There are people who enjoy watching sports and there are those who also enjoy collecting sports trading cards. Here at Template.net, you can find an entire collection of ready-made card templates in Adobe Illustrator that you can download and use for creating your own sports cards. Our templates are guaranteed to be high-quality, fully downloadable, and easily editable in any version of Adobe Illustrator. So whether you're creating football, hockey, or soccer sports cards, our 100% customizable templates are your best option, so don't hesitate to download one.
How to Create Sports Cards in Adobe Illustrator
If you want to know how to make amazing sports trading cards in Adobe Illustrator, simply refer to our instructions below. Simply follow these instructions and we'll guarantee that your custom-made sports cards will complete your card collection.
1. Prepare the Necessary Materials
The first thing that you will need to do when creating your own custom sports trading cards is to prepare the materials that you'll be using during the production. These materials include but are not limited to the card stock (2.5 inches by 3.5 inches), ink toner for printing, and laminating film (optional). For the card stock, regardless if you choose the one with a glossy or matte finish, just make sure to use a high-quality and durable type.
2. Secure a Photo of the Player
Once you're done preparing the materials, you can then start securing a photo of the player. If you're making multiple trading cards, then you will need to secure a photo for each of the featured player. When securing a photo, make sure to go for something appropriate and will work when used as a sports card image. If you are unable to secure one, simply notify the person to be featured on the card and take a photo of them.
3. Gather Details of the Player
Aside from their photo, you should also get details or stats about the player. These details include but are not limited to the number of seasons they've played, the championships they've won, and other necessary details. If you're creating baseball cards, you can indicate their batting percentage or the average home runs in a single season. For basketball cards, the stats would also indicate their field goal percentage, free throw percentage, assists, etc.
4. Use Adobe Illustrator for Setting the Card Layout
For you to start working on your modern sports card design, you will need to open Adobe Illustrator and then open a blank project. Afterward, you will need to set up the layout by inputting the dimensions (2.5 × 3.5 inches), color (CMYK), and resolution (300 DPI) at the best possible setting. This way, you can ensure yourself of high-quality hand-made sports cards as long as the materials itself are also premium and durable.
5. Add the Necessary Elements, Photos, and Stats
After the layout has been set, you can start putting together the photos, text, and the player's stats. The first two elements are usually placed at the front side of the sports card with their photo taking up most of the space. The stats, on the other hand, is typically written at the backside of the card. When putting together these elements, make sure to arrange them well and leave enough room for some white space.
6. Print Your Sports Cards
Evaluate your work and check the content for accuracy especially in the stats, and then save your work in a shareable and printable file format. In most cases, people would prefer to save their work in PDF because it is the easiest to share and print and is also capable of preserving quality. After you've saved your work, you can finally start printing them using the card stock that you've prepared in the first step.