Galvanic Deck Review

Feb 4, 2008
959
3
Boy I owe any of my readers an apology. I took a few months off from my reviews to finalize my second novel so I have neglected my reviews lately.

To jump back into things I have reviewed Sean Whelan's Galvanic deck. Overall Sean did a great job on the design and he did all he could to ensure the cards were as high quality as possible. Unfortunately, the little guys just can't afford to get USPCC to put a lot into the quality control compartment. No fears though. The cards are at least as good as a Bee Club special and they certainly have a great design. I would personally love to see more from Sean!

http://www.custom-playing-card.com/galvanic.html
 
Sep 1, 2007
182
0
34
mastic, ny
Thank you so much for this detailed review! I just got home from work so I am going to go eat dinner then come back and give my feedback on this. However, I will say this: More decks are in the lineup for future releases! My deck is called Surge and will be the sequel to the Galvanic deck.

Here is the back design!

Will be back in a bit to give my explanation and feedback!
Thank you again
Sean Whelan
Graphic Designer/3D Artist
 

Attachments

  • Low Rez.jpg
    Low Rez.jpg
    206.2 KB · Views: 71
Sep 1, 2007
182
0
34
mastic, ny
Okay I'm back!

First of all thank you again for that review. It was honest yet respectful. Here are some things I would like to explain:

Quality Control:
The Galvanics were printed on Aristocrat stock with the Magic Finish. They were also printed on the Q1 press so its one of the best printing presses that uspcc has to offer besides the web press (which is what E and Theory 11 uses to my knowledge). This is the main difference between my deck are these large companies. I only had enough money raised from the Kickstarter campaign to use the Aristocrat stock and not the Bee stock. Every dime I got went to the decks, uncut sheets and the printing plates. I had to pay out of pocket for the entire shipping process which was between $1500 and $2000. Personally I love the rough edges but your right, they clump up and don't fan after only a few hours use.

Court Cards:
The court cards play a heavy part into the storyline. Those court cards as well as the jokers are the Galvanics. They were actually created and developed during college in 2009 (Sophomore year to be exact). The characters and the storyline was supposed to be a well developed short film but for any animation buffs out there, doing that all by yourself is way too much work. So I did the next thing which was to merge my designs, characters and storyline in with my passion for playing cards. I understand this deck isn't for the average magician. It's a sci-fi deck intended for collectors. It was a change to show my talent and whats been floating around my in head for almost 3 years now. The thing I hate the most about this project was being compared to the vortex deck : / These designs were developed long before the Vortex deck went into production. It just so happened that it was released around the same time.

Future Decks:
The Galvanic deck will not be my only deck. I have plans to keep releasing decks at least once a year. My next deck called Surge is the follow up deck for the Galvanics (See above for the back design). It will show the darker side of the storyline. Why only once a year? Well simply put: These decks are being developed on my own spare time. Currently I work full time as a computer technician. Another reason I created the Galvanic decks was to show companies what I can bring to the table as a Graphic Designer. Its been a year now since I got my Bachelor's in the field and this economy is so rough, there are very few job openings. If I was getting paid to develop decks from a company then I will knock out decks a lot faster. But for now its during my spare time. 3d art and Graphic design is my passion and to say I have my own Bicycle Brand deck is such an amazing feeling. I can't wait to develop more decks in the future.

I hope this helped to clear things up.

Thank you again!
Sean Whelan
Graphic Designer/3D Artist
 
Feb 4, 2008
959
3
Q1? well things happen. Again....any issue with the cards wasn't with you or your design. I know perfectly well that you put all the money into the cards. Any beef I have with the cards isn't with you Sean. I want to see more designs from you. You have made one of the most unique and beautiful decks on the market right now. I just think USPCC didn't measure up as well. It could be a bad deck, could be a bad run, or it could be that big companies like that are not as interested in doing the same quality work for a startup like you that they do for companies with clout. Who knows? I wasn't there. All I can say is that it isn't in the same league quality wise as other Aristocrats I have reviewed(Stingers, EATCT, etc.) Also....it is still a GOOD deck. Just not a great deck.

I'm now a big fan of yours and if you get a chance at another deck with USPCC don't be afraid to mention that some of the reviewers were hoping for more quality. They are a big company...they can take the criticism...and if they can't, or are not responsive to it, then they don't deserve to be a big company. Also remember, I try really hard to do "performance" reviews. Which means all kinds of blindfold tests comparing different decks. I try to keep my opinion of the design as small as possible. If I was rating the design....well I think I mentioned it in the review....it is the most unique and "fresh" design to come to the custom card market since Si Scott went retro on the v.4. That is huge praise for you Sean! Keep up the good work!
 
Sep 1, 2007
182
0
34
mastic, ny
Thanks Eostresh! : D
And yes Q1. According to uspcc they have 5 different machines. Q1-Q4 and then the web press. The web press is the best quality there is and this is what Theory 11 and E uses. This is where the quality control was lost on my deck. I was only offered the Q1. Regardless its the top printing press out of the 4 so I'm pretty happy with the result : D
 
Feb 4, 2008
959
3
That could be it....I have been reviewing cards printed on the web press almost exclusively for the last year. I guess I am getting spoiled! Anyways, still a top notch design. ;)
 
Searching...
{[{ searchResultsCount }]} Results