cards info
what follows is a short recap of how a 78 cards tarot deck featuring my Original Character Liar came to be. if you are looking for Liar’s meaning of each card, use the search box (it’s at the bottom of the page on mobile) or jump to the pages for major arcana and minor arcana for a list of all the cards
this took me more than two years of work. I worked on it in intervals of as little as 15 minutes each, carving out time out of each busy day to continue a small drawing, write something for the booklet, slowly advance with the box art and other illustrations, adjusting the booklet for print, checking files, etc. I tried to do it every day, sometimes keeping streaks of hundreds of days, but sometimes life happens and I had to skip some
it would’ve probably required me just a month of work if I could focus on this full time. but I was never going to have a full month just for this. so I chipped at it slowly, sometimes not seeing measurable progress for months. it was challenging, I’m one of those “I want everything and I want it now” kind of persons
as I write this it’s not even over yet, I still have to order one final proof copy and set up all the pre-order stuff. but it’s getting closer
if you managed to get a copy, thank you. it means a lot to me. send me a pic of you using the cards, if you can. I’d love to see this out there
have a good one,
@unapologetic.af
in 2023 I started challenging myself to draw everyday - for myself. I had lost the habit because I was doing art commissions for a living, and at the end of the day I had no energy left for personal stuff. it had been at least two years since I had given attention to my personal projects. so I put half an hour “slots” at the BEGINNING of each day to advance at least a little on my own creative stuff. this was the start of what became my creative diary
anyways, as I was drawing every day, I thought back at my Original Character Liar. he is a titular fool, and just for fun one day I tried designing THE FOOL tarot card
day after day, I tackled each card in the major arcana series using the same design
feeling inspired, I ended up tackling the whole tarot deck and designed all the minor arcana as well, complete with suit of wands, suit of cups, suit of swords, and suit of pentacles
I even designed a fake deck box and card back
at this stage, the whole thing was just a collection of drawings on my tablet. I didn’t plan to make them into a proper deck, and hard-designed them as drawings of cards, with the cards being rotated, distorted by perspective, bent, etc.
when I finally decided to make them into a deck, I had to create a real card template, and straighten out all the illustration I had made this far. half an hour a day, it took me weeks
here I also finalized the card back
with all the cards finally ready, I used a print on demand service to test the print quality. they turned out great, so I went all-in and also created:
- a physical booklet with Liar’s story, and lore and explanation for each card in the deck
- and a proper deck box now that I had the printer’s specs
by now, it was late 2025. I ordered a second proof copy with all the bells and whistles, which arrived in January of 2026
I’m currently preparing for - potentially - a crowdfunding campaign. I’m writing all the copy and preparing all the assets for Kickstarter, although I’m not sure it’ll go this way. talking with my accountant, taxes could be way too high for me to justify crowdfunding, and it might end with me ordering it on demand for friends and other interested people. we’ll see