As a graphic designer / artist and a hardcore Hearthstone fan, I've decided to come up with some design updates for the game starting with card templates. I must say I find Hearthstone visually quite pleasing and entertaining. However, I don't feel like the templates they've been using for the cards are leveling up with the rest of the UI. Even though, they're matching with the general theme, they look a bit outdated and cartoonish in comparison to the rest of the game. They fail to emphasize the beauty of artworks in their full capacity. Therefore, I thought I could bring a bit more spark to those card templates and polish them for your eyes. Also, I made sure the new card designs wouldn't overload the game's graphics with increased file sizes. The system requirements basically stay the same.
My goals while re-designing the cards:
+ Increasing the legibility of the texts on the cards. Especially on mobile devices, it's not easy to read neither the name of the cards nor the descriptions.
+ Increasing the area spared for the artwork.
+ Giving cards more personality. Ie, Hero cards can evolve depending on which level the class you play is. When you level up your Warrior class from 10 to 20, your Hero card appearence may update automatically.
+ These cards should give the feel of collectable card / sticker books. Better looking card designs with more personality will enrich both pack opening and crafting experiences.
Things I plan to do with the Golden Cards:
+ All golden cards don't need to be decorated with leaves. Every sub-group may have designs that distinguishing them from other sub-groups. Golden Pirates may have Hook and Cannon instead, Dragons may have 2 dorky whelps, Beasts may have Claws, Mechs may have Gears and Lazers, etc.
+ Golden card text areas can be in class colours. I can safely say that they will have enough contrast against white texts for every class inluding Priest. I'm sure it would make those cards more enjoyable for lots of players.
Here are the some examples of the design changes, I made. I hope you'll enjoy them. Depending on the feedback and interest it will gain, this project will include cards from other classes and also Spell and Weapon cards too.
I really like what you did with the card designs. Especially the dragon on top... The "old" version always reminded me of a sad shrimp. Your version looks awesome now :) Great job!
I really like what you did with the colors, alongside all of the additions. The more darkish colors really suits Warrior and i like what you did with the borders. I also agree that these borders gives the cards quite a bit more personality.
I'm not sure i like the gap below the nameplates tho. It shows nothing of importance on the artworks (Like Dr.Boom's Mech's Feet), while creating this sort of "empty" standalone space, that doesn't really feel like it suits. It's a lot better, with the sort of visual bling, like on the upgraded Garrosh card, while it seems awkward to me personally for the other cards.
But i personally find it really cool overall! I wish i had the skills to create these sort of revamps, as it would be the coolest thing ever over at the Custom Creation forum.
God damn. Absolutely gorgeous. At the very least Blizzard should upgrade the legendary dragon on top to look like yours.
Only things I don't like a 100%:
The gap below the nameplates. I like the idea of giving the artwork more space, but for the most part you only see the feet/ground, and it feels kinda weird to have the nameplate in the middle.
The outline of the health and attack numbers. I think the original, although more cartoonish perhaps, is easier to read. I do prefer your version of the armor icon though (number included)
Absolutely amazing. I love a lot of the little details, like Dr. Boom's hook on the left side of the card. I agree with everyone else about the gap in between the nameplate and text, but I think you centered Garrosh's art better so you see more of him. I like that.
Would be great to see how it would look for other classes and card types, but no pressure. Take as much time as you need to make these perfect. Weapons are probably going to be the most difficult.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click the image to go to my custom Time Traveler class.
I do not have an eye for details, but anyhow I like what you have done with the dragon on top - looks more fresh and detailed compared to the old one. Keep up the good work.
I absolutely agree we need newer and fresher graphic designs, and your solutions look very interesting, especially those that focus on refinement and more details, without adding additional elements.
Basic Hero Portraits also need an urgent update: some of them are sadly unbearable.
What I like the most with those design you presented is that they feel very "elegant" , both detailed and easy for the eye, not overloaded.
I must say that contrary to what some other post says, I'm in love with this "gap below the nameplates". It have been something that really bothered me with hearthstone after looking at how some other card games deal with their card arts : the space for the artworks in hearthstone is sooo much smaller, it really is inadequate to make the artwork breath and bloom. I think your take in response of that problem is the most satisfying I have seen, and I would absolutely love it if it was implemented like that in the game. On the other hand, I must admit I'm not sold on your change for the color saturation, I feel like you went a little bit hand-heavy on it, not sure it was even necessary. While the black/dark grey color for the card name look gorgeous on those warrior cards, I have the feelings it wouldn't be as elegant and appealing on other class (would need some other class exemple to see if I'm wrong about it though). The legendary dragon redesign is lovely; would be great if it was like that in the game.
