"Custom" football cards. Have any of you toyed with this idea?
 

It seems there were a lot of missed opportunities in the early days of football cards. While there were Ty Cobbs and Babe Ruths being printed and distributed in tobacco and candy packs, there were no Don Hutsons or Johnny McNallys. So many great football players never had any cards produced. The only Don Hutson card is a college football card. Packer cards

Bob Lemke has been designing custom cards for quite some time on his blog. A while ago, I had a short conversation with him, and I decided to try out my own hand at making custom cards in Photoshop. After doing my first card, and seeing some of the modern custom baseball cards that are being made by artists, I'm trying to decide if I should take this to the next level, and actually produce the cards, ie printing them out on high quality glossy paper for modern cards, and card stock for the older cards. We collect these cards for the love of the hobby, and not every card has to be worth a small fortune. Wouldn't it be cool if we could add some of these high quality cards to our collection, to fill in some of the "gaps" that exist, but shouldn't. Cards that you could display along with jerseys, and helmets, and balls. I've seen these custom cards sent out and signed by the athletes, or collectors will take these custom cards to shows, and have them signed. It makes for a unique collectible.

So, I'm wondering if any of you besides Mr. Lemke have done these before? I am going to have to figure out how to do the card reverse. It shouldn't be too hard. I'd just have to figure out which fonts are used, and find a texture to replicate the paper stock used on these old cards.

Here's my first shot at a custom. I attempted to recreate the 1955 All American Football set using a modern day player. It was actually pretty fun. Once I was able to create a template, it was pretty easy. Anyhow, here we go. On the top is a scan of a '55 Topps All American card of Otto Graham at Northwestern, and on the bottom is my custom of Aaron Rodgers at Cal. It was pretty easy to do.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img593/9454/mx64.png

Basically, this was a pretty easy production. I found a cool picture of Cal playing at the 1938 Rose Bowl. It was already black and white, so there was no need to grayscale the image. I then found a picture I liked of Aaron Rodgers, and extracted him from the picture. The different fonts were pretty easily found after a little researching was done. And I found a nice little clip art bear to incorporate into the team's logo. I created my file in Photoshop, putting the background, type, Rose Bowl and Aaron Rodgers images on different layers. The hardest part of making the card was the All American logo. I broke out my Wacom tablet and drew it by hand, then used the marquee tool to cut out the stripes. Pretty fun, overall. I tried my hand at a few different templates for more modern cards. The possibilities are endless. I'm looking to get a new scanner, and buy a high quality printer to make some cards. This would be a great way to add to my hobby.

What, if anything, have you guys done? Show me some of the cards you've made.

RetroCards - Custom Football Cards
 

I've been doing this for about three years now. My main focus has been Dallas Cowboys sets that include players that never had cards, but recently I've started dabbling with other teams like the Packers, Steelers, and Redskins. They've been a huge hit with collectors! The most satisfying part has been the feedback from former players. Especially the guys that never had a card. Check out my website to see all the sets and singles I've done.

http://www.thecowboysguide.com/RetroCards.html

My latest project is a 1966P (Philadelphia) Final Series 140-card set. It was a huge project that took almost a year, but I'm pretty happy with the final result. Here's a link to that set...
http://www.thecowboysguide.com/Retro...66P-Ser3p.html

You'll find that having them made into 'real' cards isn't as easy as you may think. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to discuss anything.

Steve, I will definitely take you up on your offer. At some point this weekend, I'll put together a few questions to send to you. I love your site from what I've seen thus far.

One of the things I'd like to do, interestingly enough, is to augment the 1965 Philadelphia Gum Packer set. If you look at my profile, I've got 5 or 6 of my Packers from that set uploaded. I have a few more cards to buy yet (Jim Taylor, Forrest Gregg and a couple others), but I know there are some players that didn't have cards for that set. I'd love to do a Jerry Kramer so I could send one to him, and one to his daughter.

Thank you for your input and your offer of assistance. It is greatly appreciated! I'm going to get some sleep, then I'll send you a couple questions later tonight.

Have a great day!

Bill

Sounds good. I did a Jerry Kramer card run for a customer a few months ago. It included a card for each year he played and did not get a card (1958-69). I think the guy that I did them for sent them to him to be signed. So, I do have a 1965P J.Kramer already made.

A couple of years ago I did around a dozen players using the 1948 Bowman template for AAFC players. I was amazed that guys like Spec Sanders never got a card. I eventually will finish it up and do a 48 card set or so. I love the AAFC and would love to get guys in that league their cards. Here's the Spec Sanders. I am TOTALLY an amateur at this, but I did my best.

[IMG]<a href="http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/Sam_Lemoine/media/48Sanders.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff380/Sam_Lemoine/48Sanders.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 48Sanders.jpg"/></a>[/IMG]

[IMG]<a href="http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/Sam_Lemoine/media/48SandersBack.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff380/Sam_Lemoine/48SandersBack.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 48SandersBack.jpg"/></a>[/IMG]

Customs
 

I usually do baseball but I've done a few football and I agree with Steve, the players love them, especially the guys who never had cards. They always ask for copies. It's a lot of fun

To replicate the "paper stock" look on the back, on Photoshop I click "Filter" "Noise" "add Noise" then adjust the amount

My blog
http://bobscustomcards.blogspot.com/

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps046dbdf9.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps936cfa64.jpg

I love customs!
 

