This is a project still on the drawing board but I thought I would post it as a compliment to J.R.'s holy card. In an effort to reach kids where they live I designed a holy card around the collectible trading card games that are so popular these days. It has the advantage of being a familiar format and sized to work with the archival accessories (mylar sleeves, binders and such) that support the card industry.
6 comments:
Interesting. I am unfamiliar with the trading card games you mentioned. This is a very nice image. Your style has a nice design sense to it. It would be nice, and I don't know how, to give a little history of St. Michael and the Church. Such as the his role in the Old Testament and some facts from church History. You may already know this, but there is a Shrine to St. Michael in Southern Italy called Monte Sant' Angelo where he appeared in a cave in 490 AD to a noble man. It is a fantastic place and one of the great pilgrimage destinations through the centuries. Or maybe just say what an Archangel is compared to an Angel. Just some thoughts. Thanks for showing this. Maybe a Catholic game could be designed which would be fun to play and teach all ages a deeper meaning of Our holy faith.
Nice colors and layout...seems St Michael's face is a bit scowling though. I realize he has to look strong but perhaps change that a little.
Sophie
Being from that generation that participated in collectible card games, and collectible super-hero cards that I traded and stored in albums as well...I have to say the artwork (with the serious expressions) would be necessary for today's youth to even give it any thought. Toughness is a selling point. I wouldn't have a problem with that, since I view the Church's role in our world as a bastion of strength. If you could pull the whole package of a game into it, with a point system, and ways of winning and achieving some goal (good vs. evil maybe? like in a chess game perhaps, but you would have to develop the bad characters as well as the good) then try it. Otherwise, just collecting pretty pictures of saints would be a hard thing to market to today's youth. Then again, what demographic do you seek? Catholic kids who have grown up around teaching about the saints? Or anyone who may have interest? These are just some thoughts. I'm trying to market religiously-inspired stories to a more general audience, but that may not be your goal. Maybe there is a more "Catholic" market for things like this via Catholic schools and homeschool teaching material suppliers.
Thanks for you comments Sonia. This is really still a work in progress. There is a full blown Christian card game, Redemption, published by Cactus Games, http://www.cactusgamedesign.com/redemption.php
I don't know how well it sells but the fact that it is still available is a good sign.
My thinking was to update holy cards, make them into a collectible that kids would collect and trade, more like baseball trading cards than trading card games. So the goal was to make them look cool and appeal especially to boys. No slight intended, I just hear over and over from retailers both religious and secular that there are not enough products that appeal to young boys.
So I'm thinking the target would be young Catholics that already appreciate holy cards, and give them something new and fresh and contemporary.
Other than the art I'm open to ideas on the content. Prayers, or as J.R. suggested facts, histories, etc. are all possibilities.
That looks great, though maybe at this point a bit too similar to Magic the Gathering cards; when I first saw it that's what I thought it was.
This is a wonderful idea, but I think we also need traditional holy cards with new, good art as well.
Really like it. IMHO staring evil in the face with such terrible disgust is not scowling but shows he knows what he is seeing and is not afraid to protect and defend.
Something kids need to learn is to not be sfraid to stand up against wrong and evil. Go for it!
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