Those are my humble opinion. It must be a lot of work, but you really are doing a great job (worthy of being spread and showcased on other sites, if you didn't do it already). If you chose to continue with other card types designs, then I'll be delighted (and I don't think I'll be the only one).
They're really cool!, voted yes for the first three, and there should be an "i'm not sure" option in the last poll because...ehrr....simplicity, anywyas, they're really cool looking.
While I like the idea, and I will agree that the changes look better overall.
Keep in mind the rest of the post is meant as constructive criticism.
The reality is that this is a mobile friendly game and higher resolutions = bigger DL files and potential issues on mobile platforms like lagging and battery draining. You're essentially making Raw quality files out of low res jpegs.
The line/edging work is quiet well done, I don't think, imho, that adding a contrast/hi-pass filter to everything is better. Hearthstone isn't a real-estate ad. Remember this - for gallery and archive viewing your versions look great, in game all that effort gets lost as even on PC these cards are much smaller in scale, even more so on a mobile screen. Its just not necessary.
Lastly, if you're goal is legibility you need to leave the outline on minion text, not remove it. 1. its less legible in general and colour blind players won't be able to see the number at all. Even the spotlight in the main text body is overboard. The flare makes it harder on the eyes to adjust, there's already enough contrast in the originals - its just a burst of light for the sake of it.
@OP what you need to think about when designing changes isn't just going for a dramatic instant appeal.
Look for:
Balance (making sure, colour, texture and lining doesn't muddy the image)
Maintaining Text (don't make changes that just make it look cool - make sure it is in fact readable)
The platform the images need to be used in (file size, gameplay effect, whether its necessary)
How well all variety of audiences can view the final pieces (eye fatigue, colour blind, platform, etc.)
I voted yes on everything except the first option.
As amazingly detailed and awesome your designs are, adding alternate arts for individual cards is only going to increase the size of the game that is already getting painfully high for mobile users specifically.
So no on the devs detailing card designs. But awesome work man, genuinely looks great :)
I really like what you did with the colors, alongside all of the additions. The more darkish colors really suits Warrior and i like what you did with the borders. I also agree that these borders gives the cards quite a bit more personality.
I'm not sure i like the gap below the nameplates tho. It shows nothing of importance on the artworks (Like Dr.Boom's Mech's Feet), while creating this sort of "empty" standalone space, that doesn't really feel like it suits. It's a lot better, with the sort of visual bling, like on the upgraded Garrosh card, while it seems awkward to me personally for the other cards.
But i personally find it really cool overall! I wish i had the skills to create these sort of revamps, as it would be the coolest thing ever over at the Custom Creation forum.
God damn. Absolutely gorgeous. At the very least Blizzard should upgrade the legendary dragon on top to look like yours.
Only things I don't like a 100%:
The gap below the nameplates. I like the idea of giving the artwork more space, but for the most part you only see the feet/ground, and it feels kinda weird to have the nameplate in the middle.
The outline of the health and attack numbers. I think the original, although more cartoonish perhaps, is easier to read. I do prefer your version of the armor icon though (number included)
The main reason behind expanding the frame to textbox was to get the card templates proportionally more balanced and pleasing. Right now, we may end up with seeing some underwhelming details but it's only because artists were aware while designing those artworks that they wouldn't be shown on the cards. As they will have more areas to explore with the changes suggested, they may surprise us.
Also, those gaps will be good to have for golden card ornaments. As I mentioned in the original post; instead of having leaves, golden cards may have more standing out and distinguished ornaments in those areas to add more personality to the overall designs.
While I like the idea, and I will agree that the changes look better overall.
Keep in mind the rest of the post is meant as constructive criticism.
The reality is that this is a mobile friendly game and higher resolutions = bigger DL files and potential issues on mobile platforms like lagging and battery draining. You're essentially making Raw quality files out of low res jpegs.
The line/edging work is quiet well done, I don't think, imho, that adding a contrast/hi-pass filter to everything is better. Hearthstone isn't a real-estate ad. Remember this - for gallery and archive viewing your versions look great, in game all that effort gets lost as even on PC these cards are much smaller in scale, even more so on a mobile screen. Its just not necessary.
