How I Make TRADING CARDS! + Creature Re-Design

Since I started making my creature cards people have been asking HOW and WHERE I make them... well time to spill the beans, here is how you make them (sort of) + a bonus redesign an old critter!
Go check out my / dinanorlund if you are interested in collecting my creature cards + stickers and a limited postcard!
You can also support me by buying my books at hushbird.com
Thank you for all your support!
Materials:
Printer is printed.com
I use InDesign for adding bleed and exporting image to CMYK (from RGB)
For this video I used Ipad + procreate to design the card and creature
normally I would use a watercolour sketch + Krita on my PC
A Pokemon card is 63 x 88 mm, but it's easier to test print with business card sized cards and A7 postcards.
Illo sketchbook, square
Colerase pencil in various colours
Ballpoint pen: BIC Soft Feel Ballpoint Pens Black 3 Pack.
Pen: Zig Cartoonist Mangaka Flexible Marker Pen - Fine Tip - Black
Schmincke Horadam watercolours: Lemon Yellow, Pure yellow, Transparent Orange, Purple magenta, Ultramarine finest, Phthalo Blue, Phtalo Green, yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, burnt Umber, Sap Green, Indigo.
Pencil: 8B Faber castell 9000 pencil, jumbo and normal
Music:
Intro is Gymnopedie no 1
When it ended, we just began again
and 02 - my proposal, he said no
by / artificial-music
Go check them out!
Intentions + Lottery free from KZbin Library
Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Places you can find me
✮ Portfolio - dinanorlund.com
✮ Facebook page- / dinanorlund
✮ Twitter - / dinanorlund
✮ Tumblr - / dinanorlund
✮ Instagram - / dinanorlund
✮ Deviantart - coalbones.deviantart.com

[@obaone]

Just stumbled upon your channel and learned you had passed. Was typing a message to reach out about how awesome your work is and wanting to collaborate on a project I'm working on called WEFA. I know I didn't know you but I just wanted to let you know how good it felt watching you create and If I bring WEFA into the world I dedicate a piece to you. ❣

[@VoidR3X_Gaming]

Is the game about wind earth fire air

[@obaone]

@@VoidR3X_Gaming Water Earth Fire Air

[@emmajharrington426]

Me: Dina is one of the best artists out there because of her talent and sweet personality. My family trying to eat dinner peacefully: ¬.¬ ...

[@DinaNorlund]

Haha your poor family xD

[@Maddddddddy]

Ii really love her creative art style and I enjoy watching her and waffles they boy make me wanna draw more but I end up watching the videos instead and for get to draw.

[@kali8921]

Maddy Nielsen you should watch their “draw with me” vids and draw along with them at the same time :D

[@Maddddddddy]

@@kali8921 I do but I get lost ND watch them draw instead

[@kali8921]

Maddy Nielsen ahahah same honestly 😹 my eyes get stuck on their beautiful art instead of concentrating on my own

[@YumegakaMurakumo]

Been wanting to make my childhood dream of making a monster TCG and found this video. I am so saddened to hear that the creator of this video passed on to the next realm. As another female who loves monsters and fantasy, I was hoping to befriend and network with Dina. I bet she was an amazing person. So imaginative and creative and very kind to produce this how-to for all of us to see. Thank you.🙏🏼 ☁️🌌🌒🌕🌘🌌☁️

[@kerbabbles6053]

BELLA SARA WAS AMAZING Y E S It was my childhood too!!!

[@Zia-ep3co]

Babbles Babbles what is Bella sara?

[@cal4266]

I still have little bella sara horse plushies that came with cards ♥️

[@WHDarkDragon]

I remember playing it online cuz they didn’t have the cards in my country 😆

[@olliematlock729]

I remember when I was younger everytime I'd go to Walmart I'd get a pack of Bella Sara cards, and on Christmas I got a special pack (I was so damn excited), I had a huge binder that I'd put my Pokemon cards and Bella Sara cards in and I'd tote it around everywhere

[@shellydraws]

This is something we all wondered about! Thanks for this video it was super helpful. Looking forward to make my own trading cards with my OCs. It will be so cool if I can create a whole beautiful pack of them with my own characters

[@DinaNorlund]

Yay thank you!! :D

[@calvinwithouthobbes]

Hi there J ^-^ Funny enough i had the exact same idea! XD

[@shellydraws]

@@calvinwithouthobbes ❤❤❤❤❤ ^-^

[@Insideranon]

Good luck on your journey with making trading cards! If you're not familiar with how to take care of them after they're made check out my comment!

