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docs/art-direction.md
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# Sanctification TCG - Art Direction
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## Goal
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I want the cards and the product as a whole to have a very distinct visual identity.
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The current direction I like most is:
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> **Stained-glass-inspired as the main style, with tapestry and illuminated manuscript influence as supporting texture and ornament.**
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The overall goal should be:
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> **Sacred, beautiful, and stylized. Not a dense museum reconstruction.**
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I do not want the cards to feel like a generic fantasy TCG, casino game, anime card game, or hyper-realistic historical reenactment.
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The art should feel reverent and Christian first, while still being visually strong enough that collecting the cards feels exciting.
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---
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## Core Visual Principles
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Across the whole product, the artwork should generally follow these ideas:
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- Sacred and reverent tone.
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- Stained-glass-inspired composition.
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- Jewel-tone palette where appropriate.
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- Gold can be used as an accent, but should become more prominent as rarity increases.
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- Tapestry, linen, parchment, and illuminated-manuscript textures can support the overall look.
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- Clear subject silhouettes.
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- Cards should remain readable at thumbnail size.
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- Avoid hyper-photorealism.
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- Avoid anime or comic-book energy.
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- Avoid a dark fantasy aesthetic.
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- Avoid visual language that feels like gambling, loot boxes, or a casino.
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- Avoid overly dense historical reconstruction.
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- Prefer symbolic clarity over excessive detail.
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- Every card should feel like it belongs to the same product, even when different sets or traditions have their own visual flavor.
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A good way to think about the stained-glass direction is that the cards should feel inspired by sacred windows and devotional art without needing to literally reproduce any specific historical style.
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---
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## Product-Wide Visual Language
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The card art should influence the rest of the app.
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Possible shared UI motifs:
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- Cathedral-window or arched shapes.
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- Restrained ornamental dividers.
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- Deep blue, burgundy, cream, green, and gold accents.
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- Parchment, stone, linen, or subtle glass-inspired surfaces.
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- Illuminated-manuscript-style decorative elements used sparingly.
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- Soft lighting rather than neon effects.
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- Ornament should support hierarchy rather than fill every empty space.
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The application UI should still feel modern and usable.
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The goal is not to make the entire interface look medieval.
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The historical / sacred art direction should mostly come through:
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- Cards.
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- Pack openings.
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- Binder / collection presentation.
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- Headers and section treatments.
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- Decorative accents.
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- Important moments and milestones.
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Normal application controls should remain clear and familiar.
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---
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# Card Art
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## General Composition
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Cards should generally prioritize:
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1. Subject.
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2. Identity.
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3. Short supporting content.
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4. Ornamentation.
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The art should be readable even when the card is relatively small.
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The card should not require the user to zoom in just to understand who or what it represents.
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For character cards, prefer:
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- One clear subject.
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- Strong silhouette.
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- Limited background complexity.
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- Symbolic items associated with the subject.
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- Calm, iconic poses over excessive action scenes unless the card itself represents an event.
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For event cards, larger compositions and multiple figures can be used when necessary.
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For locations, items, doctrines, councils, and other categories, the framing can change while still staying within the same overall stained-glass visual language.
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---
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## Text on the Card
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The physical card should stay concise.
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The app itself can provide the deeper educational content when the card is inspected.
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A normal card can contain:
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- Name.
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- Short subtitle or descriptor.
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- Short verse, quote, or historical line.
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- Reference.
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Example:
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> **David**
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> Shepherd King
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>
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> “The LORD is my shepherd...”
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> Psalm 23:1
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The front content priority should generally be:
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1. Scripture directly related to the card.
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2. Historically significant Christian quotation.
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3. Concise historical or theological statement.
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We should not force a full verse onto the card when it harms the visual design.
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A short excerpt with an ellipsis is fine when it is clearly intentional.
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The full content can appear in the inspection panel.
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---
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## Card Back
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The card back should generally be standardized so it does not reveal the identity of a card during pack opening.
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The back should not leak:
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- Card identity.
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- Exact rarity.
