Drawing My Card: The First Step

Jacob p -

Hello microbe mega-fans. I hope everyone has been able to relax better than a Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus after infecting a host bacteria. For me, this first week has been a little strange with starting my site placement and pacing myself for this project.

From how card game shops run to learning how to playtest a game, I got to learn a lot in my first week at my site placement. My on site advisor, Rocky, showed me how he runs the store on the first day so that I could understand the business side of the shop. I also learned that they are developing their own card game which they are planning to sell at Comic-Con. Over the next couple days, I helped them make the first run of playtesting cards and also playtested them. Rocky introduced me to a software for creating card designs called Tabletop Creator Pro. I had a chance to use this software at Baxters and I really like it.

Outside of my site placement, I have been working on the artwork and brainstorming ideas for future cards. A major concern I had before was that I’d make a card game but run out of ideas for new sets of cards. With inspiration from my site placement I’ve developed plenty of ideas for future sets. I have also started on artwork for the bacteria cards but I am still trying to nail down the exact style I’d like to use.

I have also attached a picture I took of the main room of Baxters so you all can visualize my site placement. Hope to see you next week!

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Comments:

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    Rohit Panga
    Jacob, this picture honestly reminds me of my kindergarten art room, with the table setup and the shelves and designs on the walls. It's great that your site has a lot of resources to do this! Also I'm curious about what process you take to design your cards. Do you do a lot of research on your bacteria species, and then bring them to your site placement to come up with a design?
    February 25, 2025 at 9:23 pm - Reply
    jacob_p
    Hello Rohit, I'm glad you like the look of Baxters. In reference to designing cards, I haven't quite got to fully designing them but I have done a lot of research on the bacteria I would like to include. I've already done a significant amount of research on the bacteria I'd like to include and noted metabolism and unique characteristics. I have other duties at my site placement, so I'm going to do the drawing and card design at home with inspiration from some concept art for some bacteria I did months ago.
    February 26, 2025 at 10:52 am - Reply
    dina_i
    Jacob, your site placement looks like a lot of fun to be at! How has playtesting influenced your approach to designing your cards? Also, what’s been the biggest challenge in deciding the art style for the bacteria cards? Looking forward to seeing how it all comes together!
    February 26, 2025 at 11:28 am - Reply
    ashwyn_k
    Hey, Jacob! Your title is so clever. I love it! I'm also very curious about the "Tabletop Creator Pro." Do you know how it actually works? Also, are you going to plan on using it for some of your card designs, or are you going to try and do it all manually? You said you started working on some artwork, so I wonder if you'll rely on your own skills for it all or if you'll mix some of the "Tabletop Creator Pro" into it too. I'm very interested in how you're going to develop these cards. Best of luck!
    February 26, 2025 at 11:56 am - Reply
    jacob_p
    Great questions, Dina. Playtesting their card game has made me a lot more cautious about the win conditions for my game and how easily it can be done with certain cards. I haven't gotten to the playtesting stages of my card game yet, but what I learned from my site placement is that I should try to break the game as much as possible when I play it. The biggest problem I've been having with the art style has been breaking away from my current style which really highlights imperfections to a style that's more cartoonish with perfect lines and sleek designs.
    February 26, 2025 at 4:43 pm - Reply
    jacob_p
    Hello Ashwyn, I apologize for not being more clear about what Tabletop Creator Pro does. Tabletop creator pro is only a program for creating card designs. It helps me add borders and text boxes, apply the design to all cards, and print out cards. I do the artwork on my own with my iPad using a drawing app called Procreate. Once I finish artwork, I'll have to export it onto my computer and customize the cards for each artwork (different text, border color, etc.). I hope this reply clears up any confusion.
    February 26, 2025 at 4:52 pm - Reply

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