Improvement? Or Destruction?

Orange-Eyed Raven

Deck Decoration? Or Deck Destruction?

First of all, Thank You Moonbow* for your assistance in placing this thread in a better location. :angel:

I recently acquired Joseph Vargo's Gothic Tarot, and when I first looked at the deck, something seemed to really bother me: the fact that the raw edges of the cards were white, while the predominant color on the front & back of the cards is black. The white, to me, seemed to stand out, and not in a good way.

So, :lightbulb inspiration struck me, and I got a black marker (I'm an illustrator so we're NOT talking 'Sharpie' or 'Marks-A-Lot' hee hee) and I carefully colored the edge of each card, one by one, until the [highlight]ENTIRE[/highlight] deck was done. This process took about 1 hour to do. And yes, I did also color the Title card and the card advertising Madame Endora's Fortune Cards (subsequently, I also colored my deck of Fortune Cards when I saw the results). I was absolutely [highlight]THRILLED[/highlight] with the results!! It sounds crazy, but it kind of seems that the cards were waiting for this. It seemed to add a touch of elegance, class, and "loftiness". The colors on both the front and back of the cards (especially the [highlight]Reds[/highlight]) really stand out now. When I hold the entire deck, the Edges now look like black silk or smooth black metal. Funny how just a 0.5mm strip of color changes the entire look and feel of a Tarot deck!!

So the question I want to pose is this: what do you guys think about coloring and/or modifying existing decks like this? I mean sure, theres the B.O.T.A. Tarot, where the deck is intended to be colored by the user, but I'd like to know people's opinions about what I did, and perhaps learn about changes/modifications that other people have done.

Thanks for reading, and looking forward to reading your replies! :)

~Victor~
 

Cerulean

Yes, I work with the decks that I like until they suit me

I enjoy 'deck decoration' threads...kind of like personalizing your books or journals.

...I've cut borders of my study decks, added removeable stickers or made stickers for some of my art decks, I've touched up corners of eyes or misprints and filed nits off of edges...the decks that I do this to aren't going to be traded or sold, they just work better for me.

One deck that I finally found in it's original printed version has subtle differences: lighter tint and shade to the picture, perhaps by one or two brightness counts; smooth gilding to the edges; matte smooth stock; paper booklet; wooden box. Nothing large, but all the differences in the world to me. Have I decorated or shuffled Las Vegas style with this? Nope. Do I use it and like it better for the differences? Yes!

I've accepted that I fuss with decks that I care about. Whether it's an improvement or not to anyone else doesn't really matter. What matters in my small thoughts--will I be able to use this deck better now, be less distracted if something bothers me? Usually the answer is yes.
 

SunChariot

Personally, I am not a good enough artist to try it. LOL I would likely mess them up. But at the same time, it sounds like a great idea. They are your personal tools and they ought to look as you want them too. I think knowing that they are one of a kind now, has to make them even more special for you.

One thing I loved that I did, my Faeries' Oracle deck come with a blank card that you are meant to decorate yourself. This card represents you, the reader. I'll bet as an illustrator, that would be fun for you.

I had a blast with mine, I scanned in a picture of me as child, the backyard of our country place, found some nice images in the Net, combined it all in a photo imaging programme I had and printed it on photo paper and glued it onto the card back. First card in a deck that ever had a picture of me on it. LOL So in the end I am with you, creativity is great and a deck that has your personal touch on it has got to be extra special to you.

Bar
 

Alta

I think this is an excellent idea, and as soon as you described it I could see your point. I have less confidence that you, not being an illustrator. But, in case I ever get the nerve up, what kind of ink or tool did you use to do it?
 

Orange-Eyed Raven

There is a brand of art marker called Tria, so named from the fact that one end has a broad tip (which is the side I used for coloring the deck), and the other end has a fine tip which serves as kind of a "cap" which can be removed to reveal a medium tip. I just started slowly, card in one hand, marker in the other, just carefully leading the marker around the perimeter of the card. I would suggest not using a super-slow pace to color the cards, because I can picture the ink bleeding too far into the card (these markers are rather 'juicy' ha ha ha). I didn't start with the Tarot cards themselves; I used the Title card and the card advertising Madame Endora's Fortune Cards as my "guinea pig" cards in case anything went horribly wrong. Luckily, all went well. ;-)

Good luck and let me know how it works out for you!
~Victor~

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, I cannot compare "pre-coloring" readings to "post-coloring" ones, as I colored them the same day I got them.
 

Dee Enne

I altered my deck too

I altered my Oracle Tarot Cards. First off, i love the bright and vivid colors of this deck and I love that the fact that the entire deck is made up of different illustrations of women, but the majority of the women on the deck were colored with red or blonde hair. Feeling a little excluded (i have black hair an an olive complexion), I grabbed a fine tipped black and also a dark brown marker and I carefully darkened the hair of some of the women on the cards. I love the way it turned out and Im glad I did it.
 

Orange-Eyed Raven

Dee Enne said:
I grabbed a fine tipped black and also a dark brown marker and I carefully darkened the hair of some of the women on the cards. I love the way it turned out and Im glad I did it.

Hee hee!! I LOVE that you did that! There are some of us who are NOT blonde with blue eyes! ;)
 

Disa

I was also bothered by the white edges of the cards and after reading your post I decided to try to color them black with a marker. I agree, they do look much more unified. About the time I got to the High Priest I thought, hmm wonder how RED edges would look? I guess I'll have to wait for another deck to see about the red edges, as I can't stop now ;) . But I do love the edges being black. Thanks for suggesting it.
 

ziplizard

Can I just tell you THANK YOU! I always thought my Madame Endora's Fortune Cards just looked cheap so I didn't really take the time to pin down the reason. I just colored one card and it was amazing. I could see the card getting better with each stroke. Oh, and these were the first cards I ever actually altered, so it's a big step for me.
 

Disa

Half way through doing the Gilded as well, (Sorry- Ciro). They look great.