By Alan Biegel
0ne of the advantages of collecting modern trading card sets is the diversity of inserts and chase cards available. Foils, puzzles, lenticulars, autographs, costumes, props…they all contribute to a fun and satisfying trading card experience. One type of chase that really excites hobbyists is the sketch card. Hand drawn by individual artists, sketch cards bring a unique, one-of-a-kind experience to card collecting.
A secondary advantage to owning sketches is they can actually expand passed the scope of a card set. By offering views or situations beyond what base and other chase can present, sketches become the artist’s interpretation rather than a corporate or outlined view of a particular subject. Of course, sometimes licensors or manufacturers will reject an illustrator’s perspective as straying too far from a character’s approved likeness or storyline. In general, though, artists can interject enough of their own spirit into the scene to make sketches desirable to themselves and to the fans.