How to Create your Own Tarot Cards
How to Create your Own Tarot Cards
If you are interested in creating your own Tarot cards, probably the most difficult part is just getting started!
If this resonates with you, then you are in the right place. So let’s get started. Part of the reason I named this site called Daily Tarot Draw, is because, as well as drawing cards from the deck, I am also interested in drawing cards in my sketchbook. My most recent creative project is the Poodle Tarot, which is in its very early stages of getting started. If you are creating and creating your own cards, then I welcome you to follow along with me here.
Step One: Your Tarot Vision.
Identify the type of Tarot cards you want to create. Rider Waite Smith? an Oracle deck? Your own unique card system? This is all about creativity so don’t limit yourself in a any way. Just follow your own vision. If you don’t have an idea yet, here are some suggestions that may help you get the ball rolling:
Classic RWS deck, just redraw the cards in your own personal style.
RWS with a twist. Think up a theme for a your deck, medieval dragons, gardening, music, anything will work, pick a theme that you love.
Create your own new Tarot system.
Oracle cards, design your own or make cards based on the Lenormand deck, Dragons, Fairies, Birds, Angels, or whatever resonates deeply with you.
Step Two: Art Style.
Choose an art style for your cards. You may prefer to draw them in pencil or black ink, make small paintings, use photographs, collage, or digital designs. Anything goes, you can even create your deck using AI if you like. Some styles to consider:
Pencil drawings
Get out your pencil and sketchbook and get to work. This media could be used to create the finished designs, as a stepping stone to carve out ideas, or as base sketches to be inked, or painted in later in color. Get started with this media, regardless of your finished vision.
Ink
Pamela’s drawings for the original Rider Waite deck were done in black ink. This is a great media for Tarot, bold black lines make a big statement. Black pigment ink, fountain pens, or permanent markers. Try drawing freehand with no sketches for free flowing ideas. Ink can also be utilized in printmaking techniques such as block print or linocut.
Photography
This media has so many possibilities. set up photoshoots with friends posed as the Tarot archetypes, do a nature deck using floral photography.
Collage
Get out your old magazines, but don’t limit yourself there. Try incorporating different types of paper such as newsprint, old photos, wrappers, dried flowers, or ribbon Be creative, anything goes.
Minimalist
Get some blank cards of your preferred color and draw a system of symbols to represent each card with a bold paint marker. This could also be done digitally if you prefer.
Digital Art
If you are skilled in photoshop or Corel draw, you may decide to design your deck on your computer. If you are less technical, try an app like Canva or Picsart, these are easy to use and will help you create something beautiful with ease.
Think outside the box
Invent a brand new way to render the cards. For example, Denis and Anastasiya Dyshlovenko are creating a Lego Tarot Deck by building the card scenes in Lego and photographing them. Support their Kickstarter here
AI
I will leave this one for last. I have a love hate relationship with AI image generation. On the one hand it’s fun to use and delivers results instantly with far better quality than most humans could ever achieve. It lacks the spark of human emotion, except of course when it manages to reproduce it from the derivative human work it is stealing from.
Be aware, AI images are no good for copywrite purposes - if you want to publish your deck. Still fun to play with though.
I have built an Tarot generator here you can use for free.
These are some cards I created with it for fun.
Step Three: Collect your supplies.
Gather your art supplies, go shopping at your favorite shop, or order online, you can get everything you need on Amazon.
A sketchbook is a the best way to start if you are planning to design, and draw or paint an epic deck that will be printed and sold.
If you just want to create a deck for yourself, I love this blank Tarot deck, you can just draw your designs on the cards and have aperfect finished Tarot deck of your own.
Step Four: Get to Work!
What are you waiting around for? Get to work. Just think, if you created one card a day you’ll have a full deck in just 78 days!
Step Five: Printing your Deck
If you want to print your deck, try this site: Make Playing Cards.com you can upload your files and have just one deck printed or 15,000.
Here are some sketches for deck I’m creating right now, called The Poodle Tarot.
If you would like to go deeper into learning how to create your own deck, check out this course with Pamela Steele on Global Spiritual Studies,
Creating Your Own Tarot Deck: From First Vision to Published Deck
Have a beautiful day!