Create the design of the new "Kards" for 1939 Games
Founded in 2015 by former CCP veterans, 1939 Games has a strong focus on WWII gaming experiences. They are now currently working on a digital collectable card game that goes by the name of KARDS, available on Steam. The game draws familiar elements from the card game genre and fuses them with classic WWII gaming for an elegant, action-packed, fun card game!
Talenthouse AG has partnered with 1939 Games to look for new, high-quality, retro artwork to feature on digital cards to be featured within the Kards - World War II game, that align with 1939 Games' current style and vision.
Your mission?
Create digital card artwork for 1, or all 3, of the following Kards categories:
- Japanese WWII infantry unit
- Japanese WWII airstrike order
- French WWII infantry unit
Keep in mind that you can pick and choose which card you want to design, but we would love to see multiple entries across all categories!
What’s in it for you?
- 3 pieces of work will be chosen by 1939 Games as Selected Creators and receive €3,000 each.
- 2 pieces of work will be chosen by 1939 Games as Finalists and receive €1,000 each.
- The selected creators will potentially have their design printed on 1939 Games Cards and might also have the opportunity to partner with 1939 Games on future projects.
Create digital card artwork for 1, or all of 3, categories in Kards - The WWII Card Game. We recommend uploading 3 designs (1 per category) to have more chances to be selected. You could also create multiple artworks within each category!
We would like to receive from you infantry and airstrike designs. Here are some requirements for each category:
Japanese WWII infantry unit - Any soldier or combination of soldiers, in combat or marching to war. Important to have uniforms, equipment and military markers (if any) correct, but please do not use the Rising Sun symbol or flag.
Japanese WWII airstrike order - Graphic print/poster style artwork, depicting bombs or aricraft. Important that aircraft type (if aircraft) is based on some actual japanese bomber or tactical bomber type used in the war even if in a simplified graphic style.
French WWII infantry unit - Any soldier or combination of soldiers, in combat or marching to war. Important to have uniforms, equipment and military markers (if any) correct.
Style recommendations:
- Pay attention to the current art style, the visual identity of the different nations. You can find all the cards in the Game website and style reference in the moodboard.
- We’d love to see a vintage artwork style but you are free to approach the artworks in any style you wish, as long as they look authentic to the WWII era
- You could use a bit of desaturated colors, i.e. white is slightly “creamy”, to create a vintage look and feel.
- Please do not use visible modern photoshop techniques/effects/brushes.
- Pay close attention to actual military unit colors, uniform colors and current card styles.
- Check out the Kards website here for inspiration.
- Check out the 1939 references/moodboard for each category here.
Technical specs:
Upload your artwork in 2048 x 2048 px, 72 ppi, PNG.
You may submit up to 15 pieces of work.
Even though we highly recommend uploading the complete series of 3 artworks, it is possible to upload just one artwork, choosing between the 3 categories (Japanese aristrike, Japanese Infantry, French infantry) .
Please upload each artwork as a separate submission.
- Tell us about your creative process and inspiration via the 'Description' field in your submission and add the category too.
Please don't share your submitted work online, on social media or in your portfolio.
1939 Games was founded by Gudmundur and Ivar Kristjansson, brothers with over 35 years of games industry experience between them.With a shared interest in collectible card games and WWII, the duo wanted a game that combined their passions. When they couldn’t find one, they set out to make it themselves.
KARDS is a digital strategy card game that anyone can play and enjoy. KARDS combines traditional CCG gameplay with innovative mechanics inspired by classic strategy games and real battlefield tactics. Take command and challenge other players in grand-scale warfare on the ground, air, or seas.
If you want to try it you can download it here <-
Selected Creators: 3 pieces of work will be chosen by 1939 Games as Selected Creators.
Each will:
- Potentially have their work used across 1939 Games social, digital and wider marketing channels
- Receive €3,000 for each piece selected
- Potentially have their design printed on 1939 Games Cards
- Potentially be involved in a collaboration with 1939 Games
Finalists: Additionally 2 pieces of work will be chosen as Finalists.
Each will:
- Potentially have their work used across 1939 Games social and digital channels
- Receive €1,000 for each piece selected
1939 Games is looking to increase the pool of artists they work with that are capable of providing high-quality, retro-style, card artwork that fits their well-defined, current style and vision. As they require large amounts of artwork on a regular basis, the right artists could get the opportunity to collaborate with them on a long-term basis in the future!
Who is eligible: This opportunity is open globally and you need to be at least 18 years of age or the age of majority in your jurisdiction of primary residence at the time of submission.
Employees and their immediate family and household members of 1939 Games and Talenthouse are not eligible to participate. Void where prohibited by law.
Limit fifteen (15) submissions per creator or team.
Submissions will not be visible to the public until after the announcement.
All submissions must be your own original work (meaning you are not allowed to use third-party pre-existing copyright materials and/or stock imagery in your submission)
How to submit: Click on the ‘Participate’ tab and follow the instructions. Your work must be submitted in JPEG or PNG format, max. size 10 MB. Please retain your original layered artwork files in the highest quality possible.
Please add a short description in English explaining the inspiration behind your work. Please use the 'Say something about your submission' section within your submission.
We advise you to carefully read the "Things to consider" section above.
If you are not selected, you will retain ownership in the original portions of your work. However, by submitting you hereby grant 1939 Games a worldwide, non-exclusive, limited, royalty-free license for up to 3 months after the Selected Creator announcement date, to use your submitted work across their various online and social media platforms. If your work is used, you will be credited accordingly.
If you are a ‘Selected Creator’ you will be required to assign all rights, title and interest in and to the selected work to 1939 Games for the specified incentives. Upon selection, you will be required to sign a Rights Release and the Awardee Agreement. Please note that submissions can be used by you for personal, non-commercial and portfolio use only, and, in any case, only after the final selection and a specific communication from Talenthouse, as submissions might be used in the game much later on.
If selected, you may be asked to modify your work to fit production requirements. This may be up to 1 round of minor edits.
If you are a ‘Finalist’, you will be required to assign an exclusive license (global, limited, royalty-free) for 1-year for digital, online, and social purposes only.
Please provide an active email address when registering with Talenthouse to ensure you can be contacted should you be selected.
During the selection period, Talenthouse will reach out to those being shortlisted. You must respond to Talenthouse within forty-eight (48) hours or else you will forfeit all incentives. For the verification, you will be asked to provide the original files of your work and a scan of your ID.
Talenthouse reserves the right to remove inappropriate, offensive and harmful submissions as well as submissions that do not fit the brief, these guidelines or Official Rules (see below).
No purchase necessary to enter or be selected.
You now have the option to open up an ElloU bank account to get paid if you are a national and passport holder of one of these countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden. ElloU will be the cheapest service for you to pay and receive money. You can read more here and can download the ElloU app from the App Store or Google Play by searching for ElloU. If ElloU does not apply to you, we can still pay your incentive by bank transfer (no cost to you) or PayPal (you will pay a 4% fee).
The judging criteria is based on Creativity (30%), Originality (30%) and Overall Understanding of the theme (40%).
- Launch: July 7, 2022 at 3:00 PM
- Submission Deadline: September 7, 2022 at 3:00 PM
- Selection Period Starts: September 12, 2022 at 3:00 PM
- Creators Selected: September 30, 2022 at 5:00 PM