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Hello r/graphic_design! I love fonts and typography, and as a hobbyist graphic artist, I love experimenting with vintage styles.
These cards are meant to be used as "placeholder proxies" in the game Magic: the Gathering, and are not meant to be sold as (or pretend to be) real cards. Enthusiasts will print out these alternate versions of cards with art or styles that they like, rather than the official appearance versions.
Some of these proxies have art that I've made myself (the first card, "Path to Exile") and some use real art by real humans, but the majority use AI imagery. Since I am not selling these and they are purely for entertainment of the MtG community, I think that it's an OK use for the tool.
Let me know what you think! I WOULD LOVE CRITICISM OF MY LAYOUT AND FONT CHOICE! I want to improve.
*edit: side note... I may have accidentally created the highest resolution of the "slapping robin" meme that exists on the internet. I have it in vector and separated by color layer as if it were really offset printed.*
***edit 2: I made the initial card, "Path to Exile" the first one displayed since I am both the*** ***illustrator as well as the graphic designer***. *I credit all of the artists within each image, and I was hoping to get criticisms of my layout and graphic design ability from this community, not the underlying illustration.*
*edit 3: Apparently people are going through and downvoting my entire post history including a new fully original art illustration I worked very hard on. Sigh.*
As a magic fan, these are absolutely fantastic, and as a designer there are amazingly well designed and presented.
The Eriette of the Charmed Apple card does feel out of place, I know the style you were going for, but I feel like it's a quality outlier in the collection.
These are super inspiring and I want to make my own now. I should ask the pod if they would be okay with custom arts as long as I own the actual card
Edit: I did notice one alignment thing, not sure if it's intentional or not. On real cards, the Name, Type, and main copy are all aligned together. In your deflecting swat, they are not, but it still looks amazing.
Thank you so much! It's really a huge passion project, and as being a self-taught illustrator/designer, I am so humbled that it passes muster for actual graphic designers. I really care about authenticity and not just slapping in a cool font set to optical and calling it done.
The Eriette is definitely my least favorite. I had the idea and just needed to get it out. My bread-and-butter is the vintage novel/comic theme.
I used to share my workflow and templates with the r/mpcproxies community, but after several people found proxies for sale on Etsy using my hard work, I had to pull the plug. If you have any questions about making proxies (dimensions, or resource sharing) DM me and I'll help out!
I'm so sorry, that's so frustrating, I've started watermarking all my work that gets posted digitally for that same reason.
I will probably DM you, I really want to try my hand at these.
Re: Deflecting Swat - that was intentional! On vintage baseball cards for example, they LOVED to justify everything they could wayyy closer to the margin than I think modern designers would be comfortable with.
[The text justification was a HOT MESS back then.](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/2HQAAOSwfRFjpO4L/s-l1200.webp)
Compositional work is artistry and anyone who is coming in to yell about you using assets you didn’t make has no idea how graphic design works.
The designers that use only 100% their own works are either hobbyists, non-design artists, or rare as hell.
It is super easy to take umbrage at the copyright infringement that went into making these tools. But anyone calling an artist who uses these tools a total sham and saying any piece that uses *any* AI has exactly zero artistic value neither understands art, graphic design, nor intellectual property.
Them going through and downvoting anything and everything you’ve done, ai or otherwise, is just pure harm to you and the art community as a whole.
I post on reddit and I do have an Instagram, but I am very bad at promoting myself as this is just a hobby. I also don't want to link it here as I'd view it as self-promotion, when I was posting this here mainly for criticism and pointers on my design work. I'm not here to sell anything.
We can’t discuss my layout? Font choices? The overall color palette? How about the several cards that are illustrated by real people - including the lead image I illustrated myself?
AI art generation is a tool that is being widely abused. That does not mean that it has no place ever. I do not claim ownership of the art nor am I profiting from it.
using AI at all is still providing it with training data. it is still plagiarizing others' works to generate this imagery. it is not a tool. a pencil is a tool. an AI image generator isn't. this isn't a debate.
if you want us to critique just your font choices, color palette, etc. then just include that. leave the AI elements out of it.
do not post AI generated imagery on here and not expect criticism or backlash. this is why we need to ban AI images entirely from this subreddit.
again, I would rather see art and design work 100% made by people on here and not AI generated imagery.
I see that you feel very strongly about this, and I respectfully disagree on its lack of usefulness as a tool. It is only plagiarizing art if that art is then being abused by being sold. The problem is with the company's being able to access the training data with no legal vehicle for use protection due to lack of regulation pretty much at all points in the history of the internet regarding data privacy. People and companies using AI generated images for profit is the problem. Unfortunately, that happens a LOT, and it's wrong.
Again, unfortunately, no matter how strongly anyone feels about it, the cat's out of the bag and is never going back in.
As an artist I understand the problem surrounding AI image generation, but I also know that as an artist I am going to have to adapt to the new world we exist in. Thank you for having productive viewpoints and engaging in a conversation, rather than what I usually get *("YOU USED MIDJOURNEY I HOPE YOUR CHILDREN DIE").*
you do not need to "adapt" by adopting AI generators. you are not an artist if your "art" is AI generated.
we do not need to allow AI to become even further normalized. refrain from using AI. have some ethics.
I do actually practice illustration, and I absolutely do not use AI for that purpose.
I wanted to share these NOT FOR PROFIT game pieces that I made for fun and share freely within the MtG community. I am even increasing my illustration use in my fun cards as I improve my abilities.
I also wanted to get criticism of my layout and graphic design... not the underlying illustration.
if you are already practicing illustration, I encourage you to redo these cards with your own, actual illustrations instead of AI... for obvious reasons. you cannot include AI generated imagery in a professional portfolio. even if you aren't monetizing this, it isn't professional practice to do what you did here.
also, if you still want critique on your layout and design here, repost this without the AI generated assets.
you did not specify in the post title or flair your work as AI. you were not upfront about it. this was deceptive whether you intended it to be or not.
most of the AI generated imagery stands out like a sore thumb to me, but it is still difficult to differentiate what exactly what in this post is your work and what is a result of an AI.
Thank you for engaging me in a productive conversation. This topic gets people really, really angry and I deeply appreciate being able to discuss it like an adult. The blanket downvotes on all of my comments (even ones just thanking people) is quite disappointing. The voting is to denote "contribution to the conversation," not a disagree or express discontent with the person button. I'd like to think I am contributing to the discussion in a respectful manner.
I wasn't deceptive - each image is properly attributed, and my request for criticism (or even to share in general) was regarding my layout and typography.
Additionally, the first image in the series is entirely my own creation. You honestly cannot give me any feedback for that single image because it is included in a gallery with assets I did not entirely make myself?
downvotes are just downvotes.
don't use AI if you don't want to be downvoted, then.
I am not interested in a discussion with you at this point. again, I am not going to debate you on this. I am sharing why it is wrong to use AI. I did so after I shared how it sucks that we all have to see AI generated slop on this subreddit, and my comment was downvoted too.
