Do-it-yourself old pirate map. How to make paper mafia cards How to make paper smart cards

Which tells about how to independently produce high-quality, beautiful, durable and, importantly, inexpensive cards. This material is highly recommended for everyone who makes toys with scissors and a printer. Special thanks to the user who wrote all this under the nickname Pard.

From time to time, a real gamer needs to make playing cards for some game. For example, you came across a game in a foreign language, and its original cards you are not going to play anyway. In order for this venture - to print your own cards - to succeed, you need to solve several problems:

Convenient design
- high quality printing
- protection against cheating,
- durability.

Empirically, I found - it seems to me - the best ways to solve these problems. Let's consider them in order.

1. User friendly design
Cards should be comfortable in the game: a clear picture, a smooth frame, readable text, a beautiful shirt.

Although in different games there are cards of various sizes, it is better to make them of a single size - 6x9 cm. At the same time, the card frame can vary in width from 3 to 5 mm (in the figure - 3 mm):

It is best to make the frame of the card white, and print marks for cutting cards in the corners of the shirt (see paragraph 3). In the picture of the shirt, it is desirable to make a rounding - this will also help in cutting. It is impossible to print the whole line of cutting cards - when cutting cards, its remains will still remain, and they will be different for all cards, which is unacceptable (see paragraph 4).

Having decided, for example, to make a card frame 3 mm in size, make a card 5.4x8.4 mm in size, distribute all the necessary pictures and inscriptions in it, and then increase the canvas size to 6x9 cm - while you just get the frame of the desired width.

2. Quality printing
Cards should be printed on double-sided matte photo paper, such as “Lomond, 200 g/m2, A4, matt double-sided”. Any normal inkjet photo printer, such as the "Epson Styles R300", will produce prints of sufficient quality.

In order for the pictures of the front part and the back of the card to match, you should make several test prints on an A4 sheet of a 18x27 cm grid (such a grid is obtained by placing 9 cards on a sheet):

By moving the printer guides, find the position of the sheet inserted for printing, in which the picture is printed exactly in the center of the A4 sheet. In this case, flipping the backing sheet over will print the card faces and they will match. If the guides do not help, you will have to add a white border of the desired width to the printed sheet, to the left or to the right - this will allow you to move the pattern so that it matches the pattern printed on reverse side.

3. Protection against cheating
To prevent players from remembering the cards, their backs must be exactly the same (therefore, for example, you cannot print cards on paper with some kind of solid pattern on the back - in this case, all card backs will be different).

After printing the side of the sheet with the backs of the cards, examine them carefully - if some cards have noticeable printing defects, then these cards will have to be reprinted.

After printing the sheets on both sides, cut them along the corner marks of the cards on the photo cutter - with scissors you will never get as even a line as on it - first cut the paper along the outer marks, and then along the inner ones.

You will end up with 9 rectangular cards that need to be rounded, which will help you with ordinary scissors and skillful hands. Try to keep the rounding parallel to the rounding of the shirt (if you have taken care of it at the card design stage, of course). If you rounded some card clearly worse than the rest, it is better to reprint it so that it is not noticeable in the game.

4. Durability
Surprisingly, homemade cards can be made more durable than commercially printed cards, and lamination can help you with this. There are many laminating films on the market, but it is best to find one that does not have to be cut (because it is impossible to do it qualitatively by hand) - “Laminating Pouch Film, LKC., Ltd., Korea, Size 65×95, Thickness 125 mic”. These films are ideal for 6x9 cm cards:

After inserting the cards (all in one direction), process them in a laminator at a temperature of 150 ° C, after inserting them into an A4 sheet of plain paper folded in half - so that the edges of the cards do not accidentally bend, or, even worse, they are not pulled into the laminator (in this case, it you will have to disassemble, and you will lose half a day and a bunch of nerves anyway). I have not tried it, but perhaps the same procedure can be carried out with an ordinary iron, trying to iron (through tracing paper?) From the side of the film fold and preventing the formation of air gaps.

Laminated cards are a little thicker than usual, but they are very durable and do not deteriorate. If suddenly the corner of the card begins to delaminate, pass it through the laminator (inside a sheet of paper!) And it will be sealed again.

Inkjet-printed cards cannot be left in the sun - they will fade quickly - and this is their main drawback (compared to industrial cards).

Cards should be stored in some boxes. Successfully tested options are as follows:
- boxes from under sheets for lamination,
- self-made cardboard boxes from a pack of Lomond sheets,
- a plastic box from Ferrero Rocher sweets.

