Muertos - Day of the Dead Playing Cards (KS)

[badpete69]

[MagikFingerz]

Wow, talk about trying to hitch a ride on someone else's success (name-wise).

Looks like an Elite deck, apart from it actually having a theme

The "luxury" look does not mesh well with the Day of the Dead theme. Easy pass.

[Cbkimble]

I agree. Saw it and thought, "ya gotta be shitting me."

[badpete69]

Yeah they are both from LA also. Let's see if the creator will come on and chat

I think it looks not too bad kind of a mix of ornates and dia de la muertos decks. But the guy has no webpage, so don't know much about him

[volantangel]

badum badum, the theme is soon becoming the next lovecraft, steampunk, zombie, minimalist of yesteryear.

[Mike Ratledge]

Yep, now waiting for my steampunk/cthrulhu/zombie/minimalist/pirate/undead/skulls/meurtos deck at this point. I'll buy one... (seriously - three "Day of the Dead" projects in two months?)

[OnTheGrind]

badum badum, the theme is soon becoming the next lovecraft, steampunk, zombie, minimalist of yesteryear.

you forgot to add in cthulhu


EDIT:

Aww Mike, beat me to it!

[MagikFingerz]

badum badum, the theme is soon becoming the next lovecraft, steampunk, zombie, minimalist of yesteryear.

you forgot to add in cthulhu

Lovecraft is the author of the Cthulhu stuff

[OnTheGrind]

badum badum, the theme is soon becoming the next lovecraft, steampunk, zombie, minimalist of yesteryear.

you forgot to add in cthulhu

Lovecraft is the author of the Cthulhu stuff

Learn something new every day here

[Sher]

The artwork and design is pretty nice, and the work doesn't seem rushed. Perhaps this creator has been working on these long before ever hearing about the other two projects, but had the unfortunate luck of launching shortly after the conclusion of both... But I admit it's strange that they would all launch around the same time of the year, especially considering that Day of the Dead isn't until October-November...

[Widdee]

Wow, talk about trying to hitch a ride on someone else's success (name-wise).

Looks like an Elite deck, apart from it actually having a theme

The "luxury" look does not mesh well with the Day of the Dead theme. Easy pass.

Have to agree, got Elite written all over it. There's a disconnect here for me in the slick chromey Photoshop look and the subject matter. Calaveras and Dia de Los Muertos work splendidly with their grunge look. This not so much.

[Yashi]

I quite like it but I'm on the fence if I should pledge or not. I'm trying to be more picky to save some money.
The things I don't like though is how similar the card back is to the earlier Dia De Los Muertos kickstarter and how the aces remind me of Ornates. Of course I'm not saying that the artist is copying anyone and I don't really know anything about Dia De Los Muertos so I don't really know how it could be done any other way.

[Bikefanatic]

The Day Of The Dead theme has been done to death! The only thing I don't like about this deck is that all the pips are the same color.

[rousselle]

The Day Of The Dead theme has been done to death!

I see what you did there.

But, in all cerealness, while this theme has already been done successfully twice in recent memory (and unsuccessfully once or twice, as well), I think this deck brings something different to the table. I am cautiously optimistic that this deck will be able to hold its own against Calaveras and the more recent "purple deck" folks. *Here* is where using EPCC and their new foil stamping process could be put to great advantage. USPCC's metallic inks have usually not really popped, but foil... mmm... shiny.

Probably too late for him to switch, but it's a thought.

[steveminty]

Hi everyone this is the creator here. I was introduced to this page by Allan and Pierre so I thought I'd drop by to say hello!

I have taken a serious consideration of the comments made and I sincerely appreciate the feed back.

As with Sher mentioned I have had the unfortunate timing of being almost completely done with the designs when Dia De Los Muertos - Playing Cards by the Edgerly Brothers Launched. At that point it was a dilemma of whether to proceed with the project and risk being called a copycat or abandon the project. I spent a lot of time with this project to develop the style as well as the look and feel and I felt it would be a regretful decision to stop. With the people who helped me looking forward to releasing this project, it was another motivation to go through with the project. If the project fails, it fails, but I can live with it since I decided to go through with it. It is my first kickstarter ever and putting myself out there like this is rather nerve racking. After all, validation comes from the success of the project, but that's only a added benefit.

I grew up in LA and had many opportunities to experience the culture that is Dia De Los Muertos. In many ways it's similar to how I honor my ancestors, but at the same time it was different and that intrigued me. I wouldn't say I followed the trend of jumping on the Dia De Los Muertos bandwagon, but it is indeed popular and for good reason at that. I wanted to combine the aesthetics and figures of Dia De Los Muertos with black and gold sleekness which I hadn't seen before. I didn't want to retread the same waters over again but to some it may be, which is okay.

