About ACEOS & Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)
Above is my Instagram gallery much of the artwork you will see there currently are card size. You can go directly to my instagram to see more.
Artist Trading Cards / ACEOS are miniature collectible works of art that are 2.5 x 3.5 inches and are standardized to fit into trading card sleeves/pockets/sheets in much the same way any traditional trading card is. Its the same size as a sports trading card. These cards can be created in any type of art medium. Wet (paint, watercolor, acrylic, oil, markers, pen etc) or Dry (graphite, chalk, pencils, colored pencils) even collage.
They should be created on a sturdy stock and not flimsy. Typically artists include their information on the back of the card such as name, title, social media contact info and if the card is a numbered part of a series.
What is the Difference between an ATC, Sketch Card and an ACEO?
An Artist Trading Card is the same thing as a Sketch Card! Commonly when traded they are referred to as ATCs. Sketch Cards is the common name for ones made for a fandom and are often seen / sold at conventions as Sketch Cards or ACEOs. Usually by comic book artists for a specific fandom or of their original art. There are several companies like Topps, Upper Deck, Perna Studios etc that make collectible print trading cards that you can find original “mystery” art sketch cards slipped into the boxes/packs that you buy. As for ACEO it stands for “Art Cards, Editions and Originals” and are SOLD not traded. All 3 are the exact same size of 2.5×3.5 inches but they might be the original or they might be a print when called ACEO but the seller will specify if it is the original hand made work or if it is a print.
When Trading ATC | Sketch Cards
- Always ensure your cards are 2.5×3.5 inches (horizontal or vertical format either is fine)
- Clean cut straight edges, sturdy not flimsy
- Sleeve and protect your cards when shipping them (such as these “penny sleeves”)
- Some artists send them in harder card sleeves
- Don’t forget to include your artist info on the back!
Where to Trade ATC!?
- Interested in making and trading? Here are some resources!
- Pabkins #ATCitupwithFriends Monthly Trade Events – I run a monthly challenge / trade group on Instagram. See my BLOG for details on how the group runs and the guidelines for participating. We also have an ongoing series of art books. Donations to keep this large and wonderful group running are gladly accepted!
Cards for Sale (ACEOs)
- Instagram – I post almost daily cards to my Instagram gallery. Message me there to buy directly. Serious inquiries only. In the coming year I hope to list my originals for purchase on my website.
- eBay Store – Currently I haven’t been selling cards on eBay as I’ve been selling them directly on instagram. But you can follow my account there for if any new listings appear. Those are typically quick sketches and studies.
- Etsy Store – I do not usually list my original art on etsy due to the large commission and fees they take. But from time to time you might see one there. I do have a Ko-fi page where my monthly subscribers sometimes will get an original ACEO in their monthly envelope. If a card is already sold I can produce high quality giclee prints on 100% cotton of any of my art you see on instagram just message me. These are typically only available in 5×7 inch size instead of ACEO size. If you are an aceo collector and which to buy a set of 8 ACEO prints I can possibly do this for you just contact me.
ACEO PRINTS
Do you see a artist trading card on my Instagram that is no longer available? You can request prints by emailing me.
Custom Card Commissions
I rarely do custom commissions, but you are welcome to ask if the status is open. I only do a few commissions a few times a year as I prefer to create and folks find something they like rather then me make something specific and they not enjoy it.
Terms and Conditions of ACEO Commissions
1) ART MEDIUM: I prefer to decide the art medium to use. But you can tell me what you’d prefer and hopefully it works for both of us. My preferred mediums: watercolor & Ink, copic marker. I do sometimes work with gouache and color pencil.
2) SHIPPING: Between 4 – 8 weeks to complete and ship. (I have family to care for, freelance work and the art community I manage to also take care of so I appreciate your understanding about the completion time. Usually it is best to instead buy one of my finished cards rather then a commission as I fit commissions between my larger projects for art exhibitions and conventions.
3) INSPIRED BY: The card is inspired by your request and open to my interpretation.
For commissions I can supply a sketch before I start, or it can be a surprise, but I’ll definitely prefer to show you before I ship.
4) Payment via paypal must be paid in full before I will begin.
