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Showing posts sorted by relevance for query harold apples. Sort by date Show all posts

News: Theory11's New National Playing Cards: Here’s What We Know So Far

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Earlier this week, Theory11 released a few teasers of their upcoming deck, the National Playing Cards. At first glance, it doesn't appear to be a departure from the style we've come to know and love; they teased the deck with visuals that look like their previous few offerings.

The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Though Theory11 tends to project mystery, we already know a decent amount about National Playing Cards ahead of its release. Here's what we know so far about the deck:

1. Release Date

When it comes to the release date, the official word straight from Theory11 is Friday, 7th April at 11am ET.


2. Designer

Although not mention in any of the teasers thus far, the designer of the deck is Adam Moore. You can see some of Adam’s beautiful flat-style line work on his social media (@haroldapples) and dribbble account.

3. Face Cards

The deck will be fully custom. From the Aces, backs and the gorgeous courts. Here are some a few court cards Adam teased on his account last year. Note that this are early versions and final artwork may differ.





A post shared by Harold Apples (@haroldapples) on

4. Suits

Suits are fully custom. It would appear that each suit has a theme and colored accordingly. The all-seeing spades are black, the sacred hearts are red, lucky clubs are green and blue for the diamonds. From the teasers, the final version looks like it will be in the traditional red and black.




5. Tuck Box

Theory11 teased the side of the tuck and with no surprise, it features stunning gold foil on black paper with embossing. Here’s a full image of the tuck image from Adam’s instagram.


7 Questions with Harold Apples, Designer of National Playing Cards

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Theory11's National Playing Cards were inspired by the mystery and the pursuit of power. Designed by Harold Apples, every aspect of the deck was designed from scratch. From the gorgeous Aces, Jokers, to the court cards that are filled with vibrant, colorful illustrations in a flat, retro and textured style artwork. The tuck box is beautifully embossed and detailed with striking gold and black foil, inside and out.

Just prior to the release of the deck last week, we were able to catch-up with Harold Apples for a quick chat about his design background, the collaboration with Theory11, designing the National deck and his advice to aspiring designers and artists.


Could you introduce yourself to our readers? What is your design background?
Hey there, I’m Adam M. from Kentucky and I currently make art under the name Harold Apples (@haroldapples). I’ve been involved in the arts all of my life, I even went to an art magnet high school that got me thinking of a career in the arts at an early age. College found me taking the traditional design/art student route, while at the same time pursuing music with friends. If you’ve ever been in a band you know how much traveling and performing can teach you. I think everything about being in a band directly affected and immensely helped my design career— You have to learn to work well with others and compromise on an outcome that you want to remain proud of; you learn that if you’re not pouring yourself into everything you do and letting that shine through then no one will give a crap about your work, and you learn above all how stinking hard you have to work to make good things happen and to get noticed. Almost all of my favorite designers have been in bands and I don’t think it’s a coincidence.


Fast forward and after 10 years of doing the band thing semi-full time I settled down, got married, and took my first proper job at an agency out west in Denver. Most designers out there know that small (but serious) design agencies can be immensely taxing, all consuming and just plain tough. The agency world helped me to become a faster and more focused designer because you’re always working to get home at a decent hour and being slow doesn’t do you any favors. This type of agency also forces you to figure out what you really want for your career, because:

> you start to think after your first month of not having a day off that there must be more to life
> you start considering leaving design altogether
> working at a coffee shop again starts to sound more appealing
> and you find yourself coming up with elaborate schemes to live life to its fullest without the need for money
> becoming a freegan and hitchhiking across Europe… that sort of thing.

Sadly I didn’t do this… man… really should’ve done this— instead, my wife and I moved back to the south to take a job on the client side with the parent company of Lonely Planet, the world's largest guidebook and travel information provider. This proved to be the absolute best career decision for me as I was allowed a lot of creative freedom without pressures from external clients. My nights became less consumed with my day job, which allowed me to pursue my passion for illustration… that pretty much gets me up to today.


We love your art style and have been following your work for quite awhile on social media. What are some of the most memorable work you have done?
A lot of my favorite work hasn’t really found its way to Instagram. I started working under Harold Apples a little under a year ago as a way to separate my illustration work from my work as a creative and art director. Honestly, the National Deck represents the first larger project that ‘Harold Apples’ has really completed. Most of the year for me has been about experimenting and just ‘doing’. I started lots of projects and have a pretty bad track record at finishing… definitely trying to work on that in 2017.

