Lo Scarabeo decks 2007

I think Mark posted a little preview at the beginning of the project. So it may be possible the images have bene already seen.

As for computer graphics, it is a total novelty for LS.
We had to try it...
And we also used a graphic layout that was a bit more modern than usual.

Ric

p.s.
Gregory, send me an e-mail and I will (not today) send you a lower definition preview.

I like the elves! The 3-d effect from the computer graphics makes it a nice change from other elven decks.

HearthCricket said:

I like the elves! The 3-d effect from the computer graphics makes it a nice change from other elven decks.

Click to expand...

Ditto here. I am really looking forward to this deck. Riccardo, will it have a companion book?

I met Mark at the London Tarot conference, and thought he was fab, so I hope he doesn't take this the wrong way! The Elven tarot is far too artificial feeling to me personally, and I have a very strong elven connection. Saying that, it does say 'fantasy' wonderfully, and it is a beautiful example of computer art. I just wonder why that particular artistic style was chosen for this deck. I suspect it is for those for whom elves are purely fantasy and not an otherworldly reality.(i.e great for some, but not for me!)

I also still have concerns about the high priestess card showing her bleeding on the floor-(one of the images I saw in mark's earlier preview)- not a great sign of feminine independence and power! I'd be really interested to see how well it works as a reading deck. I suspect it would have huge scope more as a storytelling tool.

What I want to say is that we rarely - almost never - can find the RIGHT way to do something. Any project express in a direction that we control only in a certain way... and that i's unique of that single creative process, unity of elements.
There had been thousand possible elven decks that we could been creating... and yet only one came to life. To answer certain questions, to resonate with certain tastes.

Said so... I really understand how people like and dislike decks. It's the reason there are so many decks. And also, I realize we need to be especially critic on the things we love most.

It would be really a pleasure for me, it it would be possible, to have the AT community look at a deck creation process.
And for every choice we make, there is something that's gained and something that's lost.

For us the CG is itself an experiment. Can people relate to that kind of art? Can the added depth of textures and realistic images, lights and atmosphere, make up for that artificiality one can feel in posture and human expression? I still don't know.
(and I sort of like the question).

Anyway, still my personal opinion, even as an insider I like the deck.
I like the story Mark weaved into the images. I like the structure. And I like the feeling... the solarity/purity the cards express.

As for the Empress... the cards perfectly express the meaning of the card under the structure. The deck has been created as "journey of the hero" tale. The Empress is seen backward... it is the loss of the mother-figure, the leaving of the nest. As the Emperor is the loss of the father figure. The Hero then journey on its own, looking for freedom, identity, knowledge, maturity, before getting back home (and the Empress and Emperor are rejoined with the Hero in the Judgment card).
Every deck shapes the cards in its own way. As we "shape" the deck when we use it.

an off-topic ric

p.s.
yes: book
160 pages

Ooh I am very excited about this!!! Especially the Medieval and the Botticelli sound very interesting .

Thanks a lot for sharing, Riccardo!

Spoon

RiccardoLS said:

What I want to say is that we rarely - almost never - can find the RIGHT way to do something. Any project express in a direction that we control only in a certain way... and that i's unique of that single creative process, unity of elements.
There had been thousand possible elven decks that we could been creating... and yet only one came to life. To answer certain questions, to resonate with certain tastes.

Said so... I really understand how people like and dislike decks. It's the reason there are so many decks. And also, I realize we need to be especially critic on the things we love most.

It would be really a pleasure for me, it it would be possible, to have the AT community look at a deck creation process.
And for every choice we make, there is something that's gained and something that's lost.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for this reply! It has actually clarified things for me, and brightened my interest. I'm sure there will be many who really love this deck, and it certainly seems very fresh and original. I have made the same point myself so many times that there is a need for so many decks, as we all have different tastes and ways of thinking. I don't expect everyone to like mine, either! (But it'd be nice )

Blessings,

Em

OH.

Is this the Elven where some images have been posted on Comparative ? I still want the pdf, and thanks, Ric, you have PM - but that would mean I had already seen some....
The High Priestess caused something of a stir - that one ?

Of Elves, Computers, and Fiction

Sidhe-Ra said:

I met Mark at the London Tarot conference, and thought he was fab, so I hope he doesn't take this the wrong way!

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Hello! The London Tarot conference still has me glowing. I'm so happy we had a chance to meet. And by the way: I'm delighted you feel comfortable expressing your honest opinions about this deck with me and with the group.

Sidhe-Ra said:

The Elven tarot is far too artificial feeling to me personally, and I have a very strong elven connection ... I suspect it is for those for whom elves are purely fantasy and not an otherworldly reality.(i.e great for some, but not for me!)

Click to expand...

I'll be very interested in seeing what you think of the deck after seeing the final cards -- things look very different in print vs. onscreen! There's a companion novel, too, which I think may clarify many questions about the nature of the elves in the story.

Sidhe-Ra said:

I also still have concerns about the high priestess card showing her bleeding on the floor-(one of the images I saw in mark's earlier preview)- not a great sign of feminine independence and power!

Click to expand...

Ah, the Priestess card.

It's a shocker, I admit. Again, I'll be eager to see what you and others think after the card can be seen in the context of the story. For now, I'll say only this:

1) Sometimes, only the loss of a symbol moves us to fully understand how dear and powerful and precious it has been to us.

2) The Priestess is also associated with mystery and secrecy -- and Alberich's painful discovery of the Queen Priestess' murder propels us into a mystery with a conclusion that can only be solved by the intuition and reflection the Priestess represents.

Sorry to be so vague for now! The novel's in revision, and I don't want to give too much away. Once Riccardo and his team approve the final draft (in early 2007), perhaps we could post the first two or three chapters here on AT as a preview?

I'm exicted!

RiccardoLS said:

It would be really a pleasure for me, it it would be possible, to have the AT community look at a deck creation process.
And for every choice we make, there is something that's gained and something that's lost.

For us the CG is itself an experiment. Can people relate to that kind of art? Can the added depth of textures and realistic images, lights and atmosphere, make up for that artificiality one can feel in posture and human expression? I still don't know.
(and I sort of like the question).

Anyway, still my personal opinion, even as an insider I like the deck.
I like the story Mark weaved into the images. I like the structure. And I like the feeling... the solarity/purity the cards express.

p.s.
yes: book
160 pages

Click to expand...

Riccardo thank you so much for sharing. I would love to have the experience of seeing behind the scenes the process of creation of an LS tarot deck.

I am very much looking forward to this deck, and am very pleased to hear that it has a companion book. I think the CG experiment will be very interesting. It will certainly be a unique deck within my collection. And I agree that the question needs to be asked. CG has become so poplular in movies and animation movies, that it needs to be tried. I am really looking forward to giving it a try!

Will it be sold as a kit?