Lastly, if you're goal is legibility you need to leave the outline on minion text, not remove it. 1. its less legible in general and colour blind players won't be able to see the number at all. Even the spotlight in the main text body is overboard. The flare makes it harder on the eyes to adjust, there's already enough contrast in the originals - its just a burst of light for the sake of it.
@OP what you need to think about when designing changes isn't just going for a dramatic instant appeal.
Look for:
Balance (making sure, colour, texture and lining doesn't muddy the image)
Maintaining Text (don't make changes that just make it look cool - make sure it is in fact readable)
The platform the images need to be used in (file size, gameplay effect, whether its necessary)
How well all variety of audiences can view the final pieces (eye fatigue, colour blind, platform, etc.)
Thanks for taking time to share your opinions and critics with me. Much appreciated. But I believe, there are some points that you're missing out or I couldn't highlighted well enough.
The pics I posted here are not in higher resolution or having bigger file sizes than the in-game graphics. I'm absolutely not creating Raw images out of low res JPEGs. All the images you've seen are indexed PNG-8 files produced with the same colour space and profile of the in-game graphics. Basically, I'm not increasing file sizes, I'm just refilling the pixel boxes with a different colour from the same colour space. Actually, in-game graphics for mobile devices are having higher resolution than you're postulating too.
I can assure you that I'm experienced enough in my field to keep the designs balanced for their designated purposes. Ergo, I didn't post anything here before testing how they would look on various platforms. The changes make a noticeable (and pleasing IMHO) difference even in small scales. Especially inside the textboxes are more legible and overhauled design looks more appealing. I'm adding some screenshots taken from my phone. Feel free to download them on your phone and check them by yourself on full screen.
I agree with your point. Therefore I tested my designs for the color blindness types and made sure they were good to go. That being said, please let me remind you that in Hearthstone, the only way to distinguish Golden class cards from each other is colour codes. For some types of color blindness it is quite impossible to separate an Epic Warlock card from a Rare Shaman card. So even though I agree with your point, I don't think Blizzard has such concerns.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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As a graphic designer / artist and a hardcore Hearthstone fan, I've decided to come up with some design updates for the game starting with card templates. I must say I find Hearthstone visually quite pleasing and entertaining. However, I don't feel like the templates they've been using for the cards are leveling up with the rest of the UI. Even though, they're matching with the general theme, they look a bit outdated and cartoonish in comparison to the rest of the game. They fail to emphasize the beauty of artworks in their full capacity. Therefore, I thought I could bring a bit more spark to those card templates and polish them for your eyes. Also, I made sure the new card designs wouldn't overload the game's graphics with increased file sizes. The system requirements basically stay the same.
My goals while re-designing the cards:
+ Increasing the legibility of the texts on the cards. Especially on mobile devices, it's not easy to read neither the name of the cards nor the descriptions.
+ Increasing the area spared for the artwork.
+ Giving cards more personality. Ie, Hero cards can evolve depending on which level the class you play is. When you level up your Warrior class from 10 to 20, your Hero card appearence may update automatically.
+ These cards should give the feel of collectable card / sticker books. Better looking card designs with more personality will enrich both pack opening and crafting experiences.
Things I plan to do with the Golden Cards:
+ All golden cards don't need to be decorated with leaves. Every sub-group may have designs that distinguishing them from other sub-groups. Golden Pirates may have Hook and Cannon instead, Dragons may have 2 dorky whelps, Beasts may have Claws, Mechs may have Gears and Lazers, etc.
+ Golden card text areas can be in class colours. I can safely say that they will have enough contrast against white texts for every class inluding Priest. I'm sure it would make those cards more enjoyable for lots of players.
Here are the some examples of the design changes, I made. I hope you'll enjoy them. Depending on the feedback and interest it will gain, this project will include cards from other classes and also Spell and Weapon cards too.
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
OLD / NEW V2
.
I really like what you did with the card designs. Especially the dragon on top... The "old" version always reminded me of a sad shrimp. Your version looks awesome now :) Great job!
I absolutely love this, continue with the great work, and we may hopefully have something like this in game one day.
These look absolutely stunning!
I really like what you did with the colors, alongside all of the additions. The more darkish colors really suits Warrior and i like what you did with the borders. I also agree that these borders gives the cards quite a bit more personality.
