An ATC (artist trading card) is a Little piece of art. They are intended to be traded among artists or given as gifts. They are great warm up exercises and are meant to be created just to create, in other words no pressure. Many of our designers run or participate in fun trading circles and groups. Check out their blogs for more details.
Here is a great explanation from cedarwood.com
The very basics
As their name
indicates, ATC are collectables, a brilliant idea born of the older
sports-themed trading cards. The one rule that makes an ATC derives
from their origins: the dimensions of the ATC must be 2.5"x3.5", or 64x89mm.
To this rule are appended a couple of conventions. First, an ATC mustn't be sold, only exchanged,
as the whole essence of these tiny works of art is about artists
meeting (by correspondence or online if need be) and exchanging their
works, thus meeting many artists and getting exposed to many personal
styles. Second, on the back of each ATC the artist writes part or all
of the following information: name, contact information, title of the ATC and number
(1/8, 2/8...) if it's part of an edition. By definition ATCs are made
in limited numbers, often no more than one of a kind. Unique ATCs are
called originals; sets of identical ATCs are called editions and are numbered; sets of ATCs that are based on one theme but that are different are called series.
Don't be intimidated by the concept of small editions or originals:
very few people are anal about this. What most collectors really want
are cards that were made with care. Based on that, numbers are
meaningless.
That's all! The above is all you need to know to start making your own ATCs. Common sense dictates that they should be sturdy enough to survive mailing, and of reasonable thickness (unless you specifically want them otherwise.
So come play with us!
