THE RUSH (Ghost Towns) - By Stacey jay Kelly

[Squiddle_Ink]

Here is a new ArtDeck,
I have been putting this idea together after I took a road trip heading from Death Valley North on the 395 to Lake Tahoe and then across to Yosemite and San Francisco and was charmed by the abandoned Ghost Towns littered throughout the state. The story that began at Sutter Creek to me seems pretty bleak and serves as a tremendous cautionary tale. My deck is a dedication to the hopeless 49ers who travelled to California in search of riches.

Queens: The saloon women who carved a name for themselves as pistol-packing gamblers, caring courtesans and entertainers.
Kings: The men associated with the Gold Rush Boom such as James W. Marshall, John Sutter and Samuel Brannan
Jacks: These will be depictions of some of the immigrants who made the trip to California during the Gold mining era.

Jokers: a tribute to the game of Faro or "Buck the tiger" Played in the saloons.

Aces:
Spades: "Those that sold shovels" many struck it rich buying and selling the shovels and pickaxes during the gold rush rather than mining for Gold itself. There is also wheat in the design to represent the great wasted crop that was abandoned on John Sutter's land when his workers heard of the nearby treasure.
Hearts: "The hooker with the heart of gold" a tribute to Rosa May, courtesan who nursed sick men back to health during the gold rush but in spite of her kindness was buried outside the local cemetery for her sins.
Diamonds: "The richest vein of paydirt" Prospectors would search for the gold-bearing vein.
Clubs: "The flood of 49ers" Those who travelled to find gold in 1849

I have not yet thought deeply regarding the colour of the deck and have so far worked it in black and white. until I have completed the illustrations. I thought it would be a good time to share the designs for feedback.

[Squiddle_Ink]

Here are the Queens

[Squiddle_Ink]

Aces etc:

[Squiddle_Ink]

This may be a bone of contention but I really enjoyed the way it looked as the pips would grow gradually smaller as they multiplied

[GandalfTheWhite]

These look amazing. The tuck box is beautiful too!

[Squiddle_Ink]

These look amazing. The tuck box is beautiful too!

Thank you kindly! I'm toying with the idea of Gold foliage or gold metallic card stock for the tuck, it seems to make sense given the theme, but every time I move away from black and white I don't like it as much. it may be too complicated to have a foil stamp on the tuck but perhaps if the black design is printed on a pearlescent golden tuck stock it could work.

[Fes]

I like the number cards quite a bit. That's a great idea and I think the effect is very nice going from larger to smaller pips and filling the card up with bountiful pipness. I dig on the shovel under the indices and I even dig on the indicators there. I think it's fun and plenty of room to be readable. I am personally a bit skulled out but these ones are nicely done. Me digs on the themes you have going on with each suit. On the card back I don't understand the notch taken out of the cactus. If it is intentional, it's strange and I don't think it plays well. If it's not intentional, well it's there. (Yes I see it on the back of two courts as well, maybe it's a hat. idk I don't get it.) Buck the tiger!

[Squiddle_Ink]

. On the card back I don't understand the notch taken out of the cactus. If it is intentional, it's strange and I don't think it plays well. If it's not intentional, well it's there. (Yes I see it on the back of two courts as well, maybe it's a hat. idk I don't get it.) Buck the tiger!

Interesting, do you mean the whiter part halfway down? it a shorter cactus arm facing forward, with the lines all meeting in the middle. Imagine looking at the end of a watermelon. I guess if it is not clear it needs a little rework so thanks for that. Perhaps do away with it and just have the cactus lines going straight up. its probably too tiny a detail to keep if it is distracting. Thanks.

[PiazzaDelivery]

Love the theme and the pip crescendo. You mention not thinking about the colors thus far, but I think the black and white plays into the ghost aspect nicely, at least for the card faces. For instance, the monochromatic queens backed by a representation of their suit with the corresponding color looks great. I'd color the backs (not too much, that also plays into the ghost vibe) and tuck, but the faces already look good to me.

When I think of ghosts, I seldom picture skeletons. Either pale, translucent versions of the living or a sheet with two holes cut out. I think the former might be how I'd tackle this idea, maybe with a heavy outer contour of the figures to properly express that they are specters. I don't think photo-realist is the way to go, but maybe some middle ground between that and full-blown caricature? To me, the skeletons feel like a divergence from the theme. To me, it says that these people are dead rather than make me picture a scene from what was once a bustling frontier town populated with these characters. I think ghosts could accomplish both of these aims at the same time.

Just my two cents. Also I love that you added Madame Moustache's defining characteristic lol

[Squiddle_Ink]

When I think of ghosts, I seldom picture skeletons. Either pale, translucent versions of the living or a sheet with two holes cut out. I think the former might be how I'd tackle this idea, maybe with a heavy outer contour of the figures to properly express that they are specters. I don't think photo-realist is the way to go, but maybe some middle ground between that and full-blown caricature? To me, the skeletons feel like a divergence from the theme. To me, it says that these people are dead rather than make me picture a scene from what was once a bustling frontier town populated with these characters. I think ghosts could accomplish both of these aims at the same time.