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- Printing.
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- Finish.
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- Material.
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- Other traits that would spoil the reveal.
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It can use the Sanctification branding and common visual language.
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Different sets could potentially have different backs in the future, but only if this does not meaningfully spoil the card reveal.
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---
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# Card Inspection
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The card itself should remain relatively clean.
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More detailed information belongs in the inspection experience.
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When inspecting a card, the user should be able to:
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- Rotate the card freely.
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- Flip between front and back.
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- Zoom in to inspect artwork and physical characteristics.
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- Observe material properties responding dynamically to lighting.
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- Observe wear and imperfections where applicable.
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- Return quickly to the originating collection / binder context.
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The inspection UI should also expose the educational and collectible information that does not need to live directly on the physical card.
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Possible sections:
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## About
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- Full verse or quote.
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- Description.
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- Historical context.
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- Theological context.
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- Related Scripture.
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- Related events / people / cards.
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- Learn-more sources.
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## Card
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- Rarity.
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- Set.
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- Printing.
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- Finish.
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- Material.
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- Wear classification.
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- Exact wear percentage.
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## Provenance
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- Original owner.
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- Date opened.
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- Population.
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- Serial / instance information.
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---
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## Card Dimensions and Resolution
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### Aspect Ratio
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All standard cards should use a **5:7 portrait aspect ratio**.
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This corresponds cleanly with the current physical prototype dimensions:
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- Width: 63 mm
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- Height: 88.2 mm
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Artwork, card frames, masks, material maps, and generated assets should
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all use the same 5:7 coordinate space unless a specific experiment
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requires otherwise.
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### Master Artwork Resolution
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The standard master artwork resolution should be:
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**3000 × 4200 px**
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This is the source-quality asset and should be retained even if smaller
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versions are generated for the application.
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All associated masks should use the same dimensions and alignment where
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practical, including:
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- Foil masks
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- Holographic masks
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- Metallic masks
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- Roughness maps
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- Wear masks
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- Normal/bump maps
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- Printing masks
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### Runtime Resolutions
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Runtime assets may be generated from the master depending on context:
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- High-resolution inspection: 2000 × 2800
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- Standard card rendering: 1000 × 1400
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- Binder / collection thumbnails: 500 × 700 or smaller
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Exact runtime sizes should eventually be determined through performance
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testing, particularly on mobile devices.
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The master artwork should never be replaced by a lower-resolution
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runtime export.
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---
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# Rarity Art Direction
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Rarity should have a major impact on the visual grammar of the card.
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A common card should not look almost as impressive as a legendary card.
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Rarity should primarily affect:
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- Frame complexity.
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- Number of ornamental elements.
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- Visual storytelling.
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- Palette richness.
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- Composition complexity.
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- Symbolic detail.
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- Amount of gold.
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- Background complexity.
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Rarity should **not** simply mean adding more glow or visual effects.
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A useful principle:
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> **Higher rarity should add storytelling and ornamentation, not merely more effects.**
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Another way to think about it:
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> **Common cards should feel like a simple parish stained-glass window. Legendary cards should feel closer to the centerpiece window behind the altar.**
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---
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## Common
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Common cards should be intentionally restrained.
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### Border
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- Thin and simple.
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- Geometric.
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- Very little decorative ornament.
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- No elaborate corner medallions.
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- No complex illuminated-manuscript scrollwork.
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- No gold.
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### Color
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- Limited palette.
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- Roughly 2-3 dominant colors plus cream / parchment.
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- More muted or restrained jewel tones.
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- Gold used mostly for separation or small accents.
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### Artwork
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- It doesn't need to be just the subject but rather them in the background doing something
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- Simple background.
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- Larger stained-glass panes.
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- Fewer small glass segments.
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- Minimal symbolic elements.
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- Calm composition.
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- No unnecessary visual drama.
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- Minimal micro-detail.
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### Overall Feel
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- Humble.
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- Clean.
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- Grounded.
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- Accessible.
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- Still beautiful, but obviously not premium.
