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I'm normally really tolerant of shitty decks but what even is this.

I've liked a lot of the kickstarter decks that have shown up lately. However...even my first thought was "What Is This?"

Hand a standard deck of cards and a sharpie pen to a 10 year old and this is the result.

I normally like transformation decks....

'Kickstarter Creator' wrote:reviving an art form over 200 years old!

Hmm... there is work of this quality , then there is the work of Emmanuel Jose. I'll wait for 'Clipped Wings' (and 'Sawdust').

It's the Curator deck gone horribly wrong!

It's pretty pricey, the early bird's at $15 while the standard price is at $25, but I kinda like this deck. If nothing else, it's cute, unique and it's a deck I can put in my collection that friends will ask about and be interested in. If he's only printing 500 though, USPCC standard's probably out of the question.

I think the girl who drew this sat next to me in Biology....

Hello United Cardists! Dukeboy sent me an email notifying me of his posting and inviting me to come by and talk about my deck. First of all, thank you, Dukeboy, for helping me spread the word about my deck to your group. Second, thank you, members, for your honest first impressions. Third, thank you for mentioning The Curator deck. I was not aware of its publication. I’ve collected 38 transformation and semi-transformation decks in the five years since I discovered the art form, mostly via eBay, and I was unaware of either of these beautiful decks by Emmanuel Jose. Apparently neither of them has appeared on eBay yet.

I thought there hadn’t been any new true transformation decks since 2006’s “Pips in Pictures” by Jenny Gaudion, from the UK, or the “State by State Transformation Deck” by Wendy Cipolla. But to be fair, while many of the cards in Mr. Jose’s decks are transformations, he has moved the pips around in some of the cards or changed their orientation, which makes it is really a semi-transformation deck in my book. That makes the images no less breathtakingly beautiful, but they aren’t “pure transformation decks.” Additionally, comparing my deck to his creations is like comparing a Marvel comic to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But remember, that doesn’t mean the Marvel comic’s art is garbage. It’s just different.

So, let me talk about my deck. I decided to attempt to draw a true transformation deck in my own cartooning style. I accepted a couple of challenging ground rules to create the deck. I had to draw on a canvas that was only 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, I had to draw using Sharpie pens, and I had to use ALL of the pips on the card. (I don’t particularly care for some transformation cards where an artist has used 2 or 3 of the pips and another 4 or so are just hanging in space, ignored. Where's the challenge in that?) This last requirement is what makes a true transformation deck a special accomplishment. Try it yourself. It isn’t too hard to transform the aces, deuces and treys, but wait until you get to the sevens, eights, nines and tens and try to use all of the pips! That is where the real creativity and problem solving comes in!

Now, as to the drawings resembling doodles in a notebook, many of us cartoonists started out that way. We learned that a subtle shift in the line can make all the difference between comedy and tragedy. (Check out the 4 of spades and see how different the tragedy mask’s expression is when you turn the card upside-down -- all with a slight variation in the lines under the eyes and a subtle reshaping of the mask.) Believe me, the task was not easy, but to complete all 40 numbered cards was quite satisfying, and the feedback from people who had seen the deck over the years was positive and encouraging. So, I decided to try to do a kickstarter campaign to see if I could get these cards published. I am having to charge more per deck than I’d like, but I don’t expect to attract 1,000 backers and had to go with numbers that are at least marginally attainable.

So, I thank you for your feedback and I will still ask for your support for a deck that is a true transformation deck.

Hi Duffdesigns,

Good job too, I can imagine how hard it is.

I admire quite a variety of art, sadly I'm pretty much handicapped when it comes to drawing.

I can see you're more than halfway to your goal, it's an interesting deck but it doesn't quite tickle my fancy.

I have to admit, I'd probably jump if it looked more like these cards. It's just my taste though.

By the way, I agree with the several commenters on your KS page ... your signature on each card, and the date, is very cool. For those who are into transformation decks, I expect that is *one* of the things that helps distinguish a transformation card. It labels the work and it reinforces your vision that each card is a 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" canvas.

That said, I'm not a fan of where you have the signatures and dates right now. I understand that you started this without the goal of publishing, and it's a pain to go back and fiddle with stuff, but surrounding one of the pips with your signature and date makes it harder to read, and harder to play bridge/poker/whatever with the deck. If you were starting from scratch, you could put your signature in one of the unused corners. or across the bottom, or along one side.

And finally (I hope you realize these are intended as constructive suggestions, not just whining ... I would suggest that you modify the intro to your Kickstarter write-up. When I first read it, it seems mostly focused on the new games someone will be able to play with these cards, and not on the collectible or artistic nature of transformation decks. You mention a 200 year old art form, but you don't really introduce people to the art form. Certainly you know about it, but at least in my case it wasn't until I saw the discussions here and on Discourse that I made the connection to other transformation decks (I didn't even know what they were called) and gained an appreciation of the work that goes into these. Or the art form itself. I would say that you do yourself a disservice by assuming that we know this stuff already. I would suggest that you help educate your prospective audience, beginning in the first paragraph or three.

Hope this helps.
And thanks to all of you ... I learn something *every* time I come to this site.
Thanks!

and date makes it harder to read, and harder to play bridge/poker/whatever with the deck. If you were starting from scratch, you could put your signature in one of the unused corners. or across the bottom, or along one side.









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There's been a little talk about these lately, so I should share that I was in talks with the artist quite a while ago about picking up a deck after the KickStarter was over. Apparently he does have a few left and actually created new unlimited versions in blue and red. I did add what images and details he sent me to P52: http://www.portfolio52.com/decksearch?qry=eclecdeck

I went back and forth on this one and never did pick one up. At the time he wanted $25 for original limited deck and $15 for unlimited blue or red plus $3 shipping ($4 for two) and $80 plus shipping for uncut. Not sure if that is current price though. You can try reaching out to him from KS page, but he rarely looks at that. I can share his direct email for orders if you PM me though.

He plans to get a website up to sell these, but not sure if/when that will happen so just letting anybody interested know there are options still for this.

Just ordered some decks from Dave...he still has the limited (19.95) as well as unlimited (in red and blue, 10) decks available...plus shipping...if anyone is interested, let me know and I will be more than happy to pass on his email address...I wouldn't expect a website anytime soon.

DUFFdesigns - Welcome, You were before Emmanuel Jose's decks. Look him up he has set the standard for semi - transformational decks. He is your enemy. He is better than you. I think you might be good at true truth transformational decks. Work on it...

In case anyone is interested in this transformation deck: https://www.ebay.com/itm/256668956268

It's certainly not for everyone and the back is awful, but I like the creativity of the art These don't come up too often. Pics of the cards are above in this thread.

My love for transformation decks doesn't translate to something like this sadly. This thread does take me back though.