SUNKEN SAPPHIRE - illustrated playing cards

[Zurgery]

[PiazzaDelivery]

The pirate's look quirky, jolly, whimsical, benevolent.That's not the kind of pirates I can take seriously, feels like a branded deck from a kids show. However, I can definitely appreciate the quality of the art. The level of detail it takes to make black and white create a full picture is not lost on me. Good job, just not for me.

[CaptainEmericke]

The pirate's look quirky, jolly, whimsical, benevolent.That's not the kind of pirates I can take seriously, feels like a branded deck from a kids show. However, I can definitely appreciate the quality of the art. The level of detail it takes to make black and white create a full picture is not lost on me. Good job, just not for me.

Hi there, I'm the creator of the card deck. Many thanks for your opinion. I'm glad the pirates come across as quirky, that's exactly the look I was after. The card deck and short story are all part of a wider world I'm creating - Still Water - an imaginary town filled with quirky characters, locations and stories. The 'Sunken Sapphire' is a tavern and the card deck and its story tells the legend of how the tavern got its name. It serves to entertain with a thrilling tale of adventure with some great art as an entry point into a wider experience. If anyone's interested in joining along for a merry old sing song with a mug of ale, I'll be down the Sapphire, cheers!

[CaptainEmericke]

Pleased to say several of the original art pieces have been taken, including the original of the Sunken Sapphire tavern itself. Lots more pirates still available and don't forget every Kickstarter Exclusive Pledge and Deluxe Pledge get prints of the tavern, jokers and pirates. They also receive the illustrated short story book. Lots of goodies here!

[CaptainEmericke]

The Kickstarter Exclusive Edition (limited to 100) and the Deluxe Edition (Unlimited) both have the full, unabridged short story illustrated book inside a tuck box. The overall clean, crisp design ties in with the rest of the Still Water illustrations from my other works - full illustrations of quirky buildings and characters. There's a lot more going on in Still Water than just these playing cards!

[hsbc]

Hi CaptainEmericke, welcome and thanks for posting! Do please try to keep from bumping the thread too often - instead you can edit your past posts Feel free to reach out to me or any of the other mods or admins if you have any questions!

[CaptainEmericke]

Hi CaptainEmericke, welcome and thanks for posting! Do please try to keep from bumping the thread too often - instead you can edit your past posts Feel free to reach out to me or any of the other mods or admins if you have any questions!

No problem! New here so just getting to grips with things! Thanks for the advice!

[CaptainEmericke]

Very pleased - campaign is not far off 50% funded with just over three weeks to go. Would be wonderful if some more great supporters jump on board. I really appreciate the good people here who are so far enjoying the art, story and general experience on this Still Water project. Thanks!

[Harvonsgard]

Nice design but I miss some splashes of colour for these personally.

[CaptainEmericke]

Nice design but I miss some splashes of colour for these personally.

All my work is black and white hand inked illustration. The red splash on the hearts and diamonds and logo was quite a step from my normal practice! It was done this way to tie in with the rest of my work - book illustration and framed original art displayed in commercial galleries. This project is just a small part of a wider established project called Still Water and this projects looks at why a tavern within it is called 'Sunken Sapphire'. Lots of good stuff in there, but if black and white is not your thing, then that's absolutely fine.

[Harvonsgard]

Thanks a lot for the clarification. It sure ties in perfectly with the artworks you showed above and in the campaign.

[CaptainEmericke]

75 % funded with over two weeks to go! Thanks to those pledging for extra boxed sets and pledging for the original illustrations – it’s really helping move things along. We still need more backers if we’re to get to the end. Don’t forget there’s a little book filled with the story of the Sunken Sapphire, prints and more inside the boxed sets available. Please check it out and jump on board. Thanks!

[CaptainEmericke]

So I cancelled the campaign a while back even though it was heading in the right direction! I had some ideas for tweaks. Anyway, a quick update to let you know the pre-launch page for the re-launch of Sunken Sapphire is up and running. I would be extremely grateful if you’d check it out and click the ‘notify me’ button. You’ll be sent an email when the campaign is launched. This way you won’t miss out on being the first to grab the rewards on offer. Once the new campaign is launched, I'll update with a fresh topic here for those who want to kick back and have a bit of fun. I mean, check out those quirky pirates, what's not to like?!

