VIZAĜO Playing Cards have Arrived!

The artwork for VIZAĜO was almost a year in the making, followed by two months (2 campaigns) on Kickstarter, and then, just under 5 months in pre-production and printing. The completed decks arrived hot off the press just in time for Christmas and the holiday season.

The Printed Decks

Legends have done a fantastic job printing these colourful designs. I honestly cannot say how pleased I am with the result! Having spent so long creating the artwork, I had a real sense of every colour and every little detail, all the way through to the imagined look and feel of the finished cards. To see the cards brought to life better than I could have imagined, has been a truly joyous experience :)

With Sincere Gratitude …

The journey from artwork to the finished result has been and exhilarating ride, full of learning and ever so helpful support from amazing people around the world, I cannot thank you all enough for coming on board and making this happen!

It is thanks to the 209 supporters on Kickstarter that these two decks get to see the light of day – and thanks to the professionalism of both Legends Playing Card Co. and Gambler’s Warehouse, that printing and delivery has gone so smoothly. Along with the support of awesome people on Playing Card Forum, United Cardists and fabulous writers who have spread the word via articles and reviews, which I have included links to below:

• Max Playing Cards – VIZAGO relaunch – a new opportunity for happiness and colour
• Max Playing Cards – VIZAĜO – fill your face with joy and colour
• Max Playing Cards – Artist Insight – Annette Abolins
• Kardify – Card Flash: VIZAĜO Playing Cards
• Kardify – Kickstarter: 7 Questions with Annette Abolins
• Kardify – First look at VIZAĜO Playing Cards
• Ender’s Game – Pictorial Review on BoardGameGeek  (also on Magic Café, United Cardists & Playing Card Forum)
• Ender’s Game – Introducing Abolina Art on BoardGameGeek  (also on Magic Café, United Cardists & Playing Card Forum)
• Red Hands – VIZAĜO Playing Cards
• World of Playing Cards – VIZAĜO Playing Cards

Perfection in Printing

One thing (apart from the colours and awesome card stock) I absolutely love about Legends (and EPCC too), is their ability to maintain clean and centred registration. My eyes go wobbly (and my heart sinks) when artwork goes sideways and up & down from unevenly cut cards … maybe I’m a perfectionist, but I do love the symmetry of nicely lined up artwork and clean borders :)

I wanted to share a little comparison in pictures – the first one showing cards from the prototype deck (printed by MPC) … to be fair, I have seen far worse than the slight variations in the prototype deck – but the difference is amazing when you have evenly cut cards.

This second photo shows the final result, printed by Legends  – where the artwork is fully centred, cards are cut to perfection and colours are bright and full of life.

Where to Buy … and can I get a signed deck?

A limited number of VIZAĜO decks are available on my Nine Lives site (where you can find my other decks and original stoneware pendants).  If you live in Australia and missed the campaign on Kickstarter, you can get your deck(s) directly from me and save on shipping.

I am happy to sign decks for anyone who orders from my Nine Lives store and would enjoy their deck(s) to be signed (just make sure to let me know if you want the signature on the outside of the cello-wrap, or on the actual tuck box).

Because of the limited number of decks in Australia, and the cost of international shipping, I want to share a few places where global visitors can find VIZAĜO decks to buy:

• Playing Card Decks.com – USA
• Magic Trick Store – USA
• JP Games – United Kingdom

Thank you for visiting – and Happy New Year to all!

Annette :)