CREEPY....You MUST see this :) !!!

[Whaam]

Hey folks,
New playing cards deck design will be live on Kickstarter in a few days, this week..!!
Horror themed, creepiest monsters ever as court cards, creepy design for custom aces too. Graphic art all hand drawn..
Designed and illustrated by Johnny Whaam
Here's the King of Diamonds...

[ejronin]

Is that the only card you've got to show at the moment? I'd be interested to see the backs and a few other court cards, maybe even the tuck.

EDIT:

I will say that I have a hard time visually separating the suit pip from the sheild background but when I finally do, I'm thrown off a little by how the curve of the diamond breaks away from the top of the shield. I'm not sure I can make any suggestions regarding possible design solutions, but its just something that sticks out in my mind a little too much. It's not a deal breaker, but... I notice it.

[Casual Pixels]

Agreed. I'd love to see more.

Theme art decks are not necessarily my core interest, but this certainly looks to have promise.

Specifically, I like that the symmetry looks "baked in" and part of the design, and brings to mind the structure of the regular courts. That's making a big difference for me. If that's sustained over the other 11 courts, I'd definitely back this.

[Whaam]

Oh yes, most of the work has been completed and I'm currently arranging the Kickstarter page. We'll show all cards throughout the campaign, starting with at least 5 cards + back on the 1st day. We want to keep the updates interesting so,...just the 1st preview card for now here..

All court cards have that regular courts structure and the creatures will be 1 creepier than the other
Thanks

Johnny

[Bikefanatic]

The card looks good. Maybe this deck could be my first "uncolored" deck (or however you want to call it).

[badpete69]

Now live on Kickstarter

[charlie81dbz]

I have to say that I like this one much better than their other decks. I may actually pledge for a deck or two. Have to wait and see some more cards and the tuck before I make up my mind, but the artwork so far is pretty nice. The name is a bit silly though.

charlie

[Casual Pixels]

I like the second court and the Ace you've revealed and I've backed for a couple of decks.

The back, though, I'm not as blown away by.



I really like the way the two sets of teeth are done to maintain the backs as two-way. That's brilliant.

However, my first impression of the back as a whole was that the face reminded me very strongly of Dr. Seuss' Grinch. And while he's very much a creep, I'm not sure that he's exactly creepy. I think it's a little bit the outline of the head and the shape of the eyes.

Also, there's also a strong black outline around the head on the card back which for me doesn't quite feel the same as the rest of the aces and courts. None of the three you've shown have that black negative space and instead all have small details on a white background around the central figures. (I'm seeing the black line as the actual border of the Ace of Spades and not background.)

Anyway, I do like the concept and its execution enough to dive in, so consider these observations as minor things and not major complaints.

[Eoghann]

Why is the goal so low?

Overconfidence? If this project squeaks by with just the main goal reached, will you have enough to print and ship it to everyone? As far as I understand it, even $9000 doesn't cut it.

[Kdklown]

I get the feel of the artwork for all the old Metal albums and T Shirts. Metallica, Megadeth etc. Could be wrong but thats just the vibe I get. I'm in for one.

[GBAllison]

The name is a bit silly though.

I'm only guessing, but to me the name evokes memories of the comics called Creepy and Tales from the Crypt. (Hence the name.) The artwork on these is extremely professional. Ok it's not my style, but I can see the incredible talent that went into these, and what seems like a thorough understanding of playing cards.

+1 to the compliment on *how* they were made 2-way.

I'll admit that I also prefer courts where the suit pip is easier to read the second that you flop the card ... But then again I am *not* the demographic for this deck

Still I have huge respect for the artwork. Well done

[Sharpie]

Hey! The King of Clubs has only one eye!?
Just kidding. Not a deal breaker. I'm in for a deck, for the design work alone.

[Whaam]

Man, you guys are fast. I never get to post the info when we go live first Thanks.

I sincerely appreciate your comments, I assure you, rest of the art is top quality also. An update will be posted tomorrow with new pic.
Few things about the deck; creatures are totally original, my inventions. I don't use any reference pics on purpose. What's in my head is put on paper. Creepy as it is. Influenced by horror movies and any kind of horror art (T-shirts too) some similarities to known monsters are bound to occur.
I tried to do white background on the back first,..but..was my impression that way the back is too similar to court faces. When I went with black, I said.."that's it". Hope I got it right.
We set the goal to 6,900$ because I really want this design to go to print and that's the minimum we need... I already have some interest shown from some stores for this deck so 6,900$ is enough to go to print. Though, I do hope it can do better on Kickstarter.
I had done two decks before this 1. Both failed on Kickstarter (though Emotions design has been purchased by an investor and will be Bicycle branded and available in his store in September
I learned from those 2 decks, read what you had to say about those designs...here, implemented that knowledge into Creepy deck and here we are. Hope this 1 makes it.
Thanks guys,...you're not gonna be disappointed if you pledge for this deck.

Johnny

[Whaam]

New update on KS.
Here's the King of Spades...


