True Black Tarot: Humanity as artifacts of our beliefs

barefootlife

Awww yeah, backed like the wind. Gotta get in on that early-bird special, and I need some wall decor.
 

Arthurdubya

Haha, "like the wind!" I love the enthusiasm, thank you so much for your support! :D
 

AllorahRayne

Wow

So when will this be a complete deck of 78? This is phenomenal work and I will promote the crap out of it!
 

Arthurdubya

Sorry for how terrible I've been with updating! I've got 5 more paintings to do by mid-July if I want to make my own deadlines, so I'm scrambling!

Allorah: I'll have 30 cards total painted by July, at which point I'd feel comfortable enough to seek funding for the production of the deck. I'll be starting a Kickstarter for that in September, which I consider the "main, full-deck Kickstarter." In addition though, I've been selling posters on Kickstarter just to try and get extra funding. The production quality of this deck will literally be unmatched, so the funding I'll need to raise is going to be higher as well.

I'll have sample production cards sometime in July/August, so if you're interested in promoting, I'd love to send some to you! They'll be 100% representative of the final deck, from the stock and printing process down to the surface texture and edge painting. :D

Also, I've got some updated cards!

FJf47a7.jpg


tZs2AUc.jpg
 

DDwarks

Strong swords! I'm *very* pleased and relieved to see this! Is the new Queen of Swords going to sport something similar?

Your 10 of Swords:
It got me singing "Masada" from Alpha Blondy :)
 

Arthurdubya

DDWarks:

Thank you! The Queen of Swords is on page 7 of this post, though her swords are of the streamlined-potentially-new-age aesthetic. I wanted to do a mix of traditional sword-looking-swords and streamlined one-piece-futuristic swords, in an effort to blur the age and time-period of these cards, since I wanted to consciously avoid having my deck look like it took place in the generic medieval world that I see many decks existing in.

To that effect, I'll be trying to incorporate some far-older swords as well in the rest of the suit, like those from Africa, Mesopotamia, and Persia. :D
 

Falcor

Wow, that is VERY impressing.

Please stop tempting me, I am not made of stone =P
 

DDwarks

Arthurdubya...your deck is a gift that keeps on giving!

I'll admit that I struggled with your Queen of Swords initially. I'm not only used to seeing this Queen represented as "the real sharp deal" but I'm one myself.
I could see your Queen of Swords being a Princess of Swords. Young and in training, hence the modern looking-smaller swords.

Of course this thinking is very much generic medieval world!

Do you think you'll be keeping the sword-looking swords for the Minor cards? The one piece futuristic ones for Majors and Courts?
Streamlined -one piece- futuristic would suit the Majors.
Minors typically deal with day to day. Traditional and eclectic swords would work.

Thats not me telling you what I'd prefer of course!

Persian swords? African?
I collect Arabic style decks in particular.
Its also my ancestral neck of the woods :thumbsup:
 

Arthurdubya

Do you consider the Ace to be in the majors/courts? Because that is currently a one-piece "futuristic" dagger :D and the King has a rather medieval-looking Bastard sword! I wanted to mix the style of swords up, as if the time period from which the sword originates has no bearing on what they mean. A sword is a sword, from then til now, and our King with his Medieval sword is still the mate for our Queen, with her futuristic sword.

The archetypes that they represent are consistent through time, though the way those features are embodied can change.

Slightly off-topic: This gets difficult to portray if I start going into more specific things, like a house for example. I know what houses look like today, and I know that in the past, houses could have looked like cottages or huts or teepees or carved spaces in the side of a mountain. But I have absolutely no idea what houses will look like in the future. I can guess that swords/blades will be fairly consistent across time as they have changed little, but a house? I hope none of these cards necessitate my painting a house :shhh: