[mod] :: [deckmaking information]
OKAY OKAY. We have more than enough help offers for now. 8D; Thanks everyone for your interest, I will let you guys know if we need more help. ♥
Sup folks!
This is info for anyone who's interested in making decks. I don't mean collect images and name them, I mean actually make them. This information also applies to our current deckmakers and will apply to any decks made from now on (so it's important that you read!)
Warning: Kinda scary. :(
For past decks, the quality check/control will still apply, including decks made by yours truly.
Okay folks, here is zee deal.
The majority of the TCGs out there have very elaborate borders, very ornate cards, but in terms of image quality, it tends to be terrible.
I'm extremely nitpicky and tend to be a perfectionist - one bad card or two is forgiveable in a deck, especially decks with few available images (I'm looking at YOU, Charden). However, having lots of really pixelly, grainy, sharp and otherwise unattractive cards is made of fail and lose.
That having been said, I'm going to get a lot stricter with card quality from now on. You may have noticed I've already replaced some cards with better-looking ones (from my own decks) - I've also meddled with decks other people made (bakaelf can testify to this) to put better quality cards/images in them, and/or to fix any oddities in the pattern of the borders/text (the lucky and prodigy decks, for instance), and I've made people redo cards before (warwolves knows this well). My intention isn't to say you guys can't make pretty cards, but rather to make sure that the decks all follow a pattern (I'm anal about this DX) and have overall good image quality.
And so, although some of the deckmakers may think this is a bit of a hassle, the majority of the cards in a deck are expected to have:
- Good image quality (resizing tends to take care of grain for the most part, and a good resize ratio will make most LQ-ish images acceptable);
- Little grain (grainy images are hella ugly. If for some reason you are working with a grainy image and have no choice, I fully expect you to manually get rid of the grain. If you don't, chances are I will, so yeah. :();
- Good definition (this also generally comes with good resize ratio - thick lines and compression effects generally suck.);
- Contrast adjustment! (I can't stress this enough! Anime caps generally have TERRIBLE contrast, and if you do not adjust your contrast it'll look cruddy and washed out. Photoshop has an auto contrast feature, make use of it);
- Appropriate sharpening (okay, this one is hard to draw the line on - basically not super sharp [my own decks are guilty of this a lot, I do plan on fixing] and not blurry);
- Follow the pattern of dark hue for corners/outline -> lighter hue for border -> even lighter hue for the part behind the text -> white for the text filling. This point I will not argue. If your cards don't follow this pattern I will very shamelessly fix them myself, please save me the trouble. DX.
EXAMPLES
bad: plain ol' resizing of an image with bad lighting
good: resizing, sharpening adjustment, contrast adjustment of an image with bad lighting (by neonclover)
- nice, crisp quality card (by stuffedpanda)
- another nice quality card (by deceive)
- and another (by strawberrychan)
Basically, treat your card image as you would treat preparing a base for an icon. You don't need to do wonders with the colors or anything, but I expect well-contrasted, crisp, quality cards. No one is perfect, my own decks are also subject to these guidelines (and later on to quality control, I'll put up a post about that soon), and if you don't want me to shamelessly meddle with the decks you make if I think something sucks, please don't be a deckmaker.
I'll still pay people in full even if I meddle with their decks, but if I have to fix decks you make every time, just give me the images and I'll make it myself. >>; I know this is AWFULLY control freakish, but... I am one. DX And everyone benefits from having the prettiest possible cards, so there.
IF AFTER ALL OF THAT YOU'RE STILL NOT SCARED (I swear I don't bite, I'm just nitpicky as hell), I WILL GLADLY WELCOME YOU TO THE CARDMAKING TEAM. 8D
Sup folks!
This is info for anyone who's interested in making decks. I don't mean collect images and name them, I mean actually make them. This information also applies to our current deckmakers and will apply to any decks made from now on (so it's important that you read!)
Warning: Kinda scary. :(
For past decks, the quality check/control will still apply, including decks made by yours truly.
Okay folks, here is zee deal.
The majority of the TCGs out there have very elaborate borders, very ornate cards, but in terms of image quality, it tends to be terrible.
I'm extremely nitpicky and tend to be a perfectionist - one bad card or two is forgiveable in a deck, especially decks with few available images (I'm looking at YOU, Charden). However, having lots of really pixelly, grainy, sharp and otherwise unattractive cards is made of fail and lose.
That having been said, I'm going to get a lot stricter with card quality from now on. You may have noticed I've already replaced some cards with better-looking ones (from my own decks) - I've also meddled with decks other people made (bakaelf can testify to this) to put better quality cards/images in them, and/or to fix any oddities in the pattern of the borders/text (the lucky and prodigy decks, for instance), and I've made people redo cards before (warwolves knows this well). My intention isn't to say you guys can't make pretty cards, but rather to make sure that the decks all follow a pattern (I'm anal about this DX) and have overall good image quality.
And so, although some of the deckmakers may think this is a bit of a hassle, the majority of the cards in a deck are expected to have:
- Good image quality (resizing tends to take care of grain for the most part, and a good resize ratio will make most LQ-ish images acceptable);
- Little grain (grainy images are hella ugly. If for some reason you are working with a grainy image and have no choice, I fully expect you to manually get rid of the grain. If you don't, chances are I will, so yeah. :();
- Good definition (this also generally comes with good resize ratio - thick lines and compression effects generally suck.);
- Contrast adjustment! (I can't stress this enough! Anime caps generally have TERRIBLE contrast, and if you do not adjust your contrast it'll look cruddy and washed out. Photoshop has an auto contrast feature, make use of it);
- Appropriate sharpening (okay, this one is hard to draw the line on - basically not super sharp [my own decks are guilty of this a lot, I do plan on fixing] and not blurry);
- Follow the pattern of dark hue for corners/outline -> lighter hue for border -> even lighter hue for the part behind the text -> white for the text filling. This point I will not argue. If your cards don't follow this pattern I will very shamelessly fix them myself, please save me the trouble. DX.
EXAMPLES
bad: plain ol' resizing of an image with bad lighting
good: resizing, sharpening adjustment, contrast adjustment of an image with bad lighting (by neonclover)
- nice, crisp quality card (by stuffedpanda)
- another nice quality card (by deceive)
- and another (by strawberrychan)
Basically, treat your card image as you would treat preparing a base for an icon. You don't need to do wonders with the colors or anything, but I expect well-contrasted, crisp, quality cards. No one is perfect, my own decks are also subject to these guidelines (and later on to quality control, I'll put up a post about that soon), and if you don't want me to shamelessly meddle with the decks you make if I think something sucks, please don't be a deckmaker.
I'll still pay people in full even if I meddle with their decks, but if I have to fix decks you make every time, just give me the images and I'll make it myself. >>; I know this is AWFULLY control freakish, but... I am one. DX And everyone benefits from having the prettiest possible cards, so there.
IF AFTER ALL OF THAT YOU'RE STILL NOT SCARED (I swear I don't bite, I'm just nitpicky as hell), I WILL GLADLY WELCOME YOU TO THE CARDMAKING TEAM. 8D