About Creating Custom Tina Chip Sets (1 Viewer)

[HiveKueen]

Can we create a system, maybe even a tool, for more easily customizing Tina chip sets? If a Tina design tool existed, would you play with it?

Background - earlier today I sort of hijacked Justin's November group buy thread asking a bunch of questions about how much customization is possible using the pre-defined chip-only and chip+label designs.


Here's what I learned...
Any pre-defined label can be put on any pre-defined chip. And if a pre-defined label set doesn't include a denomination we want, a new pre-defined label can be created with the desired denomination. Verrrrry cool.

Let's say you want to put together (as I do) a set of chips that has a different label design ( and maybe a different mold too) for each denomination of chip. For example, my $100 chip will have the black Sands H&C $100 label applied to the black Horseshoe Club chip on the web mold and my $500 chip will have the $500 Casino Azteca label applied to the purple Grand Casino chip on the sun mold and etc. etc. etc. This is all possible.

BUT ... in order to incur only a single label fee for my custom order, I need to submit a single .ai file showing all the chosen chip+label+mold combos.

If I understand this correctly, I need to hire a chip designer who can create my single .ai file by pulling the .ai for the desired mold, the .ai for the desired label and the .ai for the desired chip design - for all my denominations - into a single .ai file that shows all the mold+chip+label selections combined coherently together.

So here's what I'm thinking now...

We have molds and pre-designed labels and pre-designed chips. Any label and chip design can be put on any mold. Don't we need to be able to view and choose these pieces and parts independently of each other versus viewing them as mold+label+chip combos that we then need to use our vivid imaginations to "see" the mix-matches we desire?

Don't we need a tool to facilitate all this Tina customization? Like the Paulson and CPC chip design tools?

How much effort would be involved in creating such a tool? Justin does a group buy every month and gets many orders in each. Seems like such a tool would get used a lot.

I could help with an effort to create this tool though I don't think I'm up on the various component technologies enough to design it.

What say you - if such a tool existed, would you play with it?

HiveKueen

 

[Colquhoun]

The Paulson or CPC tools only show mock-ups for you to make decisions, but they don’t create or output print-ready art.
Also, many of the labels and chip designs made during the group buys reside with different designers, and are not distributed to everyone, so it’s not like the files are all located in one place. You’re also not going to get a designer to grab another designer’s idea and recreate it for one or more labels.
I recommend creating (or having a designer create) a unique set for you based on whatever theme you like, or choose from another designers’ existing set.

 

[HiveKueen]

The Paulson or CPC tools only show mock-ups for you to make decisions, but they don’t create or output print-ready art.
Also, many of the labels and chip designs made during the group buys reside with different designers, and are not distributed to everyone, so it’s not like the files are all located in one place. You’re also not going to get a designer to grab another designer’s idea and recreate it for one or more labels.
I recommend creating (or having a designer create) a unique set for you based on whatever theme you like, or choose from another designers’ existing set.

Thanks Colquhoun.
BTW - I really like your faux-embossed no-nold designs and am considering hiring you to do a custom one for me. STay tuned.

Wouldn't Justin need to have all the design files and have given them to "Tina"?

Regardless, do I understand you correctly that the original designers might not approve of mixing and matching chip designs with the label designs by other designers? This seems really important for me to understand.

Is what I'm trying to do - mixing any chip design with any label design - that Justin facilitates, not kosher with the designers who provided the original chip+label designs?

This is a bit confusing. All I'm envisioning doing is taking advantage of what Justin offers (mix and matchable chip and label designs) in a way that gets around incurring multiple label fees per chip set. I really do want a set of chips where each denomination has a completely different label than the other denominations. If I recall correctly, many members here have posted pics of their Paulson mixed sets - I'm trying to create one from scratch rather than piece one together from what others are selling.

I could start from scratch with a designer to create a custom set but how I would tell her/him what I want is by referencing what I like in the pre-designed sets. One the one hand, imo no pre-designed set is perfect, but using mixing and matching of the pieces and parts from the many existing designs, i could create a set that, for me, is perfect. Literally, I can get a set of chips i love by simply mixing and matching existing chip designs with existing label designs. It feels like starting from scratch with a designer would be recreating the wheel.

I do realize that a chip and label mix-n-match tool wouldn't be able to make a printable .ai file.

