TCG Fakes Faking Resources and Help - How to Make Your Own Pokemon Cards!

Nekoban Ryo

aka icycatelf
Member
Just a random thing for anyone who wants to use it. Should be used in place of the 1st Edition stamp.

fake_stamp2_by_icycatelf-db0iff8.png
fake_edition_ex_by_icycatelf-db0iffc.jpg


Also, here are those glowy Energy icons I've been using for the new CAC banners: http://sta.sh/2ed36h4tdft (feel free to use these for Energy cards, custom blanks, or other graphics)
 
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Ty Comfy Hat

The Cosmic rage of Astral Dwarfs from Aberdeen.
Member
Speaking of 1st Edition stamps, I couldn't find any good ones online, so I made one myself. You can see it for yourself in action in my entry for the CaC contest. It's definitely not pixel-perfect (and I'm 100% sure I didn't use the correct font), but it works fine enough. Thought it was about time I released it to the public. All may feel free to use it for their fakes!

1ED Symbol.png

If anyone can bother to point me to, or make a better one, please do.
 

Nekoban Ryo

aka icycatelf
Member
Speaking of 1st Edition stamps, I couldn't find any good ones online, so I made one myself. You can see it for yourself in action in my entry for the CaC contest. It's definitely not pixel-perfect (and I'm 100% sure I didn't use the correct font), but it works fine enough. Thought it was about time I released it to the public. All may feel free to use it for their fakes!

View attachment 13012

If anyone can bother to point me to, or make a better one, please do.
Here's the one from Bulbapedia:

300px-1st_edition_English.png
 

Nekoban Ryo

aka icycatelf
Member
I was attempting to make the Secret Rare foil from Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and ended up making this. Not exactly the look I was going for, but it looks pretty nice on Full-Art Pokémon cards.
sr_2_by_icycatelf-db26d8k.png

Applied example (Multiply 40% under Color Dodge 100%):
mew_celebiyoshi_by_icycatelf-db26d9a.png

Card illustration by Celebi-Yoshi at DeviantArt
 

J.Cole

Born Sinner
Member
Hey fam, does anyone have any tips for making blanks? I want to but I have no idea how to make them look nice/realistic, especially textures. Thanks!
 
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Ty Comfy Hat

The Cosmic rage of Astral Dwarfs from Aberdeen.
Member
Hey fam, does anyone have any tips for making blanks? I want to but I have no idea how to make them look nice/realistic, especially textures. Thanks!
I'm currently working on my own custom blank set, and I think the best general advice I can give is the same I give for all artistic ventures; experiment. Well, that and research. Look at all the different official layouts that the game has had over the years. Perhaps look at other fan made blanks too. What do you think are the strengths/weaknesses of them all? Which ones include your favourite individual elements that you want to incorporate into your own blank? And why do you think it works so well? Is there anything you can do better? Maybe look at some other TCGs for inspiration, is there anything visually there you could incorporate?
As for textures- the way I see it, the more faithful to the actual tcg, the better, at least in terms of colour. That's not to say that you can't try anything new/outrageous, it's just that making it too different to the recognisable official textures just makes it scream 'not Pokemon'.

It's hard to give specific advice, it's like asking someone 'how to draw' and expecting one forum post containing all the info needed to become an artist overnight. You gotta experiment for yourself.
Maybe that's just easy for me to say since I have a little formal training in graphic design, and I've been playing around with photoshop since before my age hit double digits. But I'm hardly a prodigy (especially if my last place position in last months CaC is anything to go by, lol).

---
Anyway, my own blank set is pretty much done, and I'm making a bunch of fakes with it that I'll post very soon! Excited to hear what people think of it, even if nobody likes it much.it's already been a neat little experiment for myself.
 

J.Cole

Born Sinner
Member
I'm currently working on my own custom blank set, and I think the best general advice I can give is the same I give for all artistic ventures; experiment. Well, that and research. Look at all the different official layouts that the game has had over the years. Perhaps look at other fan made blanks too. What do you think are the strengths/weaknesses of them all? Which ones include your favourite individual elements that you want to incorporate into your own blank? And why do you think it works so well? Is there anything you can do better? Maybe look at some other TCGs for inspiration, is there anything visually there you could incorporate?
As for textures- the way I see it, the more faithful to the actual tcg, the better, at least in terms of colour. That's not to say that you can't try anything new/outrageous, it's just that making it too different to the recognisable official textures just makes it scream 'not Pokemon'.

