Tarot of Forgotten Dolls - an elegant gothic lolita tarot deck

RoseNocturnalia

Hello friends!

I always loved porcelain dolls and ball-jointed dolls, even though they creep people out. I think they're so unnaturally delicate and beautiful that they frighten people. I wanted the characters in my deck to resemble dolls, nearly human but soulless with "painted-on" expressions and empty eyes.

Elegant gothic lolita/EGL (or just gothic lolita) is a fashion that blends gothic motifs with Victorian-inspired clothing and doll-like hair + makeup. Don't worry, despite the slightly provocative name, there's nothing fishy about it! I thought that it would be a fitting aesthetic for sad dolls.

I wanted the deck to have a sort of melancholy and surreal atmosphere with muted colours. It'll incorporate childlike imagery such as toys, stuffed animals, sweets, etc. with a creepy twist. These once-loved dolls have been forgotten and abandoned after all :)

Lastly, it'll be based largely on RWS symbolism for the sake of readability, and because those symbols are what I used to learn tarot. I want to create a deck that many people can use and understand.

Sketches:
9 of Swords - http://imgur.com/7K36L8W Sorry the scan isn't very good!
10 of Cups - http://imgur.com/iIVHaeH Not entirely happy with this one, but I can always go back to it.

Any feedback or opinions would be greatly appreciated. :)
 

reall

oww! must say title freaks me up!(yeah im actually not crazy about old dolls! lolz)
but this reminds me more on anime got lolita and is freaky! i like!;))) lolz
 

GlitterNova

I really like the images so far. Be sure to keep us updated!
 

Rhapsodin

Yes, slightly gothic. To me, reminiscent of images I might see in London Night comics (Razor) or Sirius (Cry for Dawn). Forgotten Dolls is an interesting theme - Lolita suggesting adolescent "artists" dolls like the (extraordinarily beautiful) Zawieruszynski dolls, Annette Himstedt, and on.

Nice. Hope to see more.
 

velvetinedreams

Hi RoseNocturnalia.
I just noticed you're in Ontario. Are you a member of the Southern Ontario Lolita group? I used to hang about there, but I really felt I didn't fit in at all, so I left. Hopefully no hard feelings.

You are extremely talented with your artwork. I hope you keep going! :)

<3 velvetinedreams
 

RoseNocturnalia

Velvetinedreams, hello fellow Torontonian :) I actually don't dress in the fashion since my dream dresses are a little out of my price range, haha. So I never joined the group.

Also, thank you for the great feedback everyone! I'm currently working on the Star card and hopefully I'll have time to upload it tomorrow.
 

velvetinedreams

Oh, you're in Toronto too? Coolness! :) Yeah, the only style I could afford to wear as part of that subculture cluster was the Mori-kei (forest style), which is much more fluid than the Lolita style, and can be got at any Value Village store, lol... I don't have any money for those expensive Loli dresses either. I don't really understand everyone's obsession with 'burando', the million-yen Japanese brand-name dresses and accessories! They don't really do anything for me... I much prefer the indie seamstresses' stuff I've seen online, they're much more original and interesting to me. I also find the Chinese knock-offs on Qutieland quite cute, I'm not a brand-name snob (I can't afford to be, haha). I hear you can get really cheap yet decent stuff from China by shopping through Taobao (basically the same stuff as Qutieland, but way cheaper), but I just can't figure out how to navigate the all-Chinese-text stuff - apparently you're supposed to hire a professional 'Chinese shopper' as a go-between, but I never really got into all that, I couldn't be bothered! :p

Have you considered incorporating different Lolita styles into your deck - like Sweet/Deco, Classic, Aristocrat, Ouji, Dolly, Ero, Punk - or do you want all of them to be Gothic style specifically? I noticed how you worked in some Guro-style - grotesque style, with the fake wounds and bandages (I'm putting in these references so other people besides you and I can understand what we're talking about, lol) in your Lolitas too.

I can't wait to see your Star card! ^_^
 

esspeet

Wow, those are lovely sketches! You're very talented.
 

aurafields

Hello friends!

I always loved porcelain dolls and ball-jointed dolls, even though they creep people out. I think they're so unnaturally delicate and beautiful that they frighten people. I wanted the characters in my deck to resemble dolls, nearly human but soulless with "painted-on" expressions and empty eyes.

Elegant gothic lolita/EGL (or just gothic lolita) is a fashion that blends gothic motifs with Victorian-inspired clothing and doll-like hair + makeup. Don't worry, despite the slightly provocative name, there's nothing fishy about it! I thought that it would be a fitting aesthetic for sad dolls.

I wanted the deck to have a sort of melancholy and surreal atmosphere with muted colours. It'll incorporate childlike imagery such as toys, stuffed animals, sweets, etc. with a creepy twist. These once-loved dolls have been forgotten and abandoned after all :)

Lastly, it'll be based largely on RWS symbolism for the sake of readability, and because those symbols are what I used to learn tarot. I want to create a deck that many people can use and understand.

Sketches:
9 of Swords - http://imgur.com/7K36L8W Sorry the scan isn't very good!
10 of Cups - http://imgur.com/iIVHaeH Not entirely happy with this one, but I can always go back to it.

Any feedback or opinions would be greatly appreciated. :)
Hi, Very cool! Great concept. I never would have thought of this. I also love dolls, but I have returned and gotten rid now of all sorts of the older ones as they have such strong, not always welcome spirit attachment. Thanks for sharing.
 

Libra289

They are beautiful, I'd love this as a deck!