You can create your own trading card template for different purposes, whether creative, sports or scientific. There are a lot of sports cards templates available as well as blank templates which you can customize yourself. If you want to create trading cards, the best place to start is with a template.
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Trading Card Templates
Why do you need a trading card template?
Before you decide the type of trading card template to download or create, you must first determine why you need the template in the first place. There are several reasons why someone would want to create trading cards. Some of the more common reasons include:
- To create your own trading card game
There are different trading card games like Pokémon, Magic the Gathering, and others. All of these have become so popular that children and even adults all over the world have started playing these games. Instead of purchasing these trading cards, you may want to create your own game.
You can think of characters, give these characters superpowers or abilities, and come up with your own set of rules. Making your own game is an excellent way to exercise your creativity and have fun in the process! - To create your own sports cards
There are many kinds of sports cards templates available for download from football card templates, baseball card templates, and the like. Trading these cards is a fun and popular pastime but what if you can’t afford them or you can’t find them in your city?
In such cases, you can create your own sports cards for yourself and your friends. For these types of trading cards, they should contain the name of the player, their statistics, their team history, and a couple of fun facts about the players. - To create your own personalized trading cards of your friends and family members
You can also make personalized trading cards for the people in your life. This is a fun way to connect with them and give them creative gifts for special occasions. Choose the best photos of those you love and place them on the trading card template.
For these kinds of trading cards, you can include any information you want. Usually, though, the cards should contain the name of the person, the major or occupation, their favorite color or food, and a few fun facts. Don’t take these cards too seriously, you should have fun while creating them.
Football Card Templates
Making your own trading card template by hand
No matter where you go in the world, you will find trading card templates. From football card templates, baseball card templates, character card templates, game card templates, and more, there are a lot to choose from.
If you want to create a trading card template, one option is to make this by hand. Here are some steps to guide you:
- Prepare your materials
To create your own trading cards, you need thick paper, markers or crayons, a pencil, and a pair of scissors. You can also use other materials like photos, stickers, glitter, and more. For this step, the choice is up to you.
Make sure that the paper you choose has a good thickness like construction paper, thick card stock or index cards. This is important so your cards won’t get torn, folded or destroyed easily. - Cut the cards out
Most trading cards are 3.5-inches in height and 2.5-inches in width. But if you want to use a different size, go right ahead. No matter what you want the size of your cards to be, just make sure that all of them have the same size so you can put them together in a single deck.
On a large sheet of thick paper, draw lines with a ruler to serve as a guide. This makes it easier to cut the cards out. Cut the cards out carefully so they all have straight and even edges. If you want, you can also use small-sized index cards so you can skip this step. - Decorate your cards
Now it’s time to start decorating your trading card template. The design depends on what type of card you’re creating. For a sports card template, you need photos of the players. For game card templates, you need drawings and illustrations of your characters. For personal card templates, you need photos of the people you want to be a part of your trading card deck.
Make sure that each card has a unique character on it. That is unless you’re creating game cards and you want some of those cards to appear several times in the deck. In such a case, you can replicate some of the designs of the cards.
If you plan to draw the characters on your cards, start off by sketching with a pencil. Once you’re happy with the character sketch, trace over it using a marker. Then you can start coloring the characters using crayons, markers or other coloring materials.
No matter what kind of trading cards you plan to make, you should leave space at the top and the bottom of the cards for the details of the people or the characters on them. - Add the important details to your cards
Each character or person on your cards must have a name and a few details or facts about them. For sports cards templates, include all of the relevant information about the players. For the other kinds of cards, you can choose what information to include as long as you make sure that it’s interesting to read.
Write the name of the characters or people at the top of the card and the other details at the bottom. If you have clear, legible, and readable handwriting, then you can write all of this information yourself. If not, you may ask someone else to write these details for you. - Add the finishing touches
Although this is an optional step, it will make your cards sturdier. If you want to preserve the cards you’ve created so they will last longer, you may want to laminate them. Take your cards to a specialty shop or laminate them yourself if you have a laminating machine.
Baseball Card Templates
Creating a trading card template on the computer
There are so many kinds of trading cards all over the world. Whether you’re an avid collector of such cards or not, it would be a fun experience to create your own deck of trading cards using a trading card template. This allows you to express your creativity while doing an enjoyable activity.
Aside from creating your cards by hand, you can also create them using your computer. Here are some steps to guide you:
- Choose the word processing software to use
You must have proficiency in the software you choose so that creating the template becomes easier for you. Some great options are Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and others. The software must allow you to insert text boxes, images, and shapes. Choose the software you’re most comfortable with. - Create the designs of your cards
As aforementioned, the design you create or choose depends on the type of trading cards you plan to create. You may want to create a new folder in computer to store all of the character design files or the photos of the people you plan to use in your cards.
When creating your designs, you can:
Draw your own characters
Use photos of your family, friends or even your pets
Use photos of your favorite athletes - Design your trading card template
Using the computer software of your choice, create a basic template for your trading cards. You may also download a trading card template and customize it. But if you want to make everything from scratch, you can start by using lines or shapes to create the outlines of the cards.
After creating your template, copy the whole shape and all its elements then paste it repeatedly until it fills the whole page. Save this template before you go on to the next step. Also, each time you start adding design elements, save the file using a different file name. - Add design elements to each card
Now it’s time to start adding the characters or people in your trading cards. Go back to the folder you’ve created and take these design elements from there.
Whether you’ve created your own artwork or you’ve decided to use photos, insert one character or person on each of the cards. Make sure that the characters are well-aligned. Also, make sure that you only use high-res images for your cards. - Add the details of each card
On the top of each card, add the name of the person or character featured on it. At the bottom, add the facts and information. Choose a simple font that’s easy to read and understand. Before moving on to the next step, proofread the information to ensure that there are no mistakes. - Print your cards
Use a thick type of paper to print your cards on. Before printing, change the settings of your printer to avoid errors. - Cut the cards out
After printing out your cards and allowing them to dry, it’s time to cut them out. Do this carefully so you don’t end up cutting off any part of your cards. Also, cutting them carefully ensures that they have smooth and even edges.