TCG Fakes Tyler's Funky Fakes (Image-Based) (Requests Open)

[Ty Comfy Hat]

Hey all!

For the past number of months (since before I joined here), I've been working on my own custom TCG blanks. And after a lot of tinkering, I think i'm finally pleased enough with my progress to show it off! The blank has gone through a lot of major changes and overhauls, most recently around when the SM set came out, when I moved things around to resemble the most recent official layout, which I fell in love with.

Something that may interest you is the fact that I'm simultaneously also makintg the same cards with the blank I used for my past two CaC entries, the "Pseudo-Evo" blanks as I call them. These are classic gym-era blanks (courtesy of @Nekoban Ryo) that have had elements I like from the 20th anniversary sets merged with it, to make this Frankenstein's Monster of a blank that has elements of both the classic era and the Evolutions set.
Making the same card twice on different blanks may sound time consuming, but once I've completed one cards, it's a fairly quick and simple process to duplicate it. Though one day I may switch to only making only one of each card.

Keep in mind: Since my fakes incorporate all official types from the Pokémon video games, most 'mons have two weaknesses and resistances, to balance things out. I did not include a number to save space, so assume that (unless otherwise stated) weaknesses are x2, and restistances are -20. Resistances with a red strike through mean they are immune to that type.

Since the order in which I'll be making cards will be mostly random and un-planned, The cards will be numbered something like "#001A". The reason for the letter on the end is to determine the type of card. "A" means that the card is totally regular. In future, I'll probably be making things like "Dark" cards with a "D" suffix, or mega-evos with an "M" suffix, ect.

Special thanks to @Jabberwock for egging me on to make a thread.

Spoiler: #006A- Charizard

The Illustration is from the Manga, I believe. The Artist is unknown to me, but since it's technically official art, I credited it to "Pokémon. The background is by me.

Spoiler: #025A- Pikachu

Illustration courtesy of Ishmam

Spoiler: #168A- Ariados

Illustration courtesy of little-ampharos

Spoiler: #252A- Treecko

Illustration by me.

Spoiler: #363A- Spheal

Doing his best Meatwad impression

Illustration by me.

Spoiler: #446A- Munchlax

Neo-Style Babies return!

Illustration by myself.

Spoiler: #716A- Xerneas

Illustration by Twime777

Spoiler: #792A- Lunala

Illustration by tatanRG

Critique more than welcome!

Spoiler: Issues I'm already aware of, and will probably getting around to fixing

Gameplay-wise:
-A lot of the retreat costs are a bit too high. The results of Feb's CaC made me pretty conscious of this.
-Charizard is quite underpowered. Being Liable to do 100 damage to itself may be kinda silly
Visual-wise:
-On my custom blanks, sometimes "lbs" is capitalised as "Lbs". You can tell which cards I made first, lol!
-The "Ability-Bar" on my custom blanks doesn't look that great, may get an overhaul in future.
-The overlay for type-immunities isn't that visible/good-looking. Will probably be remade.

As the title says, I'm also open to requests! Are there any 'mons you want to see me make into a card? Have a text-based fake you want me to make into an image-based one? Do let me know!

---ARCHIVE---​

Spoiler: By Dex-number

[DD/MM/YY]
006A- Charizard Added 03/04/17
025A- Pikachu Added 03/04/17
141A- Kabutops Added 24/05/17
168A- Ariados Added 03/04/17
172A- Pichu Added 29/04/17
252A- Treecko Added 03/04/17
363A- Spheal Added 03/04/17
446A- Munchlax Added 03/04/17
547A- Whimsicott Added 24/05/17
709A- Trevenant Added 29/04/17
716A- Xerneas Added 03/04/17
792A- Lunala Added 03/04/17

Spoiler: By Upload date

[DD/MM/YY]
006A- Charizard Added 03/04/17
025A- Pikachu Added 03/04/17
168A- Ariados Added 03/04/17
252A- Treecko Added 03/04/17
363A- Spheal Added 03/04/17
446A- Munchlax Added 03/04/17
716A- Xerneas Added 03/04/17
792A- Lunala Added 03/04/17
172A- Pichu Added 29/04/17
709A- Trevenant Added 29/04/17
141A- Kabutops Added 24/05/17
547A- Whimsicott Added 24/05/17

Spoiler: Specific requests

[DD/MM/YY]
009R- Blastoise (As requested by Lunarwork) Added 29/04/17
547R- Whimsicott (As requested by Tails) Added 24/05/17

 

[Jabberwock]

Those are some pretty cool blanks! I particularly like the overlay-ed Energy type symbol behind the text on each card. Adds a nice feel to the blank, sort of like the engraved type symbols on BW-era secret rares.

