All three art cards for the Tolkien-themed art card swap! :D

Galadriel, the Balrog & Morgoth with Ungoliant.
I hope their future owners will like them! :3c

TUTORIAL: ART CARDS

For those of you who’d like to do your own art cards here’s a quick and simple tutorial. And when I say tutorial it’s just the way I do my cards - there are, of course, lots of other ways. :)

1) The material
You’ll need a pencil, eraser, triangle, inking pens and stuff to color your card with. For this tutorial I used Copic markers. I also use different pencils (0.3 & 0.5 & blue lead in 0.7) as well as different erasers.
Of course you’ll also need paper. First for the sketch and, in case you use markers, marker paper. It’s your choice what kind of media you use and therefore what kind of paper you use. :)

2) The card
It’s size should be 6,4 x 8,9 cm, so it’ll fit in trading card sleeves/albums. It’s the regular trading card size.
You can use a stencil or simply draw the card’s outline with your triangle.

3) Sketching
Time to sketch! What do you want to draw? It might be tricky to work on such a small piece of paper, but you’ll get used to it eventually, so don’t give up! :3c
It can be helpful to do a very rough sketch in a different (light) color, for example light blue.

4) Inking
For inking I use my light table. If you don’t own one, you can improvise with a glass top and a lamp. In case you want to color your sketch directly without inking first or prefer to work on the same piece of paper, just ignore this point. :3

5) Lineart
Yay, you finished the lineart! Be sure the ink is dry before you start coloring! °A°

6) Coloring
In this tutorial I use Copic markers for coloring. Of course you can use whatever media you prefer! I also enjoy working with water colors.
Well, color your card then!

7) Details
Almost done!
Add details like light reflexes and the like. I always use different kinds of media for my finish, for example gel pens, glitter, colored pencils, small stickers (like for nail art; those are great for art cards because they’re so tiny!).

8) The backside
Alright, the front looks awesome! But it’s still just a piece of paper, probably very thin and wobbly. But you’ll want a card!
So all you need is some cardboard! There are lots of different kinds of cardboard and nice, cardboard-like paper with different patterns which will make a beautiful backside for your card! Keep your eyes open when you shop for art supplies or visit the craft store! Usually you can find those papers where the scrapbooking material is.

9) Glueing
Time to glue!
It’s easier not to cut out the card. First glue it onto the cardboard you chose as backside and allow the glue to dry. You will have less trouble with adjusting your paper to the cardboard.
Use scissors or a cutter to cut out the card afterwards along the lines you drew with your triangle at the beginning.

10) Congrats! Your art card is ~almost~ finished!
Great! Now just write your card’s number, title and your signature on the backside! If it’s a present you can add the person’s name to make it even more personal. :)

And that’s it! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it’s been at least a bit helpful! Art cards are much fun, especially if you don’t have enough time to do real, big art trades! Because you can trade those small cards instead with other artists and collect them in regular trading card albums, they’re a nice and convenient option.

If you have question about art cards or certain steps of this tutorial just message me! :D

This card is for dear Gabe ~ it’s her character Ari. :3c

Art card for a trade with a dear friend of mine. :)
She wanted me to draw Kili from The Hobbit, so here he is!
Sketch & Lineart version as a bonus. ;D