MERLIN • Illuminations | Art Playing Cards | USPCC

The Merlin Millenium Case… There’s Magic in this Wood!
over 4 years ago – Sat, Aug 17, 2019 at 07:09:42 PM

Yes! The feedback is off the charts, and we want to thank everyone who is pledging for their Millenium Case. Wow! We even ordered two of these beauties for ourselves! 

There are some more images of the case on our Update #9 (“It Took a Thousand Years to Produce This!”) so please check them out.

We had a few questions from backers about the case that are of general interest so we’ll answer them here.

•  What’s the difference between the Collector’s Case and the Millenium Case?
   

The only difference is the wood, the size is identical, and they both feature our gorgeous embedded Merlin Medallion on the front.

• What is Bog Oak exactly?

Bog oak is partially fossilized wood,  the origins of which are rather mysterious. Thousands of years ago, fens and bogs were often surrounded by primeval forests full of oak trees.  Due to storms and other natural events, the oaks would sometimes fall into these adjacent wetlands.

Oak trees are very rich in tannic acid. Tannins are well known for their powers of preservation.  Tannins have the ability to mummify organic matter in high concentrations. Oaks that fell into a bog had a tendency to be preserved in the tannin-rich waters.

Bog oak darkens over the millennia, slowly turning from golden brown wood into a lustrous, ebony-black color, that is also extremely hard and dense. Finished and oiled, it is one of the world's most beautiful woods.

• Does the Millenium Case come with a signed Merlin Deck inside?

Hey, don’t spoil the surprise!

🖤

Dent-de-Lion and Soleil

Let’s Zoom In!
over 4 years ago – Fri, Aug 16, 2019 at 10:32:39 PM

Working in three dimensions on MERLIN • Illuminations has been an amazingly creative experience. 

While exploring the Ace of Diamonds, and zooming into the Castle of Camelot, you just might discover someone bidding farewell to old Merlin himself!

So there you have it, a story in a card... Sir Galahad, the true and valiant Knight, watches Merlin,  the wise and crafty Wizard depart. What other tales are waiting to be illuminated?

Art is an endless adventure.

Have a wonderful and adventure filled weekend!

Dent-de-Lion

It Took A Thousand Years to Produce This!
over 4 years ago – Fri, Aug 16, 2019 at 01:10:34 PM

The legends beneath MERLIN • Illuminations lived more than a millennia ago… yet one can imagine they rest deep within our incredible new... yet ancient add-on!

As you know, in our update of August 2nd, we introduced the Merlin Collector’s Case, which was wonderfully well received. Now we are thrilled to offer you an additional case, with the same exact size specifications as the first, but available now in 1000 year old Bog Oak!

Please extend a warm welcome to the Merlin Millenium Case!

APC Department of Research : Bog-wood is a material from trees that have been buried in peat bogs and preserved from decay by the bog conditions, sometimes for hundreds or even thousands of years. Bog-wood represents the early stages in the fossilisation of wood. It is a rare form of timber that is comparable to some of the world's most expensive tropical hardwoods.

Our exceptionally rare Bog Oak wooden case is handmade in Europe. The case features a clever magnetic clasp, and is precision made throughout. It’s finished with six coats of oil!

Identical to our Merlin Collector’s Case, we have featured on the front a Merlin Medaillon. It is permanently epoxied into it’s precision engraved position on the case.

Every Merlin Millenium Case is hand made and completely one-of-a-kind. They will be sent out from our studio in Switzerland. They will be carefully inspected, hand-packed and professionally shipped to your door.

The Merlin Millenium Case is CHF 145.-

• Shipping USA will be CHF 22.-
• Shipping Europe will be CHF 18.-
• Shipping International will be CHF 28.-

Without question, this is the ultimate case for your MERLIN • Illuminations deck.

Kind regards,

Dent-de-Lion

Ten Big Days... and Counting!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Aug 14, 2019 at 02:05:17 PM

Our MERLIN • Illuminations campaign is now entering the last third of its course, and we are looking forward for a big finale to our fantastic run together.

We wanted to share more of the detail of Guinevere, the Queen of Hearts and Morgana Le Fay, the Queen of Spades. As mentioned in the campaign, the cards are created at 16x “real size”, which means when reduced to print resolution they will reproduce exceptionally well, and without artefacts. These ultra-high resolution files enable us to provide super quality Fine Art Prints without compromise.

There have been a few questions in our private messages that we thought would be of general interest to all our backers:

Are you planning on releasing metal figurines of the characters? 

Yes, we are. We are contemplating a separate campaign for the figures rather than releasing them now, as our focus is fully on the cards at present.

Can I get my deck signed?

Of course, please contact us directly with PM if this interests you. There are additional shipping charges involved, as your deck must first go to our studio in Switzerland, and then on to you.

Will I be able to add-on Merlin decks after the campaign concludes? 

Yes, we are using Backerkit, and as you answer your survey  you can add additional cards, posters, and other collectables. 

Some of our colleagues here on Kickstarter have produced some wonderful cards, and we would like to direct your attention to their campaign.

Emperor Playing Cards by Penguin Magic  -A beautifully illustrated deck of custom playing cards designed by the incomparable Mark Stutzman. Printed by Expert Playing Card Co.

Emperor Playing Cards is a truly beautiful custom deck with a delightful penguin theme. With their classic appeal, they will make a fantastic addition to your playing card collection. Check them out here.

Wishing you all a wonderful week, and thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards,

Dent-de-Lion and Soleil

Art Playing Cards

Our Limited Edition Print is Sold Out!
over 4 years ago – Mon, Aug 12, 2019 at 02:19:51 PM

Well that was quick! 

We thought we should update all our backers that the Merlin Fine Art Limited Edition Print is no longer available, as there were only seven and the last one was reserved an hour ago! 

We would like to thank the backers who’ve reserved their Limited Edition version.

The Merlin Fine Art Print, which is unlimited, (and much less expensive at CHF 45.-) will be available until the campaign closes. 

Note: The Merlin Medallion, and the Collector’s Case are not limited editions and can be added to your pledge at any time during the campaign.

On another topic, one of our superbackers, a backer of all our projects, asked to see the Queen of Spades (her favourite card) and though I am still sculpting the final details of this character, I thought I would share this work-in-progress with you as she asked so nicely. :-)

The Queen of Spades is Morgana Le Fay, the half-sister of Arthur. A Sorceress, she apprenticed by Merlin. She is a strong medieval symbol of feminine power and sensuality. 

She is shown above in Zbrush, my primary digital sculpting tool, in the red wax i use for modelling, and in a gold metal look. She's about halfway complete at this point, and when done will be placed into her card. Yes, as you can imagine, our private message box is burning up with requests for metal figurines of the characters, we hope to have a solution about this soon!

Please check out our friends at Thornwillow - their campaign is closing in the next hours! They are publishing the ultimate edition of Agatha Christie’s masterpiece, Death on the Nile  — the first ever fine press edition. 

Their work is truly beautiful and we are delighted to share this with you here.

As always, please feel free to write us a PM with any questions you may have.

Kind regards,

Dent-de-Lion

Art Playing Cards