Thanks again,
HiveKueen

 

[Colquhoun]

Justin has sent all the label files to Tina. You'll have to ask him why it's not possible to mix a bunch of different labels in one set, and one $80 fee.
So with that in mind, sending one set of labels to Justin for your set is the way to go. Now, if you have me make your set, you want me to take another designer's work and recreate it? I won't do that, and no other designer here on PCF would as well, I'm guessing. However, using the same chip edgespot and color schemes is not an issue, unless it's a truly unique design.
You could start from scratch on a set with a designer, but you're unlikely to get one that will re-create someone else's work for one or more of your labels. And those designers would be pissed (rightly so) if you found one willing.
Now, I'm addressing designs that are unique to each designer. There are plenty of designs by myself, @Cratty and @Okku etc. that are made from scratch that are unique and belong to them. However, there are plenty of tribute or replica sets out there that have been made and only the original casino can lay claim to that. I recreated the Stardust set offered, but if someone wanted to re-create the art for their chips, have at it. But I would be bothered if someone made their own Tequila Sunset (offered this month) exactly like my design. Without stirring up the whole copyright issue again, sets like Startdust, or Aladdin can be re-created without drawing the ire of a designer, as they hold no ownership, but you are doing so without the original owner's approval.

If you want to send me a PM with all the labels you would like to use, I'll tell you if I can do it. You might get real lucky and I have the art for all of them. If not, I can likely direct you to the original designer of any other label.

 

[QuietMaple]

I've actually been working on a tool that does some of what you're describing. It doesn't exactly allow swapping labels around between sets, but you can use it to generate designs to be printed on the chips themselves (spot patterns). I just created a thread about it here: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...with-parameters-for-tina-ceramics-etc.137136/

 

[SeanGecko]

So many edge spot designs that you'd need to include.
An observation.

 

[HiveKueen]

I'm continuing this fun journey of envisioning a set of Tinas that I can use for my Casino night games.

I've been wearing out the pre-designed chip set threads (mold designs and cards/no mold designs, and the blanks designs), scrolling and scrolling and scrolling through them.

No longer having the memory of a 20 year old, I'm overwhelmed by the presentation of these designs. I ended up making a list of the designs on the mold thread alone and, bewildered, started day dreaming about how these amazing pre-defined designs could be catalogued in a way that makes it super easy to view, compare and select.

My first thought was to start with a new chip database resource exclusively for all the pre-defined designs that can be used by PCF members to create a Tina custom set. Every designer could say up front whether they wanted their Tina designs to be included in the database.

To start, every chip set, and label set would have a unique identifier. This database could categorize the sets by cash v. tourney, hybrid v. cards/no mold, and it would identify the original designer. It would include the graphics as pictures (designers retain the .ai/.svg files).

Down the road I can envisions every individual chip design having a unique identifier.

Down the road this chip database could become the heart of a tool that enables a buyer to create a custom set by mixing and matching chips with labels so that the member can then participate in Justin's group buys. (Still have to figure out the issue with the $80 label fee.)

Sounds like @QuietMaple is working on something that could conceivably be expanded to help members use existing designs to create custom sets versus starting with a blank slate.

Thoughts for the chip designers among us - your chip and label designs are art work that you are no doubt, and rightly, pretty proud of. If I were a designer (I'm not and never will be) I would find a way to put a "signature" (some small unique symbol or mark) on your designs, especially the labels!!

In a previous life I was a database administrator and I can (still, 20 years on!) clearly envision the database design to support this catalog. I'm off to use to ChatGPT to craft the db design! I'll post what I come up with!

Cheers,
HiveKueen

 

[Colquhoun]

I'm continuing this fun journey of envisioning a set of Tinas that I can use for my Casino night games.

I've been wearing out the pre-designed chip set threads (mold designs and cards/no mold designs, and the blanks designs), scrolling and scrolling and scrolling through them.

No longer having the memory of a 20 year old, I'm overwhelmed by the presentation of these designs. I ended up making a list of the designs on the mold thread alone and, bewildered, started day dreaming about how these amazing pre-defined designs could be catalogued in a way that makes it super easy to view, compare and select.

My first thought was to start with a new chip database resource exclusively for all the pre-defined designs that can be used by PCF members to create a Tina custom set. Every designer could say up front whether they wanted their Tina designs to be included in the database.

