Man, let me tell you, I never thought I’d be sitting here telling you folks about designing my own tarot cards. It just seemed like one of those things, you know? Like, way out of my league, something only “real artists” or big companies did. But then, one lazy afternoon, just scrolling through stuff online, an idea kind of sparked in my head. I’ve always been into tarot, not in a super serious, fortune-telling way, but more for reflection, a little bit of fun, and just appreciating the artwork. And then I stumbled onto some people talking about “print on demand” for all sorts of custom stuff.
That got me thinking. What if I could actually make a deck that really spoke to me? Not just a design here or there, but a whole damn deck. The thought was pretty exciting, but also, honestly, a bit intimidating. I mean, seventy-eight cards! That’s a lot of pictures to come up with. My mind was just racing with possibilities. Could I really do it? Would it even look good? Would anyone else even care?
First thing I did, I grabbed a big old stack of index cards and just started jotting down every single tarot card name, from The Fool all the way to The World. Then I just stared at them. What does each card mean to me? What imagery pops into my head? I didn’t want to just copy what was already out there; I wanted to put my own spin on it. So for each card, I’d write down a few keywords, maybe a rough stick figure sketch, something to capture the essence. It was messy, total chaos on my desk, but it felt right. It felt like I was actually doing something.
Next up, getting those rough ideas into something visual. Now, I’m not some fancy artist. I can draw, sure, but I’m no Michelangelo. So I thought, how can I make this look decent without needing a fine art degree? I decided to keep it simple, almost minimalistic. I picked up some basic drawing pens, nothing expensive, just a few different line weights. And I just started sketching. Card by card, day after day. Some days I’d bang out three or four cards, other days I’d just stare at one for an hour, totally stuck. I’d try different angles, different symbols, erasing and redrawing until it felt somewhat right. It was a slow grind, not gonna lie.
Once I had the basic sketches done on paper, I knew I couldn’t just scan them in and call it a day. They needed to look clean. So I used a simple free drawing program on my computer. I’d take a picture of each sketch with my phone, import it, and then basically trace over my own lines, making them sharp and clear. This part was tedious, but also kind of meditative. I’d put on some music, zone out, and just redraw lines. I ended up settling on a pretty clean, line-art style with minimal shading, mostly because it was what I felt confident I could execute seventy-eight times without wanting to pull my hair out.
Then came the real nitty-gritty: getting them ready for print. I looked into a few print-on-demand services that specialized in custom playing cards or tarot decks. It’s pretty wild what you can get printed these days! I went with one that seemed straightforward. They had templates, which was a lifesaver. I just had to upload each card design, make sure the sizing was perfect, and check for any bleed issues – you know, where the artwork goes right to the edge so there are no white lines. It took a few tries to get everything lined up just right. I had to resize some images, tweak others. It wasn’t rocket science, but it definitely took patience.
After uploading all seventy-eight designs for the major and minor arcana, plus a back design for the cards and a tuck box design, I pressed “order sample.” Man, that was a nerve-wracking click! I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Would they look cheap? Would my drawings look silly in real life? The waiting period felt like forever. Every day I checked the tracking info.
When the package finally arrived, I tore it open like a kid on Christmas. And there they were. My very own tarot cards! Holding them in my hands, shuffling them… it was just an incredible feeling. They weren’t perfect, of course. I noticed a couple of lines that could have been smoother, maybe a color tone that was a bit off on the box. But overall, they were mine. And they looked good! Good enough to actually show people, to maybe even share with others.
And that’s the whole journey, from a random thought to actually holding a physical deck. It just goes to show, you don’t need to be a big shot or have a crazy budget. Sometimes, all you need is an idea, a willingness to get your hands a little dirty, and a whole lot of patience. It’s super easy to get started with the tools we have today, and totally worth it, even if it’s just for yourself.
