Pokémon Acanthite Forums

Ok, a ton of you people probably don't know me, but a long while back when I was a pretty active fan artist, I was working on several card blanks, namely in this old thread way back when... xD

Well, since now the Diamond/Pearl blanks are complete (Debating if I want to release them through Acanthite since I trust you guys more for not stealing...), I was browsing through a bookstore the other day and picked up a HeartGold SoulSilver booster (I know there were a few other expansions, but I didn't see any sold there. Maybe next time). To my dismay and months of work, they have redesigned the cards again. Oh, the horror!!!

So, in light of the situation, PROJECT HGSS has begun, and I have this to show as basic card structure, thrown together within 4 hours of measuring and refining (And tons of guider lines in Photoshop...):



This is the basic card since I noticed several things on the evolution cards that will need to be taken into consideration when duplicating these to their digital formats, including [but not limited to]:

• Pre-Evolution Icon
• Stage 1/2 Tab
• The "Evolves from..." Tab
• The Stripe/Swish Next to the HP
• Spiked Boarders for Stage 2 Special Cards
• Updated Energy Type Icons
  

I see long nights and hours ahead of me for this project...

[UPDATE]
Just to give a heads up, I'll be referencing the basic image layout above a lot.

So, after 2 hours of figuring out some of the details, as well as trying to emulate it, I ended up with this:



Thank goodness that I still had my D/P PSD to work with some of these things since I forgot how I pulled off some of the style-types. This one is at the same resolution as the D/P blanks I worked on.

The shading is a bit off on the right side of the name area, where the HP and Type Symbol should be (Light Blue). The shadow is currently at 120 but I think I might have to put it at 180 to get the correct effect on the left side. Also, I seem to have left out the shading for the Basic tag (Green).

The hardest part, however, is getting the grunge part of the card to work correctly. Too much grunge and it looks like it's been taken through the blender and pasted on to another card... Too little grunge and it looks like I'm just leaving it out completely. So that's being an amusing part for me to work with... =_=;;;

So far, each element of the card requires AT LEAST 3 layers: base color, grunge, and highlight. At this rate, there are 23 layers so far for the basic alone. Of course, with the addition of the evolutionary cards, it will take some more time to see how to integrate those without much trouble. My only qualm is that I do not have a good Stage 2 card scan that I can work off of so easily since it has that spiked boarder and I am unsure if ALL Stage 2 cards have this (The Feraligator card I have is actually off-centered, so I can't get an accurate placement from it). On top of that, I need to know if there are any other special Pokemon Card types, like duals or any other things.

Once this is done, I'll go back into creating the Delta Species, as well as the special dual types, which take forever due to the right mixing of colors and other card details, into the current GHSS format.

I admire what you've done here, but sadly I have to say that there are MUCH more realistic blanks available that were done by Cascade:

http://cascadegonpory.deviantart.com/gal...wse/scraps

(15-04-2010 08:24 PM)Flame Claw Wrote: [ -> ]I admire what you've done here, but sadly I have to say that there are MUCH more realistic blanks available that were done by Cascade

Bolded and italicized for emphasis... Huge rant ahead, so don't bother reading if you're not into an artist's/graphic designer's rant... Just skip down to the notes after the second set of squiggles...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I take what you say rather offensively, Flame Claw... Who's to say that I cannot make my own attempts and must use those that have been "already established" because the person has been known in the whole 'faking' business longer? Is there a problem with me recreating templates that you have to compare me to someone else?

Besides, this isn't the first time I've done this...

If you haven't noticed, these are NOT finalized... (I absolutely abhor people who think what I posted is the fully completed product). Why else did I put a placement draft, as well as a REQUEST for people to give me CRITIQUES?

The problem with Cascade's is that it's not up to my standards (You have to keep in mind that I can be EXTREMELY picky about what I use when it comes to creating fake cards), along with the fact that I go straight into recreating the blanks, not scanning and using actual cards and just taking out the parts, then photoshopping them to look real enough. I actually take my time and measure things out down to the nearest 10th, if not 100th, of an inch to make sure these things are as accurate as possible and created from scratch with actual cards sitting in front of me as references, not just scans that have been rehashed and refurbished. Scans themselves can only do so much without much photoshopping and redoing details to the point where making them from scratch is far less time consuming.

Besides, with my own set, I'll be able to recreate the to tailor to my needs, as well as easier adaptation to the earlier card types (AKA: Deltas and whatnots).

