detail or color?

[temperlyne]

Hello,
I'm new here but you seem like the right people to ask for help with my problem.
I'm planning on designing my own tarot deck and actually have all 78 scenes in my mind. I'm going to make my own imprission of my favourite (mostly) victorian art.
But I seem to have a choice... I can either draw it, with not much color but in much detail.
Or I can paint, but then the detail would make place for vibrant color.
And making 2 decks seems like a 2 lifetimes worth of work...

So my question is: What do you prefer, color or detail?

[Maan]

hello Temperlyne...welcome here:) Yet an other duchie Yeah ;)

Anyway i would go for detail...but thats just my opinion. I guess the question is what do you prefer in a deck?

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Major Tom]

Originally posted by temperlyne
Hello,
I can either draw it, with not much color but in much detail.
Or I can paint, but then the detail would make place for vibrant color.
And making 2 decks seems like a 2 lifetimes worth of work...

So my question is: What do you prefer, color or detail?

Hello and welcome Temperlyne. :)

I just have to ask: Why can't you combine drawing and painting? Many have. :)

Just trying to think of all your options...

[temperlyne]

Thanks for the input! The problem is that my drawing style is very different from my painting style.. I hope I am making some sense here... But I draw very sketch-like with no straight lines or confined spaces and I find it very had to ad color and paint without ruining the original. Were as when I start painting right away the result is more straight to the heart with no place for fine detail.

I will give you the only example I have online on my paintwork...I'm a fraid it is my closetdoor, but it might give a sense of my style...

http://169779692.home.icq.com/kunst.html


thanks again for the help!

[blue_fusion]

why not try drawing it, then coloring it digitally? tht way, you can still color it in great detail. just a suggestion, though. :)

[temperlyne]

It would be a great suggestion.... But I don't know anything about digitally doing anything... All I know is how to hold a pencil and how to dream. Maybe I should just team up with a computer expert?

[Liliana]

well i think black and white is fine for victorian art :) So Id go for detail, but if you wanted color ever try working with colored pencils? There are some lovely decks done in colored pencil.

:THP

[blue_fusion]

Originally posted by temperlyne
It would be a great suggestion.... But I don't know anything about digitally doing anything... All I know is how to hold a pencil and how to dream. Maybe I should just team up with a computer expert?

good idea. i think there are a lot of people here who can help you in coloring your images! :)

[WillieHewes]

Hm, difficult question. For the way you describe your drawing style it would be pretty hard to add colour, even digitally. It depends on the skill of the colourer though.

It really all depends on your own preferences, what you think looks better or just what you like doing better. I'd go for colour, I think, but I don't know. I can't really help you without seeing what I'm choosing between. (The link to your painting didn't work, btw.)

I would suggest you try one card, or two in both media, so a painted version and a pencilled version. That way you can perhaps see more clearly which method fits your ideas best.

Willie

[temperlyne]

Thanks! I thought of that to, but at first I was afraid it might be too much work, but now I've started I realise that I need to make several drafts anyway. I could never be satisfied with a painting unless I tried several versions of the scenes. I'm working on the painted version of the High priestess now and will put it up here to have you guys give your opinions as soon as Im done.

[kayne]

Great that you are on your way then!
WillieHewes: That's what I was going to suggest! It is such a huge job, you want to be really happy and really enjoy the technique you are using to sustain the whole thing... :D I would say, go for the one you enjoy most!!!

[temperlyne]

I would have to admit that drawing comes more natural to me and that the job would be finished much sooner that way.. But If I think about what attracts me in a tarot deck, I would have to admit that color plays a big part. So I'm going to draw the drafts, scan and safe them, and then paint over the draft to see what effect that might give.
Thanks again for the advise. I guess I'm just insecure because I've never done anything like it, I haven't used my creative skills for years and I really really want it to be perfect.

[rota]

Best of luck in the continuing work on your deck! I wish you well.

________


I personally think you're worrying too much about its finished appearance though!! It strikes me that you're getting all tense and anxious about what it'll be like when it's complete, even before you begin, and I think I know from experience what that attitude will get you: dissatisfaction. Anything less or anything different than the perfection you envisioned will be painful to you, I'd guess.
Here's my suggestion: keep a special sketchbook for your Tarot ideas. In it, place whatever helps you toward that cherished goal of the finished deck: your drawings of course, plus whatever notes to yourself you want to include, maybe some collage or paint colors. You never know when the angels of Tarot inspiration will whisper quietly behind your ear, hoping you will hear and understand, and if you're ready with your book to 'take dictation', as it were, you can retain the ideas for the times when you're ready to sit and work them into physical form.

[Demonesse]

I'd say detail! Lots and lots of it. I find that one of the things I love most when viewing a tarot deck is discovering the depth of the drawings. Perhaps you could use the technique of the Avalon Tarot - plenty of line detail but also coloured (fill in digitally/non-paint technique like coloured pencils which makes it easier to create tone and colour variation & is much easier to control than a brush).