You can follow my Instagram Account to see what I’m currently making. I do not always share photos of everything I make. For original art that is available for sale I suggest emailing me.
CARD THEMES I AM PERSONALLY COLLECTING
The ones in bold I’m especially interested in right now
– Art Nouveau mixed with fantasy, sci-fi or steampunk
– Fantasy or Sci-Fi Travelers/Adventurers (love “pabkins space adventure” cards)
– Large colossal creatures with cities, towns, castles, civilizations or homes on their back. Or forest on their back
– collector characters, hoarder characters (I especially love backpacking travelers. Or collectors/peddlers with the junk hanging all over or pulling a wagon full of stuff)
– storybook style fantasy scenes
– Curiosity Cabinets (themed, critters, ghibli, mushroom creatures, fantasy, robots, sci-fi etc)
– Mushroom folk, people or creatures (not mario red please)
– Ships or transportation of any fantasy/sci-fi kind, and gypsy wagons!
– Urban scenes, urban rainy day scenes with a character w/umbrella
– Japanese & Korean storefronts, convenience stores, vending machines, with character is nice but not always needed
– diners, cafes, bars, bakeries, anything like that with characters inside or out.
– coffee & tea characters, dragons drinking tea, characters inside drinks, or dessert themed characters
– fantasy creatures of any kind – Currently collecting any Pegasus, Gryphon, Kirin, Dark deadly Unicorns, Centaurs, Sphinx, or any type of 4-legged winged creatures
– (favs: Dragon, Unicorn, phoenix, griffin, jackalope, horns, antlers, kitsune, yokai, winged, fennec fox, big eared creatures, mice, etc)
– Dragons and or any character/creatures and their unusual hoards
– Fancy clothed creatures
– little worlds inside bell jars, bottles, captured or bottled creatures/specimen jars or any containers
– Anime style or chibi style characters, though I prefer he elegant anime styles more than chibi – I do NOT like pokemon or that aesthetic
– monster or goblin wall of faces (creatures/characters, monsters/goblins, whatever)
– Movies: The Dark Crystal, The Last Unicorn, Labyrinth, Legend, Willow, Strange Magic (the dark forest creatures), The Neverending Story
– GOBLINS, Golems, IMPS and TROLLS – (one of my favorite things to collect is goblins and imps, heck you could even create your own!) Some examples of cool ones I love – Strange Magic, Spiderwick Chronicles, Toni DiTerlizzi, Brian Froud anything
– Any full body animals in clothing, I love if they are an RPG class (warrior, rogue, mage, druid, monk, healer, etc), I especially love Mouseguard (the graphic novel inspired)
– Mushroom Empress in Art Nouveau style – please not mario red mushrooms
– I love the art styles/aesthetic of World of Warcraft, Wildstar, Overwatch, Bioshock, and Final Fantasy – it does not need to be “fan art” but I love those words and character aesthetics
– Sci-Fi, space adventures, robots, adventurers, robots with jobs
– Fantasy characters kissing, about to kiss, basically a “romance card” no blatant nudity please
– Floating islands, Castles, Victorian houses, whimsical houses, Castles or cool houses on cliffsides, steampunk floating island
– Fantasy of Sci-Fi characters riding mounts (any kind of mount beast or mechanical, real or fantasy)
– Gashlycrumb Tinies Alphabet children WITH the line from the book on the card. Or create your own child name and line for the book
– Tarot Cards
– A Castle in the Sky, Or Castle on a Cliff
– an abandoned robot, first aid robot, broken robot
– candyland, candyscape, dessert characters
– bounty hunter duo
– bad ass girls with guns
– mage’s library, witch’s laboratory or greenhouse, characters reading books
– fantasy field guide creatures
– Original handdrawn then hand cut papercut cards
- Extra elements I like: – sakura, bonzai, willows, fireflies, wisps, small creatures, mushrooms, sprites, dandelions, bottles, kodama, little worlds, belljars, kimono, beautiful or creepy cute, ethereal.
- I DO NOT COLLECT: gore, dismemberment, or stamped, collaged, copied, traced, embellished cards. Though I do collect some master studies but mostly Original art. Hand drawn and hand colored/painted only.