@Hodoku—
Hahaha! I found Raphael Lacoste's site a while back by searching an art gallery (don't remember which one...I think it was gfxartist.com) and I absolutely fell in love with his scenery. (Raphael Lacoste's Site) It's drop-dead amazing and I drool over it every time I look at it. When I saw that illustration I used for Godless Shrine, I knew I had to use it for an alternate art for that card. (And, obviously, eventually did so.)
The textures on the white template were done by taking a picture of old parchment style paper and, in PS, going to Edit >> Define Pattern. Then I applied that pattern as a bevel texture to the shape used as a NW border for the card.
Yeah, the more I think about it, I think I'll experiment with some font changes. I can't think of any ones that would fit off the top of my head, but once I get the white, red, artifact, and colorless land templates finalized, I'll start looking into it. (That's exciting to say because the list used to be much longer. )
The only thing I could even remotely consider to critique on that beautiful land and your frames are the text issues that Annorax mentioned and the cracks on the Necropotence. I think they stand out a bit much and could be lightened or something. It seems too thick and prominent on the card. Other than those minor things, your work is excellent. I hope and look forward to some renders in your frame style or maybe even a PSD.
Side Note: I have PSD for Vs. for anyone intrested.
It seems that quite a few people think I should try a different font other than MatrixBoldSmallCaps. Does anyone have suggestions? I've looked through my library of fonts, and nothing really caught my eye. There were a few that could be passable, but nothing that screamed "Use me!!!" Any suggestions are appreciated and, unless they're completely wonky, pursued. I've attached a mini psd of the template with just the text and one color background for your own use if you want to look at the font before you suggest it.
<EDIT> — I should appologize...The mini psd is scaled down to 50% of the original to make it smaller. After all, it's just for font-testing purposes. Just fyi for anyone who is thinking about downloading it.
Oh; and the supertype/subtype text seems to have mysteriously fallen one pixel. Just nudge it up a skosh to get it where I wanted it originally. Or ignore it if you don't care.
@PBG—
I have a fair amount of fonts (around 772 or so). I'd love to get more though! If you're serious about sharing those fonts with me, I'd be more than happy to have them.
How can I get that Elder straightened up so I can save it and use it for MWS?
You can either rotate it 5º counter clockwise, or you click the little thumbnail below.
It's really cool to hear that you like it enough to use it in MWS. I must be doing something right... Now if only I could come up with a good way to fix my red template and finish my white one.... and then the artifact one too.
You know the look that lava has when it's black, but beneath it there's this glowing hot magma (I just felt all Dr. Evil-like). I would think something like that would rock the red frame right. Maybe not as black, but some darker brickish red sections and beneath them the burnining bright lava. The white one I was thinking would be pristine and marble-like. Maybe even a bit shiny. Just some ideas I thought I'd throw out there and see where they landed.
Also, check your PM's in a bit. Uploading as I type.
Eh :\ those rock thingies don't quite fit green :\ Tho, the leaf does
Haha. It's actually tree bark; not rock. (I attached the image I used for those little sections.) I had an inkling those might be misinterpreted... Can you think of some way to make it look more like bark and less like rock?
Not really... Here's what the white land frame looks like atm:
I'm thinking about changing brown texture behind/around (I say behind because that's how the layers go in the psd) the text box will be changed to something like white marble. I just haven't gotten a chance to get a good sized marbel texture that fits white's personality yet.
The tough part is the "fun" bits I like to put on the corners. I was thinking maybe clouds, but those would be really hard to pull off and still make them look good. Something with light is a defenite. I already know how I'm going to do that, I think, but it's going to need something extra to suplement it; something a little more concrete.
Thanks for all the wonderful feedback guys!! I seriously appreciate this a lot more than I ever say!
I agree with everything you say about the white frame. For the little extras you add, I would suggest maybe something stain-glassed like? Or if that's too distracting, then how about an embossed symbol like a an angel in the marble/white rock? Just some ideas and keep up the great work FPM!!:D
I thought about feathers, and they're not totally out yet, but to get a decent rendering of them is almost impossible. I would need them to be kind of floating around, I'd think... or maybe I could just have a couple big ones sitting there... I don't know how that would look. I might try it, actually. Hmm.... [goes off to ponder]
You know the look that lava has when it's black, but beneath it there's this glowing hot magma (I just felt all Dr. Evil-like). I would think something like that would rock the red frame right. Maybe not as black, but some darker brickish red sections and beneath them the burnining bright lava. The white one I was thinking would be pristine and marble-like. Maybe even a bit shiny. Just some ideas I thought I'd throw out there and see where they landed.
Also, check your PM's in a bit. Uploading as I type.
