New: Nine Lives playing cards - Self published deck

[NineLives]

Hello

I'm brand new to this place and still finding my way around, but want to say thanks for the welcomes - and post a few pics of my newly released deck
If I'm going about things the wrong way, just feed me to the mods

Nine Lives Illustrated Playing Cards



After a year of drawing and painting I am excited to announce the arrival of this new little deck of playing cards.
The artwork began with the Kings, Queens and Knights from Nine Lives Tarot.
Here, the colourful Royal characters (sans pages) are redrawn and redressed to match their corresponding playing card suit,
while retaining a subtle reference to their tarot persona.



I did the sketch for the back design by candlelight (due to a blackout caused by big storms),
getting a feel for what it would have been like to be an artist in the dark (literally) ages...
The completed back design incorporates playing card symbols and a visual reference to the name of the deck (modelled by my favourite furry friend)

The four Aces are illustrated in their 'monochromatic suit colour' (not sure that is a proper expression, but hopefully makes sense when you look at the images ),
combining the symbols of both tarot and playing cards. Pips follow a more traditional style using the suit symbols I designed especially for this deck.

Short facts about the deck:

• 52 playing cards + 2 Jokers
• Card size = 57 x 89 mm
• Printed on 300gsm card stock
• $17 (AUD) + postage
• Includes tuck box and a folded introduction card
• Illustrated Courts, Aces, Joker and Backs
• Featuring Knights (Kn) instead of Jacks
• Self-published & available from my website:

http://www.ninelivestarot.com.au/nineli ... -cards.php













Thank you for reading

[Eoghann]

Good stuff! Looks nice and colorful. I wouldn't mind slightly larger images of the courts though.

So that's $25 AUD including shipping = $19.43 USD. Not bad!

[badpete69]

yes looks very nice

[NineLives]

Thanks - You're quick on the conversion! and yes, postage isn't too bad... these decks are small enough to be shipped as a 'letter' snugly wrapped inside a cardboard mailer.
Anything thicker than 20mm is a tad more expensive to ship from this island in the south.

Here are a few court images (from this post on my blog: http://www.ninelivestarot.com.au/blog/n ... nd-update/ )
Happy to add larger ones, it's ever so late here though (zzzzzzzzz) so I'll do it next post

ETA: I added new images in post below, so removed the ones previously here - to avoid doubling-up

[Fud]

Thanks - You're quick on the conversion! and yes, postage isn't too bad... these decks are small enough to be shipped as a 'letter' snugly wrapped inside a cardboard mailer.
Anything thicker than 20mm is a tad more expensive to ship from this island in the south.

Not to be a naysayer, but check with the post office before setting the postage price. I have posted several decks from Sydney, and each time they would not pass for a letter, and had to be increased to a parcel even with the thinnest of protective cardboard. And international parcel postage from Australia makes international post almost financially unfeasible

[NineLives]

Thanks Fud - I appreciate your concern
I double-checked with PO before setting postage rates I have shipped several decks already without any trouble. As long as packages fit through the 20mm slot (at the PO), they'll be fine.

[NineLives]

Hello again

Here are a few (hopefully clearer) images of the court cards...









Card Back, Ace of Spades & the Joker:

[WillHart CthulhuWho1]

As I have stated elsewhere:

I think the cards are beautiful!

Bridge-sized decks are rather small for my large hands, so I would love to see them in a poker-sized deck.

And I placed an order for two decks back on the 22nd. of June.

So I am keeping an eye on my mailbox daily for the soon to arrive package!

If my wife likes these as much as I believe she will, I'll have to order more; especially if they are released in poker-sized decks!

Thank You for creating these!

And yes, the cat-based deck name is what made me look...

[NineLives]

Thanks (again) Will - I truly appreciate your kind words and feedback... and I hope that you will both enjoy these cards
I'd be happy to look at a poker size version of this deck in the future, may even push me to try KS

All the best!
Annette

[WillHart CthulhuWho1]

Our decks arrived, beautifully packaged (almost too nice to open up), and I was right about my wife's response!

She and I both love these cards!

I've been working on my own decks for quite some time; and these decks include so many of the elements and facets that are in my decks, that they almost make me want to give up!

I can also say that these cards would be any deck creator's pride and joy.

The more I look at the details of these cards, and the thoughts and choices that went into them; the more I envy their creation, and the happier I am to have purchased them!

I'll be one of the first supporters for a Poker-size version of these on Kickstarter; and I'll probably be ordering more of these for myself, and to share as gift decks too.

The best thing about these decks right now, is that any collector can still order them; and I highly recommend they do just that!

Thank You for these very special cards!

[NineLives]

Thank you Will - I'm lost for words!

Your feedback and support means the world to me, I'm so glad you are enjoying the cards *bows gracefully*

Please don't give up on your cards, I'm sure both you and your designs will be happier for seeing it through, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you are working on.