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Example:
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**Timothy**
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- Timothy holding a scroll.
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- Simple ancient street or landscape.
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- Simple arch.
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- Blue / green / cream palette.
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- Thin brass or gold divider.
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- No ornate botanical frame.
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- No special corner symbols.
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- No heavily gilded title plaque.
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---
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## Uncommon
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Uncommon cards can begin introducing more refinement.
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### Border
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- Slightly thicker frame.
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- Small decorative accents.
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- Limited corner ornament.
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- Some leaf or manuscript-inspired motifs.
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### Color
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- Slightly broader palette.
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- More saturated jewel tones.
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- Small use of gold.
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### Artwork
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- More detailed backgrounds.
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- Additional symbolic element.
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- Slightly more complex stained-glass segmentation.
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- More deliberate framing around the subject.
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### Overall Feel
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- Refined.
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- Noticeably more interesting than Common.
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- Still not highly ornate.
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---
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## Rare
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Rare cards should feel distinctive.
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### Border
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- Decorative frame.
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- More custom ornament.
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- Symbolic motifs related to the subject.
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### Color
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- Richer jewel-tone palette.
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- More contrast.
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- More use of gold.
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### Artwork
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- Stronger visual storytelling.
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- More complex stained-glass structures.
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- Multiple meaningful background elements.
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- More deliberate lighting composition.
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### Overall Feel
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- Distinctive.
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- Collectible.
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- Clearly above the normal card experience.
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---
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## Extraordinary
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Extraordinary cards should feel prestigious.
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### Border
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- Elaborate framing.
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- Strong illuminated-manuscript influence.
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- More bespoke ornamentation.
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- Larger use of gold.
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### Color
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- Deep and saturated jewel tones.
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- Broad palette while remaining cohesive.
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- Strong visual contrast.
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### Artwork
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- Complex composition.
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- Multiple symbolic elements.
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- Richer environments.
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- More detailed stained-glass segmentation.
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- Greater sense of scale or drama.
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### Overall Feel
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- Prestigious.
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- Elaborate.
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- Immediately special.
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---
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## Legendary
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Legendary cards should be visually unmistakable.
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They can break some of the normal card-layout rules while still clearly belonging to the same product.
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### Border
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- Highly bespoke.
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- Custom symbolic elements related specifically to the card.
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- Extensive but tasteful ornamentation.
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- Rich gilding.
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### Color
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- Full jewel-tone palette where appropriate.
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- Strong gold accents.
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- Deep color contrast.
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### Artwork
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- Strong visual storytelling.
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- Multiple symbols connected directly to the subject.
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- Complex stained-glass composition.
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- More dramatic light.
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- More detailed environments.
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- Unique framing or iconography.
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### Overall Feel
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- Immediately special.
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- Reverent.
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- Iconic.
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- Worth stopping to inspect.
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Example:
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**David**
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Possible visual elements:
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- Crown.
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- Harp.
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- Shepherd staff.
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- Sheep.
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- Jerusalem.
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- Star / celestial imagery.
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- Bespoke gold framing.
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- Rich red and blue garments.
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- Complex stained-glass composition.
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These elements help tell David's story rather than simply adding decoration for decoration's sake.
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|
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#### Alt Style - Tapestry
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|
||||
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|
||||
---
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# Rarity vs. Physical Treatment
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Rarity, material, and finish are separate systems.
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This is important.
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A Common holographic card should still visually read as a Common card.
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A Legendary plain-paper card should still visually read as Legendary.
|
||||
|
||||
## Rarity controls
|
||||
|
||||
- Graphic design.
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- Frame.
