Tarot Artist Wanted

bogiesan said:

A tarot photo project has never come my way but it is not something I would want to do unless there was a superbly competent designer driving it and there was plenty of cash to make sure the realization met everyone's expectations. Imagine building 78 sets with props, 78 costumes, 78 models, 78 makeup and hair jobs. Lighting. Even considering repeating themes (maybe one set for all cards in a suit) and using the same models in many cards, you've got several weeks of work just getting ready. Five to ten setups a day--that's three weeks of studio time. Post production digitial manipulation and reshooting take another couple of days.

Drawing, painting, constructing or digital creation of 78 individual pieces is no less complicated.

Click to expand...

I have seen descriptions of what Karen and Alex went through in making the Magic Realist Press decks, and it is very similar to this description, of course. Although they shared the same vision, and created beautiful images, they had such difficulty with the printers. I have come to appreciate what an enormously complicated process it is to create a tarot deck. Which is why I started mumbling and walked away, when a friend of ours asked my fiancee to do the "computer work" on a tarot deck he has envisioned. Computer work? I have a feeling that nothing good will come of this...

tarot card artist

I am an artist/teacher. I am fascinated with the illustrations on tarot cards and I collect them. I have around 30 decks. I always wanted to make a deck of my own, but never really understood the tarot to be able to make a deck of my own.

I read that you are looking for an artist to work with on designing a tarot deck.

I teach acrylic painting to adults and also teach an after school art program to 1-5 graders at 4 schools in Brecksville, OH every week. I have been instructing art classes for 10 years.

Please check out my website. simplystephaniesart.com and notify my if you are interested in getting together on this project.

I realize I live across the country, but really what's a few 1,000 miles between friends.

Anxiously waiting for your reply,

Stephanie

Hierophant Art Links

I will be uploading links to what I call "pre-art" in the form of .jpg images.
These images will begin as the Major Arcana cards and then other images of suits and court cards will be added.
Artists may look at the links and decide if this is something they want to do and upload their art here if they desire or keep it for their portfolio.
I intend to upload pre-art for the Major Arcana and hopefully an artist would like to create art to go in a book I am preparing. Otherwise I will have to rely on old star maps and let the reader try to make a connection that I try to describe.
Pencil art would easily go into a book with a black and white format. The Minor Arcana would not be included unless an artist wants to do this on their own or would like to work with me on the art. If an artist wants to do these cards in color I would suggest using the colors and designs from the RWS deck as seen in "The Pictorial Key to the Tarot".
Why did I choose the images that I did? A better way of phrasing that would be: Why did A.E. Waite choose those images for Pixie to draw?
Some artists will want the freedom to interpret the images provided in the manner that they desire, but it is my intention to attempt to show what the traditional Tarot pictures were based on, which requires that the artist try to show that connection in their work.
Thanks for your consideration.

Here goes:
The Hierophant as Pope (Saint) Sylvester in the Julius Schiller star atlas of 1627:
Pope Links:
http://piecework.deviantart.com/gallery/

Pope only: 4.25' x 2-no-5-Pope

Pope and RWS Hierophant card: 4.25' x 2-no-5-ALL-Layers
Hierophant card

Stars only: 4.25' x 2-no-5 STARS-only = Background stars

All art will have ancient star maps included so the positions of the stars may not exactly match modern star maps which use a variety of projections and are usually based on the stellar positions of 1950 or 2000 AD. Please include stars in your art if possible. - Lance

Based on this Hierophant image, the one with the three layers (star map, RWS, Pope), what exactly would you want the artist to do? The image seems to be complete to me as it is.

The Hierophant image pre-art

BrightEye said:

Based on this Hierophant image, the one with the three layers (star map, RWS, Pope), what exactly would you want the artist to do? The image seems to be complete to me as it is.

Click to expand...

The Hierophant image pre-art is complete, but it is not the finished art.
It will be up to the artist to combine these layers artistically.
These are layers of a Photoshop drawing and can be reconstructed.
The goal would be to combine the RWS Hierophant with Julius Schiller's Pope Sylvester with a representation of stars as well. An antique star map look would be appreciated.

Also uploaded to http://piecework.deviantart.com/gallery/
is a file labeled: 4.25' x 2-no-5-Greek Star Names
and this gives the Greek Star names for the major stars of Bootes in this drawing for reference.

I will soon be uploading other card images so you may get a better idea of the project as more information and images are made available.
Thanks for your consideration.

The Hermit card as Saint Benedict in Ophiuchus

Cartomancer said:

Also uploaded to http://piecework.deviantart.com/gallery/
I will soon be uploading other card images so you may get a better idea of the project as more information and images are made available.
Thanks for your consideration.

