Here we have a deck of Hanafuda created by Kelsey Cretcher. I really like the look of these cards. The only thing I'd question from a design perspective is that both part of the 'Rain-man's' umbrella and the Crane's right wing appear on another card, which I don't think looks 'right'. I do realise this is a by-product of the fact that each suit was developed in a panoramic fashion. Otherwise an excellent looking deck!
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Hi! I'm the illustrator who made these, and thank you so much for this feature. Also I want to thank you for the critique as that was a design aspect I battled with and played with the most and no one has mentioned anything regarding it. When designing these, I tried a few techniques so that the wing and umbrella wouldn't be separated, having them enter from the other side, changing the pose ( I have a standing crane fully illustrated somewhere) etc. I ultimately chose to do this because I didn't like how perfectly, strategically placed things were, the composition of the whole illustration was ok, but it seemed a little less than the final one. Also when seperated into the cards, the illustration seemed forced, I felt I was forcing the pieces to stay within the bounds of the cards and I really didn't like that. I ended up opting for this, because though its a little awkward the panorama flowed much better, also it was a reminder when playing that the card is part of a full picture. I know that doesn't make much sense, but for me it made a difference. However it is something I'm still playing with. I hope this insight to my thought process helps a little, if it was coherent enough. Thanks for the critique and the post, I much appreciate both.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking time to post on here. My blog is quite new but I'm trying find as many different designs of Hanafuda as possible and put them on here (I hope there aren't any objections from the artists concerned).
DeleteOver the last few years we have seen so the called 'English'/'Anglo-American'/'Western' (known as 'Trump' in Japan) decks become more sophisticated and many of these decks have become works of art in their own right. I wish the same could be said of Hanafuda. There doesn't seem to be much of push to bring different Hanafuda designs to market(whether inside or outside of Japan)which is a shame as I'd like to see more designs of Hanafuda commercially available out there.
I love the idea of panoramic decks of Hanafuda as to me it underlines and embellishes the beauty of Hanafuda and it just seems a very Japanese thing to do. I'm not sure if you play koi-koi or not but if you do, you will know that when capturing cards there is no scope to build panoramas of each suit. To me, aesthetics and composition are all important and I think you have done a fantastic job here as it is a very attractive deck. I totally understand your rationale in that panoramic by definition also means natural and that these cards were developed as twelve fluid pieces rather than as forty-eight individual card designs.
PS I love your Pin-Up deck designs too, especially the 9 of Hearts!
DeleteKelsey, I'd like to purchase one of your decks. Do you ship to England?
DeleteI can ship to England yes, I can put up a price as soon as I figure out shipping for it! I'm sad I haven't gotten to work on more of my pin-ups my thesis eats my time, but hopefully this time next year, I will have a completed deck!
ReplyDeleteKelsey, Yours is one of my favorite decks... I was bummed I didn't think of the panorama idea first, so very clever.
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