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

Let the fun times continue hehehe

Haha im actually very impressed with the bunny card back thing. Buttt thats it, the rest dont translate into a deck.

The art for this deck is hand-made, and it's right up my alley. I love it and that back is beautiful.

Emmanuel wrote:The art for this deck is hand-made, and it's right up my alley. I love it and that back is beautiful.

Actually this deck does have a lot of potential...It just seems to me that there is too much work left to do before it is even ready to send out for proofs. Maybe they could have waited a month or 2 before starting this KS

badpete69 wrote:

Emmanuel wrote:The art for this deck is hand-made, and it's right up my alley. I love it and that back is beautiful.

Actually this deck does have a lot of potential...It just seems to me that there is too much work left to do before it is even ready to send out for proofs. Maybe they could have waited a month or 2 before starting this KS

Yeap they need to turn this into an actual deck, not just cards with pictures of toys on it. But the back design is really nice.

Bunny with a Toolbelt is a well-established brand, with quite a bit of a following. Her other Bunny KS projects did well and this new playing card project is already funded to about a third of the $12K goal (actually, $12345 ... cute).

The artwork is professional and imaginative. It seems to be targeted at families with children just starting to play cards--especially those who already own the Arfabet or Elephabet books. And we all know that the potential is there for decks that can reach out to a broader audience. Sure the indices are too big and every card is one way (including the backs), but for this target market ... it doesn't matter. A strong artist and strong marketing ... looking good ...

As for the artwork isn't done ... the project creator has a real track record, and I completely understand her desire to gauge demand before committing huge amounts of time. From an art perspective, this is in a whole different league from Pelted Brite wannabes. And from a business perspective, this is in a whole different league from Army Men and Core. I'm a fan.

I have invited Hilary to join the forums and come to give us more details on her project

Hey Folks! I just discovered this conversation thread and am honored that your group has shown some interest in my Kickstarter project.

I don't really know a lot about the world of playing cards, what makes a deck a "real deck" etc. As noted here, it's an enormous amount of work to create the deck using original sculptures, so that's why I can't show much. This is the fourth summer in a row that I have created a Kickstarter funded project and it's really changed my studio experience to have so many people watching me while I put together a project--as opposed to the traditionally isolated work and then presenting it. I have loved having feedback and encouragement and even constructive criticism along the way.

It's also true that I was targeting a younger audience for this deck, but I am also interested to learn more about how I could cross it over into something more collectable. Any tips or direction towards something I could read would be appreciated.

Again, my thanks to anyone who backed this project and has taken the time to share their thoughts.
Hilary (aka Bunny with a Toolbelt)

ps. I just finished two more cards last weekend and put a dummy together to show the butterfly diptych I am creating for the ad cards. You can see it in my first update on Kickstarter

Welcome BWATB! I put your deck in my most recent week in review

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lU1vSu2Os0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good Luck with your endeavor!

Thanks for the review! I reposted it in my Facebook page.

By the way....I come to playing cards via the world of contemporary craft in making my animal sculptures. (Not just for pregnant moms!) And while I did take the photos for my two sample cards, I'm having the images for the deck professionally photographed so that they look good as larger prints.

I had to grab a deck - the back is really great - will it have the same 3-D look it has in the pic?

bunnywithatoolbelt wrote:Hey Folks! I just discovered this conversation thread and am honored that your group has shown some interest in my Kickstarter project.

I don't really know a lot about the world of playing cards, what makes a deck a "real deck" etc. As noted here, it's an enormous amount of work to create the deck using original sculptures, so that's why I can't show much. This is the fourth summer in a row that I have created a Kickstarter funded project and it's really changed my studio experience to have so many people watching me while I put together a project--as opposed to the traditionally isolated work and then presenting it. I have loved having feedback and encouragement and even constructive criticism along the way.

It's also true that I was targeting a younger audience for this deck, but I am also interested to learn more about how I could cross it over into something more collectable. Any tips or direction towards something I could read would be appreciated.