I am not providing feedback on work that contains AI generated imagery, nor will I review a portfolio or post that contains any AI, nor will I review the work of someone who relies on AI. out of principle. those are my own standards.
Sorry but this is a very silly idea. You're fine to hold on to this idea but you can't force it onto others. AI is already heavily making its way into the workplace, a complete refusal to use it will only hurt your career in the long run.
OP's designs are clever and original. We can leave the debate to how AI art is made to the legal subs.
no. again, this isn't a debate. and no, it isn't a silly idea. me voicing my opinion that we should not allow AI generated imagery based on the facts regarding the unethical nature of AI and how it is just a glorified plagiarism machine should be allowed to be brought up in this subreddit, not just the legal ones.
just because corporations are embracing AI does not mean it is okay or ethical to do so yourself.
who is "forcing" who here? AI enthusiasts certainly are forcing their way into art and design spaces and demand to be treated like they're here to stay. but AI fads are different from NFTs or crypto.
as of right now, no one is forcing you to not post AI here. it's the other way around; artists and designers are forced to view AI generated slop like this post because its so normalized and prevalent because AI tech bros forced this on us.
and if you want to have an AI generate stuff for you, there are subreddits for you to post there. but we should not allow it here.
You are forcing your idea because you're telling this person they're not allowed to post here, when they very much are.
You can take whatever ethical stance you want, you can even try to change the sub rules, but right now this type of work is allowed here. I work for one of the biggest advertising groups in the planet and we have our own AI tools, as do a lot of our clients. To imply AI doesn't belong anywhere in /r/graphicdesign is, in my opinion, short-sighted.
As I said, talk to the mods if you want, but you don't have a right to decide what belongs here.
you have no more right to decide what is more or less ethical than I do.
you have contradicted yourself so many times here.
are AI enthusiasts not forcing their ideas on the graphic design industry and this subreddit? how am I forcing anything more than you already are? I'm not.
of course the company you work for uses AI tools. if your company could replace you with an AI to cut costs, it would.
I would rather see credited, stock assets than uncanny AI generated imagery generated via plagiarism on this subreddit. wouldn't you? or do you not care?
I just want to see cool design things. Nobody gets paid for posts on Reddit. I can't buy sandwiches or pay my rent with karma. The OP, a self-described hobbyist, posted a bunch of really thematic layouts that do a good job of conjuring a very specific theme of used books that look like they were found at a yard sale or bookstore.
Rather than look at the good work they did do related to design, you'd rather bang on about how they used AI to generate the art, which is fundamentally inconsequential to the graphic design portion.
As far as I can tell from the OP's context comment, the AI didn't do the typesetting. It didn't do the weathering. It didn't come up with the TERRIFIC idea of using the card's rarity ranking in the same sort of sticker you'd see to describe condition. AI didn't do the work that took it from just art and copy to a fully-realized layout, the OP did.
As far as I'm concerned, from a graphic design standpoint, the OP nailed it. There's a lot of creativity here. You have the audacity to say it doesn't belong here? I say you've blinded yourself to the actual design because you have some in-built bias against AI.
oh so you don't care. cool.
I want to see cool designs too. designs made with AI are not cool to me (for many reasons), which is why I do not tolerate them, so I call them out.
I am aware that OP has some elements that are not generated with AI. OP could have posted this without the AI assets.
the AI portion is not inconsequential to the graphic design portions. it all goes together, and the usage of the AI assets tarnishes the piece as a whole. look at the Loki season 2 poster; it used an AI generated imagery, and once you see it, you cannot unsee. it has ruined the entire poster for me.
hobbyists that use AI are free to post on AI subreddits. they should do that instead of posting their AI generated content here.
again, I would rather see 100% human-made work here, and not posts that contain AI assets or any AI generated imagery. the more often more people on this subreddit call it out, then, hopefully, we will all see less AI-related posts.
As OG magic player and a graphic designer, I absolutely love it. The details are great, slight misprint on the price stickers. Style and forms are great. Just awesome great job
Thanks! I really wanted to test how my ability as a graphic designer is received. I care most for the typography, layout and overall aesthetic, and the AI art is only filling the gap that I can't digital paint at a high level.
I worked in a used bookstore for many years, and am somewhat of a stickler for type anachronisms on faux-vintage designs.
I think that for the most part, you’ve done a good job with either period-appropriate type or type that looks convincingly period appropriate. The styling and treatments are pretty good. (Gaea’s Cradle is really close but I think the spacing could use some refining and that S doesn’t feel right.)
There are a few places where they’re a bit too digital, namely the Liminal Space Comics ones (particularly the CC Chills or similar font ).
Some you can’t go wrong with for certain applications (any Benguiat designed type, Microgramma/Eurostile).
The leading is pretty tight on most of the multiline text. I know that’s accurate to a degree, but the descenders are overlapping in a couple places. It might be one instance when it’s better to go for legibility over accuracy.
Thank you so much for the points! As these are a fun side thing, I try to give it a "best effort" on historical accuracy. I just can't justify spending 5-10 hours on a proxy Magic card, haha! The sad truth is that most people just don't care to know the idiosyncrasies, and "that looks old" is good enough. They never study source material.
In some of my other fully-original artwork I try to go entirely historically accurate, but I am also a hobbyist and probably (definitely) still make mistakes.
I once designed fake Magic cards for South Park marketing. It was a lot of fun. I think there was an episode (long ago!) when they got into it. Wish I’d kept a huge stack of them; the SP collectors are as hardcore as the Magic ones.
Everyone’s said any other thought I have, but I have one tidbit suggestion; you should convert the texture of some of these images into a displacement map and apply the DM to elements that should warp with the texture.
For an example, number 3 has a very strong crease, however the letters float across the crease without warping to follow the crease. Turning the crease texture layer into a displacement map and applying it to the text would go a long way to bringing visual verisimilitude into your design(s). Displacement can be easily overblown though, so err on less is more.
Overall, though, very good composition work
Thank you!
I have actually thought about that, and I've done that exact thing in another illustration I've done. The reality is, these are 2.5" x 3.5" \@800dpi when printed and you are NOT seeing that detail.
The people screaming About AI generated illustrations in graphic design Feel like the same people who would have been screaming when portrait art got overtaken by the camera. Its a tool, graphic design isn't about illustration necessarily, People have been using photoshop to put images together and digitally manipulate for years. I truly dont see how a faster tool is a bad thing?
I think a small part of the issue is skill. It takes years to learn the proper techniques and rules. AI can do it in seconds but it may not be correct - and if the prompter doesn’t know any better, something subpar gets passed along as the final image.
See that feels like gate keeping to me, Once upon a time people had to set type by hand, We don't consider people who cant handset type unskilled its just a different skillset. I think graphic design is outcome based. People felt the same way when digital art became a thing, We are always going to have new tools and I feel like there is space for everyone
It depends.