And larger pic here http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/191 ... k?ref=live

[Whaam]

Here's the tuck-box for Creepy.
Now, when I was starting to think about the design for this one, the illustrator in me said "hey, you got cards with lots of details, very complex artwork style here,...that's how the tuck should be,...and more". I said OK,...let's do that. But, while I was preparing the design... the designer in me came forward and said "hey, no way. You should do the opposite, a minimalistic approach to the design that only gives a hint of what is to be expected inside the box." And guess what, I took the designers advice.
On the front of the box there's blood dripping (or oozing) from the Creepy text that creates a creature below. The creature's brain is exposed and it's got its back turned to us though,... it noticed we're watching and it's slowly turning, get ready for a face to face meeting
Half of front pic prevails white, half black (as this is a B/W graphic design).
Anyways, hope you like,...thanks.

Oh yes,...we're over 45% of the funding goal and with 26 days to go.
Johnny

[GBAllison]

By the way, have you given any thought to whether you're going to face a trademark issue with the title "Creepy"? As we all know, there's no copyright issue because you can't copyright a title. And certainly all your images are originals ... so there's not a problem there either. But Warren Publishing may still have an active trademark on the title Creepy (sort of like what Army Men ran into with Army Men), and the possibility for confusion ... well, it's certainly the same genre. (On the other hand, I don't know if Warren Publishing even still exists.)

You might want to check into that now ... rather than later

[vasta41]

The artwork for this deck is spectacular. The pips, the back design- all beautiful. A+ for creativity! But I can't get past the name... I don't have any idea what I think it should be called, I just think "creepy" sounds a little too... juvenile? IDK.. I also think the tuck box is a little borring but I'm bias because I like Bicycle themed decks anyway. But I have to say it again- LOVE the artwork!

[walrus]

You got me with the backs and the tuck case on this. Normally I don't go for this style but you did some beautiful work on this

[Whaam]

Thanks GB, I'll look into that. Thanks vasta, walrus.

New card pic, King of Hearts.
Now, this creature might be less creepy of them all...but as I started drawing shape of its head reminded me of a sea horse and I decided to continue in that direction. Corals on its head,..all kings have something on their heads that represent crowns.
All Kings shown here...
We're over 52%, 24 days to go...., with your help...the funding goal can be reached. If you want to pledge you have our big THANKS,...if you only comment...you got a smaller 1,..thanks (just kidding..., thank you all)
Queens will be shown in updates next week.
Johnny Whaam

[Whaam]

Queen of Clubs...

[Whaam]

Queen of Spades
Larger pic here; http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/191 ... cards-deck

[Whaam]

Hey guys, here's the new pic, Queen of Diamonds.

And,...just wanted to say,..we could use a little boost from any potential backers that might still be trying to decide "to pledge..or not to pledge " and that are leaning more towards "well, yes...I think I'd like to have this deck in my collection". We have 15 days to go and 60+% funded. If you help us a little with numbers...this deck becomes reality for us...and all backers. Every backer, any pledge, single deck or other has our sincere appreciation. With this 3rd deck design (Emotions and Iron Kings failed)..., Creepy deck, we really feel it's time to get funded as we heard (read) real nice reviews for the design, here and elsewhere.
Anyway, thanks to all our supporters and potential or future backers also.
1 more thing, United Cardists is a great place to be, when you're trying to promote a deck design..., though I'm not that active on other threads...I do read a lot of comments you guys write, for other designs too. That helps me being better every time, with new design and more to come. Thanks.

Johnny Whaam

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/191 ... ref=search

[Whaam]

Here's the NEW tuck-box for Creepy.
Next week we'll also show last of the court cards, Jacks...., hope you're gonna jump on board of this campaign if you haven't already, thanks..

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/191 ... k?ref=live

[Whaam]

Jack of Spades, "E.T. go home"

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/191 ... cards-deck

[Whaam]

2 Jacks here....!!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/191 ... cards-deck

[Whaam]

ALL COURTS here...!!!
There's no better invitation than this pic for all those who wanted to wait and see all court cards... If you haven't pledged...there's 5 days left for Creepy campaign...and you can still do it !!
If we don't reach our funding goal,...Creepy deck is not coming back on Kickstarter. Though, I will be back with more designs

1 more thing,...Emotions decks (my design too) that failed on Kickstarter few months back,...were printed by USPCC, Bicycle branded (we found an investor) and available in stores as of this week. Would you believe those decks ended up in a gambler's store in Las Vegas also (!) (I can post links... And...that's like..a huge thing for me , yey

Hope Creepy makes it on Kickstarter,...thanks for your support.
Johnny

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/191 ... k?ref=live

[MagikFingerz]

I hope it makes it too. This is a truly unique deck that deserves to be realized

[Whaam]

Thanks Magik...

4 aces....

[Casual Pixels]

Bumped up my order. Definitely a deck that deserves to make it.

Good luck in the home stretch!

[MagikFingerz]

Bumped up my order. Definitely a deck that deserves to make it.

Good luck in the home stretch!

I did too.