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EDITED TO ADD:

The deck is now live on Kickstarter at http://tinyurl.com/wickedkingdomlaunch ! Huge thanks to everyone who's weighed in on the design process - I'm still looking to make this deck the best it can be, so if you have any suggestions please keep em coming!

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Hey everyone! Many of you got a preview of this deck last year when I was just starting out on the artwork, but I'm finally wrapping things up and getting ready to Kickstart the deck later this month (should be mid-June if all goes well).

Here's some of what I've been working on - I'm probably not making any major changes to the art at this point (everything's traditionally-painted in oils) but would love input on the layout/design/other details that may have escaped my notice. This will be both my first card deck (I'm planning to use USPC for the printing) and first Kickstarter, so I'd welcome any advice on that front too.



I also wanted to gauge people's interest in a variant deck based on the pencil drawings for a simpler, less colorful deck... the main deck is going to be my initial focus, but depending how the Kickstarter goes, I figured it might be a cool stretch goal/add-on to play with.



The tuck case design is still in the planning stages; I'm including the card art without indices below, since I haven't settled on an exact layout yet...











Thanks for checking out my work - if anyone's interested in getting an email when the Kickstarter goes live (and I would be crazy thrilled if you are), there's a mailing list signup on the project website at http://www.wickedkingdomdeck.com.

Love the artwork and I am definitely in!

With that being said, I believe that there will be some voices in regards to:
- One way back - many don't like the one way back, though it is not a deal breaker for me
- Back design - a little too much white space...anything you could do to fill it some of the empty spaces?
- Stretch Goal Deck - though I do like the hand drawn art, it is a little dull compared to the colored deck...I would probably get a deck, but not more than that

Will you be able to provide us with a preview to your KS page? We could definitely help you review the page for issues and errors...also gives us a heads up on what tiers you will be offering so we know what to pledge from the start

Yeah, I went back and forth on whether to have the card backs completely reversible - in the end I felt like the one-way backs worked better with the dual natures of the face cards; I'm really into deck designs like Arcana with one-way designs that look two-way at first glance. I'll have to see if I can find something interesting for the white space, though...

I'll post a preview of the Kickstarter once I've figured out some of the details on reward tiers and pricing. I could definitely use a few more eyes on it

Only the back design can be improved a little, I don't mind the one way back design, but as shermjack said, that white space in the middle totally ruins it! You need to do something about it, as this is one of the most beautiful decks coming out in the last few years..

Also would like to see the number cards!

Obviously I also am really looking forward to these, having started the initial thread last year. I had almost given up that this would ever happen, excellent news!

I agree that back needs work with the white space, but I also think it's too drab and lacks punches of color the character drawings have. Try making the center section red and the 2 sections to the right and left next to it blue. Obviously in muted tones to match, but being the back design you could still give a glimmer of hope that it's not all wicked.

The huge white border on the courts is unfortunate, maybe consult with USPCC to see how far you can push it. Perhaps experiment with thinner border and notch out the two corners for the indicies.

Speaking of indicies, I get you are trying to match the color pallette of the painting, but many people have a hard time with anything but traditional black and red for pips for playability, especially non collectors. I would think you can find a tone to work here. However, this is clearly more of an art deck anyhow so it's likely to not be a big issue anyhow, but something to consider.

Really looking forward to this one, please continue to share here. Appreciate it. Especially do share your thoughts and plans on number cards, I hope it has a muted watermark design in the background or other interesting elements to match the glory of the artwork featured on the courts. Great job so far.

Art is great but agree on the large white space around the courts. I'd like to see some number cards too.
The back center white space should be changed and if you could go with some more color on the backs that'd be an improvement.

The pencil sketch looking deck looks so dull and flat compared to the color deck I can't see a huge demand, especially since the corner pips won't be easily discernible.

Looking forward to this one and hope I helped with my opinions.

ecNate wrote:The huge white border on the courts is unfortunate, maybe consult with USPCC to see how far you can push it. Perhaps experiment with thinner border and notch out the two corners for the indicies.