[@IzoInk]

I think its really cool you're so willing to share how you do the nitty gritty stuff, it's so sweet of you to want to inspire people to do their own versions! A lot of artists are... secretive about their process

[@Godrulesall316]

rest in peace

[@orionpaxx9236]

Wait what?

[@Godrulesall316]

@@orionpaxx9236 shes dead

[@hayleywilliams3225]

What??😢😢😢

[@sunnystar9639]

I love your art sooo much!!! I really like your random creature designs, those are always really fun and relaxing to watch.

[@twinkiesthezombiedog1768]

Finally I can make custom character cards to trade with my friends who don't exist 😌 I'm gonna buy a printer one day, I'll put this on my to-do list

[@PaleRiderTCG]

I'm doing my own TCG and this video is awesome.

[@kiwibee8080]

Just wanted to say that I love your artwork, Dina! Your a major inspiration to me and your creature designs are the best!

[@beth3667]

It’s always a good day when Dina uploads. Thanks for explaining your process!

[@_dat_edi_]

Every time I watch this intro... my heart warms up. It just looks so peaceful ♡

[@reneestar9993]

This looks so fun! thank you for sharing. Your creature designs are always so interesting and inspiring!

[@Soggy_Toast14]

The second, third, and Re-Designed card are my favorites so far!!! Of course everything you make is amazing and inspiring as always

[@sofiageppetti6615]

OMG Bella Sara was my life! I used to have soo many cards! I also used to play the game online, i was soo obsessed with it!

[@grimmcorvid5713]

Me too! I remember how many magazines and figures i have!

[@Rauta.tattoo]

this is so satisfying to watch!

[@LilacAesthete]

I don't know if you've mentioned already, but at some point, will you sell a whole pack of creature cards?

[@GoltahsDistractions]

I would love to know this also. These are amazing!

[@thesleepydot]

That would be so cool! I want to buy it!!

[@fayefei9537]

Yeah! I’ve only had Pokémon cards before so it would be nice to have another type of trading cards 🎴

[@ukiyo8089]

OMG, this tutorial is something I've waited for someone to make! Bella Sara was my addiction when i was younger. I loved it so much! AHHHHHH! thank you for inspiring me again on this project!

[@SweetMacheet]

This was great! So much info and the cute creature you made for the vid quite pops against the card! Super fun! Thanks for the guide! ♥️

[@taitanator1998]

yay now we know! super interesting,, and they look wonderful!♥♥ You are doing amazing Dina!

[@nathankeene9236]

I absolutely love the design you have on your cards. Very exquisite and beautiful.

[@e-dubbses403]

Amazing!!! The most entertained I’ve been with digital drawing EVER!! It still feels like your drawing. You know? ❤️thanks for that. All seems effortless when making the cards. but I’m sure it is SUPER DIFFICULT 😊 Thanks I wish I can afford to be a patron 😊. One day. Thank you. ❤️

[@janedavis9872]

Your art style is ADORABLE.

[@GidleAlomaip2]

this video gave me lots of inspiration! thankyouu!

[@dominicvalentin8643]

Ok definitely gonna have to try this. Great video 👍

[@briankelly1240]

This is a clear, well made process, thank you for the great video!

[@Amanda-tx6ls]

Omg Bella Sara was SUCH a big part of my childhood!

[@Zia-ep3co]

Amanda and what is it?

[@Amanda-tx6ls]

@@Zia-ep3co it was basically an online trading game with small minigames, all based around horses and some magic stuff - definitely something for kids

[@johnfranklin7759]

I am not sure how I came across this but absolutely phenominal!!!!! Very talented young lady, Pokemon needs to hire you!!!

[@infernofactory9104]

These trading cards you made are beautiful 😍😍😍😍

[@michelleli3373]

Yesss Bella Saraaa I never collected Pokémon cards but I was obsessed with Bella Sara lol and how you could take care of the horses on the website skdjs I still have mine

[@sekikoryoko7102]

Yes! I love Bella Sara I collected so much when I was younger. I still have them. I was so mad when I no longer found them in Wal-Mart

[@NeaBEWG]

This was unbelievably cute and fun to watch as well as super helpful! Thank you so much

[@DinaNorlund]

Thank you!! So happy you enjoyed it :D

[@ChaosGalaxyTCG]

This is great! So good to see that some big youtube channels are looking to make Trading card games! Very exciting Dina! Thanks for doing this!!!

[@vincentvillegas4012]

I agree!

[@yosrazahran2872]

This video was so helpful thank you so much dina!

[@luffo9999]

Such an amazing video. I have been having the hardest time trying to make a vintage styled trading card for my page and this video def helped.

[@frejawolff8656]

Oh my god yes Bella Sara! That was all me and my friends did😂🥰 And the website!!