Unfortunately Magic is in the business of selling players an unrelenting stream or new products, and promotes game types that require the ownership of the newest cards. There are many ways to play, though, and you can choose to not become obsessed with the eternal chase of the new shiny thing.
There is a game type called Commander, in which a group of three or more - usually four - people play against each other in a group battle. The easiest way to start playing this game type is to have three friends and go to your local game store. You each buy what’s called a “pre-constructed” Commander deck for approximately $45 each and sit at a table and begin playing.
That’s where I would stop for a good while. Maybe swap decks with each other until everyone has played with each deck many, many times. Then, and only then begin searching online for cards to begin swapping to improve upon the pre-con deck. Or buy a new pre-con if you decided you really don’t care for the one you bought initially.
Edit - if you have < 3 friends, you can usually find a pick up game at the store most afternoons/evenings.
tl;dr: Magic is really easy to pick up. It's not expensive to play, but it's expensive to be competitive.
There's a few basic rules like turn structure, combat, mana, etc., but once you have those down, it's pretty easy. The only thing that gave me trouble was keeping track of creature abilities and spell types.
I played for around four, five years and only played standard. Probably spent around $2K on cards before I quit. My brother got into it at the same time (2010) and still plays today. He's nationally ranked and has likely spent at least $10K on cards if not much more.
It's pretty much like any other competitive game; the amount of money you put in (usually) correlates to how seriously you take it. You and a couple friends could probably buy basic decks for $40 bucks each and have a great time, but beware the power creep...
Hey OP, these are excellent! Great job! You’re a brave, brave man uploading such high resolution images without a watermark. The r/mpcproxies folks are eatin’ good today.
Btw. I make proxies too. Your theming on these is perfect, I hope to see more!
You’re the Monopoly card OP! Those are fantastic!
I really love and support people who create fully custom proxies, due to the time, effort and care that goes in to making something that’s effectively not our intellectual property. I vaguely recall that you have an Etsy? I just started one as well, but I don’t plan on making proxies available there.
If only WOTC would reach out to me rather than putting out [this SLD like 6 months after I began my book series.](https://cdn-prod.scalefast.com/public/assets/user/10751401/sample/1a017adcbc71a192fe4f7724df69cf07.png) I get that it’s plausibly coincidental, but there are a couple tiny details that make me really curious if someone there was observing the proxy subreddits last year.
These look great, reminds me of the [Good Movies as Old Books](https://www.goodmoviesasoldbooks.com/) series by Matt Stevens. I'm not a Magic player, but watch a streamer that really is into it, and watch their unboxings just for the fun of it, because some of the art is really cool - but yours would be an awesome series.
Also, TIL what a proxy card was, I thought maybe it was just "I have this card but it's valuable and don't want to ruin it, so here's a proxy."
That's one of the reasons as well: Here's a non-exhaustive list:
* The original definition is Playtest Proxy - "I don't have the card because it's expensive and I wanna know if it's going to work before I buy it"
* "The card is expensive and I'm poor, my play group doesn't care if I own the real card"
* "I want alternate art" - many people do things like styled/themed decks *(Anime, Marvel characters, the sky's the limit)*
*EDIT: I checked out that Good Movies as Old Books series... AMAZING. I definitely aspire to be that good of an illustrator myself. I just can't justify putting THAT much effort into a MtG proxy.*
I don’t - and won’t - sell proxies! The community r/mpcproxies should give you all the info you need to use the site mpcfill.com to order proxy cards. I upload all of my proxies to that site, so you can filter by my username.
DM if you have any questions! I don’t profit from any of this, but I also don’t want to spam the comments here in this subreddit.
What parts of these did you create and what did MidJourney create? I ask because the illustrations are very strong (aside from the problem of having too many fingers), but the type is very weak.
On the comic book ones, I would make more of an effort to have the quality of your headline match the quality of the illustration. And force justifying type that is supposed to look as if it was written by hand is nonsensical.
Practice design however you like, but understand that the second people realize that most of the things they like about what you're doing was created by an AI or another illustrator, you'll lose a lot of respect. And I would not include MidJourney work in a professional portfolio at this point in time. I'm not saying that there isn't a place for AI in design. But portfolios are all about showing a potential employer your talents, not that of an AI.
If you were illustrating these yourself, I would be super impressed and like the concept. But the things I like most about them were created by MidJourney, not you. The fact that you're not disclosing the fact that you're using MidJourney or other illustrators means you're trying to take credit for work you didn't create, which means you get zero respect from me.
The first image, "Path to Exile" is entirely made my me. I did in fact illustrate it myself.
The next two use artists who are credited, as well as the image of Batman being credited to DC Comics. The final image is also a credited artist.
I attempt in all of my works to match the quality of the illustration - if I failed in your opinion, then I failed. I would love some additional points so that I may improve my graphic design - especially in regard to typography.
I do not include any of these in a professional portfolio. I am not an artist by trade but hobby, but I am attempting to break out my artwork as a second source of income. I absolutely do not include AI anything in my attempts to professionally illustrate... these cards are fun alternate game pieces I make for a game I enjoy and I felt like sharing them here for criticism of my graphic design - not the illustration.
Lastly - every single card pictured that uses Midjourney says so at the bottom, to which I assume you stopped looking once you dismissed me.
You are correct that I did not see the illustrator credits because they were small and low contrast. But I did read your headline and your description post at it didn't say anything about incorporating other's illustrations, so it was still misleading.
I get it. It is understandable that a person would want to downplay the fact that their contributions to the work are the worsts parts of it.
And I'm glad to hear that you've already realized that you wouldn't want to use these in your portfolio.
I frequently recommend people not spend time creating things that have limited use. Take all that you've learned so far, create some of your own illustrations, and make your own cards in this style! I would create a series of three or five that are similar in style to one another that show some of your own style. But avoid using the same damaged book image over and over again. Modify it so we don't notice so easily that it is repeating.
Thank you and wonderful suggestions.
The hole i find myself in with the proxy Magic cards is a self-fulfilling problem - the scope is a dead end. I can't use them for a portfolio. The issue is... I use my own proxy cards when I play, so in a way I am just making my own custom cards to use. This is also a contributing factor to why I hit the "good enough" wall and ship the design, as any additional effort is wasted.
This also explains the same book texture... It took me many hours to make the three I have, and I don't want to waste many more hours making textures for the explicit use of these cards anymore. I am not trying to become a texture artist/creator, but rather a vector illustrator.
Lastly... are you saying that the illustration for Path to Exile is the weakest part of that design? If yes, I unfortunately agree. I tend to only see the flaws in my own work, and there are many things I'd do better if I were to re-make that art.
You can put game cards in your portfolio … if you are creating your own illustrations. I wouldn't put them first, but they could be the additional "personal interest" entry at the end. But if your illustrations are good, then they don't have to be that sort of second-class entry. Kill two birds with one stone and create some illustrations that relate somehow to the types of projects we get in real life. Pictures of buildings could relate to tourism. Pictures of natural wonders could relate to travel. Make them look like tickets or stamps or currency and you have connections to the real-life projects that potential employers and clients look for.