I'm not sure i like the gap below the nameplates tho. It shows nothing of importance on the artworks (Like Dr.Boom's Mech's Feet), while creating this sort of "empty" standalone space, that doesn't really feel like it suits. It's a lot better, with the sort of visual bling, like on the upgraded Garrosh card, while it seems awkward to me personally for the other cards.
But i personally find it really cool overall! I wish i had the skills to create these sort of revamps, as it would be the coolest thing ever over at the Custom Creation forum.
I want a new title, but Flux won't let me have one,
Absolutely amazing. I love a lot of the little details, like Dr. Boom's hook on the left side of the card. I agree with everyone else about the gap in between the nameplate and text, but I think you centered Garrosh's art better so you see more of him. I like that.
Would be great to see how it would look for other classes and card types, but no pressure. Take as much time as you need to make these perfect. Weapons are probably going to be the most difficult.
Click the image to go to my custom Time Traveler class.
I do not have an eye for details, but anyhow I like what you have done with the dragon on top - looks more fresh and detailed compared to the old one. Keep up the good work.
I absolutely agree we need newer and fresher graphic designs, and your solutions look very interesting, especially those that focus on refinement and more details, without adding additional elements.
Basic Hero Portraits also need an urgent update: some of them are sadly unbearable.
Really impressive !
What I like the most with those design you presented is that they feel very "elegant" , both detailed and easy for the eye, not overloaded.
I must say that contrary to what some other post says, I'm in love with this "gap below the nameplates". It have been something that really bothered me with hearthstone after looking at how some other card games deal with their card arts : the space for the artworks in hearthstone is sooo much smaller, it really is inadequate to make the artwork breath and bloom. I think your take in response of that problem is the most satisfying I have seen, and I would absolutely love it if it was implemented like that in the game. On the other hand, I must admit I'm not sold on your change for the color saturation, I feel like you went a little bit hand-heavy on it, not sure it was even necessary. While the black/dark grey color for the card name look gorgeous on those warrior cards, I have the feelings it wouldn't be as elegant and appealing on other class (would need some other class exemple to see if I'm wrong about it though). The legendary dragon redesign is lovely; would be great if it was like that in the game.
Those are my humble opinion. It must be a lot of work, but you really are doing a great job (worthy of being spread and showcased on other sites, if you didn't do it already). If you chose to continue with other card types designs, then I'll be delighted (and I don't think I'll be the only one).
They're really cool!, voted yes for the first three, and there should be an "i'm not sure" option in the last poll because...ehrr....simplicity, anywyas, they're really cool looking.
While I like the idea, and I will agree that the changes look better overall.
Keep in mind the rest of the post is meant as constructive criticism.
The reality is that this is a mobile friendly game and higher resolutions = bigger DL files and potential issues on mobile platforms like lagging and battery draining. You're essentially making Raw quality files out of low res jpegs.
The line/edging work is quiet well done, I don't think, imho, that adding a contrast/hi-pass filter to everything is better. Hearthstone isn't a real-estate ad. Remember this - for gallery and archive viewing your versions look great, in game all that effort gets lost as even on PC these cards are much smaller in scale, even more so on a mobile screen. Its just not necessary.
Lastly, if you're goal is legibility you need to leave the outline on minion text, not remove it. 1. its less legible in general and colour blind players won't be able to see the number at all. Even the spotlight in the main text body is overboard. The flare makes it harder on the eyes to adjust, there's already enough contrast in the originals - its just a burst of light for the sake of it.
@OP what you need to think about when designing changes isn't just going for a dramatic instant appeal.
Look for:
I voted yes on everything except the first option.
As amazingly detailed and awesome your designs are, adding alternate arts for individual cards is only going to increase the size of the game that is already getting painfully high for mobile users specifically.
So no on the devs detailing card designs. But awesome work man, genuinely looks great :)
Why u hav to be mad? is only card gaem.
The main reason behind expanding the frame to textbox was to get the card templates proportionally more balanced and pleasing. Right now, we may end up with seeing some underwhelming details but it's only because artists were aware while designing those artworks that they wouldn't be shown on the cards. As they will have more areas to explore with the changes suggested, they may surprise us.
Also, those gaps will be good to have for golden card ornaments. As I mentioned in the original post; instead of having leaves, golden cards may have more standing out and distinguished ornaments in those areas to add more personality to the overall designs.
Thanks for taking time to share your opinions and critics with me. Much appreciated. But I believe, there are some points that you're missing out or I couldn't highlighted well enough.
.