First Attempt at Inlay Design - Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down? (1 Viewer)

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I plan on making some tweaks in an illustrator or procreate program down the road, this is more for proof of concept and how things might look on an inlay or as a chip set. The chips in question would be for a small cash game ($50 buy-in) and I'm not married to the chip design per se but like the ideas of the colors I've chosen chip-wise.

I cobbled this together using Canva and some trial and error. I am looking to do something in the realm of mid-century that looks less 21st century so that's what I tried for here. The pink of the denominations is far less neon than the photos indicate also.

Any feedback on design, chips, etc. would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

7-modified.png4-modified.png3-modified.png6-modified.png5-modified.pngScreenshot 2023-02-27 124516.png
 
Are you looking for something like this? https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/old-school-the-flamingo-hotel-label-chip-design.97998/ I created some designs based on a couple old real Flamingo chip designs.
I saw those and think they are great! I am very jealous of the skill in putting that design together. I am strongly considering the group buy and those in particular tbh. Amazing work!

This looks like a nice start.

I think the denoms could be a little smaller. I think you should ditch the $10 chip and add a $100 instead.
Agreed on the smaller denomination size, thank you! And I go back and forth on the 10/100 debate in my head. I know the 4x/5x rule of thumb for chips but since this is a cash game with relatively new players I'm worried a 100 chip out of the gate might spook them.

Edit: Oh my god, the username just clicked for me...that is tremendous!!! Haha
 
And I go back and forth on the 10/100 debate in my head. I know the 4x/5x rule of thumb for chips but since this is a cash game with relatively new players I'm worried a 100 chip out of the gate might spook them.
You don’t need a $10 regardless of whether you’re getting a $100 or not
 
You don’t need a $10 regardless of whether you’re getting a $100 or not
True. But I can understand that thought. When you’re building your own custom set you just don’t want to design 3-4 different Chips for your 0.5/0.10 Cashgame (5c/25c/$1/$5). You want to have a variety of cool looking chips even if that all makes no sense ^^
 
True. But I can understand that thought. When you’re building your own custom set you just don’t want to design 3-4 different Chips for your 0.5/0.10 Cashgame (5c/25c/$1/$5). You want to have a variety of cool looking chips even if that all makes no sense ^^
Sure, I understand the moar chips argument, but wouldn’t it be better to put that money to good use? I’d much rather make a $100 now that I might not use but probably will in the future, than adding an extra denom that doesn’t really serve a purpose now nor in the future.
 
Sure, I understand the moar chips argument, but wouldn’t it be better to put that money to good use? I’d much rather make a $100 now that I might not use but probably will in the future, than adding an extra denom that doesn’t really serve a purpose now nor in the future.

Probably.

Me for example- we play poker with a group of friends since about 15 years. We started with 1c/2c as Kids, went to 5c/10c as Students and are now grown (childish) men that earn good money but we still don’t play more than 10c/20c with buyins about 20-30$. The most someone loses is 100$ a night.
So we will never get to see a $100 or even a $20/25. For that reason i added a $10 in my set. Which won’t come into play often - but sometimes. Just to have it as a cool Chip.

This is the purpose of "custom", I guess.
 
This is the purpose of "custom", I guess.
Yeah, I suppose.
Although I would argue that ”never” might become sooner. I have no idea how old you are but inflation will make its mark sooner or later. The reason you’re not playing 1c/2c or 5c/10c anymore must be because the monetary value is too insignificant. That will probably happen to the 10c/20c game as well.

Typically one wants homegame stakes to be significant enough to warrant ”proper play” but not more than where everybody can be relatively comfortable losing a few buy-ins.

When dropping a few thousand dollars on a CPC set, it should be worth considering some future proofing.
 
I have seen how funky denomination chips in sets is kind of a hot button topic around here. I totally understand the concept behind the standard denomination breakdowns and I guess for me it is coming from a place of having the game set up most comfortably for my group at this time rather than the "moar chips" type mentality.

If it comes down to us raising stakes down the road, I would likely put together another set that replaced 25 with 50 cent and go 50/1 for the blinds and turn the 10 into a 100, but that is probably a ways down the road yet.

Thank you for the feedback, it is all helping a lot!
 
What about "Riverside, CA"? I personally don't like where the text is close to the big denomination like in 20 or .25, abbreviating Cali helps. Cool design though.
Yeah, I'm still toying with that idea as well as possibly not having it there at all. The 2's are throwing me a bit with how wide they are but I love the look of them. I'll try the abbreviation and see if it helps. Thank you!
 
Also what about changing the bottom portion of the $5? It looks a little out of place with the rest of the numbers you are using.
 
The $10 denom is a waste of money, it only serves to slow down the game.

I was playing last night and they kept putting 50s in, the dealer and myself kept taking them out of the game. Its just about equivalent to the 10 in these blinds.

You say custom but the inlay is the same with only the denom changing. I would encourage you to figure out the bank that you plan to support, then look at the breakdown of chips needed. Then decide which denoms you need.

Lets say that you never get a 10 or a 100 in, and lets say you 'out grow' these chips and I don't mean the denoms; Lets say you nest poker winnings and all of the sudden you find you're self looking at a Paulson set; You may decide to sell these, its easier to sell with a barrel of 100s than without, and its easier to sell them without the 10s than with.

I would rather see you go with a $2 chip for .1/.2, it will make it in the game more often if you want it to and its just as fun.

We really are trying to help =) but we all know at the end of the day, its your moo-la
 
The $10 denom is a waste of money, it only serves to slow down the game.

I was playing last night and they kept putting 50s in, the dealer and myself kept taking them out of the game. Its just about equivalent to the 10 in these blinds.

