Badge: Artist Trading Card Printables

Badge Program: Artist Trading Card Printables

Printables can be a starting point for creating your own unique artist trading cards. Use the sample templates for inspiration to create your own.

NOTE: Most of the printables provided as samples for this badge program are my copyright. If the printable has the CC designation on it, you may use it to present the information as long as you include attribution to me and share it freely.

Steps

1. Templates.

Templates might be the ways to cut cards out of a sheet of paper. It might be ways to make a special layout for an artist trading card. It might even be sketch sheets to design a card before you actually make it. Check out templates online or included with this badge program.

2. Backs.

If you do a search for different back matter for ATCs, you’ll see a lot of different things you might include. This depends on whether you’re making a single card or series, whether you’re part of a swap and more. Here are a few things you might want to include. Check out the supplements to see an example or two.

Title
Series
Number
Creator / Artist
Date
Information / Technique

3. Envelopes.

If you don’t want your ATC to get damaged, you may want to put it into a sleeve or envelope. The outlines for a couple different designs are listed in the supplements. Use these to design your own ATC envelopes.

4. Instructions.

I like to hand out instructions about ATC cards as an ATC card. That gives the recipient not only information, but a sample as well. Check out the supplement that I’ve handed out to the many people who have taken workshops from me. Is this something you would use?

Backgrounds

5. Photos.

My favorite starting point for my ATCs are photos I’ve taken. My family refers to them as my “feet” photos. I’ll take pictures of tiles, brickwork, grass, flowers or anything else below my feet that I can use. Check out the background templates from my own photos. Can you make something similar?

6. Ephemera.

Ephemera encompasses everything from train time tables to tickets from your last concert. If it’s something that existed or enjoyed for a limited time, it is considered ephemera. This includes:

Adverts
Bingo cards
Birthday / Christmas cards
Bookmarks
Brochures
Calendars
Concert programs
Contracts
Invitations
Letters
Magazines
Menus
Newspapers
Postcards
Posters
Tickets

Check out the printables that include ephemera. You can also make faux ephemera as part of your ATC design.

For more information on Ephemera, check out the badge program for this topic.

7. Frames.

You can find frames in a variety of sources, including public domain works and clip art. How might you use a frame with an artist trading card?

8. Words.

Using a single letter or word can be the theme for your card. Outlining the letter or word allows you to color, zendoodle or decorate it as you wish. You can also use quotes on your cards. Check out the word sample printables.

9. Letters.

In the list of ephemera, you see letters. This isn’t the alphabet, but handwritten notes and letters. You might want a piece of one as a background element or want it to actually say something. You can write your own note on a card, take the notes from an old notebook, scan a letter someone sent you or find one online that’s in the public domain. What can you add to this type of template to make cards?

10. Books.

Books are another public domain item that you can use to create backgrounds for ATC cards. Other items you might not think of as books that you can use include comics and sheet music . . . also in the public domain.

11. Craft.

Create your own crafts and use those as backgrounds. For example, I decided to experiment with crocheting blocks that fit the ATC size. Some of the fibers I used did not work well. However, I could take a scan of the final piece and use it as a background for my ATC. If you have a painting that didn’t come out correctly, that can serve as a background. Check out a few of the crafted background printables to see what you might create.

12. Fabric.

Fabric is another interesting item to put onto an ATC card. Look at different fabrics, ribbons and the like around your home. The textures can lead to design choices. Check out the sample printables for this.

13. Puzzles.

Creating your own puzzle from online generators is easy. Export it and use it as an element in your ATC cards. This might include word finds, mazes, etc. You might even want to do a 3-d card with acetate over the front with indents on the cards below and round BBs to fit into the indents. Do you remember these types of “puzzles”, trying to get a BB into each of the indents? Check out a few puzzle printables for your ATC cards.

14. Make.

You can make your own backgrounds and printables. I design mine in the Adobe Creative Suite. I work in these programs professionally, so it’s a no-brainer. However, you can use free online equivalents like Canva, Inkscape, Pixlr, and Sumopaint. You might even want to try apps like Procreate. Explore different software and see what you might use to make your own printables.

Badge and Supplement Files

Member Level

EP_Badge List_ATC Printables_larajla — list of badge items
EP_Badge Set_ATC Printables_larajla — list of badge set and related badges
EP_Supp_List_ATC Printables_larajla — list of supplements for the badge
SUPP_ATC Printables_Journal_larajla — badge journal
SUPP_ATC Printables_Planner_larajla — badge planner
SUPP_BPG_ATC Printables_2in_12up_larajla — generic badge printable

Supplement Fun

SUPP_Printable_ATC_Back01_larajla — ATC back with top and bottom rings
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Back02_larajla — ATC back with black ribbons on top / bottom
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Back03_larajla — ATC back with white ribbon on bottom
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Back04_larajla — ATC back with ribbon / box
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Back05_larajla — ATC back with starburst
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 001_larajla — Background, full page, autumn leaves
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 002_larajla — Background, full page, brick
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 003_larajla — Background, full page, denim
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 004_larajla — Background, full page, heart confetti
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 005_larajla — Background, full page, irregular tile
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 006_larajla — Background, full page, wood strips
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 007_larajla — Background, vertical strip, blossoms on tree branch
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 008_larajla — Background, vertical strip, droplets
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 009_larajla — Background, vertical strip, swirls in multiple colors
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 010_larajla — Background, horizontal strip, cabins at camp
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 011_larajla — Background, horizontal strip, fireworks
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 012_larajla — Background, horizontal strip, Michigan City lighthouse in winter
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 013_larajla — Background, landscape, individual — colorful rocks
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 014_larajla — Background, landscape, individual — Michigan City lighthouse with aged filter
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 015_larajla — Background, landscape, individual — pond in the fog
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 016_larajla — Background, portrait, individual — white flowers
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 017_larajla — Background, portrait, individual — carnival mask
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Backgrounds 018_larajla — Background, portrait, individual — colorful mulberry paper
SUPP_Printable_ATC_Inst Handout_larajla — ATC-sized instruction handout
SUPP_Temp Fun_ATC_Landscape Sketch_larajla — Template to sketch out ATC cards
SUPP_Temp Fun_ATC_Portrait Sketch_larajla — Template to sketch out ATC cards

Sites to Explore

Get the infographic here > larajla blog post
Get the PDFs of the badge program / supplements here

Badge: Artist Trading Card Printables

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