Discussion Thread for: The Making of a New AT Collab Deck

tarotbear

I am still working in MS PAINT - we don't have no stinkin' layers! :laugh: However, saving in PNG is how I did my decks.

For the techno-challenged - layers allow you do to things like shade your background on it's own layer so you don't have to paint around the separate blades of grass or figures. Do the background on it's own layer and 'insert' it behind your image. I REALLY DO wish PAINT had this capability- would have made some of my atmospherics a LOT easier!

(Attached - how I had to add my skies to images already completed ... which is why I did the skies first and colored the figures after. If I had the ability to layer it would have been much easier...)
 

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annabel398

JPG is a nice compact format but it is "lossy"--meaning that it does not preserve fidelity of the original 100%. If your program doesn't support PNGs, then be sure to save your JPG at the highest quality. That will prioritize quality over file size.
 

tarotbear

You know ~ after finishing the colorization of my deck in July I felt really jaded about working on another deck ... but this actually has me excited - even if I get stuck with the cards no one wants to do! I suppose I should pick something I really want to do before I don't get any one of the Majors ... :)
 

gregory

JPG is a nice compact format but it is "lossy"--meaning that it does not preserve fidelity of the original 100%. If you program doesn't support PNGs, then save your JPG at the highest quality. That will prioritize quality over file size.
Oh it supports png - I have photoshop - the full one. I just - like jpgs... I could even do tiffs....
 

blue_fusion

I think TGc only accepts jpegs for their printing files? Also, one of the printers i used in the past told me that even 180 dpi can be prited okay provided the files are saved in the highest quality...
 

Flames

Summary Update

To my team members, I'm off to work.

Everyone's been so great with their input and insight. Here's a brief updated summary from what I've been able to gather. If anyone would like to add, please go ahead.

- Printed deck?
- Unnumbered Majors
- Numbered Minors post-production or not?
- Creator to add title themselves or not?
- Traditional names/titles
- Bordered cards (with a consistent border width) or borderless? (see #47)
- potential size to work with: 2 - 3/4" x 4 - 3/4" (check tarobear's posts #39, etc.)
- annabel398 is willing to contribute in a huge technical way :)
- Formatting options: PNGs, PSDs, JPGs...

Have a great day, everyone!! Thank you.


P.S: tarotbear, last time I checked, there were only 10 Majors left to choose from...;)
 

tarotbear

I think TGc only accepts jpegs for their printing files? Also, one of the printers i used in the past told me that even 180 dpi can be prited okay provided the files are saved in the highest quality...

I know it looks like we are pushing for TCG here (!), but this is what they have to say about files and such:

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/help/supported-file-types

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/publish/product/TarotDeck

I also knocked out this tacky '10 of Thimbles' card in about 10 minutes using the TGC template ... :laugh: I bordered it in gray for those that don't like white borders .... :p
 

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annabel398

I guess I should let people know that I have roughly 25 years of experience in design and print production. Let's don't worry too much about CMYK vs RGB at this point (esp since different printers have different specs) nor about file formats (except I will say that non-lossy formats like PNG or even TIFF are preferable to lossy formats like JPG). Truly, I have the tools to convert most formats to whatever our chosen printer wants. =)

The key questions before a template can be produced are:
1. Size: I feel there's a consensus for "tarot-sized" 2.75x4.75" (70x120mm)
2. Borders: yea or nay? Border color is not a decision that needs to be made right away.
3. Titles: added afterward, or done by each artist? If the former: top or bottom?

My thoughts: everyone is free to discuss but if there is not a strong consensus, someone has to make the decision. I would propose that the core team of six shall decide.

My votes:
1. Yes to standard tarot size cards
2. Yes to a narrowish border (I don't feel strongly about this, just a preference--but I agree that it would unify the deck)
3. Added afterward, at the bottom, for the same reason.
 

annabel398

Not speaking now as a maven but as a reader, I'm not crazy about the feel of the gamecrafter cards... I will look into getting samples (and quotes of course) from various printers to compare.
 

daphne

- Printed deck?
Yes.

- Unnumbered Majors
Unnumbered, but titled post-production.

- Numbered Minors post-production or not?
Post-production numbered.

- Creator to add title themselves or not?
If they do it inside their art area, sure, why not? Especially if they want to give a funny name to some cards.

- Traditional names/titles
Yes, post-production, homogeneous through the deck.

- Bordered cards (with a consistent border width) or borderless? (see #47)
With borders, different color for every suit.

- potential size to work with: 2 - 3/4" x 4 - 3/4" (check tarobear's posts #39, etc.)
Yes, tarot size would be nice.

- annabel398 is willing to contribute in a huge technical way :)
Thank you, Annabel, you are a hero!

- Formatting options: PNGs, PSDs, JPGs...
Anything Annabel can work with :)