Comments on: Images of Playing Cards

Question: Images of Playing Cards

grumblebee — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 11:12:52 -0800

For a design job, I need images of standard playing cards: both the faces and the backs. These will be for commercial sites (not personal use), so I need images that I can use legally (I can't credit the photographer). I prefer free, but will pay if I must. Vector is fine if it looks real. So is raster. On stock sites, I keep finding cards, but they are always shot from odd angles or are partially obscured.

I know, I know ... shoot them myself. But speed is of the essence, here. Thanks!

By: quadog

quadog — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 11:19:15 -0800

Seriously, you have answered your own question. What could be easier than getting a deck of cards, throwing them on the kitchen table and taking some digital shots? It could have been done by the time you posted this. Hell, if you pay me I'll do it on my lunch break.

I'm also assuming these shots are for gambling sites. Don't those guys have enough money to shell out some photography?

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 11:41:29 -0800

quadog, I need to get some work done in the next few hours, and I don't have a digital camera where I'm working. Nor do I have controllable lighting. I need QUALITY.

Yes, they can afford it, but there's a ton of red tape involved. Like I said in my post, I'm trying to clear this job off my table as-quickly-as possible. What with all the software-based card games, I assume there are stock images somewhere. But I can't find them.

By: geeky

geeky — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 11:42:34 -0800

I don't know which stock sites you've already looked at, butMorgueFile has some good stock playing card photos. You could also try Stock.XCHNG.

By: nylon

nylon — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 11:46:36 -0800

I'll do it now, if you want - I have playing cards and a scanner. Email me.

By: skryche

skryche — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 12:40:33 -0800

SVG playing cards under the LGPL license

Not beautiful, but might do the trick.

By: trevyn

trevyn — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 13:17:22 -0800

I'd be careful about doing your own photography/scanning; playing card designs are absolutely copyrighted. (Think of the face cards and joker in particular.)

By: Iax

Iax — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 14:19:07 -0800

Wouldn't there be some cards out there that have gotten out of copyright?

By: roundrock

roundrock — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 15:00:38 -0800

My favorite stock photo site is istockphoto. The images are royalty free and insanely cheap ($1-$3 per photo). I did a search for "playing cards" and got 178 hits. As with any stock photo / clipart site, there are some use restrictions (you can't take the picture and trademark it as your own logo, for example), but the terms are pretty generous.

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 15:56:27 -0800

roundtrack, istockphoto (which is, I agree, a great resource) was the first place I looked. But all the photos I found there were of cards at odd angles or they were partially obscured. I need whole cards that are "looking" straight at the camera.

I have one of the HUGE photoobject CDs. I'm amazed they're not on there. I may just shoot them at home tomorrow. But I really thought they would be easy to find online.

By: Chrischris

Chrischris — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 07:09:53 -0800

Maybe you could run out to your local bookstore and grab this.