The thing about the retreat cost is that usually, retreat cost isn't used as a way to balance out a good card––it's just another attribute of the Pokémon, so something fast like Beedrill gets a retreat cost of 0-1, while something slower and heavier like Steelix gets a retreat cost of 4-5. It's easy to do a quick search of the existing cards of a given Pokémon and base retreat cost off that.

Some excellent cards you've got already. I particularly like the aesthetic of the Lunala. Perhaps for the Ability name, use the same font as you're using for attack names? I actually rather like the Ability bar; I think it's just the font possibly throwing it off. Nonetheless looks incredible; looking forward to seeing what more you do with it! ^.^

 

[thegrovylekid]

Jabber summed up just about all I could say pretty well, so I don't have any critique for you. I love the style of blanks (Especially the ones on the left) and would love to see more. So, I'll request my customary Pichu card.

Great to see you having your own thread!

 

[Nekoban Ryo]

These cards look really snazzy! I love that you've used some of your own art among these (that Munchlax is so cute). The only thing letting them down is the (c) in place of the Copyright (©) symbol.

EDIT: Also gotta knock you for the Baby rule. When scaled to the size of a real card, it would be almost impossible to read without a magnifying glass.

 

[bbninjas]

These look beautiful, Tyler! I really like how you've implimented the dual types. I've seen a similar method before, and it works quite nicely for the Classic era. Have you ever taken a look at CMP's Neo Redux project? It's an old project and the cards a bit small due to something Wiki did, but you might find it inspiring. In fact, your project reminded me a lot of his. =D

Otherwise, my critique on the blanks are below; hopefully you don't mind a bit of nit-pickines! xP

- I really like the gold around the Energy symbols! They really make them pop, and work well with the glossiness of the icons.
- Like Jabber mentioned, I quite like the overlayed Energy symbols! I think they should do that in official blanks, to be honest.
- That fading line that seperates the attacks are quite nice. It could possibly do with being a tad brighter to contrast, but that's if you're being picky.
- I like those Weakness/Resistence arrows - very cool.
- I agree that the Ability bar could do with a little overhaul. Jabber's suggestion to use the same font as the attack names would be a good start, and I think the "Ability" font is a bit too bold (maybe?) or too much italics. I'm not sure, it just doesn't sit right for me.
- The Dark-type symbol seems a bit too dark. I actually couldn't figure out what it was until I checked the Classic blanks. n.n'
- Yeah, the red strike-through to signify an immunity is hard to see. Perhaps you could use a symbol instead, which could be placed above or below the Energy icon? I do suggest you tread carefully with immunities, however, due to balancing issues. Immunity to an entire type is generally very powerful (i.e. type hate), and is why it hasn't been done in official TCG, and although you have many more types in your set, I do suggest taking caution, from the balancing side of things.
- The outlines of the overlayed Energy symbols seem a bit 'wobbly' in parts, particularly the Colorless and Fairy symbols around the concave curves, or 'jagged' on the Water and Psychic symbols around the convex curves. Was that intentional? I think that the symbols would look more polished if they were smoother. =)
- The gold borders (i.e. the art frame and Retreat Cost bar) sorta blend into the yellow borders on the edge. Could you perhaps make them a bit darker? I think that a bit more contrast would make the blank a bit more dynamic, which would quite suit it.
- The PokeDex Entry text looks a bit too far to the left.
- How would the HP symbol look a bit more bold? I believe modern blanks do that, so that the smaller text pops out a bit more.
- I'm not particularly keen on the centred text as opposed to the justified text, but that may be personal taste.​

Are you using your own wording? I noticed that there are a number of wording mistakes, if you were aiming to use the official wording. If so, I'd be happy to help you out with that, if you'd like! There's also the Common Wording Errors compilation that could serve as a good guide.

As for balancing, what era's power levels are you aiming for? It looks like XY or SM balance to me.

Looking forward to what else you come up with, Tyler! I'm going to request a Trevenant, since I think the Grass/Ghost typing will like very nice. ^.^

 

[Ty Comfy Hat]

Thanks for the critique/suggestions/kind words, everyone! And your requests have been noted, @bbninjas and @thegrovylekid! They'll be a part of the next batch of cards I make after I'm done with my entry for this month's CaC.

