deck creation ideas tips??!!...

HOla all!

Well, i've been collecting images for the past year or two from magazines etc to create my own collage deck. I got encouraged after learning about the tarot of transformation creator. HOWEVER, i have some Q's: I was going to do the whole cut paste thing but now that my scanner is working, i need to know any tips or advice when it comes to scanning images (small and large) to use for this type of project. Also, Chronata's beautiful deck inspired me to look at the possibility of making my deck from my own art. however, I am a visual artist and i do my art from intuition and inspiration rather than force, if you know what i mean. so i am not quite sure how to approach the deck creation bug (which i've had for many years now) on my own rather than through collage.

any ideas, suggestions, tips, links, etc???? How to find my passion theme? style? what medium to use? etc etc

thank you

yaraluna

Urk. "And where do you get your ideas, Mr. Heinlein?"

I'm being a bit facetious, but it's a really tough question, because it's YOUR ideas you need. How to let them come (or charge) to the surface?

Pick a single card. Try a collage. Let yourself be dissatisfied. Sketch something. Sketch something else. What you're looking for is the moment when you hear yourself saying "No, da**it, it ought to look like THIS".

DON'T let yourself worry that you might not be a good enough artist - even if you aren't now, by the time you've done the first pass on 78 different images, you probably will be.

DO expect that everything is going to change, not once, but many times in the process of both discovering your ideas and honing your talents.

Use whatever medium is most comfortable to start with, but you might want to try something a bit different every 10 cards or so. If you wind up going back and redoing because you've fallen in love with a new medium, accept it as part of the process.

And the best of good luck. And patience, and determination, and ...

uhmmmm...

well, i guess my post seemed kindda silly to be posted. what i actually wanted to ask was how the deck creation process goes for anyone out there making it either out of collage or own drawings/paintings.
I KNOW that my deck will be my deck and that the idea etc has to come from ME. i KNOW that. iw as lookin gi guess for input or encouragement from y'all

i was also looking for some tips,etc on the scanning of the images i've collected etc. but i'll look somewhere else fro this info i guess.

thank you anyways
yaraluna

One unpleasantry before the happy thoughts - if you are using others images in a collage, either make sure that they aren't completely recognizable as the original photo/drawing or find out who did it and ask for permission. It's a far off chance that someone will come after you if you make your deck one you actually sell, but if you should decide to sell it, better safe than sorry
Now, the words of encouragement - having started toying with the idea myself since starting back into tarot, here is what I do - study several versions of the card and get to know the meanings/symbolic representations so that when you sit down to do your own version it's not so far off base that you lose the generally accepted interpretations of the card. From my viewpoint, at least, you need the card to speak first to the original ideas behind it, then to the intuitive ideas which will naturally come from it, this way your deck can have an appeal to more than just yourself if you should decide to go commercial with it.
As for the art, don't club yourself about your style - it's YOURS and every artist has something to contribute. If you really want to do this, and illustrate it yourself, you can, I promise
For ideas as to theme - look around your home, what is the "theme" there - what do you collect, what inspires you, what do you love?

N

The Adobe art programs are supposed to be some of the best on the market, see if you can get that one without spending hundreds of dollars. Photoshop is probably already on your computer.

You'd have to pick if you wanted to do a RW type deck, a Thoth or a Marseille type, first. Then read several books on how each card is interpreted, as N says. And see what develops.

thanks got info....

thank you for your replies

I went to the transformational tarot site and got some tips from there, as well as some ideas of my own getting more clearer.

yaraluna

There was a bit on the technical side (computers) about resolution & sizes & such over here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24153

But the thread starts bogging down off topic after a while. Feel free to post a pm (private message) to anyone who sounds knowledgeable about the technical details if you like, or bring the subject up here in greater detail. I don't use the computer except to scan after the black & white art is done, and to arrange them on the page after cleaning them up, so I can drop it to CD. I haven't done color work at all, so I don't think I can help you out there, but there are others here who can.

If you need help with Photoshop I've been working with it for years now.

N

Take your deck in small steps. Instead of looking at creating 78 cards and counting down try focusing on just say the major arcana. It is much less daunting with the smaller numbers

Celebrate the victories. If you finish the majors or one whole suit take the time to celebrate the victory.

Use one border for the whole deck. On my deck I have the majors and each suit with a different colored border and boy was that a pain

Well that is all I can think of now Above all else have fun with it!

programs....

right now i cannot afford the Photoshop or anything like that. what i have in my puter is somekind of image program and in the other computer, i have Micrographic picture publisher, which is the one i use when i scan and fix things


anyone heard of this one?

yaraluna