Adventure Time Magic Card Alters!? Mathematical!

One of the fun things to do with Magic cards (besides play Magic with them, of course) is altering them!

What is card altering?
Altering cards is a process by which artists take existing physical cards (Magic, Pokemon, Yugioh) and create different versions of art on them. If you look around the web, you’ll find some amazing examples of extended artwork and borderless altered cards.

Altering cards has been a hobby of mine for some time, so I wanted to share a simple method I used to create these fun Adventure Time-themed Magic tokens. Feel free to try card altering yourself, and if you do I'd love to see the results. Post them in the comments! Now, onto the tutorial...

What do you need?
There isn’t one specific right or wrong way to alter cards and I encourage you to experiment with different mediums and styles. That being said, here is a list of the art supplies I generally start altering projects with:
• The cards you wish to alter
• Gesso
• Paintbrushes – you’ll want to work with smaller sizes to get details. I use two Princeton Art Brush Co. Round, sizes 1 and 3/0. You can use smaller or larger ones, it’s up to your personal preference.
• Acrylic paints – I use the Blick Studio Acrylic paint set of 24 tubes.
• A small dish or palate for mixing paints
• A small bowl of water for washing brushes
• Paper towel for drying brushes
• Fine tip pen or marker for line work
• Newspaper/scrap paper to protect your work area
• ** Optional: Masking tape for blocking off portions of art you’d like to keep. I use ¼” wide tape.
• ** Optional: Toothpicks for corrections

Lastly, you should have an idea of how you want to alter the cards. For this project I’ve chosen a Human and Wolf token, which I plan to alter into Finn (the human) and Jake (the dog) from Adventure Time. I used this photo for inspiration:

1. Apply gesso to your artwork area.

Gesso is a primer for paint. Because cards already have a somewhat glossy finish on them, I like applying gesso to give my paint a good base and to lighten up and smooth the background colors. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I apply a few coats until I’m satisfied, then wait for it to dry.

2. Use a pencil to lightly sketch an outline of your art.

3. Start painting!

I find it’s easier to start with the lighter colors, and then fill in the darker ones last.

4. Add outlines and details.

I used a thin-tipped marker for making black outlines. Something like a fine point Sharpie pen would work as well.

Step 5. Paint the background.

Step 6. Add outlines and details to the background, then touch it up!

And that's about it! Using this method, I created a set of Adventure Time character tokens and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out.

Til next time,

Eve

Read More

A Review of West Seattle's Newest Game Store

Board games are a big part of my life. Guests to my home often find themselves sitting at my table staring at pieces of cardboard or little wooden game pieces, so as a seasoned board gamer I love it when a new shop opens as one can never have enough board games or places to play. Saturday, May 17^th was the grand opening of Meeples Games, a gaming store and cafe in West Seattle and I stopped in to check it out.

First impressions: Meeples is a bit out of the way on the second story of a business complex. The location actually reminded me of the board game cafes in Asian countries such as Japan and Korea, as they were often tucked away on an upper level of buildings, accessible only through side-streets and cramped elevators. Thankfully, Meeples is easy to access and the size of the space is larger than you'd expect. All of the staff I encountered were extremely cheerful and helpful, despite the hustle and bustle of the grand opening.

The important part of a game store is of course the selection of games they offer and Meeples did not disappoint. They had a wide variety of both classic and recent games for sale, and I appreciated their organization style of grouping similar games together by theme or category. This makes it easy if you know of one game you really like and want  to find others that you might enjoy as well. I should also mention that behind the register Meeples featured a myriad of games to check-out and get a feel for them before buying.

Meeples is not just a game store, they have a cafe as well which serves a wide range of snacks and beverages, including espresso and beer for the adult patrons. The cafe side of Meeples is off to the right when you enter and I must say it exceeded my expectations. I ordered the brie, apple, pesto and prosciutto sandwich and it came with a side of potato chips. It was simply delicious and I highly recommend it!

I ended up staying for a Magic: the Gathering draft and was able to check out their gaming space, which is on the other side of the store from the cafe. The gaming area had many tables and comfortable chairs, and unlike other game stores I've been to it didn't get unreasonably hot when full of people. That was definitely a plus.



I was very pleased with my experience at Meeples and if you’re a gamer and find yourself in West Seattle, this is definitely a place worth checking out.



Check them out at: http://meeplesgames.com/

3727 California Ave SW

Suite 2B

Seattle, WA 98116



Hours: (per the website, last checked on 5/20/2014)

Sunday - Thursday 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Friday - Saturday 10:00 AM - midnight

Read More

How to Teach Magic: the Gathering

This past Emerald City Comicon, I spent a day volunteering to teach people how to play Magic: the Gathering with the Lady Planeswalkers Society.  I've taught people how to play Magic before, but not in a convention-style environment. It was a lot of fun meeting new people and introducing them to one of my favorite games, but I realized that teaching Magic is quite different than teaching other games. Magic can seem daunting to new players, so unlike other games where an explanation of the rules is sufficient, you really need to show how Magic is fun to play. The hard part is that Magic is fun for different reasons for different people!

