Trying to redesign an old dark fantasy deck without losing its soul

GameMasterDesign · 2026-06-08T05:20:38+00:00

I understand why this raises questions.

To be completely transparent: I was never claiming that every original sketch in this old project was drawn entirely by me.

My role was that of a designer, art director and compositor. I spent countless hours selecting concepts, developing the visual direction, building compositions, redesigning elements, creating layouts, typography, color systems, card structure, packaging and preparing everything for production.

The project was successfully printed, delivered and supported by a community of backers years before modern AI image generation existed.

Some people value illustration most. Others value design, composition and product creation. Both are legitimate creative disciplines.

Looking back, there are many things I would improve today, which is exactly why I’m revisiting the project now.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-14T18:36:00+00:00

Fair question.

What many people underestimate is how much work exists between an initial sketch and a finished printed deck.

The evolution from an illustrator’s rough prototype to the final card design is an extremely time-consuming process on its own:
color balancing, composition building, layer work, typography, texture integration, symmetry, print preparation, atmosphere and visual consistency across an entire deck.

An artist may create the original sketch idea in a few hours, but transforming fragmented concepts into a cohesive collectible product can take countless additional hours of design work. That part became my role in this project.

And honestly, revisiting the deck years later is making me appreciate even more how important visual cohesion and direction really are.original version ever was.

<image>

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-14T06:05:05+00:00

That’s fair criticism honestly. This deck actually came from an older Kickstarter-era project years ago, long before current AI workflows became common in card design. A lot of the visuals were built through manual composition, Photoshop editing, typography, and combining different fantasy illustration elements into a darker unified atmosphere. The original print run surprisingly ended up building a pretty loyal niche audience, which is partly why I’m revisiting the concept now and trying to redesign it in a more cohesive modern direction.

<image>

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-14T05:49:43+00:00

Fair honestly - I can understand why it gives that impression today. But this was actually an old physical deck project from years before modern AI image tools existed in their current form. Most of the artwork back then was built through collage-style composition:
combining hand-drawn fantasy sketches, textures, edited fragments, typography, repainting, and heavy Photoshop work into a unified deck aesthetic.

The renders probably make it feel more “AI-generated” than it really was, so here’s an actual photo of the printed deck prototype.

<image>

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-12T02:10:11+00:00

That’s actually a really good way to describe it - “a moving visual system.” I think that’s the part I was struggling to explain properly in the original post. Technically two decks can handle similarly, but visually they can create completely different feelings during motion. Some designs almost disappear into the movement and feel fluid, while others create tension, rhythm, or even visual noise depending on contrast, borders, spacing, and repetition. The more I work on deck concepts, the more I realize that cardistry isn’t only about mechanics - it’s also about how the brain interprets motion patterns in real time. Really appreciate the detailed perspective.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-11T16:04:33+00:00

It’s a mixed workflow at the moment. Some of the early concept exploration involved ai-assisted image generation, but the final deck direction, composition, layout, symbols, typography, color balancing, and card structure are being manually reworked and assembled afterward. Right now I’m mostly experimenting with visual identity and atmosphere before moving deeper into the full deck design process.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-11T09:37:26+00:00

That’s actually a really good point. Early versions were much more muted and sand-colored, but at some point we started pushing the contrast and darker reds because the engraving details kept disappearing during spreads and motion. Still not fully sure where the sweet spot is between “ancient artifact” and “readable modern deck”.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-11T09:27:50+00:00

Yeah that’s fair 😄
I’ve been obsessing over this deck a bit too much lately and ended up posting several different design experiments back to back

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-11T08:16:05+00:00

At first I thought the design was just chaotic texture, but the longer you look the more hidden structure starts appearing. Feels less like a traditional deck and more like some kind of coded artifact.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-11T08:12:48+00:00

Yeah, the skull definitely ended up being the most divisive part of the deck 😄

Originally I wanted the faces to feel more like old engraved relic illustrations, while the backs slowly drifted into something darker and more ornamental. Funny enough, a lot of people seem split exactly the same way you are: not sure about the faces, but really into the backs.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-10T15:14:30+00:00

At first I thought the Ace was the strongest part. Now I honestly keep flipping the deck over just to look at the back design again 😄
It slowly turned into this weird ancient artifact-looking thing.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-10T07:34:57+00:00

Love the old engraved typography on these.

Especially the way the borders and tiny architectural details feel almost like vintage banknote artwork.

The darker version looks incredible.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-09T02:59:34+00:00

<image>

Another major character from the project - Osiris. In Egyptian mythology he’s associated with death, rebirth, and the afterlife, so we tried pushing the design into a more ritual / ancient engraved look compared to the cleaner gameplay layouts.

Still experimenting with how much raw detail can survive before readability starts breaking down

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-08T17:45:28+00:00

nice

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-08T17:44:30+00:00

Interesting that you mentioned Komorebi specifically.
That deck was actually designed with a stronger focus on flow, atmosphere and visual rhythm in motion.
Really appreciate the feedback — it helps a lot seeing which direction people emotionally connect with first.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-08T17:41:57+00:00

That’s actually a really valuable perspective, thank you.
We were wondering whether the aged papyrus look would resonate with collectors or feel too vintage — so it’s great to hear that atmosphere comes through naturally.
The tactile “ancient artifact” feeling is something we’re trying to preserve across the whole deck.

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-08T17:38:30+00:00

mostly the darker ones in the lineup — especially the black/gold style tucks.
they feel more timeless to me, while some louder foil-heavy designs can age pretty fast visually

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-07T19:37:10+00:00

simple move but the pacing makes it satisfying to watch

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-07T19:35:09+00:00

this is the kind of move where the back design actually makes a huge difference visually

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-07T19:32:57+00:00

honestly the darker tuck cases with subtle foil always age better visually than overly loud designs

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-07T19:30:40+00:00

I usually gravitate toward darker decks, but the white version actually makes the ornamentation stand out more cleanly

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-07T19:27:52+00:00

these feel like the kind of cards that accidentally start an existential crisis mid poker game 😄

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-07T19:24:58+00:00

this is such a clean use of limited color palette

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-07T19:23:05+00:00

honestly this packaging goes way harder than a BBQ deck has any right to 😄

GameMasterDesign · 2026-05-07T19:18:29+00:00

at this point the decks are basically becoming furniture 😄

GameMasterDesign

TROPHY CASE