Creative Corner

1698

March 29, 2021 08:27:07

Hello there

I'm creating a tarot deck and was hoping to get some opinions and constructive criticism on both the aesthetic appeal of the design as well as how well you think it fits the meaning of the card.

This is going to be a normal rider-waite deck. I'm trying to stick to a blue/yellow color scheme but I might trying and change that up.

Feel free to check out my other art on my art dump thread

(will post the first few examples soon)

Cards "Finished":
The Moon
The hanged man
Emporer
Empress
Temperance
Wheel of Fortune
The Star

colored/outlined stage:
Justice
Judgement
The Devil
Death
The tower
Heirophant
Priestess
Tower
Magician
Hermit
Chariot
7 swords

Concept Stage:
The Fool
The chariot
Queen of swords
The sun
Strength
Lovers
3 Cups
6 Cups
10 Cups
7 Cups
10 swords
Ace Coins
Page of Cups

Ping:
@Winterbard
@quincely
@StarsnBranches
@Jaguarthecat
@EllaCalanie
@CatInDisguise
@Finadeuyn

Last edited on Jul 07, 2021 13:37:13 by Relzo

The Moon card. This was the first card I made and I'm pretty happy with it, enough that I wanted to trying creating a whole deck with a similar style. [img]https://i.imgur.com/JXSKsDH.png[/img]

Relzo

1698

March 29, 2021 08:28:31

The Moon card. This was the first card I made and I'm pretty happy with it, enough that I wanted to trying creating a whole deck with a similar style.

The hanged man. I was heavily inspired by Beth Carvener's "Tangled up in you" sculpture. [img]https://i.imgur.com/vvVPtR0.png[/img]

Relzo

1698

March 29, 2021 08:30:15

The hanged man. I was heavily inspired by Beth Carvener's "Tangled up in you" sculpture.

Ideas for "The Fool" card [img]https://i.imgur.com/nAChSfW.png[/img] And that's...pretty much it so far

Relzo

1698

March 29, 2021 08:35:28

Ideas for "The Fool" card

And that's...pretty much it so far

Ooo! I really shouldn’t be trying to give out advice since everything I know about tarot is from The Arcana but these do look amazing!! I really admire the line art style, like stained glass but with pretty patterns! (Moon is STUNNING) I think the bunny with the bag might be best since the fool card is so iconic and that bag would make it especially recognizable! I think my only criticism would be that looking at the same few colors might get a little boring? But I’m a very color obsessed person so that could very well by my personal preferences speaking haha

Aquellla

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March 29, 2021 21:06:12

Ooo! I really shouldn’t be trying to give out advice since everything I know about tarot is from The Arcana but these do look amazing!! I really admire the line art style, like stained glass but with pretty patterns! (Moon is STUNNING) I think the bunny with the bag might be best since the fool card is so iconic and that bag would make it especially recognizable! I think my only criticism would be that looking at the same few colors might get a little boring? But I’m a very color obsessed person so that could very well by my personal preferences speaking haha

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Hi! I've been reading tarot for years. Happy to help :) I try to get on FR at least once a day

What you've got so far looks good!

TheWinterBard

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March 29, 2021 21:34:47

Hi! I've been reading tarot for years. Happy to help :) I try to get on FR at least once a day

What you've got so far looks good!

So, for the Fool, keep in mind that card 0 is about new beginnings, a fresh start, naivety, (blind) faith, spontaneity, and seeming to embrace folly (at least on the surface). The traditional RWS deck does have him carrying a pack, as though beginning his journey.

TheWinterBard

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March 29, 2021 21:37:19

So, for the Fool, keep in mind that card 0 is about new beginnings, a fresh start, naivety, (blind) faith, spontaneity, and seeming to embrace folly (at least on the surface). The traditional RWS deck does have him carrying a pack, as though beginning his journey.

Last edited on Mar 29, 2021 21:39:54 by TheWinterBard

Keep in mind also that the major arcana are meant to symbolize in a broader sense the journey of the spirit through life, its different phases, experiences, etc. When I was first learning all of these concepts, this website was a big help. It also has individual pages for each card, with keywords that'll help to give a general feel for the card, as well as more elaborate descriptions and explanations.

I'm not sure if you're doing just the majors or if you're also doing the minors, but remembering that tarot decks are all about how cards balance each other out and tell the story of the way the spirit grows (or needs to grow) in their messaging is likely to be helpful!