Projects that I hope to complete this year include: A children’s book my wife and I are working on about a certain writer from the 1800’s, a book of photos I’ve taken of my favorite dead blues musicians headstones (I have lots more miles to put on the odometer before this one is finished up) and a line of merchandise that I’m going to sell on my soon to launch storefront: applesaucesupplyco.com


The National Playing Cards will be your first playing card deck. How did you and Theory11 end up collaborating together?
Originally I was planning on producing a deck all on my own. I started approaching letterpress studios who were making decks that I loved, even talked to Dan and Dave about doing something with the deck (super lovely guys btw, stinking love the work they do) and I stumbled upon Studio on Fire in Chicago who produces all of the tuck cases for Theory11.


Their work is just phenomenal. I connected with SoF and they pointed me to Theory11 and Jonathan Bayme the CEO of Theory 11 helped me cost everything out and got me on my way to producing a deck. A couple months went by and he approached me about collaborating on the deck; he was following the development on Instagram and thought it might be a good addition to the Theory11 deck lineup. To me it was a no-brainer — Theory11 has such an extensive reach and their work is so respected and utterly gorgeous that making the deck with them seemed like the best way to take the deck to the next level.

Can you describe the National Playing Cards and why you’re passionate about it?
The deck for me has almost been more about an illustration process than one original concept. I had been playing around with this flat, sort of retro, very textured illustration style that was feeling very natural to me.

On a whim one night I illustrated a King of Hearts, posted it to Instagram and got a lot of positive reaction and encouragement to keep going. So I did. Over time the deck sort of morphed into this sort of secret society tribute thing. I got obsessed with working in a ridiculous amount of symbology to basically make the Illuminati's official deck of cards… kinda silly, but lots of fun.

About halfway through the process, we decided to name the deck National as a tribute to the long gone National Playing Card Company that produced beautiful decks until the late 1800’s. I’d like to think we’re bringing the brand back to life.


What was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
Honestly, the defining moment was the decision to team up with Jonathan Bayme at Theory 11. Jonathan is crazy motivated, high energy has excellent standards and he’s willing to go through round after round of revisions until things are perfect. He really played a big hand in pushing the box design to a great place that I think we are all happy with. Without Theory11, the deck would have wound up in a wildly different place, or possibly not even produced at all. For the quality that I wanted, the cost was going to be pretty large, and I was nervous about printing with no distribution in place and basically going it on my own. Jonathan definitely made it happen.

What are your favorite playing card decks?
All growing up I had the same trashed and worn blue Bicycle deck, which I think will always have a special place in my heart. As far as modern decks go, I love Citizens by Theory 11 (shameless plug). It is a feat of design and printing (I have no idea how printing that ultra fine line work is even physically possible on a letterpress… Studio on Fire has registration skills to pay the bills!), Dan and Dave’s Maker’s deck from last year is also gorgeous and mono-width line work is just right up my alley.

Also hailing from my hometown of Louisville Ky, Tyler Deeb’s Misc Goods deck is a modern classic, everything about it is just absolutely unique and original and it has a timeless quality that I’m totally in love with. I’ll be hanging on to that one for years.

Thank you so much for indulging my questions. Do you have any other words of wisdom for other aspiring artists and designers?
If you’re getting started in design, I would encourage you to just ‘make’ and experiment. As a young designer, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy while striving to make your work live up to your favorite designers and artists. What you don’t see from your idols’ work online is the years and decades of refining and learning that went into a particular style or a finished piece.

Every great designer and artist have to put their time in to find the style, tone and subject matter that’s right for them, it doesn’t come over night. It did for Prince…. But we all can’t be Prince. I had a ceramics professor in college that would always tell freshmen that "it’s not about quality, it's about quantity”. Because real learning, breakthroughs, and discoveries come from the doing of things. And the more you do, the more refined your work becomes and the more purposeful and thoughtful it becomes.

Awesome! Thank you for your time, Adam!


National Playing Cards are Made in the USA using FSC-certified paper derived from sustainable forests, vegetable-based inks, and starch-based laminates. Available NOW from Theory11.

 Images courtesy of Adam Moore (@haroldapples) and taken from theory11.com

Deck View: SNL Playing Cards

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Iconic. Entertainment. Tribute.

Saturday Night Live Playing Cards are a fitting tribute to the popular show that has entertained audiences of all ages since 1975. Fully custom, the deck is a collaborative effort between Theory11, Jpegfletcher (tuck box and card backs), Harold Apples (face cards), and Jacob Rhoades. The result, an eye-catching, whimsical, sophisticated, and stunning deck of playing cards. Theory11 did an incredible job putting the artwork of the 3 designers seamlessly into a neat and attractive deck.

