WIP: Sleeping Beauty Lenormand first Card: The Princess

A few weeks ago, I did a blog post on how I wanted to create a Sleeping Beauty Lenormand. Since then, I've made some progress! I stasrted sketching some of the cards, first in my sketch book, then on actual canvas! The canvases I use to paint the cards are 13x18 cm (5,1 x 7 inches) and very thin. I chose this format because you can buy these in stacks of ten, making material costs a lot cheaper than if I used normal canvases.

 

 Step one: after sketching in coal, the background and face are colored in acryllic.

For this project, I decided to go with acryllic paint, which is very versatile and lends itself beautifully when layering colors. 

 

The first few layers of skin tone still let the original sketch show: I used contouring style to give the skin more dimension.

My sketch on canvas was pretty rough and thick, so I had to do many layers of skintone to get the face right. Here, you can see how I layered skin tone with white highlights. 

The background, so that it resembles the movie's bed and curtain, is done in blues, turquoises and greens. I am very satisfied with the misty effect.

I opted for a neutral background which all the other cards will share as well in order to limit the details in each card to a minimum. In Lenormand, being able to grasp a Grand Tableau at first glance is the most important thing to keep in mind when designing a deck (in my opinion, anyway). That's why neutral backgrounds and clear, easy to identify pictures are a must.

Layers of skintone: this is a rough but important step (for me at least), to get more or less realistic skintone on canvas. I added shadows and lines to the highlights and painted the lips darker.

At this point, the card is starting to take shape: my painted pictures often look quite different from the initial sketch, as color and depth adds a lot to any design. But this clarity and peace of mind which the face is portraying surprised me as it formed on the artwork in front of me. As you can see, I did the background first, then the skin, and now the hair. The hair might become blond at some point, but I'm tempted to leave it like this. The contrast is very nice.

Nearly done: The face is made softer, the hair layered again, the crown and choker have a first coat. Only the rose remains.

While a painting takes shape, the ideas and visions often change from the moment the sketch was made. I painted the Princess without color guidance, only the sketch was done while looking at sleeping Aurora. This is what this turned out to be: quite a unique version of the princess asleep. The hair needs some work done, as do the crown and choker. But the skin and background are done. Finally, I have been thinking about replacing the rather tepid rose by a nicer flower, which suits the color scheme more. Perhaps a pink spotted orchid?

What do you think about the first card in my lenormand deck?

Blessings and balance ~

Peachess

Mesquite Tarot: New simply elegant Tarot deck on Kickstarter

Buying new Tarot decks is my vice

I love buying new Tarot decks. Or Lenormand decks. Or historical Gypsy decks. It doesn't matter. I just love getting my hands on new decks. I'm not normally such a shopaholic. I only have this terrible affliction in relation to books (I have more books than I could finish in a year piled up at home), comics (which I have read, at least) and decks. I'm a collector at heart. Always have been, always will be. However, I have been trying to limit myself. I don't want to clog my home up with a million decks that I don't use. So while a lot of decks come into my house, a lot of decks will also leave my house at some point because I don't click with them.

Purchasing decks on Kickstarter is (normally) a terrible idea

I love new decks and new inventions, so I love Kickstarter.com. However, I try to avoid shopping on kickstarter.com for several reasons:

1. The product isn't finished
2. The price tag might not be worth it
3. the product might not be on time
4. the end result might be cringeworthy
5. for tarot decks in production, you might not click with the unfinished cards

I made a new rule for myself back in December 2016 that I would not be purchasing any more decks off Kickstarter. I have a number of decks from there, and I'm still waiting for more than half of them, a year after I bought them. This gap between pricey purchase and actual arrival is just too big.

The decks I got from Kickstarter

-  Hannibal Burning Heart Tarot designed and published in a Kickstarter-only campaign by Ginger Breo. I love this deck and will cherish it forever. I will definetely do a blog post about this deck at some point.

- Circo Tarot by Marisa de la Pena: I have owned this deck for a year or so, but have yet to open the shrink wrap. Right now, it doesn't call to me and I might sell it.

- Ashleigh's Illustrated Tarot  Bought this one on a whim a while ago. It hasn't arrived yet, and the images might be abit too whimsy and childish, but who knows? It wasn't too expensive.

- Ethereal Visions Tarot (hasn't arrived yet and will probably sell it) I kind of liked the idea of this one (as did the other backers, of whom there were a multitude), but it turns out many of the newly released images don't really appeal to me at all. I will have to see once this deck arrives.

- Eros Tarot by UUSI. This beautifully designed and clever Marseille-style deck is one I had to own. It's strictly limited, so I definetely am lucky to have pre-ordered it through the Kickstarter campaign.

- Dark Days Tarot The last deck I got from Kickstarter but curiously, one of the first to arrive. It arrived last week and I haven't had the chance to really work with it yet.

Overall, I am happy I discovered Kickstarter for new and exciting Tarot decks. However, given the fact that the decks are mostly unfinished and the quality of the cards is unknown, it is hard for me to recommend buying Tarot decks through this website, instead of waiting until the decks get published the usual way.

The beautiful Mesquite Tarot

 

Key 0: The Fool Picture credit: Kickstarter

The Mesquite Tarot is drawn by hand by its artist and then colored digitally, using a very soft, pastel color palette. I really like the composition of Key 0: The Fool. A woman (at least, I suppose it's a woman although it technically could be a young man) wearing what appears to be a muslim headdress is heading towards the edge of a cliff while staring intently at the sun above. The symbols presented here (sun, cliff) are classic and a soft reminder of what the card is about. Instead of relying on a ton of unfamiliar symbology that could overwhelm a newer reader or even a client unfamiliar with Tarot, these cards are simple and direct, but without being too simplistic.

 

Key I: The Magician Picture credit: Kickstarter

The concept of the Magician is one that I didn't like too much at first. The drawing looks a lot like a wall painting you'd find in ancient cave. At a second glance, though, the imagery is clear and precise. Although only showing a stickman with raised arms and a bunch of symbols, it does accurately portray the vibe of the Magician without giving him a clear gender and personality, which would detract from his power. The fact that both arms are raised instead of one doesn't bother me, because the legs seem to form a good balance and adds the thought of "As above, so below".

 

Key II: High Priestess

Picture credit: Kickstarter

The High Priestess is perhaps the closest Major to the RWS system among the cards I've seen. I do wish the team had done more to simplify the imagery.

 

 

Key III and IV: Empress and Emperor Picture credit: Kickstarter

Empress and Emperor where the key figures that decided me on buying the deck no matter what. The smybology is witty and brilliant, all the while being true to the character of the cards.

Guidebook page Key V: Hierophant Picture credit: Kickstarter

 
The accompanying guide book is also quite smart: the writing appears to be less esoteric and more down-to-earth, which I love. Also, the diagram in the lower right part seems well-thought out.

Although I dislike buying incomplete Tarot decks on Kickstarter, there is always this compulsion because the decks are limited or super special awesome kickstarter-only releases, making them hard to resist. Even though I wanted to never buy a deck on Kickstarter again (because of the many decks I've regretted buying), I will of course be buying the Mesquite Tarot. Even if only the Empress and Emperor really speak to me, my soul is telling me I definetely need this deck.

Blessings and balance ~

Peachess