Turn your creative vision into a fully custom deck of cards—perfect for personal gifts, celebrations, and one-of-a-kind keepsakes. Whether you're designing wedding favors your guests will actually keep or mock trading cards for your sports team, this guide walks you through every step of the process using Adobe Illustrator.

You’ll learn how to prep files for print, customize tuck boxes, and bring thoughtful design into every card face. Ideal for anyone comfortable with Illustrator, the guide includes a glossary, expert export tips, and—most importantly—template files that give you a jump start. No file setup headaches required.

What’s Inside:

A step-by-step Illustrator workflow tailored for 55-card decks
File prep instructions for card fronts, backs, and custom tuck boxes
Export settings that match manufacturer specs
A glossary of essential print and playing card terms
A checklist to ensure everything’s ready to send off for printing
Professional tips to make those tough design choices easier
Ready-to-edit template files with one-of-a-kind card face artwork
A manufacturer reccomendation you can trust

The Guide follows 5 steps to creating your own deck. Here's what to expect:

Step 1 - Introduction & File Management
Step 2 - Designing Custom Card Backs, includes template file
Step 3 - Designing Custom Card Fronts, includes template file with starter artwork
Step 4 - Designing Custom Tuck Box Packaging, includes template file
Step 5 - Ordering Your Deck, includes manufacturer & product specs

Bonus: Every purchase includes access to a private Discord server where you can ask technical questions, share your work-in-progress, and get feedback from fellow designers.

Make something worth shuffling.

Guide - Design Your Own Playing Cards

$38.00

Disclaimer: Personal Use Only

This guide, including all written instructions, diagrams, template files, and graphic assets, is intended for personal, non-commercial use only. Use of these materials for any commercial purpose—such as creating products for sale, client work, promotional use, or monetized content—is strictly prohibited.

Redistribution Prohibited

You may not distribute, share, reproduce, resell, or sublicense this guide or any part of the template files contained within, whether in original or modified form. This includes uploading the files to public or private servers, file-sharing platforms, or online forums.

No Modification for Redistribution

Modifying, altering, remixing, or building upon these materials does not grant permission to distribute or sell them in any form.

No AI Training / Data Use

The contents of this guide and its associated files may not be used in any way to train, test, or refine artificial intelligence or machine learning models, including but not limited to image generators, data mining tools, or language models.

Single-User License

Your purchase grants a license for individual use only. If you intend to use this guide in a classroom, workshop, or group setting, each participant must purchase their own copy. Students may be eligible for a discount, email taryn@arynlei.com from a university-affiliated email address for more information. Discount(s), if applicable, are only valid for new licenses and may not be applied retroactively.

Attribution (Optional but Appreciated)

If you share projects made using these materials on social media or elsewhere online, please credit @arynlei when possible. While not required, it helps others discover the guide and supports continued creative work.

Copyright Notice

All written content, illustrations, design elements, and template graphics are the intellectual property of Arynlei LLC and are protected under copyright law. All rights are reserved.

Enforcement

Unauthorized use of these materials may result in legal action. Please respect the time, creativity, and effort that went into making this guide available to you.

By purchasing or using this guide, you agree to the terms outlined above.
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