I started doing customs for college stars that never made it to the pros or had a card. I love sending them ttm for autos and often get great responses from the player for extra cards. Printing can get expensive if you do a lot of them, but man, these are so much fun. And one of the best parts is that there is no financial aspect (they will not make you rich), no questions about whether or not it is real (it's not) or if it's trimmed (it is). Its just pure hobby fun.
I also like doing custom cut auto cards, it's a fun way to display cut signatures and a lot cheaper than buying regular factory made cut auto cards.
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...ps01e45b4a.gif
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...psa3c322e0.gif
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...ps82b19594.gif
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...ps87b57b02.jpg
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...ps382c8d59.jpg

Cooper- Those are fantastic! I love the "Showboat" Boykin, 7 TDs and all! What no K.O. Dottley? Even a Razorback fan can appreciate the Ole Miss stars,

I have a very, very small touch of Razorback in me, my parents live in Little Rock. I do pull for them more in baseball though for some reason. I just got these back last week.
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...ps165f333a.jpg
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...psdcf78459.jpg
Kayo is one of my favorites though. I grew up next door to his sister and would see him from time to time.
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...pscb95f4f5.jpg
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...psef7d4882.jpg

Nice stuff guys. Anyone want to design a 1935 National Chicle Red Grange? Think that would be a very cool card. Anyway, i think this is becoming a very neat subset of collecting. There are so many players who never had a card and this is a neat way to do that, and also a neat way to take your favorite player and add them to your favorite set. Well done. Keep em coming

I tend to concentrate on baseball customs this time of year, but I recently got inspired to add a couple of cards to my 1955 All-American "Update" set after watching a documentary on ESPN about the 1951 San Francisco Dons.

Attachment 152795

Attachment 152794

This makes 161 cards I've done in the '55AA style in some 8-10 years.

I've also worked up a 1954 Bowman-style of the late, great Chuck Noll.

Bob, As always, awesome!!

+1
This is a fun niche of the hobby and I feel like we kinda owe it Bob for what he has done. He has always been very helpful.
Thanks Bob!

Babe Parilli
 

Made these up for a signing with Babe Parilli next month

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...psf01cda67.jpg

Customs
 

Very nice stuff here. This is becoming a nice part of collecting and I think it will only get much bigger. Thanks for posting these everyone!

Great cards everyone

Here was my amateur attempt at a few

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...r//70stau5.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...r//71STAU2.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...r//70STAB2.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...70BLANDA_1.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...er//70STAB.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall.../70BLANDA2.jpg

1966P The Final Series
 

I guess I'll jump in and share some of mine. Here's a few from my brand new 1966P Final Series 140-card set...

http://www.thecowboysguide.com/retro...66P-cards1.jpg
http://www.thecowboysguide.com/retro...66P-cards2.jpg
http://www.thecowboysguide.com/retro...66P-cards3.jpg

Retrocards 1955B Johnny Unitas
 

And here's a couple from the 1955B series...

Johnny Unitas as a Pittsburgh Steeler and Charlie Brackins
http://www.thecowboysguide.com/retro...55B-Unitas.jpg http://www.thecowboysguide.com/retro...B-Brackins.jpg

Steve, those are beautiful! :eek: I've done one set, Front and Back, just 47 cards and it took me a year to complete. Looking at those of yours, they must have taken a huge amount of time. Got to be a great feeling to finally print and
hold them!

Thanks! It was a joint effort (I had a friend help with gathering all the info for the backs) that was almost a year in the making. I did have several custom card projects that interrupted the progress on this set, but once I put everything else on hold I had everything done in a couple months. It's a labor of love!

1964T Roger Staubach
 

Here's my 1964T Roger Staubach for you baseball fans!

http://www.thecowboysguide.com/retro...T-Staubach.jpg

Halas
 

What about a Halas Yankees card when he played with them in 1919

That would be cool. I'll donate an image if someone wants to do it:

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...geHalasBB.jpeg

jeff

Awesome Halas Pic
 

That is a great pic!!!!


QUOTE=jefferyepayne;1303047]That would be cool. I'll donate an image if someone wants to do it:

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...geHalasBB.jpeg

jeff[/QUOTE]

1952 Topps George Halas
 

I was going for a 41 Play ball style, but I could not make it look right.
http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/...pse7e05373.gif

Well done...love it!

1919
 

Was trying to find a set closer to 1919

The middle has a little "noise" added to it

The back is courtesy of Old Cardboard

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps0d47975f.jpg

Ray Guy 1955 All American
 

After a long wait...much too long if you ask me, Ray Guy get's inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I did this 1955T All American of him a few months ago.

http://www.thecowboysguide.com/retro...AA-Guy_Ray.jpg

You guys are awesome! What you all did with the Halas and Guy photos is outstanding.

jeff

Here was my take on Ray Guy a couple of years ago.