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Anyways... I found another problem that I ran into after comparing a D/P card with a HGSS card... The boarders are about the same width, a good 1/8" wide as opposed to the earlier 3/16" of an inch... This in turn throws off the light blue area, which more than likely needs to be redone. Other than that, I think it is coming good so far... Also did some did some other minor readjustments to the grunge effect, which HOPEFULLY, will look much better...

Cascade's have errors and inaccurate textures anyway :) Cascade's are nice proxies, but have poor measurements and a fairly fake look. They're not the real thing.

Keep it up, Lt. Jessie - these are all the more impressive for being so meticulously constructed from scratch!

Ok, quick sidetrack since Fangking said he needed to see something... Again, I will have a basic layout and the one with added details.



This is actually a trainer/stadium/supporter card from the DP set with the HGSS border (If you read the earlier notes, the border width is about the same for both expansions, just that HGSS is textured and DP isn't). There are still a TON of errors that I see since I don't have adequate lighting or my magnifying glass (Dunno where I put the darned thing), but for a 2 hour quick-render, I think this is pretty accurate for something so fast.



Now, my main qualm for this is the font for the card type title (Supporter, Trainer, Stadium) and the font that is right about the card name. This I have yet to figure out, along with the little ticker marks on the edge (Which my hunny is looking into right now as I type this).

But for a quick first draft, I have to be pretty proud of this one... Now to go back and start tweaking it once I get some more data about placement and design details...

To help you with the new additions of HGSS:

-The Pokémon Prime are the only cards that have an spiked border. Aside from that and the holographic border it doesn't have any more features blank-wise. (From an art point of view, the artwork is done in a close up style and have, in some cases, a something shining like a fang or eye; AND another feature is that they are more powerful than their normal counterparts). They can be Stage2 (Like Feraligart Prime), Stage1 (Donphan) or Basic (Absol). Here is an example: http://pokebeach.com/scans/heartgold-and...onphan.jpg
-Then there is the new LEGEND cards, that are two cards that when put together form the Pokémon card:
http://pokebeach.com/scans/heartgold-and...legend.jpg
And have a lot of blank features. So far, all the LEGEND cards are legendaries Pokémon (One alone or two together like Raikou & Suicune, Dialga & Palkia, Darkrai & Cresselia, etc.)
-Another new feature that the blanks have is the yellow border that appears in trainers cards, but I assume you must have know this.

BTW, not wanting to advertise, but PokéBeach really has great scans that could show how the features are so you could re-create them with ease. Hope it helps ;)
EDIT: Forgot to write that I looking forward to the finished product, and good luck along the way!

Sorry mate, I didn't mean anything bad there, I do appreciate that you're working from scratch here, but something about CG's seem more realistic to yours, however everyone has a right to their interpretation of the cards and yours is a very acceptable one too :D If you need any of the stuff I've ripped here ( http://flamingclaw.deviantart.com/art/HG...-160241969 ) either to use or to have as references feel free to use it :)

(16-04-2010 05:47 AM)nintendo jr Wrote: [ -> ]-The Pokémon Prime are the only cards that have an spiked border. Aside from that and the holographic border it doesn't have any more features blank-wise. (From an art point of view, the artwork is done in a close up style and have, in some cases, a something shining like a fang or eye; AND another feature is that they are more powerful than their normal counterparts). They can be Stage2 (Like Feraligatr Prime), Stage1 (Donphan) or Basic (Absol). Here is an example

Well, that's a good thing to know, though not a good thing to know that they can also be on the other stages... Then again, keeping that on a layer of its own should help with that... Right? xD Artwise, I'm not too worried yet since that comes WAAAAAAAAY at the end. I'm just working on the cards itself.

(16-04-2010 05:47 AM)nintendo jr Wrote: [ -> ]-Then there is the new LEGEND cards, that are two cards that when put together form the Pokémon card: Ho-oh LEGEND And have a lot of blank features. So far, all the LEGEND cards are legendaries Pokémon (One alone or two together like Raikou & Suicune, Dialga & Palkia, Darkrai & Cresselia, etc.)

This one I have seen a few times on Serebii.net, but I won't tackle this one JUST yet... I have a friend of mine who'll be letting me borrow his Lugia LEGENDS to help with measurements during the summer since this one I want to be a little bit more careful with. There's something sacred about these cards that I just want to be super careful with... Dunno why... Oo;;;

(16-04-2010 05:47 AM)nintendo jr Wrote: [ -> ]-Another new feature that the blanks have is the yellow border that appears in trainers cards, but I assume you must have know this.