Again, my thanks to anyone who backed this project and has taken the time to share their thoughts.
Hilary (aka Bunny with a Toolbelt)

ps. I just finished two more cards last weekend and put a dummy together to show the butterfly diptych I am creating for the ad cards. You can see it in my first update on Kickstarter

Welcome to UnitedCardists Hilary! I can't wait to see your deck completed, and the work you've put into it is beautiful

bunnywithatoolbelt - I see you meet our ambassador badpete69. He is pretty quick. Just to let you know these ppl here are honest and will break down and build your deck back up. Love your back design; Really like the bunny ear on the bottom left that sticks past the border but ppl might fuss about your "One-Way-Back" Check out: http://www.unitedcardists.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1583" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Also, people like to see the suits on the pip cards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pip_cards" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. This is very modern. You may get some ideas. You just need to tell a little story....

Magic_Orthodoxy - Saw your video. You can afford a couple more seconds showing the item. JUst talk in background while the pic is SHowing. Like what your doing, but I have to ask. Do you shave past your elbows? Just Kidding but would love to hear about the battle scar on your right bicep.

Ha ha! I was wondering about that battle scar too!

Just to be clear: I am completely open to all feedback. I've been a practicing artist for over 20 years and really appreciate anyone talking about my work as long as it's not cruelly slamming it, which I haven't heard yet from this forum.

Will look into your links Emmanuel - thank you so much.

Just remembered about the question regarding 3-d look of the card back. I do want it to show that it's a 3-d piece in some regards, but at that tiny scale, it will probably also be hard to fully read the image. I took the photos for the video and dummy cards with my iPhone, but will have the deck image professionally shot so it will be a much better image in the end.

bunnywithatoolbelt wrote:Ha ha! I was wondering about that battle scar too!

Just to be clear: I am completely open to all feedback. I've been a practicing artist for over 20 years and really appreciate anyone talking about my work as long as it's not cruelly slamming it, which I haven't heard yet from this forum.

Will look into your links Emmanuel - thank you so much.

Hi Hilary, that was Sprouts1115 who posted the links, and Sprouts is not me

Sprouts, why did you attach the Curator 7 of Spades? Just wondering.

Emmanuel wrote:Sprouts, why did you attach the Curator 7 of Spades? Just wondering.

You do not question The Sprout. The Sprout questions you.

bunnywithatoolbelt - Sorry, I was stoned at the time when I made the post. I was just hinting that your deck might be best as a transformation deck. Emmanuel seems to be the most modern artist in this field today. Goggle "transformation playing cards" images to dive right in....

Emmanuel - This card is your best classical short story. Love the trees....

sprouts1115 wrote:bunnywithatoolbelt - Sorry, I was stoned at the time when I made the post. I was just hinting that your deck might be best as a transformation deck. Emmanuel seems to be the most modern artist in this field today. Goggle "transformation playing cards" images to dive right in....

Emmanuel - This card is your best classical short story. Love the trees....

Thank you, Sprouts 1115!

sprouts1115 wrote:bunnywithatoolbelt - Sorry, I was stoned at the time when I made the post..

So..how many people were throwing rocks at you?

badpete69 wrote:

sprouts1115 wrote:bunnywithatoolbelt - Sorry, I was stoned at the time when I made the post..

So..how many people were throwing rocks at you?

Uhm... I was.

Just for you MagikFingerz who always has my back.

Hey, guys!

The more I look at this deck in progress, the more I love it. The photo-of-sculpture approach is very refreshing, and even though it's part of an established brand it stands alone quite nicely.

I do have a passing interest in cards as fortune-telling tools, and am pleased to see Hilary's promotion of that possibility. To me the animal imagery is a perfect match for cartomancy, and the whimsy is rarely done this nicely in decks designed for this purpose.

ChasFink wrote:Hey, guys!

The more I look at this deck in progress, the more I love it. The photo-of-sculpture approach is very refreshing, and even though it's part of an established brand it stands alone quite nicely.

I do have a passing interest in cards as fortune-telling tools, and am pleased to see Hilary's promotion of that possibility. To me the animal imagery is a perfect match for cartomancy, and the whimsy is rarely done this nicely in decks designed for this purpose.

I completely agree. I've been lucky enough to befriend and talk with Hilary via facebook, and it's apparent that she's a dedicated and passionate artist and sculptor.

This deck is seriously underrated and I hope it meets funding. Although it may not appeal to serious collectors, the deck has a sense of fun and joy that is sorely lacking in the cardistry world.

I absolutely love this deck. It's embodied with passion, fun artwork, and the favorite and famous Bicycle back we love (or at least a homage to it).

I really hope this project makes it.

That 3D effect on the tuck messes with my brain. I love it. What a great display!

Nice bird box baby

I love the box that comes in. Where was that for sale?