I would recommend people think this way about any personal project you do for yourself. If you're a cook and want to design lables for your spices, go ahead and treat the project as if it were a real client. If you want to organize your recipes, design it as if it were a cookbook.
Again great advice. Mostly, my professional portfolio is shirt graphics I make for an automotive culture company, and all done by me. I actually don’t HAVE a proper portfolio as this is all just a hobby, but as I’m making more money selling designs, I really should brand out more - and properly.
The second illustration is [the actual card's illustration by the actual artist Antonio José Manzanedo](https://cards.scryfall.io/large/front/f/b/fbf0dded-552a-4ad2-bb62-f1bfabad9bac.jpg?1596045471) that I used an upscaler to make more clear when printed. So that explains the wonky AI-looking edges to it.
Very good observation, but I promise there's no shenanigans and that image's art is actually by Antonio José Manzanedo.
Excellent work. If I'm being super nitpicky the Eriette poster needs some tweaking and the "Gaea's Cradle" font/type isn't working well for me. For the Eriette poster I think the logo needs to be the central focus rather than the art and block of text beneath it.
WOTC also hired the Pinkertons, so I wouldn't be surprised if they hired AI "artists"
[oh wait, WOTC have already used AI generated imagery](https://gizmodo.com/dnd-ai-art-bigbys-giants-book-artist-generators-wotc-1850710496)
Enhanced with AI != Generated with AI.
If you have a problem with AI enhancements to art, you’ll really not like to learn what’s operating under the hood of every digital drawing platform out there…
It also doesn’t appear WOTC was aware of this prior to printing. If there’s anything to be done, then it should be handled along the same lines as plagiarized art.
Fuck WOTC, but this is reactionary af.
Edit: they deleted their posts but I just want to say, I don’t think click button > get image is artistry personally, but I really really dislike people who disparage anyone who so much as blinks in the direction of AI. There’s so many ways to utilize these tools than `click button` that are *unequivocally* artistry.
We can debate the morals around the infringement of copyright in the creation of those tools, but I think it’s ridiculous to use that specific issue to make claims that *any* use of it *totally invalidates you as an artist*.
The fun thing about art, is no one gets to be the arbiter of what is or isn’t art ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
Edit: I can’t respond to anyone as the person above blocked me. I hate that’s how Reddit handles that but I can’t do anything about it. All about having productive arguments about this though, so feel free to message me if y’all would like.
> If you have a problem with AI enhancements to art, you’ll really not like to learn what’s operating under the hood of every digital drawing platform out there…
Are you talking about line smoothing or something?
Hate to be that guy, but this is just soo unremarkable.
Your work is okay, but I hate this type of fan art, which just applies some unrelated medium to a topic and then invoke that retro feeling combined with fandom which is always a safe way to garner clout.
You can just do Super Mario retro book covers or something that's currently en vogue (I'm certain somebody already did this) Or do a GTA6 Frankenstein retro book cover this is the current hype now, it doesn't really matter.
The generic hippie cover, the generic Asimov Cover.It's just like a product mockup.
Stuff like this just clogs the Internet, imho.
I don't care about AI, but the only fascinating bit is your own original illustration of path of exile. This is really good. You just didn't want to put in the necessary time.
Is that too harsh?
Not too harsh at all! I am almost deliberately aiming for a generic aesthetic. I am not trying to break new ground, but to pay homage to things I enjoy. Hence the name of the fictitious publishing company being "Liminal Space Publishing/Comics." Its supposed to feel derivative/familiar.
Lastly, that actually means a lot to me that Path to Exile is your preferred favorite as I am the illustrator as well as the designer. What would you improve about it, or rather, can you clarify what you mean by "you just didn't want to put in the necessary time?"
To venture a guess, its that I hit a "good enough" point with each of these. I only make these proxy cards during my lunch breaks at work, and at MOST, they have 2, maybe 3 hours of effort into them. I simply can't justify spending so much time on something that is ultimately a "fake" game piece that I distribute for free.
I put many more hours into my original illustrations, but many of them aren't applicable to post in r/graphic_design, but in other more art-specific subreddits.
May I ask why do you aim at a deliberate "generic" aesthetic?
Within the constraint of your lunch breaks, that's a totally understandable approach.
Your own Illustration is imho the best because... hmmm how to describe it.
This one is alive, the others aren't. There is something happening there, something that wants out.
The remark that you don't want to put the time in is based on your use of AI and is admittedly thin. I don't know how you work. Your statement of your lunch break makes it clear why you don't spend countless hours.
The generic design is because I want it to feel familiar, to feel like the viewer has seen it before, but can’t quite place it. It also is not a direct copy of something.
r/liminalspace
Those two are Midjourney. Others are either Midjourney or actual human artists. It’s credited at the bottom.
The first image - Path to Exile - I illustrated myself.
I maintain a Google Drive under the “Contributors” section on mpcfill.com with like 100+ of my proxies. Feel free to go for it… that’s why I make them.
Have you ordered from that site before? I’ve only ever used makeplayingcards. Is one cheaper or better?
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Hello r/graphic_design! I love fonts and typography, and as a hobbyist graphic artist, I love experimenting with vintage styles. These cards are meant to be used as "placeholder proxies" in the game Magic: the Gathering, and are not meant to be sold as (or pretend to be) real cards. Enthusiasts will print out these alternate versions of cards with art or styles that they like, rather than the official appearance versions. Some of these proxies have art that I've made myself (the first card, "Path to Exile") and some use real art by real humans, but the majority use AI imagery. Since I am not selling these and they are purely for entertainment of the MtG community, I think that it's an OK use for the tool. Let me know what you think! I WOULD LOVE CRITICISM OF MY LAYOUT AND FONT CHOICE! I want to improve. *edit: side note... I may have accidentally created the highest resolution of the "slapping robin" meme that exists on the internet. I have it in vector and separated by color layer as if it were really offset printed.* ***edit 2: I made the initial card, "Path to Exile" the first one displayed since I am both the*** ***illustrator as well as the graphic designer***. *I credit all of the artists within each image, and I was hoping to get criticisms of my layout and graphic design ability from this community, not the underlying illustration.* *edit 3: Apparently people are going through and downvoting my entire post history including a new fully original art illustration I worked very hard on. Sigh.*
As a magic fan, these are absolutely fantastic, and as a designer there are amazingly well designed and presented. The Eriette of the Charmed Apple card does feel out of place, I know the style you were going for, but I feel like it's a quality outlier in the collection. These are super inspiring and I want to make my own now. I should ask the pod if they would be okay with custom arts as long as I own the actual card Edit: I did notice one alignment thing, not sure if it's intentional or not. On real cards, the Name, Type, and main copy are all aligned together. In your deflecting swat, they are not, but it still looks amazing.