I assume this is for the LEGENDS cards too. Again, once I get my hands on the actual cards for better view, I'll be able to make heads or tails of it and how to go about it.

(16-04-2010 05:47 AM)nintendo jr Wrote: [ -> ]BTW, not wanting to advertise, but PokéBeach really has great scans that could show how the features are so you could re-create them with ease. Hope it helps ;)
EDIT: Forgot to write that I looking forward to the finished product, and good luck along the way!

Problem is that scans can only go a long way before their usefulness is over. I mean, they're good for references, but some times the scans are just... *Shudders* Colors can be off, that's for sure. I can probably get it as close as possible, but... To make it as accurate as possible is my goal when it comes to these sorts of things. Sort of tests my skills as a graphics designer... x3

Anyways... I'll take a look at PokéBeach for card references I don't have, namely the trainer/stadium/supporter (if they still exist) cards since I didn't get one in this last booster pull, and my most recent trainer card comes from the DP set.

Oh yeah, can someone take a look at an actual trainer card from the DP set, my hunny and I can't make heads or tails on the ticker marks (tiny bars) on the sides of the cards, whether or not they have a corner cut off or something... x.x

Also, can someone check if there's a very subtle glow around the Pokemon Type icon next to the HP? I could have sworn there's a subtle glow, but not entirely sure...

Hey Lt, I've thought of one thing that could be an idea when you release the stuff -

On the fire blank example you gave, you might want to release the little Pokédex bar seperate from the blank, because in some cases, there are Pokémon without a PokéDex entry (to allow more attacks) :) Therefore people can add it if they want it, but leave it off if they don't.

(16-04-2010 03:46 PM)Flame Claw Wrote: [ -> ]Hey Lt, I've thought of one thing that could be an idea when you release the stuff -

On the fire blank example you gave, you might want to release the little Pokédex bar seperate from the blank, because in some cases, there are Pokémon without a PokéDex entry (to allow more attacks) :) Therefore people can add it if they want it, but leave it off if they don't.

As stated earlier, I am making these as accurate as possible for the sake of Aesthetics. I don't like making any changes whatsoever until I feel that what I am working is comfortable enough for me to put it into final and not touch it any more. It's how I work. And why think so far ahead when I don't even have the basic touches down? Patience is the key to making very good resources and art, as you can see in my DeviantART gallery.

Once everything is finalized, I'll think about creating customs that people want, but until then, I'm following it almost to the letter for the basic blanks of a set.

Now, on to other matters...

After talking to Fangking last night, and showing him the very quickly made trainer card, we both agreed we ran into one wall: the title text and the title subtext (why there's even a title subtext, I do have to wonder since it's annoyingly redundant... I'll probably take it out in a Customized release set). Apparently, Fangking had been racking his brain over this and sort of gave up on it. Well, here's some good news to the veteran king of card making:

Just this morning, i managed to find out the font they used for the title text, and found a VERY similar font for the title subtext. Below, is a semi-finished Supporter Card with the text, which I will say, is looking good so far =3



I just need to fix the ticker marks (which will hopefully be soon) and add their respective colors. After that, some final tweaking with the image area, and it should all be good to go.

Gotta love seeing these WIP (Work in Progress) shots as I work on these... Makes you wonder how long it takes me to do them if not rushing and actually not bothered... xD

[UPDATE]
I went in and tweaked what I needed done... This is what I came out with. The font for the Title Text is not 100% correct since I compared my Stadium card with an actual one, and the letters "D" and "M" are slightly different. But, other than that, it's about as close as I can get without needing to go in a re-render each letter (Which takes about 20 minutes per letter at least).



So, these are, I guess, close to finalization unless some people have more input for major changes, at which point I'll check in the evening hours.

And yes, I just noticed that the tickers on the edge are overlapping the image area... I accidentally swapped the layers and forgot to change it back before putting in the colors... x.x;;;

[UPDATE 2]
Went ahead and created a tester Stadium card (Say ANYTHING about the effects and don't expect me to listen to you any more... It was BS'd to just see how placement goes. And yes, I also did the background in the image from scratch). It seems like it's about as close as I can get it, Fangking, but I'll wait until later in the day to see if people have some input before giving you the finals on these three cards you need.



Might have to ease up on the green though. Seems a bit bright, no? oO;;;;