Click to expand...

Pre-art for the Hermit has been uploaded to
http://piecework.deviantart.com/gallery/
There are 6 images showing the Julius Schiller (c. 1580 – 1627) version of St. Benedict, who was the most famous hermit in history as far as I know.
Various star maps and Greek letters are included as background information.
The last in this series is: 4.25' x 2-no-9-Ophiuchus-Flipped_Hermit-Benedict.jpg
which shows the RWS Hermit card with Ophiuchus stars flipped.
This is the desired version for artistic rendition. Notice the vertical line of stars.
This card probably pictures Saint Benedict in the desert.
The image by Julius Schiller was probably too complicated to fit onto a Tarot card so Smith brought together the stars and the image of Saint Benedict in her own vision of this card.
-Cartomancer

what is the length of time you are wanting to finish this project in?

Length of time for Tarot card project?

StarScream said:

what is the length of time you are wanting to finish this project in?

Click to expand...

That is a good question.
A realistic estimate about the time it will take to complete this project depends on a number of factors, some of which I am aware of.
1) The time it takes me to create the pre-art, which I have posted a link for two cards so far.
It takes a day or two to create the pre-art for one card if I have the star maps available. It could take 30+ working days for me to create the pre-art for the Major Arcana. It would take another 15 or so of my working days to create the court card pre-art. It would take another week to create the basis for four of the suits (not the entire 40 pip cards).
2) The time it takes me to write about the cards is undetermined at this time, but I have a lot of material already written that needs to be organized and edited.
3) The time it takes an artist to create art for cards is unknown to me. Depending on the size and detail, it could take months for an artist to do pencil drawings of the Major Arcana only. If an artist does the cards in color it would take even longer. Since I have no idea if an artist will want to do all of the art or just parts of the project that they like I have no way to estimate when or if the art will be completed. If the art is not completed, then I will only use examples from star maps and try to compare them to the RWS Major Arcana and other select cards.

Some artists want the freedom to work with the pre-art in the way they wish and may end up creating cards or even decks that aren't connected with the book I'm writing, but they could benefit from the text as it will explain how the images were created. Other artists might want the benefit of having guidance for the creation of the cards and don't want to figure out the detail behind the cards. Because of the uncertainty in this process I cannot predict an exact time, but artists have told me that it may take up to a year to do a complete deck in pencil and possibly longer in color.

It is my goal to create the pre-art for the Major Arcana as fast as possible so that artists who are interested in this project can attempt samples, either to share with me or for their own portfolio. Some commenters have suggested that working on this project will be a waste of time and money for any artist. I am currently investigating the types of contracts and agreements that have worked between authors and artists. An agreement could deter an artist unless it is done right, which will also take more time. We can hope that artists and authors who have gone through this process can add advice for us so that it does not turn out badly. - Cartomancer

Cartomancer said:

1) The time it takes me to create the pre-art, which I have posted a link for two cards so far. Cartomancer

Click to expand...

I wish you well. I'm an artist & it takes me 30-40 HOURS to finish a piece, whether it'll hang on someone's wall or be printed onto card stock (it's still a work of art that requires time & skill), which would be a HUGE undertaking for both parties, you & the artist. I've got lots of ideas floating around my head for a deck & have done quick sketches; I just don't have the time to finish more than 3 cards. I've sold a lot of my art & used to do the outdoor art shows but I've only gotten as far as 3 cards for a themed deck that I absolutely KNOW would be a hit, very unique. If you find an artist & I hope you do, be kind. It's very time consuming, much more so than creating 'pre-art' to get your point accross. What's 78 x 40? Hour wise, I mean. I understand why some people don't illustrate the pips, trust me. But I personally prefer them to be illustrated. Many tarot readers who are artists have the same dilemna - time. I can spend 40 hrs on a painting, knowing it'll sell, but 78?? Oy. Have you thought about taking some art lessons yourself? You may love it!

40 hours per piece x 78 pieces is 1.5 years of work, 40 hours per week, every week.

But Cartomancer has suggested that a first edition could be a book with grayscale drawings, with the book to explore the esoteric and/or alternative correspondences and associations he's mentioned. A book like this could be self-published, even electronically, and if the theories catch on, a second edition and/or publisher might be the next stage, with a full-color deck. (Some decks have also been successful in gray scale.)

However even in gray scale, a good drawing takes time. But the mock-ups he is creating can save the artist some time in composition and research that is involved when you are planning this kind of art.

Still I would think that averaging 20 hours per piece would be a pretty fast clip, especially when you consider discussions and revisions.

Any thoughts of these time frames?