Idea develpment

  Once I have a clear idea what I want to produce, I was really excited because I was going to start my gaming card design. To be honest, I watched many Japanese comic or animation since I was very young as they are very popular in Asia. Hence, I was excited because I could apply my own knowledge in this project which was very funny.

  Therefore, I made a list of the animations that I am going to use in my design, basically, they are the most popular Japanese animation and most people know it. 

  For the gaming card, I wanted to make it looks simple because the aims is to celebrate the Anime music but not a specific gaming card. Moreover, I think it would be better and easier for people to play. Therefore, I decided to make the card be simpler, I didn't want to make too many rules for this game. I wanted to make the boundary be thicker because the Pokemon card did the same thing so I was inspired by it, it looks better with a thicker boundary.

  There are three colours for the card (light brown, pink and green), actually I didn't have any reason for me to choose these colours, I just randomly selected a group of colours and then choose three colours that I thought would work the best. 

  Basically, there is a red circle in the front of every card because it represents the Japanese flag, I think it match with the card. While, in the middle of every card, I used the character that I drew and traced it in Illustrator and just worked with Black and White so that it looks simpler. However, due to the fact that some of the characters were too difficult to draw it so I decided to try a new tele that I just learnt from Youtube to make it easier. However, I did know the design for the back side of the card whether I should work with vector or in text which I will ask in the next crit.

  So basically, I found an image of that character from website first and then make it Posterise and Threshold in Photoshop so that it became a black and white character which was a lot easier to draw the outline and trace it into Illustrator. It was a really useful skill for me in my practice.

Example of gaming card

  Basically, I was inspired by some Japanese gaming card like Pokemon card and Poker due to the fact that many people love playing it no matter age or nationality so I think it is a good way to celebrate this music.

My idea:
-Probably 52 gaming cards like the number of poker
-Same size with poker

  Pokemon card:

  In the Pokémon universe, there are three different categories of cards that you’ll find in any given deck: Pokémon character cards, Energy cards and Trainer cards. 

-Character cards: Each Pokemon has a type (there are 18), such as Fire, Water, Psychic, Normal or Dragon. Each Pokémon card will also indicate how “evolved” the character is—whether it’s in its basic form, Stage One form or Stage Two form—in the upper left-hand corner. Those shiny cards your kids probably want most are the Legendary Pokémon. They don’t evolve and are some of the most powerful cards in the trading card game, and they’re also only found in booster packs.

 -Energy cards: These cards are needed to power your Pokémon throughout the game, and you’ll always find basic Energy cards in any pack you buy. There are also Special Energy cards that give a different kind of boost, depending on your type of Pokémon.

-Trainer cards: These are cards you use for the items, supporters and stadiums you can use during a battle. Any special rules on these cards are indicated at the bottom.

  In order to make the whole object easier, I decided to make it quite straightforward because it is about Japanese anime music and it is in the real world, doesn't like Pokemon card, it is a fake world. Therefore, I am not going to make it into different types of card. It is just a guideline for me to inspire on my design.

How has anime influenced the rest of the world?

  Anime has become one of the best resources nowadays to tell stories in an animated form, with freedom of expression in any genre and for any audience, which contrasts against traditional cartoons which are generally aimed at children. Anime gained success in other countries when early series such as Dragon-ball, Astro Boy, Sailor Moon, and Slam Dunk aired. There are many people who started to become interested in Japan after watching some of these shows. Sometimes, they are even inspired to learn Japanese. As a result, in 1984, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) was created. 

  The early 1990s served as what was known to be an “anime boom”. Due to this, anime culture further evolved when anime conventions started taking place. Anime conventions are large gatherings that may take place over a period of days, in order for fans of anime and manga to show their passion and dedication. These have even incorporated industry talk panels where voice actors and anime creation staff can meet at the event to talk about their shows, and fans can have a chance to meet them. Fans can also gather to buy merchandise and try “cosplay”. The term “cosplay” is derived from the words “costume play”, and it is when fans dress up as their favourite character from a series and impersonate that character for the day. Cosplay is not restricted to anime but has also crossed over to western characters from comics, cartoon series, Hollywood movies, and video games.

Initial idea

  Since I changed my idea with Japanese anime, I wanted to try with some illustration this time to fits my chosen type of music. Therefore, I looked at how the drawing style of Japanese anime and I tried to draw with different anime characters and work with my idea.

-Basically I choose my music as Japanese anime songs,

-I decided to make it as a game to celebrate with it,

-It is a matching game with cards, for example a card with the title of the anime and a card with the title of the song and artist performed need to be matched

Game rule:

-Player need to finish matching within a limited time, e.g 20 set of cards in 1 mins

-If they qualified, they can get a free poster with an animation they choose.

  So I want to use some of my illustration on the cards, however, some of the characters were too difficult to draw so I drew it like vector which makes a lot easier. Also, some of them I drew it in photoshop and Illustrator directly.

  

Drawing style of Japanese anime

  It is well known that the drawing style of Japanese anime is quite different with the western comic like Marvel's, the characters are more details which I was really inspired and like it. Most of their works are more delicate, and the characters have more slender figures. This unique drawing style really attract many manga readers. Hence, I did some background research with that.

 

  

What is the meaning of anime?

  Anime is a term used to describe the style of Japanese animation and has been around since the early 20th century. Now, anime and its comic book counterpart, manga, are hugely successful in Japan and beyond with an industrial worth of over 15 billion US dollars. Anime does not only include TV series for children, but also adult’s TV shows and even movies. A few examples of blockbuster anime movies include Studio Ghibli’s highly acclaimed Spirited Away (2001) or the recent popular hit Your Name(2016).

  Drawing styles vary depending on artists, but anime characters are usually recognisable by their large eyes, often colourful hair, and small nose and mouth. In Japan, people of all ages and from all walks of life have watched some form of anime at some point and it has become part of their modern culture. Anime series are usually filled with interesting characters along with a captivating story that can make the viewer laugh or cry.

  Anime also covers a huge range of genres, including drama, romance, horror, and science-fiction. Some anime shows even have more unusual genres such as cyberpunk and mecha (featuring robots). In western countries, anime is seen not only as a Japanese series of animation but it has also come to define an art style that the Japanese use as well.

History of Japanese anime

  Music and Japanese anime have always been intertwined. The intro and end credits are always accompanied by a song – usually one that embodies the show or film’s worldview. In the ’60s anime developed into a musical genre in its own right, evolving into what is now one of the most popular types of Japanese music out there. Anisong, or anime music, is a music genre in itself, that appeared along with TV anime series.The first song designed for an animation work was created in 1963 for the anime Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy). At the time, most anime openings and endings were sung by children’s choirs, or sometimes by one of the main voice actors of the show.

  It was not until the early 70s that singers specialized in anime songs appeared. One of the first singers was Mitsuko HORIE who sang the second opening of Kurenai Sanshirô (Judo Boy). Soon after her, the major voices of Japanese animation showed up with Isao SASAKI (Yamato, Grendizer) or Ichirô MIZUKI (Captain Harlock, Mazinger Z). Opening and ending songs are featured all along the series, which maked producers take great care with them. This trend recedes with City Hunter in 1987 and to this day as songs unrelated to the anime they feature in are chosen as openings and endings.