To start, every chip set, and label set would have a unique identifier. This database could categorize the sets by cash v. tourney, hybrid v. cards/no mold, and it would identify the original designer. It would include the graphics as pictures (designers retain the .ai/.svg files).

Down the road I can envisions every individual chip design having a unique identifier.

Down the road this chip database could become the heart of a tool that enables a buyer to create a custom set by mixing and matching chips with labels so that the member can then participate in Justin's group buys. (Still have to figure out the issue with the $80 label fee.)

Sounds like @QuietMaple is working on something that could conceivably be expanded to help members use existing designs to create custom sets versus starting with a blank slate.

Thoughts for the chip designers among us - your chip and label designs are art work that you are no doubt, and rightly, pretty proud of. If I were a designer (I'm not and never will be) I would find a way to put a "signature" (some small unique symbol or mark) on your designs, especially the labels!!

In a previous life I was a database administrator and I can (still, 20 years on!) clearly envision the database design to support this catalog. I'm off to use to ChatGPT to craft the db design! I'll post what I come up with!

Cheers,
HiveKueen

ChatGPT to design?!?!
Blasphemous!

 

[HiveKueen]

Here's the db design "I" whipped up. See attached.

Here is the train of thoughts represented in this design.

Tina has various molds and will likely add new ones in the future.

There are lots of predefined ChipSets to choose from to create a custom set of Tinas. These sets have designers. They also have individual chip designs.

There are lots of predefined LabelSets to choose from to create a custom set of Tinas. These sets also have designers. They also have individual labels mainly differentiated by the denomination.

Users (you, me, etc.) create custom Tina chip sets

A custom chip set created by a User has N unique chips in it. Each custom chip is a combo of a specific mold, chip and a specific label.

The picture field in the Molds, Chips and Labels tables would contain a link to pictures of the individual mold/chip/label. The vectorimage field in each would contain a link to the vector file containing the mold, chip, label design which could then be used to create a .ai or .svg file for the chip and, ultimately, for the entire custom chip set created by the user.

Right now, the data to populate this database exists for users only in pre-defined chip sets pictures on Justin's group buy threads. That data would have to be broken down into its components before this database could be populated. That would require buyin from the designers.

@Tommy - am i off in fantasy land here or might a Tina pre-defined custom chip set database be in the realm of possibility?
HK

 

[Tommy]

@Tommy - am i off in fantasy land here or might a Tina pre-defined custom chip set database be in the realm of possibility?

It is easy for me to add Tina Ceramics as a MFG and assigned molds in the Chip DB. The framework is already there.

 

[QuietMaple]

Sounds like @QuietMaple is working on something that could conceivably be expanded to help members use existing designs to create custom sets versus starting with a blank slate.

I definitely plan on creating a way for users to save individual chip designs and chip sets in Chipmatic, although I haven't worked on that part of the tool yet. Seems like it would be pretty easy to also add a library of pre-designed chips in this way.

 

[HiveKueen]

I definitely plan on creating a way for users to save individual chip designs and chip sets in Chipmatic, although I haven't worked on that part of the tool yet. Seems like it would be pretty easy to also add a library of pre-designed chips in this way.

Let's PM to develop this idea when you are otherwise ready to "go there"!! I can help with all things databases!

 

[HiveKueen]

So I've put together my Tina Casino Night tournament set using the pre-defined chips and labels in Justin's monthly group buy. One of the goals of my set is to have my league players feel as though they are playing with chips from the named casinos. This will work because few of my regs actually play in casinos so they won't know the difference!

I'd be interested to know who the designer is for each of the chosen chips and the "override" labels I've chose for a few of the chips.

The dream set is
The Black on Black Mirage $100 on the web mold
the $500 from the Palms set on the web mold
the $1000 from the Pioneer Club with a Tropicana $1000 label on the Greek mold
the $5000 Grand Casino on the Jester mold
Blank B7 with the white Sands $10,000 label on the Sun mold

I know that this collection is motley, uncoordinated, rhyme-less - this is on purpose to make it seem like I actually collected tournament chips from these casinos.

If you are the designer or know who the designer is for these designs, please post this info.
Thanks,
HK

 

[QuietMaple]

Some of the original image files have water marks that might indicate the designer.