The Work-In-Progress Thread

[Rose Lalonde]

7 minutes ago, geoxena said:

I have a question for everybody.  What birds would you consider to be associated with the Earth element?

 

I have some ideas and my own sense of "earthy birds," and also did some googling on it, but would love to hear from you folks, too.  I know birds are often considered Messengers who occupy both Earth and Air, and of course waterfowl are also associated with Water, but I'm not necessarily wanting to depict a bird as a messenger or go-between.  There will be a few animals in my Nurturer of Earth card and I want a bird to interact a bit with the Nurturer. Not exactly at her side, but in close proximity.  I'm just not sure which kind of bird it should be.

 

All ideas welcome - thanks!

Kiwi birds. 🙂They don't fly; they don't even have hollow bones like most birds; they have bone marrow like mammals. They prefer to live in forests. They have long beaks so they can dig out worms and grubs underground. They lay their eggs in a burrow they dig out in the ground or at the base of a tree. (They're nocturnal, so I have hardly ever seen them outside of our zoos even though they're our unofficial national symbol.)

[Jewel]

32 minutes ago, geoxena said:

I have a question for everybody.  What birds would you consider to be associated with the Earth element?

 

I have some ideas and my own sense of "earthy birds," and also did some googling on it, but would love to hear from you folks, too.  I know birds are often considered Messengers who occupy both Earth and Air, and of course waterfowl are also associated with Water, but I'm not necessarily wanting to depict a bird as a messenger or go-between.  There will be a few animals in my Nurturer of Earth card and I want a bird to interact a bit with the Nurturer. Not exactly at her side, but in close proximity.  I'm just not sure which kind of bird it should be.

 

All ideas welcome - thanks!

Humingbirds!  like bees they do help with pollination 

[Morsoth]

40 minutes ago, geoxena said:

I have a question for everybody.  What birds would you consider to be associated with the Earth element?

 

I have some ideas and my own sense of "earthy birds," and also did some googling on it, but would love to hear from you folks, too.  I know birds are often considered Messengers who occupy both Earth and Air, and of course waterfowl are also associated with Water, but I'm not necessarily wanting to depict a bird as a messenger or go-between.  There will be a few animals in my Nurturer of Earth card and I want a bird to interact a bit with the Nurturer. Not exactly at her side, but in close proximity.  I'm just not sure which kind of bird it should be.

 

All ideas welcome - thanks!

@Rose Lalonde was quicker than me, but yeah, any bird that don't fly would be "earthy". Kiwis are cute!!!

[ShadowMoon]

1 hour ago, geoxena said:

I have a question for everybody.  What birds would you consider to be associated with the Earth element?

 

I have some ideas and my own sense of "earthy birds," and also did some googling on it, but would love to hear from you folks, too.  I know birds are often considered Messengers who occupy both Earth and Air, and of course waterfowl are also associated with Water, but I'm not necessarily wanting to depict a bird as a messenger or go-between.  There will be a few animals in my Nurturer of Earth card and I want a bird to interact a bit with the Nurturer. Not exactly at her side, but in close proximity.  I'm just not sure which kind of bird it should be.

 

All ideas welcome - thanks!

Kiwi

Ostrich 

Emu

Elephant Bird 

[Starlight]

4 hours ago, geoxena said:

What birds would you consider to be associated with the Earth element?

My first thought was the flightless birds? Emus, ostriches, cassowaries...

 

There's a link to different species here: https://www.thespruce.com/why-some-birds-dont-fly-385428

[geoxena]

I appreciate all the suggestions!  But, I should've stated that the bird I include in my drawing will be depicted flying.  So, flightless birds won't work. 

 

I was thinking eagle, crow, raven, grackle, owl, swan, crane, and some shore birds.  I know that some of those do appear in decks for mostly the Air element.  I also found some references to bluebirds and wrens as connected to Earth element in tarot and ancient symbolism.

 

Out of those, which resonates most as "earthy" to you?  Any other flying birds you can think of?

 

Edit: maybe a brown-headed cowbird or woodpecker!  I actually sighted two red-headed woodpeckers cavorting in a tree right near me yesterday.  Hmm!

 

Edited February 4, 2020 by geoxena

[Raggydoll]

3 hours ago, geoxena said:

I appreciate all the suggestions!  But, I should've stated that the bird I include in my drawing will be depicted flying.  So, flightless birds won't work. 

 

I was thinking eagle, crow, raven, grackle, owl, swan, crane, and some shore birds.  I know that some of those do appear in decks for mostly the Air element.  I also found some references to bluebirds and wrens as connected to Earth element in tarot and ancient symbolism.