Attachment 155408

Attachment 155409

I'd love to find a decent college football photo of Michael Strahan.

Bob's Ray Guy is one of my all time favorites.

Some wonderful custom creations here, guys. Bob, as always, I am impressed by your work. I like the idea of making cards for players that were inexplicably left out of a set, or were left out of a set because of an exclusive rights package with one company (like Musial with Bowman, and not Topps). Cooper, the idea of making cards for players that didn't make it to the NFL is a really good one. I'd like to do that for a few players. I'd probably make two, one for an auto to be returned back to me, and one for them to keep. That would be great, too, for baseball players that had an abbreviated career for whatever reason (injury, not getting called up, etc).

I have a few cards coming in the mail that I'll scan in, and start coming up with some ideas. Baseball is where it's at for me right now, so that will be my focus, with the cards from the 70s getting my first attention.

Keep 'em coming guys, the cards you all make are exquisite! Thank you for sharing!!

I'm branching out
 

After 10+ years of making custom baseball and football cards, I've branched out into non-sports.

The initial presentation with backstory and more pictures will appear on my blog Wednesday afternoon, but here's a preview.

Attachment 156237

Bob, I've toyed with a few more cards. Nothing at a stage I'd be willing to show, but the practice helps, as it makes extracting subjects from backgrounds easier, and the rest of the whole prep-time required before starting a custom gets faster, too.

I just love your work. I'm going to look into getting a really nice printer in the spring so I can start printing my own customs. I've seen a few you've done that I'm probably going to buy, too.

The whole custom exercise adds yet another dimension to the hobby, and I love it. That I can make cards to fill holes left by the companies that made cards, is so cool. No 1956 Topps Stan Musial? No problem. I can just make my own! :p

For those of you that are printing out custom cards (and not just doing the mock ups in Photoshop), what printers are you using? And do you have a favorite card stock or two you like for the older cards?

Thanks!

Hello Bill, I just bought a new Canon PIXMA printer that allows duplex printing . . . both sides at the same time in perfect registration.

I'm waiting until I get out to Pennsylvania for the winter to set it up ad try it out. If it really works, it will cut printing and cutting time by more than half and eliminate a lot of miscutting.

I've been using Pacon Corp. card stock for most cards. It comes in packs of 10 22" x 28" sheets for about $4 at Hobby Lobby. Iyem #5420.

I had the chance to see the wonderful cards Cooper Lee made in person and I have to say that they are some of the nicest cards I have ever seen period.

Bob yours always look great, I'll bet the new printer will make life easier!

Hey, I'm WAY late to this thread (5 years) but I just stumbled upon it.

I'm interested in giving this a shot but I've got a lot of questions. You guys have at least 5 years experience now so hopefully you can lead me in the right direction. I've purchased from Cowboys Guide (as well as WFL cards) in the past and the cards are great. So I trust your suggestions. I've got about 1500 players I'd like to create cards for for my personal collection so I'm also trying to do this in the least expensive way possible.

So:
How do I acquire templates or do I need to make them on my own?
What's the best site/app for making these cards? Adobe Photoshop?

What is the best printer to use or should I just bring a thumb drive to Staples? Do I print them on 8X11 sheets and cut them or just print them on 2.5X3.5 cards?

Thanks, Allen
I could use one of these online websites but none of them seem to print just the single card so I thought I'd try this myself.

Bump!
I'm still interested in any information anyone can provide. In particular, how to print the cards. Is there a particular printer I could use at home or do I need to bring a thumb drive somewhere?
Thanks

This thread is phenomenal. Just beautiful...although just stumbling on it now, I enjoyed it very much. I've been making custom cards for the last 15 years. It has gotten more streamlined with technology, but the single-mindedness of an authentic, attractive collectible remains the goal.

My brand, Banty Red, offers over 400 different custom football cards that comprise 4 different sets. Our flagship set that began in 2015 contains 166 different cards.

I have absolutely no idea why the image I added is so small. I didn't do anything differently--but can't make it bigger. If you PM me, I can give you a few tips for creating/printing.

Phil, those are absolutely beautiful. I wandered through your eBay store to have a look. Really incredible! "Detailed" doesn't even describe it.

A couple of members have sent me info/tutorials which I'm currently reading through. Honestly, it seems a bit daunting right now but I'm sure i'll pick it up once I get into it. As of yet i've not even gotten photoshop so I guess i've been dragging my feet but i've JUST finished my player research so next step is giving this a shot.

You've set the bar REALLY high though. I hope others are taking a look.

You're very kind! I work hard and pay attention to detail for sure. I want the cards to feel authentic and create that "make believe" vibe. Alternative universe stuff, Lol.

Photoshop isn't necessary--I barely use it for the cards but you will need to find a program you can work comfortably with. Good luck with them!!
Let me know if there are any cards you're interested in seeing.
Phil

More CFL Style
 

More of the 2020 CFL Style Set from Banty Red...

Burt Reynolds from the movie "The Longest Yard"

Butkus!

Nice custom cards!

jeff

Thank you!