For those interested, I put up the backgrounds I made for the custom types in my "Pseudo-Evo" cards here!

 

[Lunarwork]

@TylerRVG If requests are open for members, then I want a Water/Fighting type Blastoise (or just a water type if there's no {W}/{F} blank) in the original card era. (1997, 98, etc.)
with the attack(s)/stats:
Lv.61, 140 HP

Ability: Hydro Flood
If this Pokemon has more than one {W} Energy, you may use this
ability as often as you like. You may discard all Energy attached to one of
your Pokemon. If you do, all of your Pokemon's attacks do 20
more damage for every {W} Pokemon in your discard pile. (You can't use
this Ability if you don't have at least 1 {W} Pokemon
with Energy cards attached to it.)

{W}{C} - Wave Processing - 90
Discard an Energy attached to this Pokemon.

Pokedex info
Weakness
Resistance
Retreat- 3

The thing about my Blastoise is that it works to become a tank with Battle Compressor if it has over 1 {W} energy attached to it. You can discard Energy attached to your own Pokemon and research the energies with Professor's letter. The Battle Compressor can then discard {W} Pokemon from your deck, combined with the fact that you can use the ability only if you have benched {W} Pokemon specifically and with Energy cards attached, keeping the Aesthetics barrier unbreakable with the ability, making liable to become included in a {W} Night March deck if a Pokemon with Water typing has Night March. The other thing is that it can also be used as a Benched Pokemon and in the discard pile, meaning that you can do this while your Blastoise is in the Discard pile. It would, in my opinion, be the most heaviest bait-and-switch Pokemon to support Night March. Hope you make it in time!

 

[J.Cole]

Ahhh your cards are amazing! And it's cool that you're using your own art! This is kinda minor but I'm not a fan of the arrows for weakness and resistance. But that's no big deal! Keep it up.

Also since you're taking requests could you make a Empoleon or Suicune card when you get the chance? Thanks

EDIT: Also I would probably get rid of the transparent box behind the text. IMO it looks too busy

 

[Ty Comfy Hat]

Since I was too tired to do so last night, I will now go over some specific points you guys brought up.

The thing about the retreat cost is that usually, retreat cost isn't used as a way to balance out a good card––it's just another attribute of the Pokémon, so something fast like Beedrill gets a retreat cost of 0-1, while something slower and heavier like Steelix gets a retreat cost of 4-5. It's easy to do a quick search of the existing cards of a given Pokémon and base retreat cost off that.

Huh, that actually makes a lot of sense. Never really thought about it that way, thanks for the tip!

Perhaps for the Ability name, use the same font as you're using for attack names?

- I agree that the Ability bar could do with a little overhaul. Jabber's suggestion to use the same font as the attack names would be a good start, and I think the "Ability" font is a bit too bold (maybe?) or too much italics. I'm not sure, it just doesn't sit right for me.

Using the same font as the Attack title was actually the first thing I tried, but somehow it didn't look quite right to me- thus why I chose a much lighter font. But yeah, Maybe I went too light. Will definitely choose a different font. And I'll keep that in mind about the "Ability" text, bb.

The only thing letting them down is the (c) in place of the Copyright (©) symbol.

I'll admit to that being the fault of laziness, but now that you've brought it up, I'll go change it.

Also gotta knock you for the Baby rule. When scaled to the size of a real card, it would be almost impossible to read without a magnifying glass.

Yup. Will make it bigger.

- Like Jabber mentioned, I quite like the overlayed Energy symbols! I think they should do that in official blanks, to be honest.

Haha thanks. Personally, I like the current SuMo blanks as they are, and would be happy to see the official cards keep them for as long as possible, to be honest.

Have you ever taken a look at CMP's Neo Redux project? It's an old project and the cards a bit small due to something Wiki did, but you might find it inspiring. In fact, your project reminded me a lot of his. =D

Actually, yeah! They were one of the many inspirations for me wanting to make fakes! In fact, I believe the unofficial type icons for the Pseudo-Evo cards are the ones @CMP made for Neo Redux (except Ice, which is by Nekoban Ryo), and the ones for the OC blanks are based on other type symbols he made. And I completely forgot to give him any credit, oops.

- The Dark-type symbol seems a bit too dark. I actually couldn't figure out what it was until I checked the Classic blanks. n.n'

Yeah, I noticed that too. Will make them more legible.