I'm still thinking about things for the white frame... *ponders*
Good thought, but I actually found one today I liked. I also started playing with some light effects on the corners. Thoughts...?
<EDIT> — Oh, I also did a little bit of that rune-style stuff to the blue frame. What do you think? I'm thinking I might redo the little dealie in the bottom right of the text box... It looks fat to me.
<EDIT2> — Okay, I did a render with the white frame as it is currently, just for kicks and giggles. This, however, brought to sharp attention something I had not considered: the visibility of the * sign on creatures with variable p/t. Suggestions or comments...?
First thing to say is that all templates look freakingly awesome, you do a really good job.
For the problem with the p/t on white cards I suggest a change in color - what about black p/t, because white on almost-white is difficult to see...
The blue frame looks great too, good idea with the runes, but maybe not that much, seems a bit overloaded
My last question is 'how do the current land frames look like?' Because if they look like the Plains example in your first post, white cards and Plains will just look too similar - if they look like the dual examples with gray borders, they will be different, but may look very similar to artifacts or black cards... Why not try a brown border for lands just like wizards use it now? (ok sorry, that in fact was my last question )
I like the sun beam effect on the top right of the white frame.
You could change the * symbol to have a thicker outline or have a solid color circle background (although that might resemble a pentagram, Oh no!). I suggest leaving the numbers alone, unless you find they also get lost on the white frame.
One thing I noticed is that the brightest point of the white frame is right where the P/T goes... I don't know how well shifting it up a bit would work.
As for the blue card: I think having fewer, but larger runes would look a little better. It would make the frame less busy and you'd be able to see that they're glowing runes easily. I shrank the blue sample down and it kind of looked like circuitry to my feeble eyes.
Hmm... Good suggestions. I'll definately explore the redrawing of the runes. That was just kind of a quick little doodle, so I was just more experimenting with color choices, but it looked good at 100 and 75 percent...never bothered to shrink it down to actual card size. Good call.
As for the P/T text on the white cards, yeah.... I'm thinking I may do something like reverse the colors. I just hate to start changing stuff just for one template...seems like it would be unprofessional. Maybe I could add a little tab to that side sort of like the actual box WotC uses... idk. Just kind of thinking out loud here.
I don't think the revamping of the land cards is necessary, though. I think they look different enough. Plus the "fun" is there to set the colored ones apart a little more. For example....
Or does that not look different enough to you to the point that you think you'd get confused?
Hahaha! Really the only way to get these into MWS right now is full-scan cards. I've dug around rather extensively in MWS' theming aspects and there's no way to get the vertical mana symbols or P/T config. Once v.95 or VPT gets here, it might be possible, but the current build only supports a more traditional layout. Once I finish the white, red, and artifact templates, however, I will be releasing a full psd so people can render their own cards with these frames should they so desire. Then you'll probably have no troubles getting together enough renders to fill your decks with my doody-enducing frames.
Thnx
@Hodoku—
Hahaha! I found Raphael Lacoste's site a while back by searching an art gallery (don't remember which one...I think it was gfxartist.com) and I absolutely fell in love with his scenery. (Raphael Lacoste's Site) It's drop-dead amazing and I drool over it every time I look at it. When I saw that illustration I used for Godless Shrine, I knew I had to use it for an alternate art for that card. (And, obviously, eventually did so.)
The textures on the white template were done by taking a picture of old parchment style paper and, in PS, going to Edit >> Define Pattern. Then I applied that pattern as a bevel texture to the shape used as a NW border for the card.
Yeah, the more I think about it, I think I'll experiment with some font changes. I can't think of any ones that would fit off the top of my head, but once I get the white, red, artifact, and colorless land templates finalized, I'll start looking into it. (That's exciting to say because the list used to be much longer. )
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
Side Note: I have PSD for Vs. for anyone intrested.
My Help Desk My MySpace My Playmat Artwork My Blog My Yuwie Page
DCI Ranking Constructed High - 2237 Current - 1967
MTGSalvation 1st Annual Charity Altered Art Event!
*signature courtesy of Unkle-J talents!
.
<EDIT> — I should appologize...The mini psd is scaled down to 50% of the original to make it smaller. After all, it's just for font-testing purposes. Just fyi for anyone who is thinking about downloading it.
Oh; and the supertype/subtype text seems to have mysteriously fallen one pixel. Just nudge it up a skosh to get it where I wanted it originally. Or ignore it if you don't care.
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
My Help Desk My MySpace My Playmat Artwork My Blog My Yuwie Page
DCI Ranking Constructed High - 2237 Current - 1967
MTGSalvation 1st Annual Charity Altered Art Event!