Yeah, I'm hoping narrower borders/larger art will be doable. I'll have to check with USPC on what's possible, but if I can push their guidelines a little I may be able to get away with more - especially if I shrink the indices a bit (a little concerned about visibility/playability here - not sure what is generally accepted as far as sizing goes...)

Here's a version scaling the art up about 10% without pushing the safe zone for printing too far...

That's quite a bit better already. You may even be able to raise the K so it's above and oversized compared to the pip, but then extends above the image a little as well. That may buy you a little more room as well without compromising the readability of the JQK. Provided your pips are distinct they should be fine, especially if you chose not to center it under the K, but off to the edge.

Superb Art!

Really looking forward to this one...

I must say I do think that Spade suit!

wyllebeckert - I like your cards. They tell a little story. I like one-way courts...

Be careful with your possible variant. Usually a marked deck is less visible and most of time they use a code.
Your one-back is interesting. Usually the one wayness is where the crowns are. Yours is top center and it seems you faded the crow beak on the skull side. nice...
As for your indices try not to shrink them anymore.

sprouts1115 wrote:Be careful with your possible variant. Usually a marked deck is less visible and most of time they use a code.

Oops, that was actually me forgetting to turn off a layer when mocking up the card back... NOT the world's clumsiest attempt at a marked deck. Good eye

Incredible deck, take my money already!!

Any chance you could revise the front of the tuck? I dont think the layout works, haha especially not with the guy's head popping out in the middle !

Made some revisions to the card back to cut down on the empty white space... I'm a lot happier with the new version. Thanks for the suggestion guys!

volantangel wrote:Any chance you could revise the front of the tuck? I dont think the layout works, haha especially not with the guy's head popping out in the middle !

Admittedly I'm an illustrator, not a designer... any suggestions?

What great artwork! The revised back fills everything in nicely, its a good balance. The aces look cool, what will the number cards look like? Personally, I'd keep the indices at the size they are. I'm a stick in the mud for a two way back but something I could easily overlook with an illustrated deck, especially one thats hand painted! Can't wait for this one

Disclaimer; I'm not a designer and am still pretty green with card designs, but a version of your Ace of Spades might fit nicely in the center of the front of your tuck box design, minus the crow at the top. Just a thought.

But seriously this deck looks amazing. Really enjoyed your time lapse vids of the paintings and will definitely be pledging for these.

wyllebeckert - You moved your borders on your courts out and tweaked your BackOfCard with less negative/white space. I would say you're pretty much ready to go. It's been a year. Just show us your Kickstarter preview before you commit.

Launching the deck on Kickstarter tomorrow morning (or technically later today since I'm up past midnight working on the page...) I'll post a link when the project goes live (11am PST), but in the meantime here's a preview of the Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wy ... n=cbcaab32" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm expecting to continue making adjustments over the course of the campaign, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to keep em coming.

Why stop at 4 decks before jumping to a brick? Why not add a half brick tier?

For the sake of getting consensus or differing opinion, I'll re-post what I put on the preview page

Add-ons typically are less than the cost of the individual tier since you are already shipping to them so there is minimal additional cost. As it stands there is no incentive to get more or customize their tier further with the use of add-ons. I get the argument that they could just move to a new tier, but your 50 early bird backers are really going to think twice before adding more decks. Likewise, the person that gets a full brick of 12 at less than $11 each, they have to pay $15 to add one more? I would suggest making add-on for each additional deck a flat $13 and keep the brick add-on.

I also question if you will be able to deliver decks by October. That's very optimistic and there's all kinds of problems that come up during the process. Better to state November and be early than state Oct and run into Nov or Dec which is quite likely based on past projects.

Are you self-fulling these and shipping them yourself or do you have a contract with a company experienced. If you are working with a recognized fulfillment center, SAY THAT, many of us know them and that inspires more confidence and are willing to pay your premium for that.

The art is obviously awesome and I love that you are listening and considering feedback already on the card layouts. This will be a great success, early congrats!

This thread is for development discussion, since it's now live please add comments over at the new deck thread/forum.


Live! This is now live, go get those EBs!

Backed late but love them!