UnitedCardists.com - The forum for Cardistry, Magic, Custom Decks and All Things Playing Cards.

I actually didn't realize the lines went all the way around and were just faded in the corners, I had to look very closely to see that.

What I meant was for the fading to be the same distance from the corner, like this (probably not entirely accurate):

Ah, yes, the vertical lines being closer to the corners than the horizontal ones is done on purpose, to emphasize the vertical aspect ratio of the image. It looks better on the spot cards with the single border than it does on the court cards with the triple border. But I need to keep them all the same for consistency.

-Z

zsalman wrote:Okay, here are two options:

Option 1:



Option 2:



I like option 1 better because having the white facing towards the inside of the card isolates the red from the colors in the face image and reduces the impact when the red color clashes with whatever color is in the image. I also like the fact that the pips are still hollow and the black background shows through, whereas in option 2, the pips are now completely filled with color.

Option 1 also seems to fit the design motif of the cards better.

-Z

You know, the more I look at it, the more I'm not feeling the gray. I think I need to have an actual color. The pips with red just pop, while the pips with gray just sort of fade off into nothingness. I'm thinking maybe a sort of dark blue. That would create additional opportunites for more clashing of colors between pip and main image, but hey, we're already clashing with the red so we might as well have pips that pop all over. Wow, did I just write that?

-Z

I think you're right. A deep blue just might work.

Deck looks great...and of course couldn't resist to pick up the first version on Amazon...I should get it tomorrow

badpete69 wrote:Deck looks great...and of course couldn't resist to pick up the first version on Amazon...I should get it tomorrow

Ah, thank you for your support! And I think you'll be a lot happier with this new deck, both in terms of the design and the quality of the product.

-Z

MagikFingerz wrote:I think you're right. A deep blue just might work.

After wrangling it for another several hours, I don't think a blue is going to work. I can't find a blue that looks right: it's either too cyan or too purple. But worse than that, with the pips being red and white, and blue and white, when the cards are laid out together, the whole thing just turns into a red, white and blue frenzy. I think I'm going to stick with red/white and gray/white, it looks classier.

-Z

The prototype deck is in production at the USPCC!

Here is a proof of the uncut sheet for the faces:

http://www.surrealscapes.net/depot/uncu ... _faces.jpg

And here are the backs:

http://www.surrealscapes.net/depot/uncu ... _backs.jpg

The black background on the cards is made of up a CMYK value of 0/0/0/100, so that's why it looks gray onscreen. But USPCC tells me it will print as a rich black so the cards will look right when they're printed.

-Z

Simply amazing. After seeing crappy deck after crappy deck pop up on kickstarter, it's decks like this one that brings back the joy of collecting

That's awesome to hear. Thanks! That's a high compliment coming from the people on this board.

The artwork side of this project is done. Now I have to do all the math and structure the rewards for the Kickstarter campaign. With recent heavy increases in the cost of shipping items outside the US, it's going to be less attractive for international backers but I'll do what I can to keep the costs for everyeone as low as possible while still making sure that I don't run out of money.

I'll post the preview link for the Kickstarter campaign when it's ready.

-Z

In case anyone missed it while UC was down, the Kickstarter campaign for the SurrealScapes deck is now ongoing:



There are still plenty of early-bird slots available so get in on the action!