 

Out of those, which resonates most as "earthy" to you?  Any other flying birds you can think of?

 

Edit: maybe a brown-headed cowbird or woodpecker!  I actually sighted two red-headed woodpeckers cavorting in a tree right near me yesterday.  Hmm!

 

I can definitely see some eagles as earthy. But also any small bird that’s brown-green colored would work too, in my opinion. And considering the context then I think I would go with a smaller bird. But trust your instincts. What matters is what feels earthy to you! 

[gregory]

6 hours ago, geoxena said:

I appreciate all the suggestions!  But, I should've stated that the bird I include in my drawing will be depicted flying.  So, flightless birds won't work. 

 

I was thinking eagle, crow, raven, grackle, owl, swan, crane, and some shore birds.  I know that some of those do appear in decks for mostly the Air element.  I also found some references to bluebirds and wrens as connected to Earth element in tarot and ancient symbolism.

 

Out of those, which resonates most as "earthy" to you?  Any other flying birds you can think of?

 

Edit: maybe a brown-headed cowbird or woodpecker!  I actually sighted two red-headed woodpeckers cavorting in a tree right near me yesterday.  Hmm!

 

Wrens work for me. They are (apparently) he most common English bird - but they are so rarely seen  that you certainly wouldn't know. They run along the ground in our yard and hide in bushes and stone walls. But they DO fly, so...

[Wanderer]

Wrens were my first thought as well - even before being mentioned here! They tend to stay close to the ground, flitting through the undergrowth, and can blend in with earthy shadows so that you'd never know they were there. Until they start singing, of course...

[Raggydoll]

28 minutes ago, Wanderer said:

Wrens were my first thought as well - even before being mentioned here! They tend to stay close to the ground, flitting through the undergrowth, and can blend in with earthy shadows so that you'd never know they were there. Until they start singing, of course...

Yes I think wrens are the perfect bird-representation of earth. 

[gregory]

Oh yes - and the singing is quite amazing.

 

there's an audio here:

 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/wren/

 

AND of course:

 

Quote

The family name Troglodytidae is derived from troglodyte, which means "cave-dweller", and the wrens get their scientific name from the tendency of some species to forage in dark crevices.

How much earthier can you get ? 

Edited February 4, 2020 by gregory

[Raggydoll]

17 minutes ago, gregory said:

Oh yes - and the singing is quite amazing.

 

there's an audio here:

 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/wren/

 

AND of course:

 

How much earthier can you get ? 

Beautiful!! That recording brings back so many memories! My dad had several bird song recordings and he loved to imitate birds to try and see if they would answer him (they often did!). We don't have the pleasure of hearing wrens here though, so that was a lovely treat! 

[Jewel]

Wrens would be cool 😎 if you want to go for earth colors you could use Mallard Ducks 🦆 they have gorgeous green heads and brown bodies 😍

[Arania]

So I figured out how to use Pixabay, but to find what I am looking for proves difficult. I have an alternate concept now, but I am still hoping to find more diversity in images. About impossible to find a male or androgynous black or Asian person in a sitting or standing position,it is even difficult for females as most have way too few clothes, are white or a lot of other things don't work out. So I'll have to compromise and take white female figures, it seems.

 

I have two unfinished concepts different from each other but related. On the first, The Seer is behind the curtain instead out front, looking out at whoever wants to gain knowledge, but is shocked by what peeks in,and by what knowledge is chosen (fire and necromancy) instead of wisdom. This is supposed to represent humanity's tendencies to  act before thinking of consequences. This image would get runes added to the dark dress plus probably a few other symbols.

 

The second version is of The Seer looking into a mirror, seeing a world burning, and a skeleton looking out mimicking her movements, the clock behind her just crossing 12 o'clock, as it is too late for humanity to save civilisation as it is now. The second was my first idea, however, this could as well be a 10 of Air and as that card isn't taken yet, I could rework it as such. The second card, as The Seer, would probably get a few symbols as well and, if I can find it, transparent mist or smoke to curl around her. As 10 of Air, it would get added autumn leaves and/or snowflakes and frost to her hair if I can manage that, and likely also some fog.

[Jewel]

@AraniaI like the first concept better, I suppose it relates more to the way I see the Seer so it is just a personal preference.

 

OK so here is the Explorer of Earth:  I chose to make the Ant redish because the Explorer of Earth is "Fire of Earth" .... plus I thought it was a color that would stand out.  I am real pleased, the concept came out as I envisioned it.  Hope you guys like the card 😊

 

[Raggydoll]

36 minutes ago, Jewel said:

@AraniaI like the first concept better, I suppose it relates more to the way I see the Seer so it is just a personal preference.

