Our Beautiful Playing Card Deck is Complete!
Chen Naje or @chenandink, visited the CryptoSolitaire office last Monday, August 12, 2019. Chen had a quick chat with Rico and Isma about the latest update on the deck he’s creating. And this latest update is a big one.
The deck is finally complete!
Yes, you read it right!
Chen has been releasing WIP updates since July 22 this year. These frequent updates made Chen’s supporters and the CryptoSolitaire team very excited to see the final output. And just recently, Chen unveiled on his Facebook and Instagram page what could very well be the most beautiful animal-themed deck of cards!
“When you look at the cards, they are really stunning and clean. It was a good choice that we decided to go for the plain border and not the solid colored one.” — Rico
Chen started a poll on his Instagram stories before he decided on which border style to use for the final look. Most of his followers chose the plain border over the solid color.
Here are some of the highlights during the interview.
How much effort and how many hours did you put into this work?
“I can say I exerted 110% in terms of effort. I spent 8 hours on average per card. Some were easy but some were very detailed. I like finishing things up when I’m inspired to work so for some cards, I worked on them overtime.”
Did you feel exhausted from all that work?
“I actually enjoyed making it. It’s something new for me. And the fact that I learned a lot especially with Procreate, made up for all the sleepless nights I spent on this project. I realized that it would be impractical if I drew on paper so I used Procreate app on my iPad Pro instead.”
Were there people who reached out to you who wanted something similar after sharing your work on Instagram?
“Yes, there were some. But they wanted something physical. The deck of cards I created for CryptoSolitaire is really a one-of-a-kind project for me. It opened up opportunities as well.”
Rico and Ismael agreed that soon, Chen will definitely grow as an artist. Not only financially but also in terms of impact in the art community. We also hope that the deck of cards that Chen created would increase in value over time.
The Look
How do you differentiate the Queens from the Kings and Jacks?
“In character design, females usually are slimmer, and the pose is quite flirty. I also added more whites to represent femininity. Among the 4 animals, the most challenging to work on were the female rabbit and wolf. Male lions have manes and male deers have antlers so they are easy to distinguish. But I think I managed to make them look feminine in the end.”
In Chen’s WIP 1, he mentioned that he was inspired by the history of the court cards, specifically the Kings, when choosing the best animal for each suit. The Kings were represented by different historical figures:
For the clubs, Chen chose the wolf to represent the lively and energetic Alexander the Great.
For the spades, the lion, to represent the authoritative, forceful, and brave King David of Israel.
For the diamonds, the deer, to represent the noble and distinguished Julius Caesar of Rome.
And lastly, for the hearts, the rabbit, for the friendly and worthy King Charles of the Holy Roman Empire.
What’s the concept behind the elements in the cards?
“I did some initial research before starting the project. All forms of art have history and meanings. From what I’ve read, the clubs, spades, diamonds, and hearts represent the four seasons. So what I did was put in elements that relate to the seasons as well.
For the clubs, I used tropical leaves to represent summer. For the spades, I used maple leaves as symbol for the fall season. For the diamonds, I used ice crystals to represent winter which somehow also look like raw diamonds. Lastly, flowers for the hearts to represent their bloom during spring.”
Rico and Ismael were amazed upon hearing the details for the first time.
“I was thrilled and speechless at the same time. I never expected there were hidden meanings behind those elements.” — Ismael
“I thought they were just chosen for their shapes. The maple leaves for example, looked like a spade because of its sharp edges and the crystals because they looked like diamonds. It’s also very viable in terms of user experience in a game setting. It’s not just stylish and artistic, but also practical and functional.” — Rico
Chen added that at first he thought it was going to be much better if the cards were colored. But since he’s not known for colored drawings, he decided to stick with his own style.
The Pre-Sale
The deck is completed but we’re still finalizing the smart contracts so there will still be a pre-sale period. To promote and celebrate the completion of the deck, we’ve decided to do an airdrop or giveaway.
We’re giving away 50 regular decks worth ₱500 each to participants who complete 7 simple tasks. The giveaway during the Ibalong Epic: Story of Baltog, an Augmented Reality Experience event last August 17–18, 2019 at Ayala Malls Legazpi Activity Center.
“We want to be meticulous and make sure the smart contracts don’t have any issues before we launch so that our users will be 100% confident in the product.” — Rico
10% of the proceeds will be credited to Chen’s wallet while another 10% will go to Albay Park and Wildlife to support the sheltered animals in Legazpi City, Albay.
The cards will have different levels of rarity including Regular (the most common), Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. These different kinds of “shine” will be visible in the games that we’re currently developing.
The Concept
“The concept of CryptoSolitaire is the first of its kind. There have been Non-Fungible Tokens in several other games but their main focus is on the gaming and technology aspects. This is the first time that the main focus ison the artistic aspect.
This is the first truly ownable digital art that has utility. You can appreciate it as an artwork and at the same time, play it in our card games. A true innovation.” — Rico
“CryptoSolitaire is a stART-up. Most artworks are for display only, for trading, to be appreciated, and be featured in galleries. So this is the first time that a work of art has real utility. This will impact digital art and other digital assets.” — Ismael
That’s it for our interview with Chen! Thank you so much, Chen, for making our vision into reality! Please support Chenandink by following his Facebook and Instagram page.
To avail our first deck of cards, please visit our website and sign up for our newsletter!
Learn more about us from the following links:
Our Website: https://cryptosolitaire.io/
Telegram: https://t.me/cryptosolitairegame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cryptosolitaire/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cryptosolitaire
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cryptosolitaire.io/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cryptosolitaire
