Minor Arcana: The Story Begins to Emerge (or is it Submerge in this Case)
over 4 years ago
– Mon, Dec 23, 2019 at 08:08:19 PM
Here's a more completed look at what I'm thinking about. I often forget it's not always easy to explain what's in my mind. These cards are only to give an example... they still have some color correcting to do.
For the story elements you'll sometimes see people... but other times you'll see fish, fantasy creatures or even objects.
Keep in mind that these cards aren't in the proper order to form the greater picture of the Titanic sinking. These are just to show you the progress. As promised, I'll always keep you informed of the progress. My next video will explore the design I picked as well as other designs I've worked on in the past. I'll even decode one of my decks for you as a special treat. Yes, I often put secret codes and messages within my work. As of right now, I haven't done any secret coded messages in Titanic. Probably won't for this deck.
A Titanic Survey to get Your Opinions
over 4 years ago
– Thu, Dec 19, 2019 at 03:20:02 PM
This seems to be the strangest thing ever. We were steaming right along, then all of a sudden the project started to sink. It seemed to coincide with the release of some of the minor arcana cards and also my first video blog... or perhaps 17,000 is a unlucky number for me. It's been bouncing back and forth between 17,100 to 17,450. It won't cross the 17,500 mark for some reason.
Here's a quick survey to get your opinions. It's basically asking if we should redo the minor arcana cards? I'm okay with redoing but it might delay the project a little. I do, however, have a buffer zone already built in for any disasters. So, perhaps the delay might not be too terrible. It's hard to say right off hand. It's never fun to throw away work just to start over again.
It's just hard to say what is causing this phenomenon.
Here's the survey link....
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q7KMNCV
Thoughts About Canceling and Possible Plan B?
over 4 years ago
– Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 06:08:57 PM
It looks like we might be hitting that iceberg afterall. We've had more cancellations in the last two days then we had for the entire course of the campaign. For the last few days we haven't been hitting our daily quota in Kicktraq either. For those that don't know, Kicktraq is a website that you can view daily statistics on Kickstarter projects. Unfortunately things aren't looking too good for us.
Part of the thoughts on canecling is over the backlash and controvery. I never inteded for people to think badly of this project. It hurts me a lot when I hear people say that this is tasteless and it hurts me more to see people canel. Everytime I look at the project and see us going backwards, it breaks my heart.
With that said, maybe it's best to move onto a different project. I want to know your thoughts? Here's the possible options....
1. We could wait to see what happens with this. IF it fails to reach funding we can do one of 3 things.
- 1a - Relaunch with a longer period of time. And keep things the same.
- 1b - Relaunch with a lower goal. Either without the wood boxes or see if I can get the manufacturer to agree on a lower MOQ... so we can have the wood boxes as a optional add-on. Without the wood boxes, the price per unit would also come down for you... the backers.
- 1c- Don't relaunch the project and move on to something different.
2. We could cancel now. With these possible optoins...
- 2a - Don't relaunch the project and move on to something different. Maybe people won't be offened by something comletely fantasy based. The other day I was thinking about how you can play Pink Flyod's Darkside of the Moon album to the Wizard of Oz movie. While Pink Flyod says it's just a coincidence, it still gives me inspiration to do a Darkside of Oz themed deck (tarot or playing cards or both). The Wizard of Oz story is in the public domain and I would also be putting a spin on it. For examle, the Wizard of Oz would play the bad guy and the witches would be misjudged based on the Wizard smearing their reputations. Still in the early thought processes on this one... just thinking out loud. But maybe still people would be offened.
- 2b - Cancel and realunch without the wood boxes or with the wood boxes as a add-on... assuming the manufactuer will agree to a lower MOQ.
Just Thinking Out Loud
Don't let my thinking out loud frighten you away. This time of year is stressful enough as it is. I just have fears. As I said from the beginning, I'm 100% transparent.
By the way, to answer a few comments. The minor cards that show people in the water... they're not drowning and they're not dead. In the case of the 3 of cups, these three people are swimming up to their rescue. In the case of the 6 of pentacles (coins), the man is givig up his wealth which was weighing him down (keepig him to swim up to rescue). Now that he has given away his wealth, he can be saved.
Give me your thoughts and opinions....
The Minor Numbered Cards... and Being Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
over 4 years ago
– Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 01:49:38 PM
First, we'll start with being stuck between a rock and a hard place. We have some days where it feels we're well on our way to hitting our funding goal and we have some days where it feels we're heading straight for the iceberg. The last few days we've been losing some backers overboard. I'm not sure why they're jumping ship... perhaps with Christmas around the corner or being printed in China. I have some backers bring up the risks of printing in China. I'll explore more into this topic when I travel there next month. But for now, I can say I've printed over a dozen playing cards deck there and have had very little issues.
Before launching I wrestled with the risk of having a higher priced item (due to the wood box). I knew the higher price might frighten some backers away. Part of me wonders if I should've had a option available without the wood box. It's easy to second guess yourself in situations like this. Of course, I could put a non-wood box option on there now... but then I could see our total amount raised plummet if all you backers decided to switch to the non-wood box option. But on the other hand, a lower priced option might attract people who are on the fence. According to Kickstarter we have many people watching the project. Also, according to my Facebook ads, we have many people who click on the project. It's like having a devil on one shoulder and a angel on the other shoulder both giving me advice. If you were me, what would you do? If worse got to worse and (God forbid) we failed at reaching our goal, we can always retool the project and relaunch.
Design Process of Minor (Numbered Cards)
I'm doing something I think is unique with the minor numbered cards. For playing cards I've done in the past, I made it so the cards would form a larger image when placed together (or as a uncut sheet). For example, I did a deck on early American history where the cards would show bits of a map in the background. When the cards were placed together it would form a map of Washington DC. For this deck, I still plan on doing the Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages more traditional but with Titanic notable people.... BUT for the numbered cards (2 to 10) I thought it would be cool if they formed a larger image. I'll show you my work in progress so you can kind of get what I'm aiming for.
Basically when the cards are laid out (four in a row) going form 2 to 10... you'll see the Titanic as it sinks in the background. In the foreground you'll see the swords, wands, cups and coins falling to the ocean floor. The sword is modeled after a 1912 cavalry sword the British used. The wands are designed to look like canes or wands (however you desire to see them).
Please let me know what you think? Be kind!
Vlog 1 About the Making of the Titanic Tarot
over 4 years ago
– Fri, Dec 13, 2019 at 04:00:03 PM
Here's the first vlog about the making of the Titanic Tarot. This first video in the series explains my feelings on history and death. It's aimed to address the controversy surrounding the project. Feel free to share the video with those that don't understand why a Titanic Tarot deck is important me.
Future videos will explore my design process, thought process, production process and fulfillment. In about three weeks I'll be taking you on tours of production facilities in China. With that video we'll address quality and the controversies surrounding printing in China.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments down below.
(Sorry I'm not the best presenter. Maybe I'll get better as I produce more videos. Excuse my coughing... must be catching a cold. I didn't realize I was doing it until I edited the video together. )
I would love for you to check out this great playing card project. As many of you know, I've been a member of the playing card community since 2012. I love to see other artists bring their work to life. Thanks for Kickstarter, we can see many great projects come to life. Click on the headline or image to view the project....
Biker Edition Poker deck — Go against the FLOW!
V-Twin deck isn't just a playing cards. It's an expression of oneself. It is an expression of how we feel about the biker lifestyle. It's ART! We are giving you a short story depicting the so-called "Hell's Angels" in 52 hand-drawing playing cards.
