New Model for Art Trading Cards Emerges
Digital illustrator Bosslogic is partnering with ArtPics to create a series of authenticated, one-of-one art trading cards. The physical-digital hybrid collectibles offer a new business model for artists, combining traditional collecting with modern authentication and tamper-proof presentation.
The partnership taps into a booming trading card market, which was valued at over $13 billion in 2025 and is projected to exceed $21 billion by 2034. This growth is increasingly driven by non-sport and pop culture cards, with platforms like eBay reporting that growth in trading card volume is sustained by an increase in the number of items sold, not just rising prices. ArtPics was co-founded by Gareb Shamus, who has a significant background in building fan communities as the founder of Wizard Magazine and Comic Con. The venture aims to provide artists a new platform and medium to connect with fans by creating trading-card-sized original art, a format previously inaccessible for many prominent artists. Kode Abdo, known as Bosslogic, is an Australian artist who has created official promotional art for major entertainment entities including Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame," Disney, and Netflix. This collaboration is not his first venture into physical-digital collectibles; in 2021, he partnered with Coinllectibles to produce a physical sculpture of his graphic art, which was then minted into a Fusion NFT. The "phygital" model, which links a physical object to a unique digital asset, is a growing trend across various industries. Examples include Nike's acquisition of digital studio RTFKT to link physical sneakers with digital twins and the Austrian Post's "Crypto Stamp" project, which pairs a physical stamp with a digital counterpart on the blockchain. This new model directly addresses a key barrier in the digital art market: authentication. A 2022 United Nations survey found that 70% of art buyers see unclear ownership and authentication as major hurdles to investing in digital art. ArtPics plans to have each card authenticated, notarized, and encased in a tamper-proof, UV-protected holder to combat this issue. The collaboration aims to broaden the market for original art, connecting the existing fan bases of genre and entertainment art with traditional galleries and institutional collectors. Bosslogic will not only create his own cards but will also curate a roster of global illustrators and fine artists for the platform, introducing many to North American audiences for the first time.