You say custom but the inlay is the same with only the denom changing. I would encourage you to figure out the bank that you plan to support, then look at the breakdown of chips needed. Then decide which denoms you need.

Lets say that you never get a 10 or a 100 in, and lets say you 'out grow' these chips and I don't mean the denoms; Lets say you nest poker winnings and all of the sudden you find you're self looking at a Paulson set; You may decide to sell these, its easier to sell with a barrel of 100s than without, and its easier to sell them without the 10s than with.

I would rather see you go with a $2 chip for .1/.2, it will make it in the game more often if you want it to and its just as fun.

We really are trying to help =) but we all know at the end of the day, its your moo-la
Believe me, I know I am jumping into the deep end so I am listening to all thoughts and am thankful for everyone being so helpful. In terms of resale, I will never say never but since this would be my first set and I am a sentimental hoarder.....you can fill in the blanks.

Edit: the laugh emoji went away in the middle of my ellipsis...rest assured nearly everything I say, virtually or in the real world tends to be followed by a smile or laughter..
 
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Nice start. Can't add too much to what others have said, but I like where you are going.
Appreciated, thank you! The constructive criticism here and some thoughts from my wife on the design have really done wonders from the first draft to now (which is like the sixth or seventh..haha)
 
So I know how people feel about the 10 chip,but it was one of the two best executions of the idea so far until I start messing around in procreate, but I have tweaked some font sizes, color saturations and added a border mimicking one of the chip's stripes around the edge of the inlay...
Screenshot_20230228_070621.png


The only thing I am struggling with mightily up to this point is finding out how to make the inlays like the ones for the Stardust and El San Juan below....
goodlifecollecting0622.jpg
 
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So I know how people feel about the 10 chip,but it was one of the two best executions of the idea so far until I start messing around in procreate, but I have tweaked some font sizes, color saturations and added a border mimicking one of the chip's stripes around the edge of the inlay...View attachment 1089913

The only thing I am struggling with mightily up to this point is finding out how to make the inlays like the ones for the Stardust and El San Juan below....
View attachment 1089944
Assuming you're talking about the shaped inlays on the Star Dust and El San Juan, you'd have to have a "faux" inlay on your labels, which would involve match the chip color on the Claysmiths in your mockups. I made labels and color matched against the chips I had to give them the shaped inlay look:

1677645029980.png


You can see in the picture the color matching isn't perfect, most noticeably the red on the $5 label is darker than the chip. But that's the only way you can get "shaped inlays" on inexpensive chips.

You can also get the faux inlay look on ceramics, they're basically part of the full chip artwork that's printed (dye sublimated) onto the ceramic chip face.
 
Assuming you're talking about the shaped inlays on the Star Dust and El San Juan, you'd have to have a "faux" inlay on your labels, which would involve match the chip color on the Claysmiths in your mockups. I made labels and color matched against the chips I had to give them the shaped inlay look:

View attachment 1089976

You can see in the picture the color matching isn't perfect, most noticeably the red on the $5 label is darker than the chip. But that's the only way you can get "shaped inlays" on inexpensive chips.

You can also get the faux inlay look on ceramics, they're basically part of the full chip artwork that's printed (dye sublimated) onto the ceramic chip face.
Yes, the shaped inlays or the faux inlays. Haven't been able to tackle that one yet...
 
If you have access to Adobe Creative Cloud/Suite, more specifically Illustrator, start experimenting and learning it. If not, Inkscape is another vector-based graphic tool (like Illustrator) and is free! I've been using Inkscape for a few years and for a free tool it's fantastic.

Then check out this thread: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...phics-useful-for-tina-anita-cards-mold.81302/

Granted, a lot of the info is on creating a full chip, like for ceramic chips, but you can apply the same principles toward just the inlay/label design.

Your mockups are all on those Claysmith style chips (are they Desert Heat). Are you ultimately going to have labels made (Sticker Mule is a popular choice) and applied to those particular chips, or are they just placeholders. Even if you're not sure what you're going to use, it's helpful to narrow down as much as possible what form your final product will take, then you can design toward that goal.
 
If you have access to Adobe Creative Cloud/Suite, more specifically Illustrator, start experimenting and learning it. If not, Inkscape is another vector-based graphic tool (like Illustrator) and is free! I've been using Inkscape for a few years and for a free tool it's fantastic.

Then check out this thread: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...phics-useful-for-tina-anita-cards-mold.81302/

Granted, a lot of the info is on creating a full chip, like for ceramic chips, but you can apply the same principles toward just the inlay/label design.

Your mockups are all on those Claysmith style chips (are they Desert Heat). Are you ultimately going to have labels made (Sticker Mule is a popular choice) and applied to those particular chips, or are they just placeholders. Even if you're not sure what you're going to use, it's helpful to narrow down as much as possible what form your final product will take, then you can design toward that goal.
I am 50/50 on placeholder or if those will be the final product. I am a little hesitant to go over the top budget-wise at the moment but that may subside after this weekend when we have our first cash game (with loaner chips).

I was also going to start messing around with one of the chip creation suites soon as well to see other pattern and color combos to see if anything strikes my fancy.
 
So I've had some time feeling under the weather and did a wholesale design change that I like a bit more than the original, but still have the original if it plays better also. Still lots of tweaking to do but I think I am headed in a good direction...
16_20230310_120249_0015.png
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17_20230310_120249_0016.png
 
Liking your latest design a lot better than the original because there are less overlapping images.

A suggestion would be to move the stars out from behind the flamingo, and move poker room to where the word denominations are located if you need more space.
 

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