So, you ever just get a crazy idea stuck in your head and you just gotta run with it? That’s kinda what happened to me a while back. I was just chilling, looking at my old Tarot deck, and suddenly this thought popped up: “Man, I should try making some of these cards myself.” Sounded easy enough in my head, right? Spoiler: it wasn’t, but it was a heck of a ride.
First thing I did was dig out some old art supplies. Hadn’t touched a paintbrush in ages, probably since high school art class, but whatever. Found a dusty box with some watercolors, a couple of pencils, and some half-decent paper. Nothing fancy, just the stuff I had lying around. Didn’t want to go spending a bunch of money if I was just gonna ditch it after one try.
Getting Started: The First Sketch
I picked a card. Figured I’d start with something iconic. The High Priestess. Why? Just felt right. So I opened up my deck to look at it, trying to get a feel for the vibe. Then I just started scribbling. No real plan, just trying to get shapes down. That first sketch looked like a potato wearing a hat, seriously. It was bad. I mean, laughably bad. But I kept at it.
I kinda pushed through that initial cringe. Tried to focus on the elements: the moon, the pillars, that veil. I used a pencil, sketching lightly, erasing a bunch. My eraser got a real workout that day. I kept thinking, “How do they get all those details in there?” It was way tougher than just copying a picture. You had to interpret it, you know?
After a bunch of messing around, I got something that vaguely resembled a person sitting down. Barely. Then came the ink. Oh man, inking. That’s where you really commit. One wrong line and you’re cooked. I went slow, really slow. My hand was shaking like crazy. Ended up with a few wobbly lines, but it was my wobbly lines, so that counted for something.
Adding Color and Dealing with Mistakes
Then the paint came out. Watercolors are tricky, dude. You put too much water, it bleeds everywhere. Not enough, and it’s all streaky. I just kinda started slapping colors on there. Blue for the robe, some yellowish for the moon. It was a total experiment. I definitely made some accidental puddles and had to blot them up with a tissue, hoping it wouldn’t totally ruin everything.
One time, I tried to add a really delicate detail, and my hand slipped, leaving a big blob of dark blue right where it shouldn’t be. My heart just sank. I thought I’d completely trashed the whole thing. But instead of chucking it, I just tried to blend it in, make it look like it was supposed to be there. And you know what? It actually didn’t look half bad. Sometimes mistakes become happy accidents, I guess.
I spent a few evenings just fiddling with that one card. Stepping away, coming back to it with fresh eyes. I’d add a little shadow here, brighten up a spot there. It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot, but when I finally put the brush down, I felt this weird sense of accomplishment. Like, “Holy cow, I actually made something.”
Moving On: Learning and Trying More
After The High Priestess, I got a bit more confident. I moved onto The Fool next. Figured it was a good contrast. This time, I didn’t worry so much about making it ‘right.’ I just started with the feeling of the card: carefree, about to step into the unknown. I drew a little dog, a stick, that tiny white rose. It was a lot more fun, honestly, when I stopped stressing about perfection.
Here’s what I learned doing all this:
- Just start. Seriously, don’t wait for the perfect moment or the perfect supplies. Just grab whatever you’ve got and put something down on paper.
- Embrace the mess. You’re gonna make mistakes. It’s part of it. Some of the coolest things I stumbled upon were when I messed up and had to figure out how to fix it, or just roll with it.
- Don’t overthink it. Tarot cards have tons of symbolism, yeah, but you don’t need to get every single little thing exact. Get the essence, the core feeling. Let your own style come through.
- Look at other art. I spent a lot of time just flipping through my deck, or even looking at different artists’ interpretations online. Not to copy, but just to get ideas, to see how different people handle the same themes.
- Take breaks. If you’re stuck or frustrated, just walk away for a bit. Come back later. You’ll see things differently.
It’s not about being a pro artist. It’s about the process, you know? It’s about taking an idea and turning it into something tangible with your own hands. And trust me, when you hold that card you made yourself, potato-shaped or not, it just feels different. It’s got your energy in it. So if you’re thinking about trying it, just do it. Grab some paper, grab a pen, and just start scribbling. You might just surprise yourself.