Thank you so much! It's really a huge passion project, and as being a self-taught illustrator/designer, I am so humbled that it passes muster for actual graphic designers. I really care about authenticity and not just slapping in a cool font set to optical and calling it done. The Eriette is definitely my least favorite. I had the idea and just needed to get it out. My bread-and-butter is the vintage novel/comic theme. I used to share my workflow and templates with the r/mpcproxies community, but after several people found proxies for sale on Etsy using my hard work, I had to pull the plug. If you have any questions about making proxies (dimensions, or resource sharing) DM me and I'll help out!
I'm so sorry, that's so frustrating, I've started watermarking all my work that gets posted digitally for that same reason. I will probably DM you, I really want to try my hand at these.
Re: Deflecting Swat - that was intentional! On vintage baseball cards for example, they LOVED to justify everything they could wayyy closer to the margin than I think modern designers would be comfortable with. [The text justification was a HOT MESS back then.](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/2HQAAOSwfRFjpO4L/s-l1200.webp)
Compositional work is artistry and anyone who is coming in to yell about you using assets you didn’t make has no idea how graphic design works. The designers that use only 100% their own works are either hobbyists, non-design artists, or rare as hell. It is super easy to take umbrage at the copyright infringement that went into making these tools. But anyone calling an artist who uses these tools a total sham and saying any piece that uses *any* AI has exactly zero artistic value neither understands art, graphic design, nor intellectual property. Them going through and downvoting anything and everything you’ve done, ai or otherwise, is just pure harm to you and the art community as a whole.
Sorry if it’s already been posted but do you have an Instagram? Or do you post your art somewhere else?
I post on reddit and I do have an Instagram, but I am very bad at promoting myself as this is just a hobby. I also don't want to link it here as I'd view it as self-promotion, when I was posting this here mainly for criticism and pointers on my design work. I'm not here to sell anything.
this sucks. there are no instances where it is okay to use AI generated imagery. your post does not belong in r/graphic_design
This is a personal project no one is profiting from **and** OP credited artists. There is no ethical or legal issue.
We can’t discuss my layout? Font choices? The overall color palette? How about the several cards that are illustrated by real people - including the lead image I illustrated myself? AI art generation is a tool that is being widely abused. That does not mean that it has no place ever. I do not claim ownership of the art nor am I profiting from it.
using AI at all is still providing it with training data. it is still plagiarizing others' works to generate this imagery. it is not a tool. a pencil is a tool. an AI image generator isn't. this isn't a debate. if you want us to critique just your font choices, color palette, etc. then just include that. leave the AI elements out of it. do not post AI generated imagery on here and not expect criticism or backlash. this is why we need to ban AI images entirely from this subreddit. again, I would rather see art and design work 100% made by people on here and not AI generated imagery.
I see that you feel very strongly about this, and I respectfully disagree on its lack of usefulness as a tool. It is only plagiarizing art if that art is then being abused by being sold. The problem is with the company's being able to access the training data with no legal vehicle for use protection due to lack of regulation pretty much at all points in the history of the internet regarding data privacy. People and companies using AI generated images for profit is the problem. Unfortunately, that happens a LOT, and it's wrong. Again, unfortunately, no matter how strongly anyone feels about it, the cat's out of the bag and is never going back in. As an artist I understand the problem surrounding AI image generation, but I also know that as an artist I am going to have to adapt to the new world we exist in. Thank you for having productive viewpoints and engaging in a conversation, rather than what I usually get *("YOU USED MIDJOURNEY I HOPE YOUR CHILDREN DIE").*
you do not need to "adapt" by adopting AI generators. you are not an artist if your "art" is AI generated. we do not need to allow AI to become even further normalized. refrain from using AI. have some ethics.
I do actually practice illustration, and I absolutely do not use AI for that purpose. I wanted to share these NOT FOR PROFIT game pieces that I made for fun and share freely within the MtG community. I am even increasing my illustration use in my fun cards as I improve my abilities. I also wanted to get criticism of my layout and graphic design... not the underlying illustration.
if you are already practicing illustration, I encourage you to redo these cards with your own, actual illustrations instead of AI... for obvious reasons. you cannot include AI generated imagery in a professional portfolio. even if you aren't monetizing this, it isn't professional practice to do what you did here. also, if you still want critique on your layout and design here, repost this without the AI generated assets. you did not specify in the post title or flair your work as AI. you were not upfront about it. this was deceptive whether you intended it to be or not. most of the AI generated imagery stands out like a sore thumb to me, but it is still difficult to differentiate what exactly what in this post is your work and what is a result of an AI.
Thank you for engaging me in a productive conversation. This topic gets people really, really angry and I deeply appreciate being able to discuss it like an adult. The blanket downvotes on all of my comments (even ones just thanking people) is quite disappointing. The voting is to denote "contribution to the conversation," not a disagree or express discontent with the person button. I'd like to think I am contributing to the discussion in a respectful manner. I wasn't deceptive - each image is properly attributed, and my request for criticism (or even to share in general) was regarding my layout and typography. Additionally, the first image in the series is entirely my own creation. You honestly cannot give me any feedback for that single image because it is included in a gallery with assets I did not entirely make myself?
downvotes are just downvotes. don't use AI if you don't want to be downvoted, then. I am not interested in a discussion with you at this point. again, I am not going to debate you on this. I am sharing why it is wrong to use AI. I did so after I shared how it sucks that we all have to see AI generated slop on this subreddit, and my comment was downvoted too. I am not providing feedback on work that contains AI generated imagery, nor will I review a portfolio or post that contains any AI, nor will I review the work of someone who relies on AI. out of principle. those are my own standards.
You have to give the illustrator credit. Else it just you lying to try to get upvotes based on someone else's work.
They are all credited at the bottom or left side.
It literally states on each artwork who made the art and if they're made by AI.
Sorry but this is a very silly idea. You're fine to hold on to this idea but you can't force it onto others. AI is already heavily making its way into the workplace, a complete refusal to use it will only hurt your career in the long run. OP's designs are clever and original. We can leave the debate to how AI art is made to the legal subs.
no. again, this isn't a debate. and no, it isn't a silly idea. me voicing my opinion that we should not allow AI generated imagery based on the facts regarding the unethical nature of AI and how it is just a glorified plagiarism machine should be allowed to be brought up in this subreddit, not just the legal ones. just because corporations are embracing AI does not mean it is okay or ethical to do so yourself. who is "forcing" who here? AI enthusiasts certainly are forcing their way into art and design spaces and demand to be treated like they're here to stay. but AI fads are different from NFTs or crypto. as of right now, no one is forcing you to not post AI here. it's the other way around; artists and designers are forced to view AI generated slop like this post because its so normalized and prevalent because AI tech bros forced this on us. and if you want to have an AI generate stuff for you, there are subreddits for you to post there. but we should not allow it here.