Every aspect of the design was inspired by Saturday Night Live, with iconic illustration elements featuring the SNL stage backdrop, Studio 8H, and tributes to fan-favorite sketches and segments. Saturday Night Live Playing Cards feature a custom Ace of Spades, Joker, box design, and court cards inspired by iconic SNL sketches and segments dating back four decades. From Weekend Update to Stefon and The Ladies Man, these cards are a fitting tribute to countless hilarious segments.

Available now from Theory11.com for $9.95.

News: Saturday Night Live Playing Cards by Theory11

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One of 3 releases by Theory11 on Black Friday, the Saturday Night Live Playing Cards are a fitting tribute to the popular show that has entertained audiences of all ages since 1975.


Fully custom, the deck is a collaborative effort between Theory11, Jpegfletcher (tuck box and card backs), Harold Apples (face cards) and Jacob Rhoades. The result, an eye-catching, whimsical, sophisticated, and stunning deck of playing cards.


Every aspect of the design was inspired by Saturday Night Live, with iconic illustration elements featuring the SNL stage backdrop, Studio 8H, and tributes to fan-favorite sketches and segments.


Saturday Night Live Playing Cards feature a custom Ace of Spades, Joker, box design, and court cards inspired by iconic SNL sketches and segments dating back four decades. From Weekend Update to Stefon and The Ladies Man, these cards are a fitting tribute to countless hilarious segments.

Available now from Theory11.com for $9.95.

Deck View: National Playing Cards

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Power. Mystery. Vibrant.

From Theory11 and beautifully designed by Harold Apples (Instagram: @haroldapples), National Playing Cards are inspired by the mystery and the pursuit of power.  Every aspect of the deck was designed from scratch and features a flat and retro style artwork.

The gorgeous Aces, Jokers, and courts are filled with vibrant, colorful textured illustrations. We especially love how the colorful face cards are balanced with a subdued colored intricate card back and tuck box. The tuck box is beautifully embossed and detailed with striking gold and black foil, inside and out.

Available now from JP Games.

News: National Playing Cards Green Edition by Theory11

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On St. Patrick's Day weekend, Theory11 has released the Green Edition of National Playing Cards on their online store. Previously, the green edition was only available from Barnes & Noble.


National Playing Cards showcases the vibrant, retro-styled art of Harold Apples inspired by the mystery and the pursuit of power. Fully custom, the face cards features mysterious symbolism and elegant, playful imagery. The elegant tuck case is embossed and detailed with striking gold and green foil, inside and out.


With the exception of the new green-colorway on the tuck box and card backs, the artwork and colors of the face cards are similar to that of the original black version. This can be seen in the promotional images of Green Edition Nationals on Theory11.

The Green National Playing Cards are now available from Theory11 for $9.95.

Top 12: Playing Cards of 2017

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What an amazing year for playing cards! To celebrate we've compiled 12 of our favorite decks right here. This IS the most challenging list we've ever had to put together to-date. So, if you think we've missed your favorite deck, let us know in the comment section below. :)

Note that the selection expressed in this top 12 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

Tally Ho Pearl Gilded



The Pearl Tally Ho is the final deck in a four deck series by Kings Wild Project. This beautiful deck includes an embossed, pearlescent paper stock, hot foil stamped tuck case and numbered seals. The cards themselves have completely custom courts with metallic ink accents on the face cards presented in a gorgeous pearl-pale off-white colorway and subtle metallic ink on the bold back design. The deck is gilded with a stunning Pearlescent foil.


Pantheon



Pantheon Playing Cards feature greek mythology focused on the Olympian Gods. Fully custom, from the Aces, Pips, Tuck Box and the card backs, which features the 6-pointed impossible star that is the main symbol of Pantheon. Also, the gold foil card backs are STUNNING! The Pantheon tuck is embossed, double foil on the exterior and red foil interior on premium soft-touch dark blue paper. Meticulously designed by Thirdway Industries and printed by Expert Playing Card Co with Classic Finish.


Exquisite Bolder



Three years in the making, Expert Playing Card Co's Exquisite Bolder Playing Cards is an eye-catching deck using Expert's brand new Perfecta Foil on the card backs and the tuck and 3d embossing on the side-way tuck. This amazing process creates foil with the illusion of depth built in. Also, the deck features standard courts, face cards, and incredibly thin (1mm) borders on the card back!


