So, I got this itch recently. I’ve always kinda liked tarot cards, but most decks you find look… well, samey. Or just not my style. I wanted something different, something cool. You know, cards that felt a bit more like me.
Getting Started
First thing, I just started thinking about what ‘cool’ even means for tarot. For me, it wasn’t about super fancy art, but more about a vibe. Maybe a bit modern, maybe a little edgy? I dunno. I spent a good chunk of time just looking at different art styles online, not really tarot stuff, just general art, posters, game designs, that kind of thing. Just trying to get some ideas flowing.
I decided I didn’t want to stick too rigidly to the old-school symbols. Keep the main idea of each card, sure, but give it my own spin. I grabbed a notebook and started scribbling down keywords and really rough sketches for some of the Major Arcana cards. Like, what does The Fool look like in my head? What about Strength? Most of these early drawings were terrible, just little stick figures and shapes, but it helped get the ball rolling.
Making the Things
Okay, so rough ideas down. Time to actually make them look like something. I decided to go digital for this. Easier to experiment and undo mistakes, right? Fired up my computer and opened up some graphics software I use sometimes. Nothing fancy, just something that lets me draw and mess with layers.
This part took ages. Seriously. I started trying to draw the figures, backgrounds, symbols. Getting the look right was tough. Some days I’d spend hours on one card and then just scrap the whole thing because it felt wrong. I remember struggling with The Tower card for ages. How do you make destruction look ‘cool’ without being, you know, too grim?
I messed around with different color schemes. Tried a really dark, moody look first, then went brighter. Played with line thickness. Should they have borders? What kind? It was a lot of trial and error. I found myself going back to my notes, thinking about the core meaning, then trying to translate that visually.
Here’s kinda what I ended up doing for each card:
- Figure out the main character or symbol.
- Sketch it out digitally.
- Pick some base colors.
- Add details and shading (or keep it flat, depending on the card).
- Make sure it fit the overall style I was going for.
- Repeat 77 times… ugh.
Getting the whole deck to feel like it belonged together was another challenge. Had to keep looking back at the cards I’d already ‘finished’ to make sure the new ones didn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
Once I had all the designs roughed out, I spent more time refining them. Cleaning up lines, adjusting colors one last time, adding the card names in a simple font I liked. Nothing too fancy, just clear labels.
Finally, I had a full set of digital files. Looked pretty neat on screen. I decided I wanted a physical deck, so I looked into printing options. Didn’t go for anything super professional, just found a service that could print them on decent card stock. Sent off the files.
Waiting for them to arrive was nerve-wracking. What if they looked bad in print? But when the package came, opening it up was pretty satisfying. Holding my own custom tarot deck felt really good. They’re not perfect, couple of things I’d change now, but they’re mine. And yeah, I think they look pretty cool.