Remember - this campaign is not just about shiny packs of cards. You won't see any bling here. Just great art, books and stories. So, if you enjoy exploring and want some fun in an imaginary coastal town, where best to start your adventure in Still Water than down at 'Sunken Sapphire'!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/69 ... ying-cards

Many thanks!

[hsbc]

[CaptainEmericke]

Excited about my upcoming re-launched project on Kickstarter! Currently working on the accompanying art book that will go into more details about the overall lore. There will be a lengthy story, lots of art and concept sketches including floor plans of the actual tavern itself. So much more than the actual cards themselves!

Don’t forget to check out the pre-launch page and sign up to be notified here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/69 ... ying-cards

Many thanks!

[Jocu]

I like the art in this deck and it's good to see you giving it another try.

As a piece of simple advice - please consider making clear who is printing the decks and the tucks, as well as who is dealing with fulfilment.

A lot of backers are nervous about new creators who underestimate these crucial aspects of a project, as it usually results in inadequate funding and/or shipping which too often has led to a creator disappearing and backers losing their pledges.

I'm sure you've got this info covered so do share it. Good luck!

[CaptainEmericke]

I like the art in this deck and it's good to see you giving it another try.

As a piece of simple advice - please consider making clear who is printing the decks and the tucks, as well as who is dealing with fulfilment.

A lot of backers are nervous about new creators who underestimate these crucial aspects of a project, as it usually results in inadequate funding and/or shipping which too often has led to a creator disappearing and backers losing their pledges.

I'm sure you've got this info covered so do share it. Good luck!

Thanks for the positivity. The initial campaign was heading in the right direction but I decided to cancel and re-launch in a month or two as I wanted to add the comprehensive art book to really give weight to the lore and share the fantastic story to everyone. I have a few manufacturers lined up and I’m in the process of finalising the decision of my preferred partners.

I’m a ‘Backer Favourite’ on Kickstarter due to my consistent track record of fulfilling on time previous projects – this one will be my fifth project – so I have every confidence I’ll successfully deliver. No disappearing here!

[Adamthinks]

This project just got relaunched.

[Adamthinks]

$17 USD shipping for a single deck is pretty damned wacky. I don't recall it being that high on the previous campaign.

[CaptainEmericke]

WOW! I’m so thrilled to be able to share the success of my latest Kickstarter campaign! Within an hour it’s already funded. This means all backers will definitely receive their awesome deck of fully illustrated playing cards, art books, original illustrations and other goodies. This is wonderful news and I thank everyone here who has pledged to make Sunken Sapphire a success.

We’re now well on the way to unlock stretch goals and so if you haven’t already, now’s the time to jump on board. Don’t forget, as I’m a Kickstarter endorsed ‘backer favourite’, this means backers have confidence to pledge knowing their support will be rewarded - no disappearing here!

Use the widgets at the top of the page to click through to the campaign and join the fun. Don’t forget, if you choose the all in ‘Early Bird Bonus’ pledge within the first 36 hours, as a thank you your name will be printed inside the accompanying art book!

Thanks again!

[CaptainEmericke]

$17 USD shipping for a single deck is pretty damned wacky. I don't recall it being that high on the previous campaign.

Postage rates unfortunately have gone up a couple of dollars or more since two months ago. In order to keep the project viable the rates reflect this. However, additional add-on items are at a reduced rate and I take the hit. For me buying the post service to the USA from here in the UK, there’s a minimum rate regardless whether I’m posting a pack of cards or a pack of cards together with a book in the same package. For those who don’t mind the extra few dollars they have chosen the cards and book bundle, add a few more items as well, and get better value for the postage costs. Having accurate rates now means I won’t have any unexpected surprises when it comes to fulfilment and jeopardise the project, which for backers, wouldn’t be good. This is one reason why I’m a ‘Kickstarter Backer Favourite’ – I deliver.