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- Composition.
|
||||
- Symbolic storytelling.
|
||||
- Base art complexity.
|
||||
- Ornamentation.
|
||||
|
||||
## Material controls
|
||||
|
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- The physical substrate of the card.
|
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- Surface microtexture and roughness.
|
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- Edge and core appearance.
|
||||
- Base reflectivity and perceived weight.
|
||||
- Paper, linen, plastic, metal, or wood response.
|
||||
|
||||
## Finish controls
|
||||
|
||||
- A treatment applied over the material and printed artwork.
|
||||
- Selective foil reflection.
|
||||
- Holographic spectral response.
|
||||
- Coating strength and coverage.
|
||||
|
||||
For example:
|
||||
|
||||
- Common Paper + Printed Ink Timothy.
|
||||
- Common Paper + Foil Timothy.
|
||||
- Common Linen + Holographic Timothy.
|
||||
- Common Metal + Printed Ink Timothy.
|
||||
|
||||
All of them should still use the same underlying Common Timothy card design.
|
||||
|
||||
Material and finish should not be treated as an unrestricted Cartesian product. A combination should exist because it has an intentional physical and visual interpretation, not merely because both options are available independently.
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||||
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||||
---
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||||
|
||||
# Material and Finish Direction
|
||||
|
||||
If a collectible property exists, the player should ideally be able to perceive it visually or interactively.
|
||||
|
||||
Examples:
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||||
|
||||
- Finish -> visible.
|
||||
- Material -> visible.
|
||||
- Wear -> visible.
|
||||
- Imperfections -> visible.
|
||||
- Printing -> visible.
|
||||
- Weight -> indirectly observable.
|
||||
- Provenance -> inspectable metadata.
|
||||
- Population -> inspectable metadata.
|
||||
|
||||
The material is the card's substrate. The finish is a treatment applied over that substrate. They should remain independently identifiable when the card moves under light.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Paper
|
||||
|
||||
- Matte with fine, irregular fibers.
|
||||
- Broad, weak reflection rather than a sharp sheen.
|
||||
- Grain should become visible during close inspection without making the artwork noisy.
|
||||
|
||||
## Plastic
|
||||
|
||||
- Smoother surface.
|
||||
- Clear-coated dielectric reflection.
|
||||
- A bounded moving highlight should remain visible even with Printed Ink.
|
||||
- Cleaner edges.
|
||||
|
||||
## Linen
|
||||
|
||||
- Raised interlaced warp and weft rather than generic noise.
|
||||
- Soft diffuse reflection.
|
||||
- Small shaded recesses should help the weave read under moving light.
|
||||
- Particularly compatible with tapestry-inspired artwork.
|
||||
|
||||
## Metal
|
||||
|
||||
- Reflective underprint and a visibly metallic edge.
|
||||
- Darker artwork values create deeper engraved grooves; the maximum depth should remain low enough that the card still feels printed and collectible rather than sculpted.
|
||||
- Groove depth should read through surface normals, restrained cavity shading, and fine bevel highlights when the card moves.
|
||||
- Printed artwork colors must remain recognizable rather than becoming uniformly silver or gold.
|
||||
- Visually heavier.
|
||||
- Should still preserve artwork readability.
|
||||
|
||||
## Wood
|
||||
|
||||
- Warm substrate tint with a darker brown core.
|
||||
- Longitudinal, slightly warped grain with shallow physical relief.
|
||||
- Grain should support the card artwork rather than overpowering it.
|
||||
- Reflection should remain restrained and less polished than plastic or metal.
|
||||
|
||||
## Foil
|
||||
|
||||
- Selective angle-dependent metallic reflection controlled by an art-directed mask.
|
||||
- Light should sweep visibly across treated regions without washing out the entire illustration.
|
||||
- Foil should remain distinguishable from a Metal substrate: foil is a localized surface treatment, while metal changes the whole card body and edge.
|
||||
- Metal + Foil should preserve the printed colors and read as restrained, slightly raised champagne-metal polishing over etched steel. It should not turn the whole illustration into opaque gold.
|
||||
|
||||
## Holographic
|
||||
|
||||
- View-dependent spectral response.
|
||||
- Holographic response should use masks so intentional portions of the artwork react.
|
||||
- Should remain tasteful and avoid a neon / fantasy appearance.
|
||||
- Spectral color can be clearly visible, but extreme white sheen at grazing angles should remain controlled.
