Next up, for the months of June and July we have Shane Tyree, formerly of the Albino Dragon series of decks, having done the artwork for the most successful decks of playing cards of all time: "The Name of the Wind" which did an incredible $589,660 - by far the most successful in Kickstarter history! In the end that project ended up being funded at almost 5900% with over 11,000 backers! Shane was the Lead Artist - Creative Director for Albino Dragon during those wildly successful kickstarter campaigns including "White Rabbit", "Cthuhlu" and "sYnthesis" amongst others. Shane is now doing his own thing and has his own art studio "STart" (Shane Tyree Art Studio) and you can find that here: http://www.Shane-Tyree.com. To start our second "Featured Artist" (Deck Designer) I sat down with Shane in an informal interview and this is the result of that Q&A session.
Q: When did you start doing graphic design, and how did you get into designing playing cards?
A: I started into graphic design in 2011 when I became a freelance illustrator. The very first deck I had the idea to do was the original Call of Cthulhu deck I did in 2012. It came about because of a roleplaying game called Savage Worlds. It uses playing cards to track initiative (the order that players take their turns in) and there is a Cthulhu themed version of the game. I thought the Cthulhu playing cards would be a cool addition to use for the game.
Q: Do you collect playing cards?
A: After having been introduced to them through my work yes, I now have a pretty good collection. It’s a cool way to collect someone’s artwork and have fun using it.
Q: How many decks are in your collection?
A: Right now upwards of 15.
Q: What types of decks do you collect?
A: I prefer more illustrative decks with unique court cards.
Q: What is your favorite deck of the ones you have, and why?
A: That’s a tough question. I really Jackson Robinson’s Federal 52 deck, but it’s a toss up with Chris Ovdiyenko’s Calaveras deck. Both guys have a style that I greatly admire.
Q: What deck that you do not have would you most like to have?
A: Blue Blood by Uusi. I absolutely adored the style and the artwork.
Q: What would you like to see in the design of a new deck?
A: Because I favor illustrative styles, I would like to see something that challenges the format and showcases unique artwork.
Q: Do you have any thoughts on the future of playing cards?
A: I think Kickstarter has been good and bad for the collector. There is a large variety of decks to choose from but as with anything, it allows for both good quality and substandard stuff. I hope that the quality and originality rise to the top.
Q: Is there anything groundbreaking you want to try out in a future deck design/project?
A: I don’t know about groundbreaking, but I definitely plan on playing around with some cool ideas and some different artistic styles.
Q: How do you feel about kickstarter/crowd funding platforms?
A: Kickstarter is a great community. It gives people who like a lot of the same things a way to come together. It also allows people who may not have otherwise had the means to create something beautiful a way to do so. It can be good and bad though, because with that success comes a level of expectation that is sometimes detrimental. People see that dollar amount and make assumptions about the cost associated with producing these products.
Q: Do you have any words of wisdom for new and budding designers?
A: Work hard and focus on a subject you really enjoy. Try to make something that fans and collectors can both get behind.
That being the basic interview, please help me welcome Shane back to UC where he's been many times before to be roasted before.
Shane currently is working with Tabz' "The Game is On!" project on kickstarter at the beginning of this two-month Featured Artist period, and I'm certain that he has plenty more up his sleeve because Shane never sleeps! He just came off the follow-up "Extended" campaign for his wildly successful "Cthuhlu - The Writhing Dark" campaign.
