For many artists who decide to pursue a career in fashion, the road is straight and narrow. Once the decision to work in fashion has been made, there is no other course but to begin working for and under great designers, learning under the tutelage of those who’ve already made it, and learning to recreate their ideas in forms that the public will see and appreciate.
Connie Lim‘s journey, however, is different. Having attended prestigious institutions such as Art Center in Pasadena and London’s University of the Arts, Connie sought to display her worldview in a form not previously explored by other fashion designers: playing cards.
Late last year, Connie launched a Kickstarter campaign for her first full project: Decked Out, a full set of 54 playing cards ‘decked out’ with her fashion illustrations. “In working on the series, I found an outlet to both express and evoke emotions through my drawings, which had up to then seemed little more than the sum of individual lines on a page,” says Connie, going on to say that as she stopped and continued the project over the years, her style and technique also continued to change – a transformation that can be seen through the artwork on the cards. “But having stepped back from it and grown as an artist in the past few years, completing the cards has become an apt parallel for my journey as an illustrator: the changing drawings encapsulate how my technique and perspective have evolved. Unfinished drawings ask to be finished.”
Connie is not the first to find her platform in card games and poker. Marcus Koskinen, Creative and Art Director for the Cargo Collective and prominent artist in Italy, has often found himself using his artistic prowess to design TV and print ads for bwin.it, owners of Gioco Digitale. He’s won several awards from the Art Directors Club Italy, and has also moved on to creating ads for renowned clients like the WHO, IKEA, and even Nickelodeon.
Connie is also not the only artist to use her skills to create a unique deck of cards. Last year, Digital Abstracts began the project Playing Arts, which seeks to bring together 54 of the best digital artists to create a full deck of illustrated playing cards. Each card will be created in the artist’s personal style and design.
While Connie claims that her playing cards are meant to be platforms for her art and not to be used in playing actual card games, poker-loving creatives are sure to love the gift of a beautifully illustrated deck of cards.
