Clow Cards Revisited.

Stagecraft_kid

I decided to alter the web page to show the difference between the original cards and versions 2 and 5. I think I'm going to merge the design of v5 with the darker background of v1 and v2.

Kanji
駆 The Dash
地 The Earthy

Cenozoic, thank you so much for catching those. I wasn't paying attention to the dash, and selected the wrong character, and completely forgot to change the Kanji for Earth. I really appreciate it and your feedback.
 

Stagecraft_kid

I decided to redesign the card back as I didn't like that the back wasn't reversible. I like the new style, but I'm not sure I like it as much as the other. I think I need to toy with the colors more. The comparison can be found here: Card Back Comparison

Will they be available from Gamecrafter? I will be keeping an eye on this thread to "capture" these as soon as possible.

I'm not familiar with Gamecrafter, but just checked out their page. Have you ordered from them before? Are the cards any good? I like the Gamecrafter's idea as it would allow for distribution without overhead, which was the main reason I wasn't planning to sell these. I would want to check out quality though, to see if it's any good. It would be great if it was, as there is a chance more people than me would be able to have a deck, and any profit is more than I was planning on.
 

Myrrha

I have bought three Gamecrafter decks, the Rabbit Tarot, the TaRat and the Black Fantasy Tarot. All three of them were very good quality with cardstock that is not too shiny and glossy which would be a good look for your deck. Boxes are optional with Gamecrafter decks. The creator can opt to make a box and have the decks sold at a slightly higher price or not to include a box at all. The cards fit inside the box a little loosely and the boxes are a bit "cardboard-like" not quite the quality of the usual tarot boxes. The decks were all poker- sized or a little smaller, not oversized like tarot decks.

One of these these decks I ordered directly from the Gamecrafter site and it came promptly with no problems. I have heard that they charge a lot for postage outside the US. One deck creator said on her blog that she had not specified when she set up her account that she wanted to be paid in money so they paid her in Gamecrafter credit until she fixed that. Just something to be aware of.

The Rabbit Tarot has gone through a couple of large printings and the artist chose to have it produced by Gamecrafter but she buys quantities of decks and sells them through her etsy site. One side effect of this is that people looking for the deck see her prints and cards. You could print up some Clow card T-shirts or offer larger prints if you have a computer and a printer.
 

ueI

I prefer the V2 card backs. Having 4 crests just doesn't sit right with me. Apart from this, I think V5 is much better. Not only is V2 too dark, but the Maze and some others don't even look finished.
 

karen0205

After a long break, I've taken this project up again. I added the Earthy, Erase and Fight cards. I also restyled all of the cards as I didn't really like the paper texture I had originally done.

I don't know if this has been asked already but do you read with the cards?
 

Myrrha

Sorry but I really like the design of version 2 better.

The partial circles in the upper left corner made a nice composition but in version 5 that is lost. I don't think the composition is improved by having the bars with the card name in two places it just looks a bit busy and random. I don't read these cards reversed but even if someone did use reversals they would quickly get familiar enough with the deck to know what card it is without having to see the name right side up.

I do like the coloring of version 5 better, it is still subdued but a bit brighter.
 

karen0205

I like Version 5.
 

Stagecraft_kid

Comments and Answers

I prefer the V2 card backs. Having 4 crests just doesn't sit right with me.
I have to agree with you on that. I decided to change the side symbols to just the star/heart symbol instead of the full crests. I really like reversible backs. But my heart really loves the design of 2 more. It’s a difficult decision for me, but luckily I don’t have to decide just now. Let me know what you think of the updated back.
New Card Back


Sorry but I really like the design of version 2 better.

The partial circles in the upper left corner made a nice composition but in version 5 that is lost. I don't think the composition is improved by having the bars with the card name in two places it just looks a bit busy and random. I don't read these cards reversed but even if someone did use reversals they would quickly get familiar enough with the deck to know what card it is without having to see the name right side up.

I do like the coloring of version 5 better, it is still subdued but a bit brighter.

After so many versions, I found that I like two best as well. I was thinking about the busyness, and how the core image seems to get lost. I think I'll just continue on with version two. Version 6 is version two, on a lighter background. But after looking at a few, I just like two better. It is the original design, but with colors. The first version was the brown background with everything black. Those where a bit difficult to look at when they were all together.

I’ll have to see what v2 looks like with brighter colors. I’m not able to create cards as I’m on a laptop traveling and it’s unpleasant to do so, but I can update cards and colors. So we’ll see how that looks.

I don't know if this has been asked already but do you read with the cards?

I read with the Japanese Clow Card deck I got years ago. I love reading with them, and have had some of my best readings with them. It is often my go to deck. Unfortunately, they are really large, and a tad difficult to shuffle. I also travel up and down California, and they take up some room in my bag. They came in a sturdy cardboard book, but I had to put them in something else, as I was afraid of damaging it.

A person translated the Clow Card Fortune Book. It’s available here at http://clowcard.wordpress.com, if you want to check it out. I started using them without meanings, long before the book was translated, so I've made up my own meanings based on their english name, and what that element means to me. I also combine the elements that show up in a spread, to imagine how theses elements interact.

An Example Reading:
Sample Spread Image
If I'm represented by The Water, and The Sand comes up in my future, I could think of quicksand. Based on this new element, it could be telling me that I am walking into a dangerous zone, and may not even see the danger until it's too late. If The Earthy came up as my advice, it could be saying that I need to ground myself, and let myself strengthen my roots before proceeding. If I do that, if I were to slip into the danger, I could pull myself back up again.

Anyways, that's how I read them. If I distribute this version, I think I'll leave some keywords, but I’m not sure if that’s a disservice. The ability to combine cards and meanings is the real power of these cards. They use nouns and words I'm familiar with, and I can combine what I know of these elements for a detailed reading.

Anyways, again, thank you for the feedback, it’s been great getting other perspectives.
 

ueI

I have to agree with you on that. I decided to change the side symbols to just the star/heart symbol instead of the full crests. I really like reversible backs. But my heart really loves the design of 2 more. It’s a difficult decision for me, but luckily I don’t have to decide just now. Let me know what you think of the updated back.
New Card Back

Your seal is a little different from the original. Have you considered a further redesign? If you make it symmetrical, you can keep the simple back and still allow for reversals. Even with the improvements, the V5 backs are hard to get used to.
 

claire1805

I decided to redesign the card back as I didn't like that the back wasn't reversible. I like the new style, but I'm not sure I like it as much as the other. I think I need to toy with the colors more. The comparison can be found here: Card Back Comparison



I'm not familiar with Gamecrafter, but just checked out their page. Have you ordered from them before? Are the cards any good? I like the Gamecrafter's idea as it would allow for distribution without overhead, which was the main reason I wasn't planning to sell these. I would want to check out quality though, to see if it's any good. It would be great if it was, as there is a chance more people than me would be able to have a deck, and any profit is more than I was planning on.

PrinterStudio is a great alternative for getting your decks printed, and there is even an option for Tarot-sized cards. I have gotten a couple of Lenormand decks printed there for my own use and the quality is superb. You get three options on cardstock itself; smooth finish, linen finish or the waterproof 'plastic' one. I am not familiar with Gamecrafter but the shipping cost is quite costly, in my opinion. PrinterStudio is more 'worldwide-friendly' in terms of shipping fees with you having full autonomy on how you want your cards to come out looking.

Hope this helps!