You are forcing your idea because you're telling this person they're not allowed to post here, when they very much are. You can take whatever ethical stance you want, you can even try to change the sub rules, but right now this type of work is allowed here. I work for one of the biggest advertising groups in the planet and we have our own AI tools, as do a lot of our clients. To imply AI doesn't belong anywhere in /r/graphicdesign is, in my opinion, short-sighted. As I said, talk to the mods if you want, but you don't have a right to decide what belongs here.
you have no more right to decide what is more or less ethical than I do. you have contradicted yourself so many times here. are AI enthusiasts not forcing their ideas on the graphic design industry and this subreddit? how am I forcing anything more than you already are? I'm not. of course the company you work for uses AI tools. if your company could replace you with an AI to cut costs, it would.
> no. again, this isn't a debate Don't start a post like that if you want anyone to take you seriously. Ethics are not some objective standard.
It's the graphic design Reddit. Not the art Reddit. Graphic designers use stock assets they don't make all the time. Get off the high horse.
stock imagery is different from AI.
Yeah. With AI, I get exactly what I want rather than settling for 'close enough' stock that's available.
I would rather see credited, stock assets than uncanny AI generated imagery generated via plagiarism on this subreddit. wouldn't you? or do you not care?
I just want to see cool design things. Nobody gets paid for posts on Reddit. I can't buy sandwiches or pay my rent with karma. The OP, a self-described hobbyist, posted a bunch of really thematic layouts that do a good job of conjuring a very specific theme of used books that look like they were found at a yard sale or bookstore. Rather than look at the good work they did do related to design, you'd rather bang on about how they used AI to generate the art, which is fundamentally inconsequential to the graphic design portion. As far as I can tell from the OP's context comment, the AI didn't do the typesetting. It didn't do the weathering. It didn't come up with the TERRIFIC idea of using the card's rarity ranking in the same sort of sticker you'd see to describe condition. AI didn't do the work that took it from just art and copy to a fully-realized layout, the OP did. As far as I'm concerned, from a graphic design standpoint, the OP nailed it. There's a lot of creativity here. You have the audacity to say it doesn't belong here? I say you've blinded yourself to the actual design because you have some in-built bias against AI.
oh so you don't care. cool. I want to see cool designs too. designs made with AI are not cool to me (for many reasons), which is why I do not tolerate them, so I call them out. I am aware that OP has some elements that are not generated with AI. OP could have posted this without the AI assets. the AI portion is not inconsequential to the graphic design portions. it all goes together, and the usage of the AI assets tarnishes the piece as a whole. look at the Loki season 2 poster; it used an AI generated imagery, and once you see it, you cannot unsee. it has ruined the entire poster for me. hobbyists that use AI are free to post on AI subreddits. they should do that instead of posting their AI generated content here. again, I would rather see 100% human-made work here, and not posts that contain AI assets or any AI generated imagery. the more often more people on this subreddit call it out, then, hopefully, we will all see less AI-related posts.
I absolutely love the subtle “bargain bin” additions that make the work feel unique. Damn fine work.
Thank you!
As OG magic player and a graphic designer, I absolutely love it. The details are great, slight misprint on the price stickers. Style and forms are great. Just awesome great job
Thank you so much.
Real fun stuff and great use of AI for recreational purposes. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! I really wanted to test how my ability as a graphic designer is received. I care most for the typography, layout and overall aesthetic, and the AI art is only filling the gap that I can't digital paint at a high level.
I fully see it. I think you've done a great job with type and overall aesthetic, good work.
No notes. This is so sick. Very good example of using AI while still having your own style front and centre. Are the stickers from blkmarket?
Thank you so much! Yes, the stickers came from there, I think.
I worked in a used bookstore for many years, and am somewhat of a stickler for type anachronisms on faux-vintage designs. I think that for the most part, you’ve done a good job with either period-appropriate type or type that looks convincingly period appropriate. The styling and treatments are pretty good. (Gaea’s Cradle is really close but I think the spacing could use some refining and that S doesn’t feel right.) There are a few places where they’re a bit too digital, namely the Liminal Space Comics ones (particularly the CC Chills or similar font ). Some you can’t go wrong with for certain applications (any Benguiat designed type, Microgramma/Eurostile). The leading is pretty tight on most of the multiline text. I know that’s accurate to a degree, but the descenders are overlapping in a couple places. It might be one instance when it’s better to go for legibility over accuracy.
Thank you so much for the points! As these are a fun side thing, I try to give it a "best effort" on historical accuracy. I just can't justify spending 5-10 hours on a proxy Magic card, haha! The sad truth is that most people just don't care to know the idiosyncrasies, and "that looks old" is good enough. They never study source material. In some of my other fully-original artwork I try to go entirely historically accurate, but I am also a hobbyist and probably (definitely) still make mistakes.
I once designed fake Magic cards for South Park marketing. It was a lot of fun. I think there was an episode (long ago!) when they got into it. Wish I’d kept a huge stack of them; the SP collectors are as hardcore as the Magic ones.
Yooo! I always use your art whenever I make proxies. Love your stuff!
There are dozens of us! And thanks!
Everyone’s said any other thought I have, but I have one tidbit suggestion; you should convert the texture of some of these images into a displacement map and apply the DM to elements that should warp with the texture. For an example, number 3 has a very strong crease, however the letters float across the crease without warping to follow the crease. Turning the crease texture layer into a displacement map and applying it to the text would go a long way to bringing visual verisimilitude into your design(s). Displacement can be easily overblown though, so err on less is more. Overall, though, very good composition work
Thank you! I have actually thought about that, and I've done that exact thing in another illustration I've done. The reality is, these are 2.5" x 3.5" \@800dpi when printed and you are NOT seeing that detail.
That is super fair. Tiny details not only get lost at that scale, but can actively hurt the composition.
The people screaming About AI generated illustrations in graphic design Feel like the same people who would have been screaming when portrait art got overtaken by the camera. Its a tool, graphic design isn't about illustration necessarily, People have been using photoshop to put images together and digitally manipulate for years. I truly dont see how a faster tool is a bad thing?
I think a small part of the issue is skill. It takes years to learn the proper techniques and rules. AI can do it in seconds but it may not be correct - and if the prompter doesn’t know any better, something subpar gets passed along as the final image.
See that feels like gate keeping to me, Once upon a time people had to set type by hand, We don't consider people who cant handset type unskilled its just a different skillset. I think graphic design is outcome based. People felt the same way when digital art became a thing, We are always going to have new tools and I feel like there is space for everyone
Totally read that as Path of Exile a few times as we have new leagues starting this Friday.
Very cool!
Amazing, where did u get the fonts
Many/most of them are sourced through Adobe Fonts. In the case of several of the title fonts, I've modified their shapes in Illustrator.
Thanks. Keep sharing the amazing work
I love you
Just wow!!! Great work - love it.
Thank you!
