[Thornandrose]

Hey everyone!
my friend and i are going into business. We want to design tarot cards. I just want to know what you look for in a deck. We were going to draw the cards in anime and put a lot of symbolism into them. We were also considering putting a light bondage theme in there somewhere (like with corsets, whips ect) just to be a big different

What do you guys think. What do you look for in a tarot deck, any advice

Thanks so much
Blessed be
Thorn

[temperlyne]

What I look for in a deck is a unique vision, a different perspective of what I though I knew. That and vibrant artwork.

[Ilithiya]

I like the anime bondage idea.

What I want in a deck is art that is clear, not fuzzy or muddied. I also prefer scenic minors, as opposed to pips or semi-illustrated minors. Small borders, unobtrusive text, and a reversible back. Some sort of depiction of the suit's element on it's cards is good too, that way I can see right away of it's a Wands=Fire or Swords=Fire deck.

Good luck to you! I hope it works!

Illy

[Little Baron]

My favourite decks are all Marseille based, so with that in mind, I would say I like minors with no scenic 'add on's', I hate keywords of any kind, the borders (if there are any) would need to be as slim as possible (so I can be drawn into the image) and any extras (symbolism etc) would need to be explained in an accompanying text so that I could understand where the author/artist was coming from. I also prefer the thirteenth trump to stay un-named; and Justice as '8' and Strength as '11'. The 'Fool', as an extra preference, would be un-numbered, without '0' written on it, so it has no ordering within the Major or Minor Arcana.

Talking of whips and bondage, some of the cards from the Phantasmagoric Theatre Tarot have some of that kind of imagery. Might be interesting to see how their creator used it there.

I very much like anime artwork; there are quite a lot of anime/manga decks out there already, which maybe interesting and useful for your research.

I wish you all the best with your business project.
LB

[HudsonGray]

Yes, NO keywords in the borders, that's a beginners thing & once you know the cards it's a real annoyance to see. Color that goes out to nearly the edge so there's no heavy framing. Small size (everyone wants to make an easy shuffle and not have to struggle with the cards). A NICE back image that's reversable. I'm not partial to pastels all that much, so a deep or vibrant color would be best, but not one color for one suit--make the colors mixed throughout the deck (ie: no all blue wand cards, yellow hearts, etc.). Stiff card stock. No slick surface coating--it makes the cards fly everywhere when you're trying to shuffle. And scenes on the minors.

[SoulFlower]

It has to be visually attractive. It has to have symbolisme in it. A pretty deck that you can't read with is useless. It has to have a reversable back. No keywords on it!

[muteswan]

If there are borders, make them thin and black. Bulky, bright borders with keywords, as has been mentioned, are annoying. Keep words to a minimum, focus on the artwork. I also like the classic decks such as Visconti, my current favourite, so I also like simple pip cards.

I like a deck to be balanced, theme-wise. Not too much evil, not glowing goodness everywhere. Some of both. I don't think there's a good way to read for in-depth readings without some cards to portray the difficult well.

And nice, simple, cardbacks.

[Sinistar_Phoenix]

I look for cards.

...

No really. I'm not trying to be a smart aleck or anything, really. What I think is in making your own tarot cards is the feeling you put into making them. Though I do look for vibrant artwork and stuff like that, I think that feeling is more important.

I like drawing anime and manga! Woo!

Anyway. I think that Tarot cards should be something made with feeling and meaning, again. Not just a bunch of pieces of paper made just because someone had to. Remember my words and opinions.

SINISTAR PHOENIXXX

[autumn star]

I like decks that are really creative ... with ethereal kinds of art work. With images that can be read a number of ways ... that require your own thoughts on them

I also like really bright colors ... and beautiful imagery.

autumn

[Elizabeth Genco]

Part of my choices are just aesthetics, of course. And you're never going to please everyone as far as that goes. Some art that folks love, I just can't stand. And vice versa. So that's some "squishy" criteria.

As for stuff you have more control over (*grin*), the most important thing is how much the deck creator has thought about the meaning of the cards. That'll show up in the illustrations. And it's crucial. I need rich images, if that makes any sense -- rich with symbolism and meaning, rich in creativity. In some ways, Tarot has been "done to death". What can you bring to it that's new and exciting? If you've spent a lot of time thinking about and working with the cards, you'll bring your personal vision and the richness will be there with it, automatically.

I'm all for illustrated minors, too, though I know that's totally a matter of preference.