TheWinterBard

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March 29, 2021 21:43:48

Keep in mind also that the major arcana are meant to symbolize in a broader sense the journey of the spirit through life, its different phases, experiences, etc. When I was first learning all of these concepts, this website was a big help. It also has individual pages for each card, with keywords that'll help to give a general feel for the card, as well as more elaborate descriptions and explanations.

I'm not sure if you're doing just the majors or if you're also doing the minors, but remembering that tarot decks are all about how cards balance each other out and tell the story of the way the spirit grows (or needs to grow) in their messaging is likely to be helpful!

Thank you both so much!

@TheAquaWaves - I was thinking of keeping the same colors for all the cards so that overall the deck is more "cohesive". Most of the decks I have looked at seem to have the same color scheme throughout. But keeping a consistent style might be enough to do that so I could try switching up the colors in the future, or maybe just adding more than 2 hues.

@TheWinterBard - Thank you for the links! Very helpful. Could I ping you in the future?
I would like to do an entire deck but I don't know if I have enough creativity to get through it lol. So I might just do the Major Arcana but we will see. It would be cool to finish the deck and get it printed out.

The thing about the napsack on the Fool Card...it depends on what I do with the others in the future and how "natural" I keep the other animals. I feel like it would be odd to have an entire deck with animals in more natural poses and then have a rabbit carrying a sack in this one card. But it is very iconic to the fool card and I think it helps get the idea across so I would like to keep it.
I have him standing on a road that leads off into the distance to signify the beginning of a journey, with the end of the path leading off into the unknown. The sun is there to signify dawn and the start of a new path, and it also lights his way down the path. The patterning on the rabbit is supposed to be like a Jester's outfit. Hopefully it reads that way.

Do you think the hanged man card gets the idea across? It's supposed to be a bird wrapped up by a snake. I was trying to invoke the feeling of being stuck, but also of being at peace and release, maybe acceptance.

Also I don't have the names of the cards on the card, just the numbers. Mostly just because I couldn't find a place for the titles, but do you think it would be confusing? I know not every deck has the major arcana in the same order. I could shuffle things around and try to make room.

Sorry for the long essay :P

Relzo

1698

March 30, 2021 05:45:19

Thank you both so much!

@TheAquaWaves - I was thinking of keeping the same colors for all the cards so that overall the deck is more "cohesive". Most of the decks I have looked at seem to have the same color scheme throughout. But keeping a consistent style might be enough to do that so I could try switching up the colors in the future, or maybe just adding more than 2 hues.

@TheWinterBard - Thank you for the links! Very helpful. Could I ping you in the future?
I would like to do an entire deck but I don't know if I have enough creativity to get through it lol. So I might just do the Major Arcana but we will see. It would be cool to finish the deck and get it printed out.

The thing about the napsack on the Fool Card...it depends on what I do with the others in the future and how "natural" I keep the other animals. I feel like it would be odd to have an entire deck with animals in more natural poses and then have a rabbit carrying a sack in this one card. But it is very iconic to the fool card and I think it helps get the idea across so I would like to keep it.
I have him standing on a road that leads off into the distance to signify the beginning of a journey, with the end of the path leading off into the unknown. The sun is there to signify dawn and the start of a new path, and it also lights his way down the path. The patterning on the rabbit is supposed to be like a Jester's outfit. Hopefully it reads that way.

Do you think the hanged man card gets the idea across? It's supposed to be a bird wrapped up by a snake. I was trying to invoke the feeling of being stuck, but also of being at peace and release, maybe acceptance.

Also I don't have the names of the cards on the card, just the numbers. Mostly just because I couldn't find a place for the titles, but do you think it would be confusing? I know not every deck has the major arcana in the same order. I could shuffle things around and try to make room.

Sorry for the long essay :P

Ideas for the emporer, empress, and temperance cards The emporer card has a ram since apparently the card is often associated with aeries, and also I think the horns pass as a sort of natural "crown". I also drew a little crown above his head but I might very well ditch that, as I think the horns and the sun already get that idea of a crown across. The scroll is supposed to signify laws and the mountains in the back stability. The clouds are just decorative so I'm debating them. The card is supposed to look balanced and rigid. The Empress card has a swan with a nest with three eggs under a pomegranate tree. The swan just felt right and seemed fitting for some reason. For temperance I'm trying to get across the idea of balance and patience. The lines in the background are meant to be ripples in the water. [img]https://i.imgur.com/9GuDYHn.png[/img]

Relzo