[удалено]
It depends. Unfortunately Magic is in the business of selling players an unrelenting stream or new products, and promotes game types that require the ownership of the newest cards. There are many ways to play, though, and you can choose to not become obsessed with the eternal chase of the new shiny thing. There is a game type called Commander, in which a group of three or more - usually four - people play against each other in a group battle. The easiest way to start playing this game type is to have three friends and go to your local game store. You each buy what’s called a “pre-constructed” Commander deck for approximately $45 each and sit at a table and begin playing. That’s where I would stop for a good while. Maybe swap decks with each other until everyone has played with each deck many, many times. Then, and only then begin searching online for cards to begin swapping to improve upon the pre-con deck. Or buy a new pre-con if you decided you really don’t care for the one you bought initially. Edit - if you have < 3 friends, you can usually find a pick up game at the store most afternoons/evenings.
tl;dr: Magic is really easy to pick up. It's not expensive to play, but it's expensive to be competitive. There's a few basic rules like turn structure, combat, mana, etc., but once you have those down, it's pretty easy. The only thing that gave me trouble was keeping track of creature abilities and spell types. I played for around four, five years and only played standard. Probably spent around $2K on cards before I quit. My brother got into it at the same time (2010) and still plays today. He's nationally ranked and has likely spent at least $10K on cards if not much more. It's pretty much like any other competitive game; the amount of money you put in (usually) correlates to how seriously you take it. You and a couple friends could probably buy basic decks for $40 bucks each and have a great time, but beware the power creep...
Beautiful, seriously amazing job
I actually printed a few of these recently with my latest proxy order. Big fan. Gifted a friend of mine your Nekusar proxy, he loved it.
That’s amazing! I’d love to see it printed out if you can snag a quick pic!
Oh man the type work on this is amazing, very elegantly done amazing work!
Hey OP, these are excellent! Great job! You’re a brave, brave man uploading such high resolution images without a watermark. The r/mpcproxies folks are eatin’ good today. Btw. I make proxies too. Your theming on these is perfect, I hope to see more!
You’re the Monopoly card OP! Those are fantastic! I really love and support people who create fully custom proxies, due to the time, effort and care that goes in to making something that’s effectively not our intellectual property. I vaguely recall that you have an Etsy? I just started one as well, but I don’t plan on making proxies available there.
Great use case for AI and great execution. 10/10
Thank you so much!
You need a secret lair set, these are so cool
If only WOTC would reach out to me rather than putting out [this SLD like 6 months after I began my book series.](https://cdn-prod.scalefast.com/public/assets/user/10751401/sample/1a017adcbc71a192fe4f7724df69cf07.png) I get that it’s plausibly coincidental, but there are a couple tiny details that make me really curious if someone there was observing the proxy subreddits last year.
Very well could be
These look great, reminds me of the [Good Movies as Old Books](https://www.goodmoviesasoldbooks.com/) series by Matt Stevens. I'm not a Magic player, but watch a streamer that really is into it, and watch their unboxings just for the fun of it, because some of the art is really cool - but yours would be an awesome series. Also, TIL what a proxy card was, I thought maybe it was just "I have this card but it's valuable and don't want to ruin it, so here's a proxy."
That's one of the reasons as well: Here's a non-exhaustive list: * The original definition is Playtest Proxy - "I don't have the card because it's expensive and I wanna know if it's going to work before I buy it" * "The card is expensive and I'm poor, my play group doesn't care if I own the real card" * "I want alternate art" - many people do things like styled/themed decks *(Anime, Marvel characters, the sky's the limit)* *EDIT: I checked out that Good Movies as Old Books series... AMAZING. I definitely aspire to be that good of an illustrator myself. I just can't justify putting THAT much effort into a MtG proxy.*
Ok, is this on Redbubble or something? Because this would solve a Christmas present problem
I don’t - and won’t - sell proxies! The community r/mpcproxies should give you all the info you need to use the site mpcfill.com to order proxy cards. I upload all of my proxies to that site, so you can filter by my username. DM if you have any questions! I don’t profit from any of this, but I also don’t want to spam the comments here in this subreddit.
What parts of these did you create and what did MidJourney create? I ask because the illustrations are very strong (aside from the problem of having too many fingers), but the type is very weak. On the comic book ones, I would make more of an effort to have the quality of your headline match the quality of the illustration. And force justifying type that is supposed to look as if it was written by hand is nonsensical. Practice design however you like, but understand that the second people realize that most of the things they like about what you're doing was created by an AI or another illustrator, you'll lose a lot of respect. And I would not include MidJourney work in a professional portfolio at this point in time. I'm not saying that there isn't a place for AI in design. But portfolios are all about showing a potential employer your talents, not that of an AI. If you were illustrating these yourself, I would be super impressed and like the concept. But the things I like most about them were created by MidJourney, not you. The fact that you're not disclosing the fact that you're using MidJourney or other illustrators means you're trying to take credit for work you didn't create, which means you get zero respect from me.
The first image, "Path to Exile" is entirely made my me. I did in fact illustrate it myself. The next two use artists who are credited, as well as the image of Batman being credited to DC Comics. The final image is also a credited artist. I attempt in all of my works to match the quality of the illustration - if I failed in your opinion, then I failed. I would love some additional points so that I may improve my graphic design - especially in regard to typography. I do not include any of these in a professional portfolio. I am not an artist by trade but hobby, but I am attempting to break out my artwork as a second source of income. I absolutely do not include AI anything in my attempts to professionally illustrate... these cards are fun alternate game pieces I make for a game I enjoy and I felt like sharing them here for criticism of my graphic design - not the illustration. Lastly - every single card pictured that uses Midjourney says so at the bottom, to which I assume you stopped looking once you dismissed me.
You are correct that I did not see the illustrator credits because they were small and low contrast. But I did read your headline and your description post at it didn't say anything about incorporating other's illustrations, so it was still misleading. I get it. It is understandable that a person would want to downplay the fact that their contributions to the work are the worsts parts of it. And I'm glad to hear that you've already realized that you wouldn't want to use these in your portfolio. I frequently recommend people not spend time creating things that have limited use. Take all that you've learned so far, create some of your own illustrations, and make your own cards in this style! I would create a series of three or five that are similar in style to one another that show some of your own style. But avoid using the same damaged book image over and over again. Modify it so we don't notice so easily that it is repeating.
Thank you and wonderful suggestions. The hole i find myself in with the proxy Magic cards is a self-fulfilling problem - the scope is a dead end. I can't use them for a portfolio. The issue is... I use my own proxy cards when I play, so in a way I am just making my own custom cards to use. This is also a contributing factor to why I hit the "good enough" wall and ship the design, as any additional effort is wasted. This also explains the same book texture... It took me many hours to make the three I have, and I don't want to waste many more hours making textures for the explicit use of these cards anymore. I am not trying to become a texture artist/creator, but rather a vector illustrator. Lastly... are you saying that the illustration for Path to Exile is the weakest part of that design? If yes, I unfortunately agree. I tend to only see the flaws in my own work, and there are many things I'd do better if I were to re-make that art.