It's hard to give specific advice, it's like asking someone 'how to draw' and expecting one forum post containing all the info needed to become an artist overnight. You gotta experiment for yourself.
Maybe that's just easy for me to say since I have a little formal training in graphic design, and I've been playing around with photoshop since before my age hit double digits. But I'm hardly a prodigy (especially if my last place position in last months CaC is anything to go by, lol).

---
Anyway, my own blank set is pretty much done, and I'm making a bunch of fakes with it that I'll post very soon! Excited to hear what people think of it, even if nobody likes it much.it's already been a neat little experiment for myself.

Interesting, interesting. I guess that makes sense. I have been playing around with making textures so far, and they look ok, but not as real as other blanks. And I have been drawing out some blank designs too. I guess I'll see how it goes.

Good luck with you're cards!

holy sh-t I need to sleep lol
 

Nekoban Ryo

aka icycatelf
Member
Tried to replicate the Prismatic Rare foil from Yu-Gi-Oh! this time. Here it is sized for Pokémon cards (recommended for Full/Half-Arts):
prismatic_for_pokemon_by_icycatelf-db41y65.png

Applied examples:
mew_celebiyoshi_prismatic_by_icycatelf-db41y71.png

new_prismatic_example_by_icycatelf-db3qd6r.png

Recommended blending modes:
-- Higher Layers --
Non-holo art bits/Artwork foreground (Normal 100%)
Artwork (Hue 40%)
Holosheet (Color Dodge 70%)
Holosheet (Color Dodge 100%)
Holosheet (Multiply 40%)
Artwork/Artwork background (Normal 100%)
-- Lower Layers --
 
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Ty Comfy Hat

The Cosmic rage of Astral Dwarfs from Aberdeen.
Member
Anyone know where I can find the mugshot images of the Kanto gym leaders with their badge in the background, as used in the classic gym sets?
 

aschefield101

is behind you !
Member
Anyone know where I can find the mugshot images of the Kanto gym leaders with their badge in the background, as used in the classic gym sets?
You'd have to use this and this. I had planned a gym reboot for templates when the 20th sets came out, but these days I just don't have the time and willpower :(
 

bbninjas

Ready or Not!
Advanced Member
Member
I've made a few major additions to the OP that warrants an update post! @Nekoban Ryo kindly uploaded his giga-HQ Gym Era blanks last June, yet they never were actually added to the OP, as we the Gym sets were included under the Classic Era. However, Gym Era has now got its own section, to distinguish the eras!

Sun & Moon brought many changes to the blank aesthetics that have made replicating the resources somewhat difficult for the blank creators. However, there are now some types that have been completed - the Fire, Grass and Lightning blanks, as well as all Full Art GX and Rainbow GX blanks - which have now been added to the new SM Era section. I believe @aschefield101 is currently working on HQ versions for the remaining types, and possibly Trainers and holosheets after that, and we might have some lower resolution blanks from Cascade Gonpory soon too. On the note of modern blanks, I also added the Dual Type blanks that Asche has completed thus far to the XY section.

Taking a stroll through PCR on DeviantArt revealed a number of custom resources, of which some have been added to a new Custom Resources section, for those looking for a bit of variety.

Finally, the OP has been reformatted to save a bit of space and to try and make things a bit more readable/easy to find. Any feedback is welcome!

EDIT: Added the newly updated Colorless type and Item/Supporter/Energy SM Era blanks by Asche, and also Cascade's smaller blanks.

Anyone know where I can find the mugshot images of the Kanto gym leaders with their badge in the background, as used in the classic gym sets?
I ended up coming across CMP's authentic-looking Johto gym leader icons for the Gym Era, which aren't exactly Kanto, but you might find them interesting anyhow. :p
 
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Ty Comfy Hat

The Cosmic rage of Astral Dwarfs from Aberdeen.
Member
Here are some custom type backgrounds for types that aren't officially in the TCG. You can see some of them in action in my custom Evolutions-esque cards- click the banner in my sig. They are the ones on the right, the backgrounds for my custom blank are completely custom. The resolutions are a bit inconsistent, but they should fit fine on most print-res blanks. Most are basically just recolours + slight edits to offical type textures, but others (Most notably Bug and Ice) were made from scratch.

-Bug
-Flying
-Ghost
-Ground
-Ice
-Poison
-Rock
 
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