5. Price
The approximate cost of cards made using this technology is the sum of the following values:

Paper - 50 sheets (9 cards each) - 200 rubles - 0.45 rubles / card,
- printing - 1 double-sided sheet (9 cards) - 10 rubles - 1.11 rubles / card,
- sheets for lamination - 100 pieces - 120 rubles - 1.20 rubles / card.

You can do it yourself. The most common things that are in almost every home will come in handy. Tired of monotonous decks of cards and want something unusual?

I offer 2 simple and interesting options. To achieve an excellent result, you need to start working in a great mood. And, of course, you need to connect a little imagination! So, how to make playing cards with your own hands?

Method one: make cards out of cardboard

The easiest and cheapest option. For cardboard playing cards you will need: thick cardboard, colored paper, scissors, glue, ruler, printer and Photoshop program. First, decide on the design of the deck.

Step 1. The best way to "draw" the picture in Photoshop. In principle, if you do not have the time or desire, you can use a ready-made template. There are plenty of options on the internet. You need to choose the best one. Next step: print the templates on colored paper. Carefully cut out the cards. The line will help you. Scissors are best used special stationery.

Step 2 Prepare your own cards. Once again, we will clarify: the cardboard should be dense and preferably white. Although, of course, you can use cardboard from under the boxes. Stick color printouts on the finished cards. Glue can be used ordinary, such as "pencil".
Step 3. Send cards to dry. That is, the finished deck should be left to dry for about an hour. During this time, the glue will dry well. Yes, and you can make a box for cards. For this, you will also need cardboard and glue. If desired, you can use colored paper or regular markers.

Method two: scratch cards

This option is much better and more interesting. First, the cards are durable. Secondly, such a deck looks much more spectacular. Before work, prepare: scratch cards, office paper, double-sided tape, adhesive leaves (stickers), a marker of one or more colors, glue "pencil" and a laminator.

Step 1. We glue pre-cut white paper on each scratch card. Set aside for about 20-30 minutes.

Step 2 While the cards are drying, draw the card suits on the stickers. Great if you have 2 markers: black and red. If you are good at drawing, you can draw images classic cards. For example, queen, king, ace. But the easiest way is to print them out and stick them on stickers.

Step 3 Attach the sticker to the card using double-sided tape. Just in case, leave the cards for a couple more hours. Don't fiddle with the deck trying to figure out what the result is!

Step 4 Pass the cards through the laminator. The result will be excellent with a unique design.

When making cards, remember that the deck should be not only beautiful, but also of high quality. Well, if the cards do not let water through, slide on the table. Also, the cards should not be too fragile. In order for the result not only to please, but also to surprise, look at various training videos on the Internet. The video will help determine the size and type of cards.

By the New Year, I want to give attention to loved ones, to make a pleasant, useful (and beautiful!) Surprise that will delight friends or relatives for a very long time. As you know, the best gift is a handmade one. Yes, this time I can admit that my task of finding the right gift was greatly facilitated, since my godchildren have been addicted to pirate themes for over a year now. The answer to the question "What to give for New Year? was found.

It's no secret that I run my own travel blog. In my work on preparing materials, I work a lot with maps and diagrams, I am guided by scales and can easily explain to others, or. Therefore, the idea of ​​​​creating a full-fledged treasure map, a "pirate map" really appealed to me. At the same time, it was decided to capture the process of work for people who are interested in hand-made.

A sheet of A3 and A4 was taken as a basis in the amount of several pieces (I took 4 of each type). In creating a pirate treasure map, you always have to dance on the texture of the paper, since it is it that determines the map as pirated or not pirated. Tea and coffee were taken to give color and texture.

I took a small bowl, 4 tablespoons of any instant coffee and 5 tea bags of black tea, filling it all with 250 ml of water (large glass). Mix thoroughly and wait until everything is infused. Then he took out the bags and put them on a separate plate (we still need them). I poured the contents of the bowl into a baking sheet to hold the paper there. The paper was crumpled as much as possible before impregnation.

It is not necessary to wait a long time, it is enough to impregnate the sheet with a solution on one side and the other, the color saturation does not depend on the amount of impregnation time - it was found out empirically. Then everything was laid out on spread newspapers to dry. As soon as the sheets began to dry out, he took the bags left during the previous operation and squeezed drops of a thick solution from them onto the sheets in a chaotic manner. This is necessary for the appearance of additional random "spots" in order to make the texture even more interesting.

Ready material for work.

I sharpened it in Photoshop so that the pattern could be seen.

