Tarot De Marseille - Tumblr Posts
It is way past 3 AM again, so - be gentle and let me tell you a story.
I have some sort of an art kink for the Tarot cards. I even used to read them for my friends - but at some point I just got scared of either programming myself, or just definitely knowing the future (eh, who knows for sure?..), and threw the deck away (it wasn’t hand-painted or anything, anyway). And - yes, right now I’ve already got AT LEAST two separate sketching processes for two different sets, but that is going to take a lot of time because I’m planning to do all the 78 of each.
I needn’t remind you why all this is happening; I just got enchanted by the way the people involved in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell do their art [see the screenshot with the Tower above]. And - yes, it is the true art of acting, directing, setting the scenes, etc. that makes the whole project THAT fascinating for me. The final episode airs on Sunday, and I fear after that finale my life will feel just as empty as when I had finished the book ten years ago.
And, while I was away for my cabin-in-the-woods vacation, it suddenly struck me: I could make a set based on the show. Every character and every scene there has a story worth telling, and depending on that I could design something different from the canonical, proper Marseilles deck, but still functional. Since I’m in no way a superhero, I decided to stick to the Major Arcana, because 22 is obviously easier done than 78, and started working the minute I got back at my PC…
To be frank, I’m not even sure I can do all 22 of them [though I have ideas for 12 already]. But I try to make every single one of them some sort of a symbolic art piece in the best way I’m capable of. I try to make them look linked, and different, and at the very least making sense with all that using black&white graphics only. Also, that keeps my depression at bay, so… it’s all for a good cause, right?)))
The image with the deck of cards is just an attempt to picture the way the whole deck might look like; I haven’t actually printed any of them yet. But if that happens, I’m going to let you know. And, since there are people who’ve been asking: no, I’m not selling these. Not as a deck. Not as separate prints. They are just not for sale, because it feels wrong to gain money via this particular deck. If there ever comes a moment one of you wants to get any of these images in its actual size, you go and donate to charity, and then let me know [here, or - same ol’ @erebusodora on twitter], and I’m gonna email the file to you, deal? I don’t need payment for art, just make somebody feel better.
Oh, and the last thing I wanted to say… If any of you has the chance to go and hug all the people who inspired this, go and hug them for me. Just because they deserve it.