Cardistry Touch Origin



Crafted from scratch specifically for cardistry, the deck features a unique geometric design that accentuates spins, flourishes and large, multi-card displays. Also, a single design is repeated on each card for an enhanced cardistry experience. Printed by Cartamundi on a premium quality paper with a softer stock and coated in brand new "cardistry finish", which feels broken in right out of the box. All 51 cards are housed in a very unique swivel box. The team at Cardistry Touch won the Cardistry deck of the year at Cardistry-Con 2017 in Los Angeles.


Apothecary



This gorgeous deck is exactly what you come to expect from Seasons Playing Cards. Stunning foil, exquisite artwork, and entrancing design! Apothecary is an homage to old world illustrations. Reveling in the realm of true artisan craftsmanship, these cards embrace the engraving style intricacies and the custom illustrated courts elevate the experience with entrancing details.


Radia



A bold new vision in playing cards. Encarded's RADIA is the first modern deck to combine the finest traditional paper stock with a complete coating of metallic foil and the highest quality printed details. By printing an intricate design inspired by a 19th-century Spanish gold engraving right on the foil, RADIA has unparalleled shine and visual dimension, but with its high-performance coating it also handles like any modern playing card should, fanning and shuffling beautifully. The deck is housed in a beautiful tuck with pearlescent paper, purple ink, gold foil, embossing and a custom die-cut, RADIA is the perfect combination of simplicity and complexity.


Origins Shadow of History



The Origins Shadows of History deck by Rick Davidson is inspired by the elegance and charm of playing card history. The deck is beautifully crafted and features an ornate premium quality tuck case, embossed and hot stamped with stunning metallic foil. The face cards are entirely custom with vibrant gorgeous courts, diptych jokers and a bold Ace of Spades, printed with ornate metallic ink backs.


Winterberry



Beautifully designed by Estonian graphic designer Toomas Pintson and produced by Got Magic?. The enchanting deck is fully custom, and meticulously hand-illustrated from the ground up. The deck features a distinctive style of illustrations making it truly a unique piece of art inspired by the beautiful and cold Nordic winters. The goal was to create an elegant and beautiful deck of cards that card collectors would appreciate. The cards are housed in a gorgeous tuck case crafted by Clove St. Press on a deep-black soft-touch paper with silver foiling. Sealed by a tax-stamp style seal.


Golden Oath



This year, Lotrek's Golden Oath Playing Cards won Joker Plus 52's 'Deck of the Year' award for his painstaking work on this stunning deck. All the artwork are foiled including 2 foils (gold and red) on the card back and 3 foils (gold, silver and red) on the face cards. A tremendous technical challenge!


Dystopia



Dystopia Playing Cards by Joker and the Thief is a disturbed tribute to cult movie Mad Max, Muscle Car Culture, the Australian Film Industry and Outback. This blood and fuel injected deck features 100% custom illustrations by Pedro Oyarbide - a symbolic back design, a striking ace of spades, tyrannical court cards, insane jokers, and of course, a stunning tuck box from professional letterpress studio Clove St. Press, capped with a custom shaped seal.


Drifters



From Dan and Dave, Drifters Playing Cards is a gorgeous deck designed by Curtis Jenkins, illustrator of Monarchs playing cards. Born from the wilderness, a sense of adventure and the wonders of the unknown, the Drifters Playing Cards showcase the majestic beauty of the great outdoors. The deck features fully custom courts, jokers, beautifully illustrated aces, and gorgeous back with incredible line work. Every shuffle and cut of the cards is a reminder to never settle, to chase a life of freedom. The cards are housed in an eye-catching custom letter-pressed tuck case featuring intricate detail and incredible line work.


Gemini



Two years in the making, Gemini is a fascinating deck of playing cards designed by Lorenzo Gaggiotti of Stockholm17. The Gemini Playing Cards has been meticulously crafted to give it a classic medieval feel. The deck features aces that are depicted as axes and the royals of the court cards interact with their own pip, becoming part of the illustration. The number pips are bold and BIG. The striking Gemini tucks are adorned in gorgeous foil on thick black paper and feature beautiful calligraphic text.

 Honorable mention: Butterfly Playing Cards by Ondrej Psenicka, Papilio by Kiran Kuruvithadam, Titans by Jody Eklund, RAVN Purple Haze by Stockholm17, Bharata by Sunish Chabba, The Confessions Series by Ellusionist, National Playing Cards by Harold Apples, Hocus Pocus 40th Anniversary deck by Edo Huang, Pearl Playing Cards by Hanson Chien Production Co, and Regalia deck by Shin Lim.


The selection expressed in this top12 are solely those of the author. 
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