Pokémon TCG Fake Card Masterclass

While making custom cards of your favorite card game is a tale as old as time, and I only made my first Pokémon TCG fake—Missingno.—after being inspired by another website that had a “Card Creation” page… there’s no denying that Pokémon Aaah! effectively put fan-made graphical Pokémon TCG fake cards on the map. When PA! turned into FakeCard.com only to later give up the ghost in 2004, the torch for making fake cards was passed onto a number of websites and later to the community at large.

Now with the Pokémon franchise catching its second wind, so many new people are just as interested in making custom Pokémon TCG cards just as they were in the good ol’ days. However, searching for “Pokémon fake cards” just leads to discussions about spotting counterfeits, while “make my own Pokemon card” on Google will lead people towards pages like this. Now we all need to start somewhere, and I’m cool with that, that’s why “How to Draw Superheroes For Beginners” was one of the first art books I bought back in 5th grade. But if people are lead to believe that something like this represent top tier faking… well, that’s where I need to step in: Pokémon Aaah! is the Masterclass of making custom Pokémon TCG cards.

But don’t worry! Whether you’re just starting out, or want that master-tier edge… or whether you’re here to actually design a fake or make blanks for others… or maybe you’re an old skooler who wants to get back into faking after twenty-ish years… PA! will be your one-stop-shop for all things “custom Pokémon TCG card design”.

 

 

Even though the site is back into the swing of things, I’m still in the process of reconstructing my fake card guides. My last full-time jaunt with faking was back in 2004, so I’ve got a LOT of homework to take care of! But that said, my main goals will include:

  • creating guides covering multiple tiers of proficiency:
    • a Beginner’s POV, such as someone starting from fresh and want to make their own fakes;
    • an Expert’s POV, covering some of the more nuanced aspects of card design; and,
    • a Returning Faker’s POV, bring someone who used to do fakes back in the day up to speed about everything that has changed over the years.
  • writing different guides for various end goals
    • Pokémon TCG game theory, such as new mechanics you can add to the game that would still “feel” like it’s part of the game
    • guides on accurate card layout design, such as proper text and icon placement, font sizes, etc
    • full-tilt balls-out wild card design ideas, where having crazy fun and pushing the envelop is what counts
    • how to make your own Pokémon TCG blanks, whether based on existing cards or from scratch
    • printing your own cards and sharing them with your friends (maybe even printing them on ACTUAL cards!)
    • the legality of making—and selling—your own cards, and what separates your fan-made custom cards from proper counterfeit cards

I won’t be undertaking this alone, I’ll be having a lot of help from everyone at the Fake Card Mania channel on the PA! Discord, and especially from aschefield101, who has been essentially THE Fake Card Master in my absence. We’ll be kicking around different ideas and techniques, and if you want to contribute to anything on the site, head on over to the Discord and share your thoughts!

There’s a lot I want to cover, but since this is just a fresh start, I only have a few sections:

  • What Is A Fake Card? — this article covers what makes “fake cards” and “counterfeit cards” different, and what words I will use on this site to describe them.
  • Pokémon TCG Blank Download — This covers all the blanks I’ve made, past and present… and anything I plan on making will be posted here as well. They also include aschefield’s Sword/Shield blanks, which are exclusive to PA!!
  • Other Pokémon TCG Blanks — any other blanks which are not made by anyone here, but are still 100% PA! Approved! Go here for links to every other possible blank download possible. If it’s not in here, maybe it doesn’t exist!
  • Pokémon TCG Raid Fakes — really awesome blanks also designed by aschefield, based on the Pokémon TCG Raid Battle box set
  • Getting Back Into Making Fake Cards — this page covers all the little things I think are worth sharing to anyone who used to fake back in the day and want to get back into the swing of things. Like me!

As time goes on, I’ll be adding more pages, but this is what I’ve got so far. Keep an eye out for more updates later!