The Alaire Deck

jalaire

The Alaire Deck - Updated w/ Color

UPDATE #2: I've made an instagram and a blog for my deck if anyone is interested in following the process more closely. :)

https://instagram.com/alairedeck/
http://alairedeck.tumblr.com

UPDATE #1: Added a color example to see what the finished product will more closely resemble! (attachment: 010)

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I've always been very drawn to and excited by tarot but I never really took the time to learn and understand it. I had a "friend" contact me about commissioning me to design a tarot deck for them, but pretty early in the process they ended up bailing on me. Well the project got shelved while I finished up a few other projects, and now I've come back to it and decided that what better way to learn tarot then making my own deck.

The basics of my deck is that I want it to stick very closely with RWS symbolism, but tweak the imagery a bit to fit more of my flowy style. I hope maybe in the future, once I am more comfortable/knowledgeable on the subject, to make a deck that pushes the boundaries a little more than this deck will. My goal is that anyone who comfortably reads with other RWS decks could pick up my deck and easily read with it. I want to just personally learn the basics and to really get a feel for each card.

I'm hoping that you guys can give me input and help me figure out if I'm correctly portraying what I'm trying to portray.

Okay, now that I've written a novel... onto the art! My art style is very whimsical and almost cartoony which I know is not everyone's cup of tea. But even if you don't particularly like my style I would love to know if you feel like I'm hitting the mark on the overall feeling for each card. At this point I have made rough thumbnail sketches of all 78 cards and am now working on the more finalized sketches that I will then paint. I would love to know what you think of the sketches so far:
 

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jalaire

Also I would like to add that I plan these to be borderless and with as little to no text as possible, so I REALLY want them to be obvious as to what they are.
 

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rwcarter

Even without titles all six of the cards you've shown are easy to identify. They are very readable from within a RWS framework. The only card I have question/issue with is the Empress. Are those supposed to be crescent moons on her gown? If so, those are usually associated with the High Priestess. If not, then what are they cause my only other though was holes in her cloak/robe.

Good luck with working on these!

Rodney
 

danielnogo

Your art is AMAZING! Love the clean lines and whimsical characters! Very impressive!
 

jalaire

Even without titles all six of the cards you've shown are easy to identify. They are very readable from within a RWS framework. The only card I have question/issue with is the Empress. Are those supposed to be crescent moons on her gown? If so, those are usually associated with the High Priestess. If not, then what are they cause my only other though was holes in her cloak/robe.

Good luck with working on these!

Rodney

Oh! Yeah, sorry those are just kind of place holder blobs that will become flowers or pomegranates when I paint her. :) I'm glad that you can tell what each card is!
 

Shade

I really love how you have stylized the cards; it feels like it would be a lot of fun to read with. How do you want to color the deck?
 

jalaire

I really love how you have stylized the cards; it feels like it would be a lot of fun to read with. How do you want to color the deck?

Thank you! Right now I'm leaning towards bright, vivid colors. I'm planning on using paint and colored pencils.
 

LupaGreenwolf

What a fun style! Lots of nice movement, and it feels like even the traditionally negative cards could be friendly if need be.
 

Shade

Others may differ on this point but I feel like the quality of the Tarot goes up an order of magnitude the more one leans towards paint rather than colored pencil.
 

reall

omg! like your style!^^ reminds me on Fay Tarot!^^:))
keep up with good work!^^ and if you need help with digital or tehnical details just ask!^^ ;))