In general, creating a pirate map brings great pleasure, because even if you accidentally drip glue or varnish on the surface of the paper, this will not worsen it. appearance, and improve - who knows how many troubles the old pirate had to go through with her?

I ironed the final sheets with an iron, then cleaned them with sandpaper to remove the shine from the iron and a rougher surface. I took a small grain size so as not to damage the paper.

After that, the question arose of what kind of drawing and how to apply. The choice fell on gel pens in three colors: black, gold and silver. With black we draw a contour, with gold and silver we give a beautiful shade that plays in the light.

The first tests showed that we are moving in the right direction. Cardinal points on the map. How to draw: draw with a compass 2 concentric circles of different diameters, then make crosses: cross to cross at an angle of 90 degrees, then cross cross at 45 degrees, then again in half. We use the resulting markup to get this. We paint over the "star" in volume with gold and silver.

In general, the Internet is simply replete with various images of treasure maps and pirate drawings. various kinds: it all depends on the purpose for which you make the map and how much time and effort you are willing to spend on it.

My goal was to make props for a fun puzzle game for my nephew and niece for New Years. The essence of the game is as follows: We take a map where four sectors are marked. Each should have its own piece of the map. To find the treasure, you need to find all 4 pieces by solving riddles and puzzles. This becomes clear from the following figure:

Next, we take a plan of the area where the game will take place. I drew from memory, guided by photographs. We draw in such a way that it is clear to the child (in which case, mom and dad will help. Place the pieces on the map itself:

It turns out a kind of puzzle: children will not only need to find a piece of the map, but also find the place allotted to it. To do this, I made a stroke. One more photo:

I bet even adults with topographical cretinism will be fascinated by this ordeal. Very exciting.

The game can be used everywhere: on vacation, at corporate parties. A treasure map is an intuitive thing and everyone knows what to do with it. You can buy a compass at any fishing store. Mine will be guided by the weather vane on the roof.

After creating the base and the puzzle, I wanted more. How will the card be stored? How to wrap and roll it? Quadruple fold? This will kill her. I remembered the idea of ​​a scroll: you need a cylindrical object longer than an A4 sheet, and something that will fix it. After sorting through the options, a broken photo shaft from the A3 printer and a roller from the same place were chosen. A map will be wrapped around the photo shaft, the roller gives a pleasant weight.

In the movies, it is customary for the scroll to have a protective apron that restricts the folding of the card and allows it to be rolled and unrolled. After creative torment, the initial material was chosen: polystyrene foam. After processing with a hot knife over the stove, it acquired the following shape:

My charm! Now you need to make the second one the same.

So that the limiter disks do not rotate, it was decided to process them with papier mache, which was soon done. Photos this process failed to do. After drying, the end surface of the tube and disks were treated with black plasticine. Along the way, plasticine was prepared for the "wax seal".

Then everything was glued onto a tube and varnished so that the plasticine did not get dirty.

Please note: the distance between the discs is selected in such a way that the roller is inserted there. Grooves were made at the processing stage. After drying, close-up:

The design is such that the card rotates freely around the roller. It is possible (but not recommended) to open the card under the weight of the roller itself: it will unwind.

We glue the joints of the sheets with PVA glue.

We check the functionality.

How it looks expanded:

The compactness of the map drawing itself and the abundance of "white spots" are a little annoying. I agree, you can fill the entire surface with patterns and drawings. But for my task this is enough.

We make a wax seal: knead the plasticine of the desired color (80% red and 20% black), take the twine, wrap it in the right way, sculpt the wax itself on a small piece of the same material as the card so that the main object does not deteriorate when torn off. We make an impression using another piece of plasticine, where the drawing was made, and then frozen in the freezer. We cover with varnish for sealing wax gloss. Ready!

My seal is made in the form of an "all-seeing eye". Who said conspiracy theories? Just a simple and beautiful drawing. Once again close-up. Not ideal, but for what will be torn off and thrown away, just right.

Card with other attributes for the competition for the New Year.

Ready! This text is not a strict instruction, it gives a lot of room for creativity and searching for different ways, so - create, let your map become even more detailed and beautiful! Well, I have everything! Happy New Year 2015!