|
||||
|
||||
## Finish Mask Direction
|
||||
|
||||
- Finish masks should be authored and reviewed as part of the card art rather than treated as arbitrary technical output.
|
||||
- Preserve titles, verses, and other critical text unless a specific treatment is intentionally designed for them.
|
||||
- Do not create obvious circular or elliptical exclusions around faces, hands, animals, or other subjects. Those shapes read as artificial holes when the card moves.
|
||||
- Avoid isolated mask islands that produce unrelated holographic spots across skin or focal features.
|
||||
- Prefer coverage that follows stained-glass panes, ornament, borders, garments, environmental color, and other compositional regions.
|
||||
- Evaluate every mask while rotating the card under multiple lighting angles. A mask that looks acceptable in a still image may look distracting in motion.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Wear
|
||||
|
||||
Wear should not make cards ugly to the point that the artwork becomes undesirable.
|
||||
|
||||
Even the lowest wear levels should remain visually readable and collectible.
|
||||
|
||||
A 0.00 wear card can be noticeably scratched, worn, or damaged while still looking like a cared-for physical collectible rather than a destroyed object.
|
||||
|
||||
Possible classifications are still subject to change, but could look something like:
|
||||
|
||||
- Mint.
|
||||
- Near Mint.
|
||||
- Minimal Wear.
|
||||
- Moderately Played.
|
||||
- Worn.
|
||||
|
||||
Wear can affect:
|
||||
|
||||
- Edge whitening.
|
||||
- Surface scratches.
|
||||
- Small scuffs.
|
||||
- Minor print abrasion.
|
||||
- Subtle corner wear.
|
||||
|
||||
It should not normally obscure:
|
||||
|
||||
- Subject identity.
|
||||
- Important text.
|
||||
- Major portions of the artwork.
|
||||
|
||||
Wear patterns should ideally be seeded per card instance so two cards with the same wear value do not necessarily have identical damage.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Printing Variants
|
||||
|
||||
Printing should affect the graphic presentation of the same card identity.
|
||||
|
||||
## Normal
|
||||
|
||||
- Standard frame.
|
||||
- Name.
|
||||
- Subtitle.
|
||||
- Short verse / quote / fact.
|
||||
- Normal artwork area.
|
||||
|
||||
## Borderless
|
||||
|
||||
- Artwork extends farther toward the card edges.
|
||||
- Reduced frame.
|
||||
- Minimal text treatment.
|
||||
|
||||
## Textless
|
||||
|
||||
- Artwork-focused.
|
||||
- Little or no text.
|
||||
- Educational information remains available in the inspection panel.
|
||||
|
||||
## Boundless
|
||||
|
||||
- Full-bleed or near-full-bleed artwork.
|
||||
- Minimal or absent conventional frame.
|
||||
- Intended to feel like a special printing rather than a higher rarity.
|
||||
|
||||
Printing type should not change the underlying rarity of the card.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Thumbnail Readability
|
||||
|
||||
All normal card designs should remain recognizable in a binder or collection grid.
|
||||
|
||||
At thumbnail size, the user should ideally still be able to identify:
|
||||
|
||||
- The subject or general composition.
|
||||
- The card rarity through its frame language.
|
||||
- Major color identity.
|
||||
- Whether the card has an unusual printing or finish when practical.
|
||||
|
||||
Fine text does not need to remain readable at thumbnail size.
|
||||
|
||||
The card name should become readable as the card grows larger or when selected.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Pack Opening Art Direction
|
||||
|
||||
Pack opening should create anticipation without feeling like a casino.
|
||||
|
||||
Rarity can affect reveal pacing and presentation.
|
||||
|
||||
Possible progression:
|
||||
|
||||
## Common
|
||||
|
||||
- Simple lift.
|
||||
- Quick flip.
|
||||
- Minimal lighting change.
|
||||
|
||||
## Uncommon
|
||||
|
||||
- Slight pause.
|
||||
- Mild environmental emphasis.
|
||||
|
||||
## Rare
|
||||
|
||||
- More deliberate reveal.
