Decide on the player(s) you want to draw baseball cards for. This could be yourself, friends, family members, or actual professional baseball players. Think about stats, accomplishments, and other things you may want to include on the card.
Once you’ve selected the player(s), it’s time to start sketching the design. Most real baseball cards have the player’s face picture on the front with their name and team logo. You’ll want to draw the player’s portrait or find a good quality photo to use. Make sure to leave enough blank space around the edges to add other elements.
With the central portrait or photo done, start adding borders, shapes, colors and graphics. Baseball cards typically have thick borders around the edges in team colors. You can also add shapes behind the portrait, like diamonds for baseball fields. Experiment with color combinations until you find a design you like. Don’t forget any logos, mascots or signatures if including those.
On the back of the card is where you’ll list key player stats and biographical information. Things like their full name, position played, batting average, home runs, RBIs, number of seasons played etc. You can also add fun facts, career highlights or personal accomplishments depending on the type of player. Make sure to leave plenty of space to write legibly in paragraphs or bulleted lists.
Once the card design template is complete, start adding realistic graphics and touches. Little things like stitches or fading around the edges of the photo make hand-drawn cards look more genuine. Creative touches like speech bubbles coming from the player with cheeky comments add personality too. You can also experiment with embossing team logos, signatures or numbers onto the card surface.
When finished with the card design, test printing on different types of cardstock paper before settling on the material. Thicker paper holds details better but thinner stock may be easier for a child to draw on. Look for paper with a glossy or semi-gloss finish to most closely imitate real cards too. Card dimensions should range from about 2.5 x 3.5 inches to 3.5 x 5 inches depending on the desired size.
Start drawing! Use colored pencils, markers or digital art programs depending on your preferred media. Take your time shading, blending colors and adding fine details to bring the drawings to life. Leave blank spaces on the front for info to be added later with a pen or typewriter. Date each card on the back corner as well.
Type or write in any remaining stats, facts or biographical details on the fronts and backs neatly when artwork is complete. Make sure ink is dry before stacking or storing cards. Consider putting player names on the card backs as identifiers too if drawn as a set.
You can optionally protective the cards further by sliding them into protective plastic sleeves or putting them in a custom baseball card photo album or binder. Consider trading your hand-drawn cards with others as a fun creative project and memento too! With practice, your drawing skills will improve to make highly realistic and fun homemade baseball cards.