Before we start, I should mention that if you are wanting to learn Magic yourself, Wizards of the Coast puts out some great videos and tutorials for beginners, and I highly recommend getting Duels of the Planeswalkers. However, you may have a friend that wants to learn and they want YOU to teach them. Or maybe you have a friend that you've been wanting to teach Magic to and they've finally agreed to give you an hour of their time. In either case, the following is a simple guide with tips and tricks for successfully teaching Magic to new players. Note: I'm not going to write about rules and turn order, because as a teacher of Magic you should already be familiar with that. Rather, I'm going to give  an overview of my approach to introducing the game to others.

Step 1. Get your decks ready!

You will want to have decks prepared in advance  in order to jump right into the game. I like to use the 30-card Magic 2014 Sample Decks that are given away at PAX and other conventions, deck lists available here. Wizards of the Coast distributes these to stores and organizations for teaching Magic. If you don’t happen to have them lying around, don't worry, you can construct them or similar decks for relatively cheap. If you need to buy cards, I recommend cardkingdom.com. You can copy and paste the deck lists into the Card Kingdom Deck Builder (under MTG Tools on the side bar) and you'll be able to purchase the individual cards for all 5 sample decks for less than $25 (I did not include basic lands in my search, prices checked as of 4/15/2014).

Alternatively, Wizards of the Coast also produces Intro Packs which contain ready-to-go 60 card decks. These will run you about $10 each, but they are solid, fun decks for beginners.



Step 2: Induct your student as a planeswalker.

This is a crucial step because Magic isn't just a card game: it’s a battle between two powerful wizards! Describing the flavor of the world of Magic is a good way to have your student connect with the game. While showing them their deck, explain that it is a book of spells that they, as a wizard, have "gathered" from their travels through time and space. Yes, you are a time-traveling, dimension-leaping, powerful wizard. Who wouldn't want to play after hearing that?

This is also a good time to explain the color pie. Give your student a rich and vibrant description of what each color stands for, and if you have decks prepared in all 5 colors, let your student pick the color that they feel the most drawn to. It's also a good idea to let them be as hands-on as possible in the teaching process. Let them roll their own dice, shuffle their own cards, and take the time to appreciate the art and flavor text if they're interested in it.



Step 3: Give a brief overview of the rules.

Scaffolding is an essential part of conventional teaching, and so it is the same with Magic. Start with only the very basics, the more advanced stuff can come later. I like to explain life totals, lands and tapping for mana, show the different types of permanents and briefly cover instants and sorceries and that's pretty much it. Ask your student questions to get a feel for how they like to learn new games. Example questions are: Have you played other card games before? How do you like to learn to play new games? Do you like to read all the rules first, or do you prefer more of a learn-as-you-go style?

Questions like these will allow you to adapt your teaching style to your student. If they learn as they go, start playing and pause along the way to explain things. Be sure that they feel open to asking questions whenever they have one. Magic can be complicated at times, and it has many aspects that beginners don't really need to know about, so try to keep your explanations limited to the basics. Remember, this is about sharing your love of the game, not about mercilessly beating your opponent. That will come in due time, you just have to teach them how to play first!



Step 4: Start playing, but take it slow.

I like to play the first game with my hand open and displayed, with my cards turned upside down so my student can read them. This allows them to see what I'm doing and ask questions. Narrate your actions, especially for the first few turns. The turn phases can be especially challenging for new players. Mistakes are bound to happen, but instead of being a rules lawyer, try to explain why things happen in a certain way. For example, when a creature with deathtouch comes onto the battlefield, you may want to pause the game and give an example of combat with deathtouch creatures involved. Avoid Magic jargon-y words and speak in plain English whenever possible.

Step 5: Play at their level.

Playing at their level means being a gentle guide through the game process. Provide encouragement for good plays and remembering turn orders and triggers. Don't purposefully lose the game, but try not to overwhelm your student with advanced combos or tricks that will leave them more confused than when they started. Playing at their level may mean holding back a spell in order to show a specific combat interaction. Playing at their level also means not calling out misplays or suggesting complex tricks that are beyond their level of understanding. Let them figure them out for themselves, that's the fun of this game!

And before you know it, the first game is done! Congratulations!

If they are getting the hang of it and seem like they are enjoying themselves, let them set the pace for how many games and how much longer they'd like to play. Offer to change decks if they like. Throughout the whole process, try your best to make their enjoyment your priority. If they enjoy the game, they'll be asking to play again and then you'll know you've done a great job.



Keep walkin' those planes!

-Eve

Read More