To Magikfingers: I had to take a look at the Elite Playing cards and I don't fault you for it thinking it looks like that. Admittedly it does look like Elite but I can honestly say I did not reference it during the process of creating this project. As for the title, Muertos was an easy choice for me considering Muertos means death/dead. If you're dealing cards that had Muertos as the deck, that would make you a "Death Dealer"! I thought that was very funny so I chose it well in advanced before the recent decks came out. It's too bad that I had to follow up that great project, but it is what it is.

To Bikefanatic: I realized that by doing the pips the same color, it might cause confusion so to lessen that, I carefully designed the pips underneath the numbers to be a little bit different. The spade and clubs are hollow so there's more negative space (i.e black) and the hearts and diamonds are filled in. It may not be a lot but I hope players enjoy that when it is discovered.

Anyways, as I mentioned before I appreciate all of your feed backs and I hope I was able to shed a bit of light on what my situation is about!

[Yashi]

Well they're not ugly so props to you. Although the theme has been done before, I think this deck can still make it. I know it's hard, but maybe you could change the back design to make it seem less like a copy of the deck done by the Edgerly Brothers. There are, however, people who use the cards more for playing than collecting (or both) so single colored pips lessens the playability of your deck. Even though the hearts and diamonds are solid and the spade and clubs are hollow, I think it's still going to need a second glance to get the suit right.

Anyway, best of luck. I might pledge towards the end of the campaign because I'm a sucker for gold.

[volantangel]

Like many have said, the deck isnt ugly. But the theme doesnt go with the style, and honestly the theme has been done to death (thanks for letting me steal the pun). Im not sure what you can do to actually differentiate yourself, but that back design like Yashi has said is wayy too similar to that of the edgy brothers. Perhaps reworking the deck might be a good idea if this doesnt fund, because it not funding is a high possibility.

[rousselle]

Hi, Steve! Welcome aboard! (I'm going to welcome you on the other discussion board, too, because that's how I roll.)

To address the concerns others have raised about color (and I do realize you've tried to address this with hollowed-out vs. solid pips), can you add a splash of red to the centers of the diamonds and hearts and still keep this true to your vision?

While you obviously want to consider doing everything you can to help this project succeed the first go-round, don't get discouraged if it doesn't fund the first time. Many people will favor your project because you are going with USPCC, but if it turns out that the project doesn't fund with your current structure, you can also consider with some future project switching to EPCC (Expert Playing Card Company), who are now experimenting with printing/stamping foil onto their cards, and whose reputation is building quite nicely. They also have the advantage of being able to print in smaller quantities and at lower prices than USPCC, so you could make the project more likely to fund by adding foil while keeping the price point where it is, and allowing for a smaller minimum to "fund" the project.

All that said, don't necessarily think along the lines of planning to kill this current attempt. Do what you can to make this work. Learn from it. And then, keep in mind that you have additional avenues available to you if this first attempt doesn't fund. But whether you fund the first, the second, or some other time after that, as long as you keep learning and keep improving, you'll end up building a project you can be proud of... and that others will pay to enjoy.

(Okay, enough of me cheerleading. I'll let the others give you more serious constructive criticism. )

[MagikFingerz]

To add the least amount of red, what you could do is hollow out the red indice pips as well and fill them with red and nothing else. Like the Ghost deck.

[Bikefanatic]

Looking at them now, the court cards look like those aliens in the movie They Live!

Instead of using red, I think white could be a better alternative for the heart and diamond pips..

[lolo]

I really like the court design. The integration of pips in the separation between up and down is very well done IMHO ! First time I see this...

Your deck really look like a Limited Edition of a colored one

If you modify your deck in order to insert the remarks made before, this will be a great deck !

Anyway : i'm in !

[sms69x]

I realy like it. Unfortunally $15 for a deck is way too much for me.
I don't understand why lastly decks are going so high! Designers are becoming too greedy!

Just hope that Jackson, Lotrek, Lorenzo and Randy (and some others that I can't recal now) don't go this path!

[WillHart CthulhuWho1]

I pledged for these and posted the following comment (before I knew Steve had already been here last night) about an hour ago:

Steve,

Love the cards, but I hope you'll consider one suggestion that I believe will make your deck even better.
Increase the size of all of your Court Card figures to the same full-size you have used for the Jack of Spades, King of Hearts, and the King of Diamonds; and you will have a much more uniform and professional deck!

Also, please follow and join the discussions of your deck on UnitedCardists.com, and on PlayingCardForum.com; where I believe they will recommend the same changes to your beautiful deck of cards.

