Blue Blood Playing Cards

As artists and designers we have long had an obsession with the artistic history of playing cards, (one of the oldest games on the planet), as they are the perfect combination of all that we are passionate about; art, design and functionality. Add to that the games of risk and chance you can play with them - anywhere at anytime - and it becomes one heady mix of strategy, art and fun. 

This year we decided the time had come to create a deck of our own. Using our Fine Art and Illustration backgrounds we decided the court  cards for the deck would be a great place to start. 

 

Linnea & I worked on the imagery in a unique back and forth process that produced the final illustrations, with Linnea working late at night, after her day at the studio, creating the characters, their faces and roughing out their costumes... 

 

...and my working early in the morning, before the start of my day, laying down the costume's detail line work. As the illustrations progressed each suit's royalty began to take on their own personality, costumes and characteristics.

And a story unfolded...

Out of the mist and shadows of legend come the last of their line - The Blue Bloods!

 

The Diamonds. They come from a long line of rulers wise to the politics of the court and wealthy from shrewd business dealings with the trades.  A symbol of energy, money and well being, the diamond suit is a powerful dynasty.  Rulers such as this have a true assassin for their Jack. He guards their secrets and wealth with deadly skill.

 

The Clubs. Trouble makers skilled in the art of deception - this is a dangerous monarchy. Their suit begets great difficulty and chaos. The Jack of Clubs is one-eyed and full of sneaky tricks. Their King is not above cheating and the Queen is a beauty capable of great manipulation.

 

The Hearts. As passionate as their symbol declares, these are rulers of the people. Loyal, appreciative and fair they are capable of true devotion. The King is honest and peace-loving. His Queen is playful and flirtatious - but forever faithful - and their Jack will risk his own life to protect a kingdom he believes in.

 

The Spades. The oldest and wisest of the suits. Revered, reclusive and quite a bit eccentric, the Spade is the symbol of philosophers and visionaries. Its Queen is a child-bride whose thoughts are tuned entirely to the beyond. Her King is a powerful, but shadowy royal from an exceptionally old family. Their Jack is a wild force to be reckoned with. 

The end result was a line of rulers and empire builders as unique as the individual symbols they represent. 

We chose the US Playing Card Company to print our deck. With a long history in producing classic, high quality decks such as Aviator, Bicycle and Bee you can rest assured that you will be getting a premium deck that will give you years of playing card fun.

Blue Blood is an artful take on the classic playing card deck. Entirely original. Purely enjoyable. 52 cards. 2 Jokers. 1 unforgettable deck!