An old pirate map is easy to create with your own hands. Children from the age of four will be able to help you in its manufacture. And to draw it on their own is within the power of children 7-8 years old or older. Such a pattern can become a design element of a children's room, serve as an accessory for a children's themed birthday party or a game of pirates or a treasure hunt. Children like such "ancient" things, especially boys. By the way, the method of "aging" paper can be useful in many other cases. For example, on such paper you can write a greeting card or make a vintage album.
How to make an old pirate map with your own hands
Take thick Whatman paper, moisten it with water using a cosmetic cotton pad. Then we take ground coffee and pour it on paper. You can lightly smear with your hand to evenly cover the entire sheet. Let's get this "beauty". Even the smallest children will be happy to participate in this creative process!
Let's wait until the coffee dries and shake it off the paper. The most impatient can use a hair dryer to dry. The same must be repeated on the other side of the paper. Let's get this sheet.
We "aged" the paper and got the basis for an old pirate map.
You can also age paper with tea. To do this, you need to brew strong tea, wait until it cools down, crumple the paper and place it in a vessel with tea for 20-30 minutes. Then take out the paper, dry it and smooth it with an iron.
To make it clear that our pirate map is really old, we will unevenly cut the edges of the map with scissors. This work can also be entrusted to kids - perhaps they will turn out even more picturesque than yours!
To add color, the edges of the card can be set on fire on a candle. This is not a mandatory procedure at all. And, of course, only adults should perform it!
So, we created a "parchment" for an old pirate map with our own hands. Now we need to fill it with content. Let's draw a sketch, then transfer it to the map with a simple pencil. It is most convenient to glaze the picture - put it on the window in the light and circle the lines. Draw thin and precise lines, because it is not recommended to use an eraser on our "parchment"!
You can outline the drawing with felt-tip pens in brown, orange, red shades.
Our map lacks only a wax seal. The best way to imitate such a print is self-removing polymer clay (terracotta color). If there is no clay, then, of course, you can take ordinary plasticine. But such a seal would be fragile. To increase the life of your plasticine print, cover it with a thin layer of nail polish.
Take clay or plasticine, roll up two balls and flatten them into cakes. We put a rope on one cake, stick the second one on top. Let's press. Now let's take some decoration with a convex pattern (or a wine cork) and attach it to our seal so that an impression remains.
Another option is to make a print out of paper and cardboard. Cut out two print parts from red cardboard (or cardboard and paper) and glue them together, laying a rope in the middle. Any drawings and inscriptions can be applied to the paper "print".
Our old do-it-yourself pirate map is ready! You can start the game. Happy sailing!

Decoupage cards are decoupage pictures made on plain or rice paper with good typographic quality.

Such cards can be made at home completely on your own if you have a computer and a printer.

As usual, I share my experience step by step.

First, we select the pictures we need on the Internet.

We go to Yandex on the tab: Images, type a keyword in the search bar and set two parameters in the left menu as shown by red arrows: size - Large, type - Clipart.

We do this for two reasons.

We need a large size of pictures, because there is no direct correspondence between the size of what we see on the monitor and what will be displayed later on a sheet of paper. The picture that we see on the monitor as suitable, on a sheet of paper, may turn out to be quite tiny and unsuitable for our purposes.

For example, I can say that an A4 sheet is about 2500 pixels wide and about 3500 pixels long. Yandex marks such pictures as large. It is from such a calculation that one should proceed.

It should be remembered that we can always make small pictures from large ones, if necessary, but it is impossible to make large ones from small ones without losing quality.

The second parameter - clipart determines the quality of the pictures. As a rule, these are PNG images with a transparent background, most suitable for design work. Although we can make the PNG format with a transparent background on our own from almost any image, but that's a completely different story.

The second parameter is not always necessary. It depends on what kind of image we want to display. For example, landscapes are usually saved as JPEGs rather than PNGs and are rarely included in clipart.

So, we find and save the pictures we need.

Then we create a file in Photoshop with the resolution of A4 sheet and place the pictures we need on it. We save the file and output it to the printer for printing. We print the file on ordinary office paper.

The very first picture in this message is just such a file that I created for a decoupage card for decorating a jar of cocoa.

On the Internet, you can find a lot of discussion about which printer can be used for this purpose. Of course, if you have a laser printer, then this is ideal, but I don’t have such a printer, so I used an inkjet printer and will talk about the quality of decoupage cards obtained with it.

I had a transparent adhesive tape, and it is hard to see in the photo, however, if you look closely, you can see it.

We glue the adhesive tape very tightly and evenly and press it well to the surface of the paper sheet.

I specifically consider this issue on the example of decoupage on crackle, which is more difficult to glue the image.

As shown in the photo, I dip the image in water for literally one second:

Yes, the finger gets a little dirty in the paint, but, as you can see, this practically does not affect the image quality.