 

OK so here is the Explorer of Earth:  I chose to make the Ant redish because the Explorer of Earth is "Fire of Earth" .... plus I thought it was a color that would stand out.  I am real pleased, the concept came out as I envisioned it.  Hope you guys like the card 😊

 

Well done!! Don’t you feel tempted to do a whole deck now? 😊❤️

[Raggydoll]

@Arania I prefer the first concept too!

[Jewel]

5 minutes ago, Raggydoll said:

Well done!! Don’t you feel tempted to do a whole deck now? 😊❤️

Don't even go there girl!  Let me get these scanned and into my digital art magician friend 😆  Honestly I am not sure I could pull it off, 78 cards is overwhelming! And the idea of doing cards with more than one character my be outside of my abilities, not to mention the whole technical aspects 🤣 I do wish we could work on more than 3 cards though , but I do wholeheartedly support the 3 card limit so that more people can participate.  This has been an AWESOME experience!  I found it interesting that I picked 3 court cards as those are the cards that I struggled with the most learning Tarot and for years after! I think I will continue to explore the court cards in this way just for fun and as a deeper study into them.  I really was able to find my voice and my understanding of the courts through drawing them.

[gregory]

2 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

@Arania I prefer the first concept too!

So do I. And you could paint out some of the clothes quite easily.... The second is too YEE HAR LOOK AT ME for my tastes.

[Wanderer]

Love the ant rider, @Jewel! And @Arania, I also prefer the first for the Seer - the second looks like her evil counterpart plotting world destruction from her lair! 😊

 

@gregory... indeed, how could I forget it was Troglodytes? 

Lovely little birds... like many people in the UK, we have a resident wren in our garden.  

[Raggydoll]

33 minutes ago, gregory said:

So do I. And you could paint out some of the clothes quite easily.... The second is too YEE HAR LOOK AT ME for my tastes.

@Arania I also suggest that you double check that the brick and the curtains aren’t too close to the sides so that they look awkward after printing. I can check it for you if you like, you can just PM me the file and I will test it in printerstudios software. 

 

Not sure if you want creative input (ignore this if you don’t) but I thought it might look cool if you could change the color of the curtain to dark blue, like the darkest shade of the water. 

[Jewel]

53 minutes ago, Wanderer said:

Love the ant rider, @Jewel!

Thank you so much! Can't wait to see what you do for your third card! 😜

[geoxena]

10 hours ago, gregory said:

Wrens work for me . . . They run along the ground in our yard and hide in bushes and stone walls.

 

10 hours ago, Wanderer said:

Wrens were my first thought as well - even before being mentioned here! They tend to stay close to the ground . . .

 

9 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

Yes I think wrens are the perfect bird-representation of earth. 

 

8 hours ago, Jewel said:

Wrens would be cool 

A wren it is, then!  We have house wrens in the US where I am, and it is that kind of small bird I first imagined for my drawing but didn't think of wrens until I saw it mentioned in reviews of a tarot deck that is all birds, created by someone who is an expert in augury (divination by looking at flight patterns of birds). To be honest, I always get wrens, sparrows, and chickadees mixed up when I see them, but I just looked at images of wrens and they're so pretty!  Perfect for my card.  I just didn't want anyone to look at the bird and think it doesn't belong on an "Earth card."

 

THANKS, EVERYONE!!!

7 hours ago, Arania said:

I have two unfinished concepts different from each other but related. On the first, The Seer is behind the curtain . . .

 

@Arania, I also prefer your first version for Seer. In fact, I really really like it a lot! The second one is a bit too abstract for me to get that it's the Seer.

If you don't mind some design feedback on the first one, I would suggest that - if possible - you may want to make the Seer figure and her throne a bit larger.  My first thought when I saw it was that she's a little lost among all the objects and within the frame of the card.  When it is actual card size, the details may not be visible - and that is a really cool throne and background!  Do you need the curtains?  They're a little overwhelming.  Maybe something gauzy instead?

 

4 hours ago, Jewel said:

OK so here is the Explorer of Earth: 

Oh, Jewel, it's great!  I love it.

 

[joy]

@Arania I also like the 1st concept better.

 

@Jewel love the Ant Rider! Well done!

[Jewel]

Thank you @geoxenaand @joy 😊  I also got all three drawings scanned and off to my digital magician friend so I am super excited to see what she and I can do to enhance them .... not to mention ensure they fit on a card properly without chopping off something vital since I screwed that up with my first two cards 😆

 

@geoxenaso just checking here .... does the ant creep you out or scare you? or can you look at him without a visceral reaction? 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Jewel