If you’ve read my blog post about all the different pieces of work an indie deck creator does, you’ll know that one key task was to find and work with an artist who would be just right to bring my deck vision and descriptions to life. Read on to find out how the art creation process has worked for the Chakra Healing Tarot!
Last January, I met the wonderful E.C. Mazur (back when we could all meet in person) and began our work together.
Before I even looked for an artist
Before I even began looking for the right artist, I spent several months doing the visioning, research, and development for the Chakra Healing Tarot.
The ideas, values and research began to integrate over time, and I developed the kingdoms and concepts of the Chakra Healing Tarot. I was then ready to write all the descriptions for the whole deck (which is 78 cards!).
By that point, I knew the look and feel I wanted for the art. I could see the images in my mind’s eye, but I just don’t have that level of artistic ability myself. I discovered E.C. Mazur, and very quickly knew that Ella was the right artist for this work.
From written description to beautiful Tarot card
E.C. Mazur is the incredibly talented artist who is translating my vision and written descriptions for the Chakra Healing Tarot into gorgeous art.
Here is how we work together, in a nutshell:
- When we first began to work together, I sent Ella my written descriptions.
- For each kingdom (Major arcana, and each of the Minor arcana including Wands, Chalices, Swords, and Pentacles), Ella would create options for me of different concepts of clothing and implements (like headpieces, wands, chalices, swords, and pentacles).
- For each card, Ella would develop two or three concepts based on my written description, and send them to me for my reaction.
- I would provide feedback to Ella – this could look like, “I love Concept 2!“, or, “I like the angle of the background in Concept 1 and the position of the figure in Concept 3 – can you combine those?“.
- Ella would then use pen and ink to create a draft outline of the card, and would send to me to review.
- Because the outline is more detailed than the concept, at this point I could see if the outline was aligned with the vision in my head (and the written description) for the card.
- Sometimes, a draft would need some tweaks, but most of the time, the draft would be perfect. Then it would be ready for Ella to scan so she could colour it digitally!
If you’re signed up for the newsletter, you’ll know that I’ve shared lots of timelapse videos that show the colouring process, from the flat colour to the dimension, and the glowy goodness that shows up in every single card!
This is a simplification of the process, of course, just to give you an idea of how we worked together.
I am so grateful for Ella’s incredible skills and professional and responsive approach. And I’m just so grateful to have met such a wonderful, insightful and thoughtful human being.
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And you can find lots more Tarot-related content over here.