Theme? Art review and critique!

Nicholas,

That is one AMAZING looking card!!! I can't begin to tell you that it's like 1000x better than all of your other samples...

The wooden table gives it a total Western Feel. And those stains on the cards look like suds stains from beer mugs - again totally appropriate.

Man, FANTASTIC JOB!!! Personally I really like it...

Cheers man, great work!

Update: I would choose maybe five (5) different "tear effects" so that the cards have a little variety (not uniform - one single design). This will go a long way in giving the game some "graphical depth"...

Update 2: The only thing I would change is the COLOR of the "This is the card effect" to WHITE instead of red. Red blends in too much with the table... But otherwise - totally HOT!

Update 3: Instead of WHITE you can use a Gradient from white to red (on the bottom - maybe). Instead of a fill color...

Excellent! A tremendous improvement over the initial concept. The number and suit are integrated into the background, the staining effect looks more genuine, and the card effect space is aesthetically pleasing.

The only real critique I could give is to make the wood look a little more natural with a little less of the Photoshop ink outline/cutout filter look.

Great image, I would concur with Ernst that the text on the wood may be difficult to read. Scratching, burning, etc. it into the wood may make for easier read of the holder. :)