Artist Trading Cards, or ATCs, are small pieces of artwork that are swapped between artists. ATC enthusiasts do all sorts of things with their cards. The art is sometimes included in personal collections, used in decorating one's home, and the various styles and mediums used on these art miniatures offer inspiration to everyone who shares them! There are a few rules about these pieces: they must be 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches (64 x 89 mm), and they must be made from material that is sturdy enough to hold up to being handled, yet thin enough to slide into trading card sleeves.

as seen at: http://crafthappy.com

Many ATC's are created on a piece of cardstock. Size wise, they are similar to standard baseball trading cards. Media, materials, and techniques are totally up to the individual artist as long as the cards include only "low rise" embellishments. Cards can be rubber stamped, painted, collaged, screen-printed, or created by any method imaginable!

The back side of ATC's usually includes the artists name, maybe a card title, the date, and sometimes they are numbered as well.

ATCs are about exchanging art without exchanging money, and without interference from the business side of the art world. According to the rules of Artist Trading Cards, they are to be traded and never sold.


A highly debated offshoot of artist trading cards are the "art card, editions and originals" (ACEO). ACEOs originated when some artists began to create cards to sell, in addition to trading among themselves. The selling of these cards is a sore point with some ATC purists; however the practice is not unprecedented: trading cards in other areas such as sports have also been traded and sold.

Some people simply don't know that when selling their card it should be referred to as an ACEO. Serious collectors/customers know the difference. Generally speaking, selling an ATC rather than an ACEO is usually an indication the maker/seller of the ATC isn't very experienced.... or they simply refuse to play by the rules.

Additional pages in our wiki about ATC's:

• ATC's - Uses and Tips
• The Flip Side of ATC's
• Protecting Your ATC Collection

Below is a list of Web Sitings about ATC's. Become a member of the Artful Shares wiki and add to this list today!

ATC/ACEO Web Sitings

Website	URL/Link
Wikipedia Description/Info	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards
Artist Trading Cards - Australia	http://www.artisttradingcards.com.au/
ATC Cards (d0t) com	http://www.atcards.com/
ATC's a Collorative Culture Performance	http://www.artist-trading-cards.ch/index.html

Become a member of the Artful Shares wiki and add to this list today!