Will Hart
Fullerton, California

[edgybros]

hey, guys - just wanted to throw in our two cents. i talked to dave, our artist, and we agree that it's a pretty sharp looking deck, and we don't see any real similarities (aside from subject matter, of course) and hats off to steve for putting his work out there! the color scheme, softer lines and overall tone is very different from our approach, and i mentioned in the past that anyone creating a dia de los muertos deck is going to have to incorporate certain iconography into their design, or they aren't doing the subject justice. that naturally opens them up to suspicions of copycatting other decks, but we just don't see that here. we would suggest to steve that in the future he try a shorter campaign length - 45 days will become exhausting and he's going to hit a trough at some point, and probably more than one. the good news is he's off to a good start and funding looks very promising. so, for what it's worth, we want to wish steve good luck and welcome him to the club! you're a creator, so be proud! btw, most of the guys here on uc are collectors and true card enthusiasts, and they have a lot of experience and advice to share. they're a valuable resource for any creator.

[Strag]

hey, guys - just wanted to throw in our two cents. i talked to dave, our artist, and we agree that it's a pretty sharp looking deck, and we don't see any real similarities (aside from subject matter, of course) and hats off to steve for putting his work out there! the color scheme, softer lines and overall tone is very different from our approach, and i mentioned in the past that anyone creating a dia de los muertos deck is going to have to incorporate certain iconography into their design, or they aren't doing the subject justice. that naturally opens them up to suspicions of copycatting other decks, but we just don't see that here. we would suggest to steve that in the future he try a shorter campaign length - 45 days will become exhausting and he's going to hit a trough at some point, and probably more than one. the good news is he's off to a good start and funding looks very promising. so, for what it's worth, we want to wish steve good luck and welcome him to the club! you're a creator, so be proud! btw, most of the guys here on uc are collectors and true card enthusiasts, and they have a lot of experience and advice to share. they're a valuable resource for any creator.

Big props that's a great attitude to have.

[Sher]

hey, guys - just wanted to throw in our two cents. i talked to dave, our artist, and we agree that it's a pretty sharp looking deck, and we don't see any real similarities (aside from subject matter, of course) and hats off to steve for putting his work out there! the color scheme, softer lines and overall tone is very different from our approach, and i mentioned in the past that anyone creating a dia de los muertos deck is going to have to incorporate certain iconography into their design, or they aren't doing the subject justice. that naturally opens them up to suspicions of copycatting other decks, but we just don't see that here. we would suggest to steve that in the future he try a shorter campaign length - 45 days will become exhausting and he's going to hit a trough at some point, and probably more than one. the good news is he's off to a good start and funding looks very promising. so, for what it's worth, we want to wish steve good luck and welcome him to the club! you're a creator, so be proud! btw, most of the guys here on uc are collectors and true card enthusiasts, and they have a lot of experience and advice to share. they're a valuable resource for any creator.

Big props that's a great attitude to have.

I agree. +1 to this.

[steveminty]

hey, guys - just wanted to throw in our two cents. i talked to dave, our artist, and we agree that it's a pretty sharp looking deck, and we don't see any real similarities (aside from subject matter, of course) and hats off to steve for putting his work out there! the color scheme, softer lines and overall tone is very different from our approach, and i mentioned in the past that anyone creating a dia de los muertos deck is going to have to incorporate certain iconography into their design, or they aren't doing the subject justice. that naturally opens them up to suspicions of copycatting other decks, but we just don't see that here. we would suggest to steve that in the future he try a shorter campaign length - 45 days will become exhausting and he's going to hit a trough at some point, and probably more than one. the good news is he's off to a good start and funding looks very promising. so, for what it's worth, we want to wish steve good luck and welcome him to the club! you're a creator, so be proud! btw, most of the guys here on uc are collectors and true card enthusiasts, and they have a lot of experience and advice to share. they're a valuable resource for any creator.

Ah man! That means a lot coming from you guys! I appreciate your kind words very much and I must say that I draw strength from looking at the beautiful project you guys created. I have seen first hand that these guys are true lovers of the card game and they all know what they're talking about and I will definitely seek their guidance when that time comes.

Since this is my first kickstarter, I will inevitably face rough spots and I will take them as they come, but as I have mentioned before I appreciate everyone's feedback and criticisms!

[Widdee]

Eyeballing the white Mourning Gold stretch deck wish this would have been the main and the blacks LE. I've gone in with the hope they reach the goal for these, but 60k is a lot of hope.

[rousselle]

+1 EdgyBros!
+1 SteveMinty!

I loves me some designers encouraging the best out of each other.

[Sher]

Eyeballing the white Mourning Gold stretch deck wish this would have been the main and the blacks LE. I've gone in with the hope they reach the goal for these, but 60k is a lot of hope.

Actually they unlock as add-ons at $40k. At $60k every backer who pledges for three or more Night decks gets one Mourning Gold deck for free.