I do suggest you tread carefully with immunities, however, due to balancing issues. Immunity to an entire type is generally very powerful (i.e. type hate), and is why it hasn't been done in official TCG, and although you have many more types in your set, I do suggest taking caution, from the balancing side of things.

The weaknesses/resistances are based on that of the actual in-game Pokemon, and I only included immunities when a Pokemon in the games is immune to a certain type. I figured it was mostly a thing the TCG avoided since there are much fewer types, and so it would have a much bigger impact. I don't recall anyone complaining about immunities in the video games, after all.

- The outlines of the overlayed Energy symbols seem a bit 'wobbly' in parts, particularly the Colorless and Fairy symbols around the concave curves, or 'jagged' on the Water and Psychic symbols around the convex curves. Was that intentional? I think that the symbols would look more polished if they were smoother. =)

Yeah, I see what you mean. Problem is, fixing them would probablt rely on redrawing them from scratch at this point. I'll look into it, but It isn't on top of my priorities list right now.

- The gold borders (i.e. the art frame and Retreat Cost bar) sorta blend into the yellow borders on the edge. Could you perhaps make them a bit darker? I think that a bit more contrast would make the blank a bit more dynamic, which would quite suit it.

Personally I like the colours of the gold parts as they are, but I may add a bit of shadow in-between the art frame and border to make them seem more like seperate entities.

The PokeDex Entry text looks a bit too far to the left.

Eh, I think it looks fine.

How would the HP symbol look a bit more bold? I believe modern blanks do that, so that the smaller text pops out a bit more.

Will try this out.

Are you using your own wording? I noticed that there are a number of wording mistakes, if you were aiming to use the official wording. If so, I'd be happy to help you out with that, if you'd like!

Tbh, I haven't put as much effort into wording as I have with most things. General rule of thumb has been that as long as it's legible and you know what the card is supposed to imply, then it's fine. But if you see any major screw-ups you want to see fixed, do let me know.

As for balancing, what era's power levels are you aiming for? It looks like XY or SM balance to me.

Yeah, I've generally looked at cards that are currently comp-legal for general balancing guidelines, at least for HP and attack power.

If requests are open for members, then I want a Water/Fighting type Blastoise (or just a water type if there's no {W}/{F} blank) in the original card era. (1997, 98, etc.)

Are you fine with the evolutions-ish blanks I've put up so far, or do you want it to be styled like the actual classic era? If so, it would take a lot more time, and I have no experience faking actual classic styled cards, so I can make no guarentees that it would look great.

Ahhh your cards are amazing! And it's cool that you're using your own art! This is kinda minor but I'm not a fan of the arrows for weakness and resistance. But that's no big deal! Keep it up.

Thanks! Sad to hear that you aren't too keen on the w/r symbols, but personally I think they look pretty neat, if I say so myself.

Also since you're taking requests could you make a Empoleon or Suicune card when you get the chance? Thanks

Will do!

EDIT: Also I would probably get rid of the transparent box behind the text. IMO it looks too busy

Again, it's something I thought made the blank look better after I added it. Without it, the general area looks kind of off with just the type-symbol overlay in the background. In my opinion.

 

[bbninjas]

The weaknesses/resistances are based on that of the actual in-game Pokemon, and I only included immunities when a Pokemon in the games is immune to a certain type. I figured it was mostly a thing the TCG avoided since there are much fewer types, and so it would have a much bigger impact. I don't recall anyone complaining about immunities in the video games, after all.

The thing about the TCG is that is simply not viable to be running many different types of Pokemon in a single deck, unlike in the VG where immunities tend to not stop entire teams. In the TCG, however, if your type or primary attacker can't damage the opposing Pokemon, it's pretty much an auto lose for you. That's the standard arguement for why immunities to specific types should avoided in designing cards, anyway.

 

[Lunarwork]

@TylerRVG the Evolutions blanks are fine.

 

[Ty Comfy Hat]

Hey all, my CaC entry for this month is up, go check it out if you haven't already!

I've given some thought into @J.Cole's critique, about the overlay box behind the card text. I still think removing all trace of the box wouldn't be great, but I suppose it looks alright with just the shadow. What do you think?



Vote: http://www.strawpoll.me/12710882
A= With overlay box (how it is as of right now)
B= Without overlay

It looks like a small change, but may have a significant impact.