Fair point and interesting input, thank you.
The bones and buried bodies of these characters is a large part of this decks theme. Rather than portraying a bustling frontier town of which there are many decks already. I want to display the hunger, toxicity and greed of the whole situation. The ribcage on the tuck for example. I think skeletal structures of people represent the emptiness of the structures of the towns themselves.. like Bodies rusting motors and woodwork.

[QEDPlayingCards]

I absolutely love this design! The theme and the way it is used throughout the deck is awesome. The variable pip size is indeed interesting, but overall I find it a bit discomforting.

[BaconWise]

This deck is fantastic - very fun and creative. I think there is plenty of room in the skull/day of the dead space and this is a great angle. This makes me happy much like Fuego or Muertos and I am excited to see this develop. I enjoy the pop of color with the black-and-white along with the teal or red. Perhaps those color accents would be the way to go rather than a full-color approach, but I would love to see either.

Looking at the cactus, I am a bit confused as to what the highlighted part of the image is supposed to be:
EDIT: I didn't notice your response earlier. I would forego the small cactus arm coming out and just straighten out those lines. Cleaner.

rush.jpg (280.72 KiB) Viewed 3486 times

[Squiddle_Ink]

Looking at the cactus, I am a bit confused as to what the highlighted part of the image is supposed to be:
EDIT: I didn't notice your response earlier. I would forego the small cactus arm coming out and just straighten out those lines. Cleaner.


rush.jpg

OK loud and clear. I will definitely be straightening out the cactus by way of popular demand

[Fes]

To be honest, I don't really understand the use of the cactus at all. This seems to be about the ole niners yea? That would be redwood trees. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it and I'm content to let it be what it is just don't understand it. Cactus may symbolize the west for some folks? I don't know. I hope that pony on the card back is named Shaggy, Spots or Sarsaparilla Sam.

Regardless the cactus looks good and will look better with the little, well you know, fixed up. I know the ole windmill we know and love and use to get water for our cattle out here in the desert wasn't invented (as we know it) until five years after the frisco fiasco buuuut most ghost towns and a lot of them cactus-ish areas have them. No windmill love?

[Squiddle_Ink]

To be honest, I don't really understand the use of the cactus at all. This seems to be about the ole niners yea? That would be redwood trees. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it and I'm content to let it be what it is just don't understand it. Cactus may symbolize the west for some folks? I don't know. I hope that pony on the card back is named Shaggy, Spots or Sarsaparilla Sam.

Ooooh windmill Nice!

Well I was going to but a bottle of whiskey behind the kings and perhaps the windmill could stand behind the Jacks. Do you think a redwood and a windmill would be more potent than the whiskey bottle?

I hear your point regarding the redwoods and I was intending to include the redwoods around a river in some way or another... also I was considering including a hanging tree in there because many ghost towns still have their local hanging tree standing and its just quite dark and poetic. This was going to be my joker but then I just loved the poster for the saloon card games also. I shall have a think about this... Thanks for the input.

[RichK]

Ghost towns need tumbleweed!

[Fes]

Ghost towns need tumbleweed!

+1

[Plan52]

I might be a bit late to the party, but i just want to say i love the size change of the pips in the number cards, thats a very good idea.
I also like the washed out look.

I imagine both the redwood and the hanging tree might be a bit to big for the small space behind the courts, but maybe my imagination is just failing me today


+1 for tumbleweed

[Squiddle_Ink]

Thanks, that's very kind.

Yes I think I will try out a few things and see how it fits.

[Squiddle_Ink]

Hey, so I decided that for the Kings I would include a sprig of Redwood pine branch and seed. This is to symbolize the redwood that would be cut at the sawmill that James W. Marshal was building when he first struck gold at Sutter's creek.
I have also included a stamp mill to the right of the king. The stamp mill was used to crush the rock to find any trace of gold. There is still a sawmill tour at the ghost town of Bodie.

[andreac75]

Great deck! Really. I think I'll be a backer if it goes on Kickstarter.
The only think I don't like so much are jokers (the ones with the star).

[Squiddle_Ink]

Fixed the cactus on the card back as per suggestions. I think it does look cleaner and will be ultimately more clear when printed.

[Squiddle_Ink]

New set of Jacks completed. The Jacks depict the "Big Four" who created the Central Pacific Railroad.

Leland Stanford,
Collis Potter Huntington,
Mark Hopkins (1813–1878), and
Charles Crocker,

these are the railroad tycoons who funded the Western portion of the major railroad connecting North America during the time of the Gold Rush. Coast-to-coast train travel in eight days became possible, replacing months-long sea voyages and lengthy, hazardous travel by wagon trains.

[Squiddle_Ink]

Hello amazing folk of UC,

after a few recent bits of research, I am currently in talks about producing this deck as a gold foil edition which makes sense considering it is a Gold Rush deck. I am looking at getting the tuck foil stamped on matt black stock so it really pops and potentially the card backs foil-stamped also. What do people think? Good move?
I have reworked the design a little to suit a dark backgound

[hsbc]

These look great