|
||||
- Stronger lighting transition.
|
||||
- Small audio / visual flourish.
|
||||
|
||||
## Extraordinary
|
||||
|
||||
- More dramatic reveal timing.
|
||||
- Larger environmental shift.
|
||||
- More pronounced presentation.
|
||||
|
||||
## Legendary
|
||||
|
||||
- Unique or near-unique reveal treatment.
|
||||
- Strong visual emphasis.
|
||||
- Longer anticipation, but still skippable.
|
||||
|
||||
The goal is:
|
||||
|
||||
> **Rarity can affect anticipation without going full casino.**
|
||||
|
||||
All reveal animations should remain skippable.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Things to Avoid
|
||||
|
||||
Across all rarities:
|
||||
|
||||
- Hyper-photorealistic character portraits.
|
||||
- Anime styling.
|
||||
- Comic-book styling.
|
||||
- Neon fantasy effects.
|
||||
- Generic fantasy RPG framing.
|
||||
- Excessive glowing particles.
|
||||
- Overly busy ornament.
|
||||
- Illegible typography.
|
||||
- Decorative detail that makes the subject harder to identify.
|
||||
- Making every card look premium.
|
||||
- Using rarity only as a glow / particle intensity slider.
|
||||
- Turning historical Christian art into parody.
|
||||
- Making Common cards deliberately ugly.
|
||||
|
||||
The distinction should be:
|
||||
|
||||
> **Common is simple. Legendary is elaborate.**
|
||||
|
||||
Not:
|
||||
|
||||
> **Common is bad. Legendary is good.**
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# MVP Art Goals
|
||||
|
||||
For the MVP, I do not need every card to be a full-scale art project.
|
||||
|
||||
The interesting part is proving that the entire visual system works.
|
||||
|
||||
The MVP should establish:
|
||||
|
||||
- A consistent stained-glass-inspired card style.
|
||||
- A clearly readable rarity system.
|
||||
- A reusable card layout system.
|
||||
- At least one working example of each rarity.
|
||||
- Multiple materials.
|
||||
- Multiple finishes.
|
||||
- Multiple printing types.
|
||||
- Wear.
|
||||
- 3D card inspection.
|
||||
- Light-reactive materials.
|
||||
- Pack-opening presentation.
|
||||
- Thumbnail / binder representations.
|
||||
|
||||
I think it makes more sense to create a smaller number of highly intentional art examples and then build the other cards from the same visual system rather than independently designing all 50 cards.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Open Art Questions
|
||||
|
||||
Things that still need to be explored:
|
||||
|
||||
- Exact card dimensions / aspect ratio.
|
||||
- Final typography.
|
||||
- Exact color palette.
|
||||
- Whether each rarity has a fixed base frame or a family of frames.
|
||||
- Whether card categories have their own secondary visual motifs.
|
||||
- Whether tradition-specific cards alter UI or border accents.
|
||||
- Exact visual treatment for controversies.
|
||||
- Whether halos should be used based on historical iconography, card category, tradition, or purely artistic composition.
|
||||
- How much motion should exist inside holographic cards.
|
||||
- Exact distinction between Extraordinary and Legendary.
|
||||
- Whether higher-rarity cards are always visually more complex or occasionally gain prestige through extreme simplicity.
|
||||
- How much the card artwork itself changes across printing variants.
|
||||
- Final card back design.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
# Current Direction Summary
|
||||
|
||||
The current visual north star is:
|
||||
|
||||
> **Stained glass first. Tapestry and illuminated manuscript second. Sacred and stylized throughout.**
|
||||
|
||||
Rarity should be obvious through design language before the user reads a label.
|
||||
|
||||
Common cards should be restrained and humble.
|
||||
|
||||
Legendary cards should feel bespoke and narratively rich.
|
||||
|
||||
Finishes and materials should enhance the physical card without replacing rarity as the primary graphic hierarchy.
|
||||
|
||||
The cards should be beautiful enough to want to collect, but the overall product should always remain reverent rather than flashy.
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user