[@JonathanBlido]

FINALLY! :D A new video and with a so interesting topic (I love everything you do and you are great

[@DinaNorlund]

Thank you!! :D

[@Zia-ep3co]

Jonathan YT *with such an interesting topic

[@artlovespaper]

Thank you so so much for sharing this! Such inspiration!

[@JupiterLance]

Omg they look so beautiful !!!!!

[@jeanalton1568]

i didnt understand a word of this but I still watched it! Love you Dina!

[@hxneii6389]

I’m excited!

[@amoralangel]

This is exacly what I was looking for

[@Johanofkarlsson]

Thanks Dina! Very inspiring and informative video!

[@davidmetuarau234]

Wow this is amazing! Thank you for sharing this! Love your Cards... 🤙

[@milantiquestudios7460]

Thanks. I have been planning a card game so this video is going to be very helpful when I get to the execution phase.

[@bitesized_beetles]

I played on the bellasara website SO MUCH as a kid, on my grandparents computer, oh my god

[@willmountain2234]

I'm trying to make a card game for the library I work at and this was super helpful, thank you so much!

[@grimmcorvid5713]

Well these are wonderful! Thank you for help!

[@c.d.dailey8013]

That was a wonderful demonstration of how to make cards. I am messing around with the mechanics of a card game. I make cards by using pencil and colored pencil on index cards. The quality isn't very good. Howeer the cards are usable. It is good for playtesting. Once I figured out the mechanics, I can make nicer pictures with higher quality. Maybe I can even get them printed out. There is no sense in spending a lot of effort making a card pretty if it just won't work very well in game. It seems that mechanics is king in a card game.. The most daunting thing about making art for cards is the huge scale involved. I can make an amazing painting in Krita with realistic rendering. I get into shading and texture. However the downside is that it is very time consuming. It takes me a few hours to do a single picture. I am okay with doing it. I can focus for long periods of time. Having a wonderful artpeice at the end is so worth it. However doing this for a card game would be very difficult to do. Card games require a lot of cards. Each card has its own picture. So doing a lot of pictures starts to be come ovwerwhelming. Doing a large collection of pictures in general is overwhelming. It is okay to have twenty pictures or so. However if hundreds of pictures are needed, then it starts to be a problem. Big trading card games solve this problem by hiring a whole team of artists to do the art. More artists can do more pictures in a timely manner. For example Magic the Gathering cards look amazing. THe pictures are rendered so well and so realisticly. Wizards of the Coast pulls this off by hiring a bunch of artists do do the pictures for it. I can't afford this now. I don't have any income coming in at all. I like the picture done in this video. The dream weaver is so cute and pretty. The picture is so flat, but it still looks great. The character esign is good, and that is the part that really counts. I looked carefully, and I see that the picutre is cell shaded. That is a good way to go, if one is startng out, and they have to do all the pictures themselves. Having a two dimensional picture is easier and faster than a rully rendered three dimentional picture. It still acceptable. Heck some people out there are huge fans of 2D anamation and the decry the switch of animated movies into CG. Cell shading provides some three dimentional depth to the picture. However it is not as realistic as the full blown shading that is in images like CG animation and Magic the Gathering Cards. So this is a place where I can cut corners. If I do cell shading, I can finish pictures fast. Then I can churn out a lot more pictures to accomodate the needs of a card game.

[@bffrsham]

Wow! Amazing!

[@sleepypossum6893]

omg Bella Sara!! I used to love it when I was a child QwQ I still have 3 album full of cards TwT💕

[@amirhdr2932]

Your work is amazing!

[@Calena]

This is so amazing! I wanna do a card game, your tips are helpful. Thank you!

[@skifisk]

wow your work is epic and cute! love it.

[@mili8058]

Omg your so good a wish I could have one of ur monster card things cus they look so cool

[@innerthoughts6057]

I gotta step my out of my hood zone to tell you, your voice is soothing and relaxing

[@axolotlgaming3987]

Väldigt coola kort, Jag älskar designen!!!

[@theiceboxarchives1464]

That art is amazing!

[@TheOnlyChara]

Thank you for this video...I was wanting to make my card game but I have nothing to do but when I seen this video... I felt like I can do this and with the music...I want to do it even more ... Again thank you ☺️

[@monster-teeth5378]

I think you would be extremely pleased to know that this is the first video of yours I’m watching and I’m watching it because I miss Bella Sara cards and I’m toying with the idea of making something similar XD

[@techrafta]

You are an amazing artist

[@greeyzone]

Most useful video, thanks!

