;)
Alfie Robles, (a.k.a @anekdamian) is a Mexican UX Designer living in the US. The 33 year old uses his spare time to create amazing custom Pokémon cards with his own original artwork based on the characters we all know and love. We spoke to him about his love affair with the Pokémon brand and how he makes some of the best customs on the market.
So tell us Alfie, what sparked your interest in Pokémon and what keeps that fire alive?
I have loved Pokémon ever since I was a kid. I would watch the anime after school and started playing the video games with Ruby/Sapphire. I played a couple other video games (Red/Blue) but for a long while I was just a fan of the characters.
In 2016 Pokemon Go really brought back the hype and in 2017 my husband and I got a 2DS and started playing XY and ORAS. We got hooked on it real bad haha! And it’s been a part of our lives ever since – we combine PoGo with our workout routines and the DS games reinforce the excitement.
How did the custom Pokémon card making come about?
About a year ago, when I moved permanently to the US, my husband showed me his childhood binder of Pokémon Cards and I fell in love with the concept. He had collected a ton of them from the 90s sets, but didn’t know how to play, so we downloaded the Pokémon Trading Card Game app and learned together. It was definitely a bonding moment and just like that, the TCG was added to our lives too.
Shortly after we started playing, I started thinking of all the cards that would be awesome to have and I couldn’t help but come up with a couple of concepts and make them at home, with both clear films and holo foils. I was unemployed at the time because of my immigration process, so doing these cards became the salvation for my boredom and isolation days! I had all the time and space in the world to work on them and they started evolving into what you see today on my IG profile.
How have you become one of the best custom card dealers out there?
Well, first of all thank you for the compliment – I appreciate that! I don’t know if I’m the best out there, but I know that I am a helpless perfectionist at work, especially when it comes to visuals.
I always have an idea in my head of how I want things to look and I work and grind until I get the desired results, or until it becomes something of the level of quality I envisioned.
So along the process of making the cards, I studied and learned more about character design, illustration, landscape design, colours and values, the balance of light in a composition, 3D modelling and whatnot. Even though it’s a hobby, I take it very seriously. So it makes me happy to see that the results are appreciated by the collectors community.
Can you tell us about some of the tools you use to create your cards? How difficult are they to produce and what is the time frame like?
I have a few different techniques for making the cards, but the basic tools I use are:
Once designed, the cards are then exported and sent for production with my provider, then I receive them finished a few days later.
Do you have a favourite card or cards that you’ve designed?
I have a special place in my heart for each card I make. And some of my favourite ones (like the EIDI or TOPSUN styles) end up being not too popular. But they all have a purpose, a concept and a type of collector in mind. I would say the cards I’m most proud of are the Marnie Neo-Trainer Card, Galarian Ponyta V Card and the Lugia & Ho-Oh Tag Team Card. I think that so far, those are the ones that use the resources in the most attractive and interesting way.
Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.