True Black Tarot: Humanity as artifacts of our beliefs

Arthurdubya

Thank you guys so much!

WinterGrim, you described exactly what I wanted! I'm trying to paint these images as scenes that are frozen in time, little moments from stories that we try to remember. Like when you tripped and fell, you know it happened so quickly but you can remember it in slow motion. Or when you saw your love smile that one time the light was perfect, and it was only an instant but you can feel it stretch on forever. That's where it's at!
 

WinterGrim

Thank you guys so much!

WinterGrim, you described exactly what I wanted! I'm trying to paint these images as scenes that are frozen in time, little moments from stories that we try to remember. Like when you tripped and fell, you know it happened so quickly but you can remember it in slow motion. Or when you saw your love smile that one time the light was perfect, and it was only an instant but you can feel it stretch on forever. That's where it's at!

You are most welcome! Yes, those instances that are so powerful and sudden, but where in your mind you can hold them frozen and even examine them...you worded it beautifully :) This is going to be one powerful deck, that is for sure!

I also want to let you know that I (among others, I am sure) am very appreciative of the effort you put into explaining the symbolism in your cards. It is always interesting to read about a creator's reasons for choosing the symbols or pictures that they did. To me it is like an added bonus, not only helping to further understand the deck but also getting to delve a bit more into the mind of the artist and their world :D
 

taureuse

i love the new card! even though you are not a tarot reader, you seem to have such an intuitive knowledge of it. i have a friend i like to send pictures of my readings to without much context and she is often very insightful that way! it might be because of her art background and experience in interpreting imagery.
 

Arthurdubya

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My first Major Arcana card, The Moon! I wanted to portray an atmosphere of something "off". You wake from a dream and realize that things are wrong. This world isn't your own, and the rules no longer apply. There is a large menacing hand looming over the scene while a massive crescent moon pours water from no discernible source.

There's a hidden detail here that puts the entire scene into a different perspective, and I don't want to give it away just yet, so please let me know what you all see!
 

rylla

Evan at 2:00 a.m. your moon looks beautiful!!! :) (I just don't really have the energy to express it). I saw the ring on the man's finger and was wondering if it has some significance. [but again, I can't think at this hour].
 

DDwarks

The hand going through the moon Crescent is hers.
Almost like the vessel of water by her could be a portal for something. Or the moon Crescent is just an illusion or.......
I'm keeping the rest to myself :D
I love the intergalactic thing here! LOVE LOVE IT!
 

Arthurdubya

DDwarks:

Yes! I was afraid it was too subtle, since some people on facebook have picked up on it immediately and others took a while (or needed explaining). I'm glad you guys got it though!

When you say intergalactic, are you talking about my written explanation for the deck, or is that something you're picking up from just that Moon card? I was kind of thinking of having the card backs be star maps... :livelong:
 

taureuse

I was kind of thinking of having the card backs be star maps... :livelong:

OMG, that would be KILLER...

i really like the moon, especially the pose for the female figure you chose. because when i think of the moon, i think of a girl who is not really all there in the sense that others don't know what she's thinking because she is shrouded in illusion or something about her is a bit different so others are drawn to her but are also a bit afraid.

edit: also, the melting crescent!! the hand!!! AHHHHH
 

Arthurdubya

Haha, I'm so glad you guys like it! I'm surprised this card got the most positive feedback so far (seems to be the case on facebook too). I didn't think it looked as good as the others from a visual standpoint, but I'm super happy you all connect with it!

Now it seems I have set myself quite a high bar. :bugeyed:
 

euripides

I'm loving the look of these cards. Dark and stylish. I particularly like that the figures reflect accurate anatomical drawing - I get really frustrated by figurative work with poor proportion.

I hope you'll have some representations of older personalities in the deck. Age doesn't have to be antithetical to beauty.