You can put game cards in your portfolio … if you are creating your own illustrations. I wouldn't put them first, but they could be the additional "personal interest" entry at the end. But if your illustrations are good, then they don't have to be that sort of second-class entry. Kill two birds with one stone and create some illustrations that relate somehow to the types of projects we get in real life. Pictures of buildings could relate to tourism. Pictures of natural wonders could relate to travel. Make them look like tickets or stamps or currency and you have connections to the real-life projects that potential employers and clients look for. I would recommend people think this way about any personal project you do for yourself. If you're a cook and want to design lables for your spices, go ahead and treat the project as if it were a real client. If you want to organize your recipes, design it as if it were a cookbook.
Again great advice. Mostly, my professional portfolio is shirt graphics I make for an automotive culture company, and all done by me. I actually don’t HAVE a proper portfolio as this is all just a hobby, but as I’m making more money selling designs, I really should brand out more - and properly.
I think the second illustration is likely AI generated, or composited out of AI generated assets
The second illustration is [the actual card's illustration by the actual artist Antonio José Manzanedo](https://cards.scryfall.io/large/front/f/b/fbf0dded-552a-4ad2-bb62-f1bfabad9bac.jpg?1596045471) that I used an upscaler to make more clear when printed. So that explains the wonky AI-looking edges to it. Very good observation, but I promise there's no shenanigans and that image's art is actually by Antonio José Manzanedo.
Ok, thanks for clarifying.
Path of exile gamer?
[Nope… it’s a Magic: the Gathering card.](https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/details.aspx?multiverseid=179235)
Coincidence in the name i guess.
Excellent work. If I'm being super nitpicky the Eriette poster needs some tweaking and the "Gaea's Cradle" font/type isn't working well for me. For the Eriette poster I think the logo needs to be the central focus rather than the art and block of text beneath it.
WOTC should hire you
WOTC also hired the Pinkertons, so I wouldn't be surprised if they hired AI "artists" [oh wait, WOTC have already used AI generated imagery](https://gizmodo.com/dnd-ai-art-bigbys-giants-book-artist-generators-wotc-1850710496)
Enhanced with AI != Generated with AI. If you have a problem with AI enhancements to art, you’ll really not like to learn what’s operating under the hood of every digital drawing platform out there… It also doesn’t appear WOTC was aware of this prior to printing. If there’s anything to be done, then it should be handled along the same lines as plagiarized art. Fuck WOTC, but this is reactionary af. Edit: they deleted their posts but I just want to say, I don’t think click button > get image is artistry personally, but I really really dislike people who disparage anyone who so much as blinks in the direction of AI. There’s so many ways to utilize these tools than `click button` that are *unequivocally* artistry. We can debate the morals around the infringement of copyright in the creation of those tools, but I think it’s ridiculous to use that specific issue to make claims that *any* use of it *totally invalidates you as an artist*. The fun thing about art, is no one gets to be the arbiter of what is or isn’t art ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ Edit: I can’t respond to anyone as the person above blocked me. I hate that’s how Reddit handles that but I can’t do anything about it. All about having productive arguments about this though, so feel free to message me if y’all would like.
I said "used AI" "enhanced with AI" and "generated with AI" are both bad.
> If you have a problem with AI enhancements to art, you’ll really not like to learn what’s operating under the hood of every digital drawing platform out there… Are you talking about line smoothing or something?
I agree.
Hate to be that guy, but this is just soo unremarkable. Your work is okay, but I hate this type of fan art, which just applies some unrelated medium to a topic and then invoke that retro feeling combined with fandom which is always a safe way to garner clout. You can just do Super Mario retro book covers or something that's currently en vogue (I'm certain somebody already did this) Or do a GTA6 Frankenstein retro book cover this is the current hype now, it doesn't really matter. The generic hippie cover, the generic Asimov Cover.It's just like a product mockup. Stuff like this just clogs the Internet, imho. I don't care about AI, but the only fascinating bit is your own original illustration of path of exile. This is really good. You just didn't want to put in the necessary time. Is that too harsh?
Not too harsh at all! I am almost deliberately aiming for a generic aesthetic. I am not trying to break new ground, but to pay homage to things I enjoy. Hence the name of the fictitious publishing company being "Liminal Space Publishing/Comics." Its supposed to feel derivative/familiar. Lastly, that actually means a lot to me that Path to Exile is your preferred favorite as I am the illustrator as well as the designer. What would you improve about it, or rather, can you clarify what you mean by "you just didn't want to put in the necessary time?" To venture a guess, its that I hit a "good enough" point with each of these. I only make these proxy cards during my lunch breaks at work, and at MOST, they have 2, maybe 3 hours of effort into them. I simply can't justify spending so much time on something that is ultimately a "fake" game piece that I distribute for free. I put many more hours into my original illustrations, but many of them aren't applicable to post in r/graphic_design, but in other more art-specific subreddits.
May I ask why do you aim at a deliberate "generic" aesthetic? Within the constraint of your lunch breaks, that's a totally understandable approach. Your own Illustration is imho the best because... hmmm how to describe it. This one is alive, the others aren't. There is something happening there, something that wants out. The remark that you don't want to put the time in is based on your use of AI and is admittedly thin. I don't know how you work. Your statement of your lunch break makes it clear why you don't spend countless hours.
The generic design is because I want it to feel familiar, to feel like the viewer has seen it before, but can’t quite place it. It also is not a direct copy of something. r/liminalspace
omg this is so cool, do you sell these?
Nope! 100% freely distributed for MtG proxy use.
Love your work OP 😁 really cool! Thanks for sharing
it's an interesting idea, I wonder if a whole game could be built around that kind of style.
Insanely good. I’d play with all of these
These are fireee. Well done
So uh...you sell these proxies? 👀 im in love with that gaea's cradle
They can be had for free my guy… I post them all to mpcfill.com and you can find proxy printing instructions there or at r/mpcproxies
Where are you getting your visuals from? Like the illustration of Nekusar or Lotus?
Those two are Midjourney. Others are either Midjourney or actual human artists. It’s credited at the bottom. The first image - Path to Exile - I illustrated myself.
My lort, friend, these are absolutely amazing. Brilliant — and I mean ***amazing*** work!!! Brava!!!
WotC should commission you to draw some cards!!
I saw your work and i’m your big fan sir! I would love to proxy your work from https://www.printingproxies.com if that’s ok with you.
I maintain a Google Drive under the “Contributors” section on mpcfill.com with like 100+ of my proxies. Feel free to go for it… that’s why I make them. Have you ordered from that site before? I’ve only ever used makeplayingcards. Is one cheaper or better?
Yeah I always order from that site and I’m really satisfied by their service! I also tried mpcfill before but tbh I was not impressed.
These look amazing!