a lot to complete the overall aesthetic of a deck I prefer patterns on the inside, though -- art on the inside of the tuck is a waste

[GandalfPC]

I think its a nice touch for some, though I don’t know that they weigh into my decisions to buy ever