Hi guys, looking for suggestions and ideas for improving the general look of this card. I eventually want to do ships I actually use, but the E Wing was convenient, so I thought I'd start here for some refining of the concept. This is where I'm at at the moment:

Looking for thoughts, ideas, ways to improve the image generally, be it the render, or the framework of the actual card.

Thanks.

Really like the idea and the look. Execution is sound, just needs a little polish.

I like the card design and layout. Good job on that, as ObiWonka said, the only thing is a bit of polish on the image. Although i like the image itself. Nice drawing, and it definitely looks better than the early FFG promos, and that Y-Wing.

Slots above Actions seems odd to me.

I like the card design and layout. Good job on that, as ObiWonka said, the only thing is a bit of polish on the image. Although i like the image itself. Nice drawing, and it definitely looks better than the early FFG promos, and that Y-Wing.

Just to clarify, this is definitely not drawing. My artistic skills don't extend too far beyond stick figures in that department.

The card is generated as a 3d render - the picture is rendered in advance, then the render is applied to card geometry, which is then rendered as part of the greater scene with the "interface" bits placed over the top. The numbers, actions and upgrade slots are added later with image editing software.

Lots of advantages over drawing, most notably that the lighting is more or less always right, and it's vastly quicker to iterate. It's also much quicker to do multiple ships. Setting up a good, interesting render without too many effects takes about an hour, maybe a couple for a more complex one (I did these three the other night before setting on the asteroid shot). The difficulty is getting good quality models for the ships - if I'd been able to find a K Wing I would have started with an alt-art Warden Squadron Pilot, but there're no good 3d models available online, so I'm b uilding one now..right now

As for the other points I will rearrange the upgrades and actions and take another crack.

I like the card design and layout. Good job on that, as ObiWonka said, the only thing is a bit of polish on the image. Although i like the image itself. Nice drawing, and it definitely looks better than the early FFG promos, and that Y-Wing.

Just to clarify, this is definitely not drawing. My artistic skills don't extend too far beyond stick figures in that department.

The card is generated as a 3d render - the picture is rendered in advance, then the render is applied to card geometry, which is then rendered as part of the greater scene with the "interface" bits placed over the top. The numbers, actions and upgrade slots are added later with image editing software.

Lots of advantages over drawing, most notably that the lighting is more or less always right, and it's vastly quicker to iterate. It's also much quicker to do multiple ships. Setting up a good, interesting render without too many effects takes about an hour, maybe a couple for a more complex one (I did these three the other night before setting on the asteroid shot). The difficulty is getting good quality models for the ships - if I'd been able to find a K Wing I would have started with an alt-art Warden Squadron Pilot, but there're no good 3d models available online, so I'm b uilding one now..right now

As for the other points I will rearrange the upgrades and actions and take another crack.

If you can move the ships around so easy then try the TIE coming down from above instead of below.

And consider putting the four stats together in the middle,

with the slots in a square to the right, and actions in square to the left.

You have room for improvement on your lighting and saturation.

Next iteration:

Putting the TIE above the E Wing made a big difference. Played around with the locations of things. Still considering how best to handle the stats - not sure about the letter codes that are there presently, might dump them in iteration 3.

I would dump the stat letters. Move the upgrade bar to the right of that area that it's in, and bring the action bar down to the upgrade's left. I'm not sure if I would leave the stats at the top, or bring them down to the side, but I do like the minimalist color coded variant.

As for the text, perhaps write it in Aurebesh? Some of the original LCG cards were written like that and they were pretty cool imo.

Consider just using colored numbers for stats, similar to how you have the pilot skill.

Also, maybe use the slant of the Pilot ability/text box as a place to put the actions, say two on each side (I don't think anyone has more than four actions).

Alternatively, make the text box rectangular, than use the space beside it (since you're never going to use the angled out portion, anyway) for upgrades and actions.

I like the idea of X-Wing video game style art. Not my preference, mind, but conceptually appealing none-the-less.

Alt art cards, my favourite!
I like the concept you are going with, I thought I would try and give you some pointers while trying to influence the design as little as possible, it's your design and you should use elements as you see fit!

I wanted to highlight the difficulties you will have printing this, and the things you may wish to keep in mind while finalizing your design. The first is that I notice you are printing to the edge. For a printer to do this, they typically require a 3% 'bleed', which means the image continues outward, and from this larger image from which the card is die-cut to its intended size. I have overlaid the bleed requirements for FFG cards on your art, and then resized it to accommodate the bleed and what's called the 'safe area' which is the area where you can be confident that even in case of a misprint or slight misalignment your important card elements won't have a small edge shaved off.

This causes some issues, namely readability. It's just not possible to see your elements, so I've very quickly resized them to their minimum readable size. you may wish to keep this in mind, but basically bigger is always better. It's a tough balance. so if you took the third to the printer, the on on the far right is what you'd get.

I like the setup you're using for the renders, what software are you using if you don't mind my asking?

hope this helps a bit!

I like the concept that you started with. It almost looks like you're trying to arrange the card elements to resemble a cockpit HUD. That's a pretty slick concept there, if you ask me.

Agreed. I like the original, but with some of the tips provided it should make it pop.

My curiousity is printing... What paper type? 100lb paper? I imagine glossy print job.