On a much more positive note – thanks so much again to those good folk who love this quirky world I’m building and have pledged –you’re all great!

[CaptainEmericke]

Very pleased with the amazing progress so far of the re-launch of Sunken Sapphire. Currently it's over 250% funded which is fantastic. With one stretch goal unlocked, we’re now sailing towards the next stretch goal. This weekend’s Kickstarter post discussed the overall design of the cards and plans for what’s in store should the decks prove popular. Read about it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/69 ... ts/3773486

Lots of original art has been snapped up, including the original four section illustration of the pips, with lots more available. They’re going fast so if you’d like some original art to mark the release of the decks, now’s the best time to grab some.

It’s good to see lots of folk discovering the town of Still Water and enjoying what it offers – exciting stories, quirky characters, wonderful locations and great art. If you enjoy adventure, world building, having heaps of fun, then you’ll be more than welcome.

Again, thanks for those who believed in the project and contributed to make it happen – let’s see how far we can take it!

[CaptainEmericke]

Here's a look at the actual cards in a quick shuffle through the deck. For extra information, the samples seen here have been made by Ivory Graphics Ltd here in the UK. They’ve been great, providing a quality product with good advice, and a fast turnaround. The cards are printed on Sure Slip Air stock, two layers glued with black glue to eliminate show through and is coated which feels lovely and silky when dealing. I wanted a product that’s fully custom designed whilst still feeling familiar, accessible and functional as playing cards. The level of specification and quality meets my criteria for what I wanted to create - that is a fun deck for fans of my black and white ink work of Still Water.



Thanks again for joining the fun!

[Eric Lee]

Congrats on funding and hitting 250% with 3 weeks left to go! Glad to see your perseverance paid off.

[CaptainEmericke]

Over 250% funded and heading towards stretch goal number two! This is awesome. To celebrate this, I'm considering adding an additional 'wild card' to the pack in the form of the ship Sapphire's mascot 'Limpet', the monkey. Will this bonus joker join the others in the deck? Only if the funds allow. Check out the illustration that could be on a bonus card. The original is also up for grabs to celebrate being funded!

Thanks so much for the support!

[CaptainEmericke]

So we’re heading into the home stretch now after a successful campaign. If you’re thinking of jumping on board then now is definitely the time to get your pledge in. It would be fantastic to unlock a stretch goal for more love for the card deck. Any help now to boost the campaign will push us towards that next goal.

To sum up the campaign - a lot of the featured original illustrations have been claimed, the art book has received additional pages by unlocking a stretch goal and we’ve been looking at the lore and wider world of Still Water. It’s been great fun!

I’m thankful good folk have pledged on this campaign, I know not all campaigns make it, so I’m thrilled I’ll be able to make this hand inked deck a reality. It also means the world I’m creating can continue to grow from strength to strength.

Thanks so much and don’t forget to jump on board before the ship sails off into the distance!

Cheers!

[CaptainEmericke]

Just a quick update to say these cards are now at the printers! First print run will cover all my existing backers and fulfilment will begin at the end of October/start of November.

For anyone who missed out the first time, a few of these great packs will be made available again in my upcoming campaign launching after everyone's rewards have been posted out. If you're interested, you can follow the pre-launch page.

Thanks again for helping widen the audience of my quirky little town - Still Water.

[Honeybee]

Who ended up being the printer?
I like the backs but wonder whether they are more or less the color of pencil sketches as opposed to black ink
I am thinking they are one way backs due to the part of the map in the intersecting circles

[CaptainEmericke]

Who ended up being the printer?
I like the backs but wonder whether they are more or less the color of pencil sketches as opposed to black ink
I am thinking they are one way backs due to the part of the map in the intersecting circles

Ivory Graphics. The depth of black is just right so as to not become jet black murkiness. They're designed to match all my illustration work. The intersection was designed to be subtly different - it hides a secret! Well done for spotting it! Really pleased with how they come. They look great!

[hsbc]