Thank you, I have to say you made my day

Annette

[sprouts1115]

NineLives - I really like your Joker. I like the way you put your logo instead of on the AoS, but on the Joker where the suit indictor is traditionally on the court cards. Basically, you made the Joker into a court card with your own wild suit. And made the AoS just another embellished Ace card. I think in the future we are going to see a lot more big embellished "1-sided" Ace cards. The border around the the Joker proves it.

Screenshot 2015-07-03 09.21.15.png (247.05 KiB) Viewed 2179 times

Your court border needs some improvement. I would look better if the border would line up with the indices.

Screenshot 2015-07-03 09.15.41.png (20.66 KiB) Viewed 2179 times

Look at your Knave of Spades or JoS. It would look better if the black line was centered with the spade. It looks like you have room to move the indices closer toward the cut border. I do like the way to put the "N" small and close to the "K". It's looks scientific. It's close to the line spread in the cards. Just remember "Kn" had it's time. That's why we now have the Jack. Knave = Jack. The "Kn" is two symbols for the rank of the card. "J" is one symbol. If you think about it the ten card has two symbols for it's rank. "1" and "0". Second, the "K" look like a (K)ing.

Your BackOfCard needs some work. Just know putting the suits on the BackOfCard is frowned upon, but you made it in a way that works.

You helped me in thinking maybe the Ace should be considered a court card with a border. Why not raise the Ace to the rank of a court card. People consider is the highest card right...

YOu could take this one step future and say the (J)oker looks to much like the Jack. If I'm going with a tarot theme deck, make the Joker into the (F)ool. Don't let a border define you. Your swords and weapons can creep outside the court border. Even the crow could have a wing out there past the border...

[NineLives]

Thank you sprouts1115 for your kind feedback and interesting thoughts on my cards - I appreciate you taking the time to share your ideas

I'm glad you like the Joker, thank you. I think of her as a combination of harlequin, artist and fool

I like how you describe the n placement as scientific and I see your point on the Jack being the most common way to depict the 'Knave of olden days' ... However, 'Kn' is still used in most Scandinavian decks to portray the 'Knekt' ... and obviously Knights are an integral part of the tarot. Personally, I like Knights more than Jacks ... though I absolutely see the reasons behind giving the Knight or Knave a different letter to the King (not the least for removing the possibility of 'scraping away' the n to give yourself another King .. ), and I can see myself incorporating the more castle-bound Jack into future decks

Interesting thoughts on borders too ... there are so many ways of solving the 'framing' of courts: distinct vs subtle, inside, outside or aligned with indices, traditional vs contemporary... right down to having no borders at all (something I am definitely in favour of - and hope to explore further in my next decks). At every stage there are decisions to be made. The borders in this deck are inspired by the classical European/Scandinavian way of framing the courts - and while I do see your point on pushing the indices out, I fear they would be too close to the edge on this size card:



I haven't come across Aces with borders (though they probably exist somewhere)... It's not something I would go for, but it's still an interesting thought in terms of 'elevation'.

Thank you again for your insightful comments

[NineLives]

A wardrobe update

I thought it could be fun to share a little background on the colours I chose for the courts (the royal outfits).

Some of my early favourite playing cards dressed the courts in matching colours: spades in green, the clubs in purple, the hearts in red and the diamonds in blue …. Others incorporated the colours worn by the royal families of the time. In tarot, the minor suits often use colour to enhance the symbolic meaning of each realm. While there are variations (i.e. different schools of thought or methods), the use of colour can provide instant visual cues about the cards in front of you.

In this deck, I have used colour as a subtle reference to the tarot suit each playing card suit is connected to, adopting the colour scheme I used for Nine Lives Tarot.
Below - the characters of the courts in detail - accentuated on coloured background...


The Royal Hearts – dressed in accents of red with the element water in focus


The Royal Clubs – wearing orange and yellow to symbolise their Fiery element


The Royal Diamonds – dressed in accents of green to reflect the element Earth


The Royal Spades – wearing shades of Indigo to reflect the element Air

[NineLives]

Hello Everyone,

Following the inspiring feedback on my playing cards, I wanted to create a poker size version of Nine Lives Playing Cards.

After a busy month, I am really excited to have completed the design I haven't quite got to the stage of planning printing and other aspects, though... I have entered my new deck in the 2nd PCF deck design competition:

Hope you like

[volantangel]

Haha i think you might be the only entrant..

[PrincessTrouble]

I would love to have a poker size Nine Lives deck printed by EPCC. Good luck!

[NineLives]

Thank you PrincessTrouble

And, yes volantangel - I do hope there are last minute entries, a one-deck contest isn't what I imagined

[volantangel]

Haha I hope so as well, it's a little more fun with some competition !