[@Izzythedestryr]

Imma follow you bc I've be doing this for a while and your stuff looks amazing 👏🏼

[@marisolvelazco3668]

Thank you sooo much your the best you tuber omg good video!!

[@annieq8186]

I love these! Thank you

[@VictorRodriguezArt]

Hi Dina, I love your work I just became a Patreon of yours. Keep up the awesome work.

[@kingdomstcg]

So glad I stumbled across this video! Nice work and great advice and tips!!(:

[@techrafta]

You are an amazing artist.

[@jazertopacio]

I'm glad I found one of your videos

[@star_jelly.13]

Love you videos

[@DinaNorlund]

Aw thank you :D

[@steliosstanis2125]

SUPER COOL!!! 😍😉👍

[@DrowningArrows]

I've been wanting to do some sort of trading card with the art I make on my channel, thank you for showing us your process!

[@extremedarttv8880]

I just found this channel and dont regret it.

[@devon1530]

Thanks for this video! I’ve been wanting to do trading cards! Thanks!

[@Immortalf0x]

1:45 I've never heard someone say and not spell out 'AKA' I'm in Northern US. I'm curious which way is most popular. I guess it's just not used much in speech and more so in literature. It's so interesting how language differs in various regions. I loved this tutorial I really want to make my own cards now ^-^

[@DinaNorlund]

Omg I think it’s a Norwegian thing maybe! Both me and my family say AKA haha xD

[@Immortalf0x]

@@DinaNorlund I love it! I really appreciate your videos :) Thanks for sharing your artwork and taking the time to teach your process. Your work is really inspiring :)

[@erikam5386]

We say it like that in Sweden too (:

[@badreddinekasmi8919]

I've heard some french people abreviate it to AKA just because spelling it in French sounds relatively similar to just reading it as it is.

[@Lady_Caffiene]

BELLA SARA!!! FRICK YES I WAS OBSESSEDDDDD

[@TheNerdySimulation]

So, I have literally no idea why this was recommended to me as I have never watched anything by you before, nor have I engaged with much related to this channel, but... This video (and art) is dope and you're an adorable person, so consider me interested. :D

[@cultivator2062]

Amazing!

[@SwampertX]

Amazing! Love it! :)

[@16o6oo]

thank you for this video❤️

[@thehorrorswawawa]

Awesome tutorial! Also your art is awesome, keep up the fantastic work! (Might become a patreon.)

[@esthercoffin4638]

Yeeeee ty for this video!

[@DinaNorlund]

Hehe no problem! :D

[@ellerybeelendorf2098]

I bought so many Bella Sarah packs as a kid! I loved them!

[@coralblake9868]

Love the dream weaver. Would also love a dark dream caster, same but black and orange. Thanks for the how to.

[@lavenderminty]

That's great! I really enjoyed watching the process of this, so thank you for making it! :D Now I really want Dream Weaver though xD

[@nothingfancygaming]

i must say i love detailed backgrounds they invoke wonder and wanting to know more about where the creature is from :)

[@polliegone_]

Bella Sarah was my favorite game. It has a online game! In the childhood i was so happy with this

[@williansouza6281]

Found it today. Amazing video and very helpfull. I'm going to buy an ipad by the end of the year and was planning on doing a card game. You helped me a loooooooot \o/

[@TakeoxStudios]

Thanks you so much for this im so inspired

[@teCktronikbasS]

I just felt in love

[@MythkasMonsters]

I've been making creature cards for my patrons too, it's a great reward. Mine are a bit more like postcard prints though (pretty much the smallest I could get without them being a business card) and I have been considering converting to a more standard trading card size. I do love that pokemon card feel.

[@WPatrickOfficial]

Love love LOVED this!! (Side note, if you're on a Mac you can use "screen record" with Quicktime to capture your computer a lil better. Hope that helps!) But this was amazing to watch!

[@violetdarling699]

Omg I loved the belle Sarah cards, even if 1 only ever got 2.

[@parkerhammel5900]

you are so good at drawing!

[@ratboialex7628]

Omg Bella Sara was my childhood :0 I just recently found the DS game and bought it but omg 😩 Also your art is amazing

[@LordLuminor]

I'm painting a deck of poker cards right now and it's insanely much fun but lots of work.. Everything traditionally (sketch witch pencil, lineart and then watercolor). Interesting to see how you're doing your cards. Love your vids and your sweet personality! Greetings from Germany :)

[@oceancream9071]

💞 loved Bella Sara!💞

[@georgestevenson2777]

I loved Bella Sara!! My cousin had way more cards and I was so jealous

[@ForTheSuperEarth]

Me seeing the video: this is cool. Also me: I NEED TO MAKE IT!!!!!