*signature courtesy of Unkle-J talents!
As for fonts... just a quick search yielded:
Century Gothic (Windows standard)
Shareware fonts:
One of the "Celtic" fonts here.
Mysticora
I have a fair amount of fonts (around 772 or so). I'd love to get more though! If you're serious about sharing those fonts with me, I'd be more than happy to have them.
@Aranan—
Plugging in those suggestions...
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
Edit: I have fonts...664 with some odd ones in there. PM me if you want them.
My Help Desk My MySpace My Playmat Artwork My Blog My Yuwie Page
DCI Ranking Constructed High - 2237 Current - 1967
MTGSalvation 1st Annual Charity Altered Art Event!
*signature courtesy of Unkle-J talents!
You can either rotate it 5º counter clockwise, or you click the little thumbnail below.
It's really cool to hear that you like it enough to use it in MWS. I must be doing something right... Now if only I could come up with a good way to fix my red template and finish my white one.... and then the artifact one too.
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
Also, check your PM's in a bit. Uploading as I type.
My Help Desk My MySpace My Playmat Artwork My Blog My Yuwie Page
DCI Ranking Constructed High - 2237 Current - 1967
MTGSalvation 1st Annual Charity Altered Art Event!
*signature courtesy of Unkle-J talents!
Haha. It's actually tree bark; not rock. (I attached the image I used for those little sections.) I had an inkling those might be misinterpreted... Can you think of some way to make it look more like bark and less like rock?
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
I like the green frame a lot. I'm having problems thinking of what the white frame could be decorated with, though. Do you have ideas already?
The tough part is the "fun" bits I like to put on the corners. I was thinking maybe clouds, but those would be really hard to pull off and still make them look good. Something with light is a defenite. I already know how I'm going to do that, I think, but it's going to need something extra to suplement it; something a little more concrete.
Thanks for all the wonderful feedback guys!! I seriously appreciate this a lot more than I ever say!
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
My Help Desk My MySpace My Playmat Artwork My Blog My Yuwie Page
DCI Ranking Constructed High - 2237 Current - 1967
MTGSalvation 1st Annual Charity Altered Art Event!
*signature courtesy of Unkle-J talents!
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
A bit like Magma Sliver's skin? Here is a slightly biggish picture of Magma Sliver if that can be used.
If you still need your blue template, you could do something like the runes on the skin in this picture of Shifting Sliver.
I'm still thinking about things for the white frame... *ponders*
Good thought, but I actually found one today I liked. I also started playing with some light effects on the corners. Thoughts...?
<EDIT> — Oh, I also did a little bit of that rune-style stuff to the blue frame. What do you think? I'm thinking I might redo the little dealie in the bottom right of the text box... It looks fat to me.
<EDIT2> — Okay, I did a render with the white frame as it is currently, just for kicks and giggles. This, however, brought to sharp attention something I had not considered: the visibility of the * sign on creatures with variable p/t. Suggestions or comments...?
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
For the problem with the p/t on white cards I suggest a change in color - what about black p/t, because white on almost-white is difficult to see...
The blue frame looks great too, good idea with the runes, but maybe not that much, seems a bit overloaded
My last question is 'how do the current land frames look like?' Because if they look like the Plains example in your first post, white cards and Plains will just look too similar - if they look like the dual examples with gray borders, they will be different, but may look very similar to artifacts or black cards... Why not try a brown border for lands just like wizards use it now? (ok sorry, that in fact was my last question )
You could change the * symbol to have a thicker outline or have a solid color circle background (although that might resemble a pentagram, Oh no!). I suggest leaving the numbers alone, unless you find they also get lost on the white frame.
One thing I noticed is that the brightest point of the white frame is right where the P/T goes... I don't know how well shifting it up a bit would work.
As for the blue card: I think having fewer, but larger runes would look a little better. It would make the frame less busy and you'd be able to see that they're glowing runes easily. I shrank the blue sample down and it kind of looked like circuitry to my feeble eyes.
As for the P/T text on the white cards, yeah.... I'm thinking I may do something like reverse the colors. I just hate to start changing stuff just for one template...seems like it would be unprofessional. Maybe I could add a little tab to that side sort of like the actual box WotC uses... idk. Just kind of thinking out loud here.
I don't think the revamping of the land cards is necessary, though. I think they look different enough. Plus the "fun" is there to set the colored ones apart a little more. For example....
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong
Magic scoresheet for download
Turn reference chart for download
..keep your mind open enough and someone is going to throw some crap in..
..cause i'm sick of being treated like i have before
like it's stupid standing for what i'm standing for..
..it's not faith if you're using your eyes..
Portfolio · Evolution = Wrong