Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) – A very cool new collectible!

Apparently artists from all over the world, working in all kinds of mediums have jumped onto the 'trading card bandwagon' and I have been sitting along the side of the road, without a clue all along!

How or why I never heard of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) until now, is beyond sad!

Just like the sports trading cards of our childhood, these tiny original artworks are collected and traded among the artists that create them. In fact they must be the exact size of those cards, at 2.5"x3.5" or 64x89mm, to be an ATC.

To this rule, a true ATC must only be traded and collected, not sold. And just like the kids, artists will trade more for some cards and less for others depending on rarity and beauty of the card.

Unique or one-of-a-kind cards are called 'originals'; sets of identical ATCs are called 'editions' and are limited and numbered; sets that follow a theme are called 'series'.

On the back of each card is the artist's name and contact number, as well the name of the ATC and its number if it is a limited edition.

The cards are often even stored like Baseball cards in transparent protective sleeves, put into handmade books and special boxes.

There are websites and formalized organisations where this trading can take place. This morning I found a site that has lots of examples of these Artist Trading Cards as well as links to groups doing this sort of trading.

Not only do I need to get making some of these cards and trading them with other artists but I think this would be a fabulous thing to make with your kids.

They could trade them with their friends, family and other adult artists as well. For me it 'beats the heck' out of collecting and trading Baseball Cards any day! Of course I've never really been that big of a sports fan!