Saturday, November 17, 2018

Art Cards - Yah or Nah?


Since I maintain two player collections, I am constantly looking for new cards for those players.  At this point, it is a rare occurrence to find something I don't have. I do occasionally run across art cards, which are non-licensed cards generally produced by independent artists, and I will often buy them.  But, I tend to run hot and cold on these cards.  Let's take a look at why that is.





These Edward Vela cards are very nice. The reference to being a giclée print means they were digital images printed using an inkjet printer.  That is fine because these are well done. Vibrant colors, glossy finish, and on a heavy stock of similar weight to licensed trading cards.

My only complaint about these cards, and it is a minor one, is the images. Since I am looking through all new Paul Blair listings on Ebay daily, these images are familiar to me.  Each are commonly seen on 8x10s for sale.  Further, card #2 is the same image used on the 1999 and 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game cards for Blair, in addition to the 2003 AT&T Heroes to Heroes card.  Overall though, this is minor gripe.  These cards sell for $5 to $10, so I would expect that the process is basically running a digital image through some Photoshop filters to render them like paintings.


This card, part of my Johnny Antonelli PC, was a major disappointment.  The stock is similar to what is used on greeting cards. Heavier than construction paper, but much thinner than normal trading card stock.  Additionally, as you can see, the colors aren't very bright, almost as if the printer was running out of ink.  I like custom cards with backs, but this one is uninspiring.


This is my latest art card pickup.  This is generally a really nice card. Nice stock, well designed, bright colors.  It falls into the "cards that never were" genre.  The final series of 1959 Topps baseball included cards for a number of that years All-Star game participants.  While Antonelli was on the team representing the Giants, he didn't have a card in that subset.  This art card corrects that.  My only complaint about this card?  The back is blank. Since this card was $5 delivered, I get that the artistic process needs to be limited in order to make this a profitable venture. However, I would have gladly paid $10 or more for this card with a printed back.

There is another art card seller on Ebay that also has a Johnny Antonelli card available. I haven't purchased the card because, even though the card image is quite well done, the listing description reads as follows:

"THIS IS A NOVELTY CARD THAT IS CUSTOM MADE. IT HAS NO VALUE, IT IS FOR COLLECTING ONLY. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT A CUSTOM CARD IS, PLEASE BUY FROM SOMEONE ELSE. THESE CARDS ARE THE SAME SIZE AS A NORMAL CARD BUT NOT AS THICK. IF YOU WANT A THICK CARD THEN BUY FROM SOMEONE ELSE. IF YOUR GOING TO DISPLAY YOUR CARD IN A TOPLOADER, WHY DOES IT MATTER HOW THICK IT IS. IT WILL LOOK GREAT. CARDS ARE MADE ON 140LB CARD STOCK"                                                                                                     
Maybe I am just a different version of curmudgeon, but the combination of thin stock and negativity just turns me off.  I'll buy from someone else.

Finally, there is one other art card in my collection and has been so for 6 years. It came to me from Cardboard Junkie.  You can read about it here.

So, to my half a dozen or so readers, how do you feel about art cards? Do you add them to your collection?

What I am listening to: Rolling in the Deep by Adele.


7 comments:

  1. I have only one that falls into the "art card" category, a sketch by Gavin of Baseball Card breakdown. Absolutely counted as part of my collection!

    If I had the know-how, I'd be making cards myself. I don't, unfortunately.

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  2. I like Vela's cards, I have a handful. They're well-done and nice art cards. I can take or leave art cards, depends on their personal appeal. Even for sets like Gallery, I like some and others I do not.

    As for other custom cards, unless I get them bloggers I don't bother with them. Custom cards from bloggers have a personal connection and most are quite good. Going online you don't know what you're going to get or who you're dealing with, I stay far away.

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  3. Great song choice! I have a few Velas - a couple for Altuve, a Freehan and Cobb. I'm not so crazy about the paper choice. While the photos are shopped, the graphics and color choices on these are what caught my eye. I also have a few Helmars. These well-designed cards have an 'old feel' quality to them. They tend to sell much higher than what I'm willing to pay for a 'fake' card so I'll never own many.

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  4. I'm a big no on art cards. Are they nice looking - sure. But art cards don't fit my collection. I might be interested in an 8x10 of the image. But in 2.5x3.5, I'll pass.

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  5. I don't think I've ever bought a homemade card, though they're fun to receive in trades, and I like making custom cards (and occasionally sketch cards) for myself and my trader buds.

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  6. I don't think I've ever bought a homemade card, though they're fun to receive in trades, and I like making custom cards (and occasionally sketch cards) for myself and my trader buds.

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  7. Lol. That eBay description was pretty entertaining. It starts off strong. I understand why these guys need to put a disclaimer on their cards to protect themselves, but from the third sentence on... it goes downhill fast. The seller reminds me of this woman I worked with years ago who had zero social skills. She was so brutally honest, she offended 85% of the staff. Her students loved her though (so that counts for something).

    As for your question... I enjoy art cards (especially sketches), but have never gone out of my way to buy any prints. I might have one or two sitting in my collection that were donated to me...or discovered in dime boxes.

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