Art vs. Readability in Creating a Deck

When creating a deck, for yourself AND for others, would you say that it's more important for there to be clarity (as in, each card should be easily identifiable; like, THAT card is definitely the 7 of Pentacles) or for the cards to have a certain artistic style and mood or vibe? How often do you buy a deck just for the art as opposed to purchasing a deck because it is easy to read or the images are lucid and straightforward?

I'm 7 cards into the deck I'm creating (well, the inking is done; I still need to do a watercolor wash and highlights in Photoshop), and I know I tend to get carried away with detail. I'd like to strike a happy balance with style and readability. I am creating this deck for myself, but I also want to try and sell it commercially and I'm interested in what other people look for in decks.

I'm linking to two inks from the deck, I have to add the watercolor and Photoshop still, but you'll get the general idea. They're low-res, and I'm on my laptop so I don't have access to my original files. I'd appreciate any feedback.

The Moon: http://36.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcm19xaA0u1r4q4g3o3_400.jpg

The Hanged Man: http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcm19xaA0u1r4q4g3o2_400.jpg

goldenquince said:

I'd like to strike a happy balance with style and readability.

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Wow, these are gorgeous, and they don't even have a color wash yet! Well done on your beginning cards, and best wishes on completing the rest. The quote above is what I look for in a deck. In the past, I bought every beautiful deck I saw. The problem was many didn't have much of a tarot framework underneath all that beauty. I don't need a cut and paste version from the RWS or Thoth, but it is important for me to be able to see the tarot structure in the cards I use.

Well...if these examples are typical of the whole deck I would say you already have your happy balance and DO NOT change a thing.
I made a deck in 2012-13 and often ventured way off piste with the imagery of many of the cards. I held the RWS as meanings as a framework, but often interpreted them rather differently.
Your cards look beautiful, go as mad as you need to with the detail and make the deck you would love to own.
If I may offer a thought (based on my own tarot trip), if you are going to do the minors, then work on a few of them as you go. I completed all the Majors first; it seemed so natural to do so, but wish now I had made them when my own Tarot knowledge and painting had had a chance to really begin to flourish. The majors can be so hard to really pin down, and to synthesize each archetype into a single composition, often quite a wrangle.
The result of this being, I relied more heavily on the RWS Majors than I will in a future Tarot creation.
That said. What you have made is perfect and perfectly readable and even though you might just be finishing up in around a year from now, this deck will for sure be worth the supreme effort and gallons of time it will devour and you will likely find yourself quite transformed by the experience.

For me, I like simple vibes with cards. To illustrate my vague opinion, when I first saw the Wild Unknown deck, I fell in love. I loved how simple the art was and thought it was right up my alley. But in reality, having simple pencil drawings of animals to read from wasn't all that great. They didn't create a vibe, there wasn't enough sustenance.

Having said that, I also don't like when there is a lot of stuff going on in cards. I don't mean drawing details. I mean like RW where everything is heavily rooted in all kinds of myths and symbols. They're interesting, of course! I love learning from them, but in practice it's difficult because I get caught up in a mental tease with all these myths and theories.

I especially like your hanged man because the forest foreground really points out that he is in the act of observing. Overall- I'm a vibe girl. I am much more handy with a deck that is based on vibes. It asks me to stay focused on the card, and to not think about the book definitions.

BodhiSeed said:

I don't need a cut and paste version from the RWS or Thoth, but it is important for me to be able to see the tarot structure in the cards I use.

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This is what I feel my first deck should be because for me, creating it does not mean just letting myself get lost in how original I can be. It's also an educational experience and having a model to work from actually allows me to be more free artistically. Thanks so much for your input.

wooden-eye said:

If I may offer a thought (based on my own tarot trip), if you are going to do the minors, then work on a few of them as you go. I completed all the Majors first; it seemed so natural to do so, but wish now I had made them when my own Tarot knowledge and painting had had a chance to really begin to flourish. The majors can be so hard to really pin down, and to synthesize each archetype into a single composition, often quite a wrangle.
The result of this being, I relied more heavily on the RWS Majors than I will in a future Tarot creation.
That said. What you have made is perfect and perfectly readable and even though you might just be finishing up in around a year from now, this deck will for sure be worth the supreme effort and gallons of time it will devour and you will likely find yourself quite transformed by the experience.

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It's funny that you suggest that, because that is just what I have started doing! I wanted to do all the majors first but decided that I should probably do all the suits simultaneously, so basically the whole deck in no particular order. And you're right--I feel like I don't have a good grasp on a lot of the major cards yet, so until I've become better acquainted, I'm not even going to start a sketch. I've just done the Ace of Pentacles and the 8 of Swords because those cards have actually been coming up a lot in my readings.

Thanks so much for the advice.

SweetSiren said:

For me, I like simple vibes with cards. To illustrate my vague opinion, when I first saw the Wild Unknown deck, I fell in love. I loved how simple the art was and thought it was right up my alley. But in reality, having simple pencil drawings of animals to read from wasn't all that great. They didn't create a vibe, there wasn't enough sustenance.

Having said that, I also don't like when there is a lot of stuff going on in cards. I don't mean drawing details. I mean like RW where everything is heavily rooted in all kinds of myths and symbols. They're interesting, of course! I love learning from them, but in practice it's difficult because I get caught up in a mental tease with all these myths and theories.

I especially like your hanged man because the forest foreground really points out that he is in the act of observing. Overall- I'm a vibe girl. I am much more handy with a deck that is based on vibes. It asks me to stay focused on the card, and to not think about the book definitions.

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The whole thing about getting too involved in symbolism is good to know--I like using a lot of symbols when I'm drawing, but I agree with you that there is such a thing as overkill with that. Sometimes I'll draw a specific plant because I've looked up the meaning behind it and it fits with the image, and then I'll completely forget that meaning when I go back to look at it. I'll definitely keep that in mind!

wooden-eye said:

Well...if these examples are typical of the whole deck I would say you already have your happy balance and DO NOT change a thing.

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I agree!

wow! beautiful!)) don't change a thing! I like fine art but think you should make it easy to tell which card is it?)) you did it well here! I can easy tell its moon and hanged!)) keep up with good work!))

Those are absolutely gorgeous, you don't even need the washes. I love that style of black/white art.