Hand Made Tarot Decks

[Carlito]

 I wanted to post a picture as an exemplar, but I guess I'm limited to text, but that will work as well. If any of you have never had the opportunity to hand draw a Tarot set, I would highly recommend the project for two main reasons: 

1- the sheer magic of hand drawing the arcanes is phenominal.

2- you quickly realize that store bought Tarot sets have countless printing and symbol errors.

A lot of the commercial Tarot sets, when looked at with scrutiny, fall short in quality control and that is disappointing. Has anyone on this forum had this experience?

[Laura Borealis]

I have started a few times. It would be more accurate to say I have planned several decks and drawn sketches and a few cards. I don't think any have survived though. It's definitely something I'd like to do, but my perfectionism, adhd and executive dysfunction have gotten in the way. 

 

What kind of printing and symbol errors? I've got a RWS bootleg with an actual mislabeled Knight but maybe you mean something else. 

[Carlito]

So the problem with the Waite decks is that they are highly inaccurate in color and in the art, compared to the different series that were originally released starting in 1909. If you get a reliable facsimile from that era, you see that the colors and line work are completely off from the originals by the glorious Mrs. White. I wish I could post exemplars but we can't, but if you look carefully yourself, you will see them. Another problem is that when the U.S Games Systems took control of that deck and popularized them way back when, again, things were changed. Lo Scarabeo also sells a replica Waite set from 1909 and it's not even close. I believe that that mass marketing and the implementation of AI to simplify their production, has done a bit of damage. So when you decide, for example, to hand draw your own set and refer to an original exemplar, you start to see the difference immediately when you compare it to a mass produced set, and that alone makes the project a magical experience. You should try again. You won't regret it, and there is nothing more beautiful than a deck produced by its owner.

[Laura Borealis]

The glorious Mrs. White? 

 

Small differences in line work and color in early Rider decks are artifacts of the printing processes back then, I believe.

 

Agreed on the harm AI has done. It's the first thing I look for now when I see a new deck. All too often they have that uncanny valley effect.

Edited June 9 by Laura Borealis

[Carlito]

I meant Mrs. Smith. Apologies. 

Yes, and besides the coloring, AI mistakes that are horrendous.

 

Example: I learned to read the arcanes from my mother and she used the Marseille exclusively, so I also love the Marseille as well, naturally. There is a very popular and respected Marseille deck called the CBD Tarot Marseille by Dr. Yoav Ben-Dov, may he rest in peace. Unfortunately, the quality control for the deck was disastrous, but very few people even realized the mistakes because their eyes glaze over the cards because they look familiar. Even the cover art on the box sold on Amazon clearly displays an AI anamoly on The World card displayed. Look at the right hand of the lady gracing the center and you will see why I hand draw all my decks that I read with.

 

[Laura Borealis]

14 minutes ago, Carlito said:

I meant Mrs. Smith. Apologies. 

 

Oh okay! I thought it might be another Golden Dawn member. I don't know GD history very well.

 

That hand is weird, and you're right that I never noticed it. Marseille style decks are full of little oddities, though. I enjoy the quirky errors in the drawings; it speaks to the history of the decks, the artwork copied over by new, perhaps unskilled hands when they had to replace the printing blocks. I just think it's neat. But that style is not everyone's taste for sure. 

 

 

[Carlito]

Yes, I love them also on the old decks, but the new decks are altogether something different.

My mother was Spanish g*psy and always talked about what was to come about with industrialization and modernization. She would say that eventually you wouldn't even need a human to read the arcanes because humans would find a lazy way to have them read. She even said that the Tarot decks would eventually come with a stick of gum inside like baseball trading cards.

 

She was close. 

[katrinka]

1 hour ago, Carlito said:

There is a very popular and respected Marseille deck called the CBD Tarot Marseille by Dr. Yoav Ben-Dov, may he rest in peace. Unfortunately, the quality control for the deck was disastrous, but very few people even realized the mistakes because their eyes glaze over the cards because they look familiar.

TdMs are normally a little rough, I'm not picky about them. But that said, Ben-Dov's deck never appealed to me. He put little smiles on all the people, they should have neutral expressions. His deck reminds me of those poverty wage jobs where they want you to fake smile at everybody. No thanks.

That hand IS messed up, lol. And it looks like an AI hand. But the thing is, that deck came out pre-AI. So I don't know why it's like that.

[Carlito]

There are others that are just this bad in the same deck. It's a shame because he was brilliant in his studies about the Marseille. One day, I would love to see a site showing nothing but hand drawn Tarot decks. Iv'e seen a few in the Spanish communities that would leave people speechless.

[katrinka]

Slightly OT, but if you know anybody who's putting their art online, send them this link.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/27/new-tool-lets-artists-poison-their-artwork-to-deter-ai-companies.html

 

[DanielJUK]

I've moved this thread to the Tarot Decks section where it fits better 😉 

@Carlito you needed to get to 5 posts, but you now can add images and links to post, please nothing that promotes yourself.

 

There is a section of the forum where members share their hand made decks and creation journeys, some painted or drawn, others drawn / edited digitally. One section is public, the other is private and off the public internet......

https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/forum/166-deck-creators-lounge/

[Carlito]

Ok, and thank you. Apologies if I posted in the incorrect section. I'm new and still finding my way around. Again, thank you for the assist.

Carlito