説明
Description by Chris Chelko on KickStarter
The Story: My fascination with playing cards began over 15 years ago as a young magician. I discovered there was more than just Bicycle Rider Back playing cards, and since then I’ve collected and studied hundreds of designs, styles and brands. In early 2012, I decided to design and develop a deck of my own.With your help and the Kickstarter community, this can be achieved.
My goal is to create something that preserves the art and history of magic into a deck of beautifully hand-crafted playing cards. I designed this deck to be something magicians, playing card enthusiasts, collectors and the art community can appreciate.
What would this deck be? One word immediately came to mind–Imps.
Imps are tiny mythological beings that were often seen as mischievous and playful rather than evil or harmful and are commonly associated with magicians.
The Cards: The idea behind the Whispering Imps™ Playing Cards is to combine two very iconic brands, Harry Kellar’s Whispering Imps and the Bicycle Rider Backs, into one classic and elegant deck (see “History” below).
I spent months working with illustrator Mark Stutzman on many concepts, designs and sketches. Late last year I flew from Los Angeles to his studio in Maryland to meet with him, see his process and finalize the concept and overall design.
BACK: The back design is intricate and detailed and will be a printed on Bicycle stock with an Embossed Magic finish using Pantone color inks.
You’ll notice the design (in red) below is near complete. Once the artwork is completely finished, it will become vectorized on a computer. This process is very labor-intensive, and I wanted it to be the very last thing we do before sending it to print. I welcome any thoughts or ideas that you, as a backer of this project, can contribute to the development of the back design.
FACES: I’ve been fortunate enough to obtain original artwork from face cards found in the early 1900’s. This older artwork fits well with the history and design of the Whispering Imps™ playing cards.
ACE OF SPADES: This deck will feature a custom “Imp”-themed Ace of Spades. I’ve included the concept below.
JOKERS: “Imps” will be used to replace the jokers, and are completely custom. I’ve included the concept below.
GAFFED CARD: Additionally, a gaff card will be included and is designed for many secret card reveals. (image of gaffed back and face to be revealed soon)
AD CARD: One card will feature the Kellar “Whispering Imps” poster, complete with the story behind the Whispering Imps™ playing cards.
TUCK BOX: Much thought has gone into the design of the tuck box. It’s intended to look clean, simple and mysterious while keeping the “secrets” of the Whispering Imps locked inside. The tuck box will be fashioned from Intense Black Premium Vellum paper and does not contain any printed inks; the text, design & logo is created entirely from Red Hot Stamped Foil.
The Artist: I called up my friend and illustrator Mark Stutzman to discuss the project. He agreed the Imp theme would make for a beautiful deck of playing cards, and so we began exploring different concepts. Mark’s talent is rare; he’s a true artist, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be working with him on this project. Everything from his initial sketches, to the final design, is all drawn by hand. Every detail, scratch, tick, and line is meticulously created with pen and ink on paper.
Mark’s artwork has appeared on the covers of Stephen King novels, Mad Magazine, Billboard Magazine, Broadway posters, The New Yorker and most famously the “Elvis Presley” Postage Stamp for the U.S. Postal Service. Also, Mark is no stranger to designing playing cards. His work includes: the David Blaine “Split Spades” & “White Lions” Series and recently Lawrence Sullivan’s “Legend” Playing Cards.
THE GAFFED BONUS CARD
I’ve designed one gaff card that would have 3 different card reveals (See Image 4 – Shows Full Front & Back).
The first reveal would be the King of Diamonds “Whispered” between the two imps on the back of the card (See Image 1 – Close Up). Of course, you can flip the card around to reveal that it is indeed the King of Diamonds…AND the only card in the deck with a reveal whispered between the two Imps.
The second and third reveals are the Imps whispering the selected card(s) to the King (See Images 2 & 3 – Close Up).
The benefit of using the court cards is that it allows for two completely separate reveals. You will be able to tell the two ends apart from the extra Imp peeking out of the Diamond pip in the top left (See Image 2).
Example: A spectator selects the 7 of Clubs, remembers the card and places it back into the deck. The Magician appears to have found the card. Magicians tells spectator “Was your card the King of Diamonds?” Spectator says “No.” The Magician then says “Ah, but if you notice there is an Imp on the shoulder of the King and it’s whispering a secret. Take a look.” You may then show the Imp whispering the 7 of Clubs to the King. “You have chosen the 7 of Clubs.”
There are many different presentations you can create with this card and I’m excited for you to all have the opportunity to invent new tricks using the gaffed Whispering Imps™ card.
レビュー
レビューはまだありません。