 

[bbninjas]

I actually reckon that the second version looks a tad nicer, probably because it's less busy. If you ended up going with no overlay, I'd suggest turning the overlay from behind the PokeDex entry and the HP for consistency reasons. ^.^

 

[StarlightSearcher]

I was honestly wondering if you could create a Whimsicott (Fairy) type card with this Ability.

Winds of Change
When Whimsicott's HP falls below half; you may use this Ability. Flip a coin. If heads; shuffle the Opponent's Active Pokemon (and all cards attached to it) to your Opponent's Hand. If tails; shuffle Whimsicott (and all cards attached to it) to your hand. Whimsicott cannot use this Ability if affected by a Special Condition.

I remember using this Ability (that I tacked on) for an entry in the Card of the Month competition sometime back. But, I can't seem to find the thread.

(Let's just say the Ability was the only GOOD thing about my entry...:-X)

Thanks in advance if you do decide to make this card.

 

[Ty Comfy Hat]

@bbninjas yea, I was wondering if I should've made that 'option C'. I'll give it a try.

@Tails sure thing!

 

[JimiCobain27]

Wow, great work Tyler, you have a gift, I'd personally love to do this sort of stuff, but I never seem to have the time for any creative projects that I WANT to do. Maybe one day.

That Xerneas is incredible, not only is it a very well designed and aesthetically pleasing card, but it would be so useful in the actual game, if a card such as that actually existed, I would finally try playing a Fairy deck.

I'd like to request a Kabutops card if you ever get the time for it, it's one of my all time favourite Pokemon and has never been given a decent playable card, so perhaps you could do it justice. Here's some ideas I had(the ability is a random thing I came up with just based on how much I think Kabutops and Scyther look like long lost cousins.) -

Kabutops 150HP (Rock/Water)

ABILITY: Scythe Heritage -
The attacks of this Pokemon do 40 more damage for each Scyther you have in play.

Attack: Fateful Blade. 80.
Your opponent can't attach any energy to their active Pokemon during his or her next turn.
Cost: 2 Colorless Energy.


Thanks in advance and keep up the great work.

EDIT: On second thought, the attack can cost 3 colorless, since it's so strong, I don't want to make it too OP.

 

[Ty Comfy Hat]

@JimiCobain27 Wow, I'm chuffed. Thanks for the kind words man! Your request has been noted, but keep in mind that it may not be ready in the next batch of cards I put out, since I've gotten a few requests to do already, plus there are a few Pokés I'm still wanting to make into cards myself.

 

[JimiCobain27]

@JimiCobain27 Wow, I'm chuffed. Thanks for the kind words man! Your request has been noted, but keep in mind that it may not be ready in the next batch of cards I put out, since I've gotten a few requests to do already, plus there are a few Pokés I'm still wanting to make into cards myself.

That's totally fine, no rush at all, I know you're in high demand. Just keep us all updated on the awesome cards you create.

 

[Ty Comfy Hat]

Howdy all.

I'm really sorry I haven't gotten 'round to finishing the requests I've gotten so far. I usually work a lot faster/often than I have recently, and they should've been done by now. There are two reasons for this:

1. I've been pretty sick the past week and a half, and simply haven't felt like working on fakes. I've been quitting some meds I've been on for years, and said meds are pretty chemically addictive - so I've had some pretty bad withdrawal symptoms. I'm felling a lot better now, though.
2. The little time I have been spending on fakes has been dedicated to completely remaking the type symbols for my custom blank. I just haven't been all that happy with the ones I've been using so far, so I made them more like the ones on official cards, and the actual symbols are a lot more legible now. Plus, they better match the type symbols I've been using for the Pseudo-evo fakes (The Ice symbol by @Nekoban Ryo, and other custom symbols from @CMP's "Neo Redux" set), so that alone is more reason to be happier with them!



Anyone may feel free to use them for their own fakes, by the way.

So yeah. The first few requests should be done within the next day or two. Sorry again for the delay!

 

[bbninjas]

Glad to hear you're feeling better, Tyler! ^.^

So... I've already added this resource to our Faking Community Resource thread, since its so beautiful! I really like the colour border around each of the orbs - it really gives them a modern feel that could easily fit into more retro blanks just as well. How does the orbs look on your blanks, which already have those gold outlines around the orb? Also, I feel like the Ice-type symbol on the orb might be a tad small; it looks somewhat out-of-line with the other orbs, to me.