No Frills Tarot

[Little Baron]

Before, I was making my own deck - 'The Theatre of the Moon'.

I still want to make a deck that is personal to me, and that I can use alone.

The problem with the 'TotM' was that the pictures were from magazines and therefore, I was kind of messing with copyright laws.

So I thought I might just knock one up out of collaging my own pcitures together.

Nothing fancy. Just black and white collages, manipulated slighty through Photoshop to give them a vaguer look. Then knocked out on coloured card.

In the spirit of Chronatas Minute Deck, I want this to be a quick process, so that I can finish and use. Rather than agonising over every stroke. A real 'no frills tarot' with a basic font and nothing fancy.

Anyone else done this. I have tried one card, which looks basic and that is kind of what I want to achieve.

Since there would be no copyright on my own pictures, I thought I might make two copies [if I follow it through]. One for myself, and one for a competition here, maybe.
LB

 

[cirom]

If your intention is to make a deck for personal use, why are you concerned about copyright. Surely that would be an issue only if you in turn attempted to sell the deck? Or am I missing some point here?

 

[Little Baron]

I was thinking, concerning posting images and stuff, since someone pointed out before that that might not be ok on public forums. I was also posting to a blog. At least this way, I could do what I like. Also, as a critisism, using random models did distance me from it a little bit. This way, it really would be more personal. Generally, I want to do something that is organic. That isn't over-stylised. Something that is quick and to the point and not overworked; so that I have the essence of what a card means to me without overcomplicating things by over-thinking.

Does that make sense?

LB

 

[Aulruna]

Hi LB,

it did something like this when I made a Tarot deck as a Christmas gift for some Tarot friends in 2005.

They weren't even collages, just my original photos and a cartoon filter in PhotoArtist. And printed on those card sets you can get for "homemade" playing cards along with a simple software.

It worked very well; I needed less than a week to do it (so yes, a bit longer than Chronata, as it was Majors only). But I was very happy with the results.

Good luck with your endeavour!

 

[cirom]

Yes it makes complete sense, and I see your concern about posting copyrighted images on a public forum, I hadn't thought of it from that point of view. There is so much grey area regarding copyright, the internet, public domain etc etc. There is also another ingredient, regarding copyright material when its part of new work (i.e. a collage or manipulating of the original). How different is the new work, despite the inclusion of other peoples work or images, can the new piece as a whole be considered original in its own right. How much would one have to modify or manipulate the Mona Lisa before if became inherently something creatively different (albeit still recognizable) Obviously it can be done as there are several decks that incorporate images from other artists. So if you really what to proceed with your Theater of the Moon, it might still be an option.

 

[Little Baron]

Also, aside from copyright, I felt a little uncomfortable using faces of people that had not given me their permission. It felt wrong, somehow. I have been really happy with the pictures I made there, but I think it would have taken me a very long time, as I was obsessing over silly little details. In this 'no frills option', I have made two cards in the space of twenty minutes. Both feel right. Technically, I suppose you could say that they are shit. I wouldn't argue with that. But in terms of how they 'feel' to me, they are just right. I started re-colouring a black and white photo, to begin with. I made the sky a deep pink, my friend's hair whisps of yellow, the sea a baby-blue. Then I notced up the levels and it looked as though a thunder storm had broken out. But then, I realised that I was missing the point, so I pulled away all the colours and concentrated on that 'feeling' I am open to trusting, rather than making it pretty for pretty's sake. So now, I have very simpistic black and white images that have been collaged together. So far, they are photos I have taken of my friends, mixed with pictures of clouds and the sea. Nothing grand. But spiritually, I am getting something from them; thinking about what the tarot court really is for me. I am going to print them on different coloured card. I want them to have that cheap feel that I always liked in the cards that were put in telephone boxes for escorts in the 70s and 80s. Does anyone remember them? They were always black and white images on brightly coloured card.

Thanks for your interesting comments, guys.

LB

 

[Aulruna]

Sounds intriguing, LB, I hope you will share the cards with us.

And the process you describe sounds like what I experienced, it was a state of flow.

I'm quite sure we had no escort cards in Germany in the 70s and 80s (but then I'm a country bum, so it might have been just my home town!) but they sound intriguing, too. Try ebay for references?

 

[AJ]

LB, this sounds like a brilliant idea, you are so talented I'll bet it will be a knock 'em dead deck that even Little Buddha would like Think?

 

[Little Baron]

LB, this sounds like a brilliant idea, you are so talented I'll bet it will be a knock 'em dead deck that even Little Buddha would like Think?

Haha. Thanks AJ. You might change your opinion if you saw just how 'no frills' and basic they are, hehe.

LB

 

[Little Baron]

Here are a couple. As basic as you can get. No frills. As you can see, I am not going to win 'artist of the year' with this one. But as I look at them, I can see myself using them.

But they speak to me in that both are two of my very best friends. The woman is my closest friend in the whole world - has been for 31 years. She is very intelligent and a good communicator. She writes and enjoys to read and learn. She is not all Queen of Swords. She has a good heart and can be sensitive at times, but for this card, I chose her because of her focus and strong views of what she believes to be right and wrong.
The guy is one of my other closest friends. We have been buddies for near on seventeen years and this pictures was taken of him in the first few months of getting to know each other. He is a creative individual. An actor. And he also is a dreamer. In our friendship, we have been on many adventures - physically, on walks, for example. And in our own little bubble, where we would snuggle up together in bed and fantasise about all the places we would like to visit together.

LB