[c squared]

I got inspired from your posts last summer and had the design end of custom cards down pat, but, for me, actually creating the physical card was a disaster... so much harder than it looks!

[jplarson]

I think those are awesome! When I look at the group shot I like em even more ... the titanic patches is an awesome design with on minor piece of criticism, I'm not a fan of the font, this is just my opinion and only meant to be constructive, and not being negative in the least

Thanks and you are right about the font. I'm not wild about it either. I find myself getting into a rut of similar fonts/designs so I figured to try something outside the norm. I've always appreciated constructive criticism in general and your thoughts specifically as it makes me a better designer! I still keep in mind your suggestion on making the window smaller than the actual jersey piece of keep edges clean and not see ragged bits of jersey (mostly).

I got inspired from your posts last summer and had the design end of custom cards down pat, but, for me, actually creating the physical card was a disaster... so much harder than it looks!

Thanks! It really is difficult and I'm still searching for better ways to actually print/create the finished project. I'd love to start incorporating some foil elements next. I still struggle a bit with a recommendation you gave me for getting text further into the design so it doesn't potentially get cut off. There's only so much room on 2.5" x 3.5"!

If you ever frequent the baseball forums check out some of Mouschi3's posts and blog entries. Completely blows my mind how professional the end results are and I'd love to know his process and what equipment he has on hand. I don't think Alanch has been here recently but some of the last customs he made are also excellently done and I think he's got a hookup with a local small run printer.

If you have a design you'd like me to try and print off and put together for you hit me up via PM and we can discuss further.

[jplarson]

More custom madness! I got a hold of a cheap Decker Jets jersey that I'll slowly be chopping into a myriad of Jets cards. I also snagged an Eddie Lacy jersey from the Packers Pro Shop but I'm a bit hesitant to cut it up right now, it's pretty cool and he's my 2nd favorite player in the league... after Alshon Jeffery of course. I'm hoping to expand into more teams, right now I have materials for Bears, Packers, Jets, and Titans



I'm particularly proud of the Gigantic Patches "box topper hit". Printed on standard 4x6 photo paper with a border-less feature. Ideally the window would be equa-distant between the signature area on the left and edge of the right but I need to leave myself 1/2" on the right to ensure the integrity/stability of the edge.

I'm hoping I can get this one signed as it would be a super cool piece to have on display.

[jplarson]

I've made a bunch more in recent months. They are all up in a photo gallery now.

blog.jplarson.com

I'm a fan of how this one turned out:

[gyoung]

For a lot of excellent tips and ideas - BING Search or google: ATC Artist Trading Cards

[jonathani]

I, too, have found some interesting jerseys around Wisconsin. Antique malls, surprisingly, have been a pretty good source. The jerseys are not antiques, but they are solid and priced in my range. I've given some as gifts, and people have said, "You didn't have to spend so much!" and I can say, "Don't worry. I didn't." Nice looking cards, Sir.

[jplarson]

For a lot of excellent tips and ideas - BING Search or google: ATC Artist Trading Cards

Excellent, thank you for the tip on this! Interesting origin story on how these came to be.

I, too, have found some interesting jerseys around Wisconsin. Antique malls, surprisingly, have been a pretty good source. The jerseys are not antiques, but they are solid and priced in my range. I've given some as gifts, and people have said, "You didn't have to spend so much!" and I can say, "Don't worry. I didn't." Nice looking cards, Sir.

Good idea, I haven't considered antique malls and as you well know, there's plenty of them around here. Thanks for the compliment!

Now for some updates. I picked up a DeMarco Murray Eagles jersey on the cheap which opens the doors for Eagles projects. I also sent one of my Gigantic-series cards out hoping for a return. It was auto-penned but it was received and sent back TTM so it's a success in my book. Plus the jersey is highly unlikely to be authentic anyways .

[jplarson]

Trying out something new.



Not 100% sure I'm sold on some of the font sizing and the autograph section but I'm getting closer.