Super Foils -- Custom Art Stamps for Magic: the Gathering

thingiverse

There I was, walking unhappily through a Walmart. Nothing in particular was wrong, it's just no one is really happy to be at a Walmart. As I wove through the aisles in search of a whiteboard to help young professional me get a budget (and life) together, a pack of metallic poster paper caught my eye. It was flashy, and immediately reminded me of From the Vault style foils. Inspiration struck! Like an Izzet mage, I was filled with a certain excitement that refused to depart my body until later that evening when I finished my first design. The first design I made was for Sunbird's Invocation. It didn't turn out well, as I tried to scrape outlines into the paper using a needle. My original idea was to scrape away the flashy upper layer and reveal the white paper underneath, using a 3D print as a stencil. It worked fairly well, but I don't have much of an artist's hand and it certainly showed. Beyond that, making the card took a painfully long time. Once I noticed how impressionable the paper is, I thought of using a stamp. It worked much better. DESIGN NOTES Thinnest levels: the print is .05 in (1.25mm) thick at its thinnest parts. This could be thinner but I wanted a sturdy piece so I could stamp multiple copies of a card if I wanted. Thickest levels: the design is .1 in (2.5mm) thick at its thickest parts. Secondary designs: If you're familiar with [the four-color theorem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_color_theorem), you'd know we should have three different design levels to make any lineart we want. This is still a rough design, but an offset of .005 in (.125mm) between the primary design layer and the secondary design layer worked well for me (meaning secondary designs are .095 in or 2.375mm thick). I haven't tested a tertiary design layer yet, as I've focused on strong outlines and silhouettes. If you're confused by what I mean when I say "secondary design layer," look at the rainbow of Pink Floyd's prism. The colors aren't all at the same level, but they aren't at the same level as the background. Print Resolution: I printed at the finest level my printer could handle, though I'm not sure if that matters. OTHER NOTES If you want me to post my Sunbird's Invocation design (to save you some time on making your own stamp), tell me! It's only a stencil, but it has a good portion of the outline traced out already. I tried making the text with an SLA printer for finer resolution, but those tend to shatter when you hit them with a hammer. I would not recommend it :)