One last thing, the box I designed for it:
Deck is ordered, I can't wait to get it!
Monday, July 5, 2021
Oh yeah, last thing
The Witcher Swords Suit
And it's done! WOW that went fast. Like I said, I had ideas for all these cards, there was just one or two I got slowed down on. But I made most of these just yesterday after I made my post about the pentacles.
TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE, BLOOD
The image I used for the ten of swords is pretty graphic, be warned.
So, obviously, the swords suit gets the Nilfgaardian banner and the close range row icon.
To be perfectly honest, my ace here is just because it's a picture of Geralt's swords. But it gets the message across.
I'm counting the 2 as another appearance of Emyhr, he's back there, you can see him. The crossed pikes perfectly match the card meaning.
Iris Von Everec literally says "I am sadness." What could be better for the 3 of swords? Plus I liked that quest enough that I wanted Iris to have her own card.
I've been planning to put this image here basically all along, Iorveth looks very chill, and we know how much fighting he does. He needs a break.
5 was a good place for Radovid, especially in this scene. He'll definitely do whatever it takes to win. Philippa's a conniving bitch like most sorceresses, but she didn't deserve this.
The 6 features Caranthir, the Wild Hunt's navigator, absolutely necessary for traveling between worlds. Works well for the traveling message of this card. Technically Eredin is also present in the background, so I can count this as an appearance of Eredin, but it's iffy. Unfortunately Imlerith didn't make it into the deck, but I got some Wild Hunt at least.
My 7 is good old Thaler. What a guy. Can't trust him as far as you can throw him, the sneaky old spy.
I had some debates with the 8. I had thought once I'd put Vivienne here, but the curse that trapped her wasn't of her own doing or ignorance, I think she worked better in the 5 of pentacles. I thought about Anna Strenger and the geas put on her by the Ladies of the Wood, there was even a nice picture of a pair of dimeritium shackles I could use, but in the end, well, Birna Bran dug her own grave with all her plotting. Plus she's literally chained up in this picture. It works.
I had a good picture of the Hym tormenting Udalryk that I thought would work well for the 9, and it is good, but I really liked the idea of getting Johnny and the Ladies into the deck, and his expression of fear still works beautifully for this card.
THIS IS IT, THIS IS THE TRIGGER WARNING.
My 10 is pretty brutal, the suicide of Tissaia. A horrible image and moment, but it works perfectly for this card.
I think Ves would have made an equally good page of wands, girl has got some passion, but I feel like she's less on the emotional side, so I decided page of swords would be a good place for her. Lambert is perfect as the knight of swords, and only Yen could be the queen, that was never a choice. And finally, Eredin gets his own card as the king.
And the art sources:
Ace. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/bW3Qg
2. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/rKllJ
3. https://www.deviantart.com/cyan707/art/I-am-sadness-739097968
4. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/5x2xw
5. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/dbkXA
6. https://www.deviantart.com/cg-zander/art/Caranthir-The-Navigator-779847502
7. another by https://www.artstation.com/akreon, but it's not on the page.
8. Artist is Katarzyna Redesiuk, but it's not on the page
9. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ELG9W2
10. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/88Aqw
Page. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/WJydN
Knight. https://www.artstation.com/bpsola, image not on page
Queen. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/w6E3w6
King. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ob4PO
Oh, and there is one more thing. There was one piece of art that I desperately wanted to use but never found a good spot for, so I'm adding it like a bonus card like the weather cards. I don't have the artist, but it's official Gwent art:
Roach! To be read as bafflement, confusion. This circumstance is unlike anything you've dealt with before and you might need help. (Depending on the reading it could also be read as loyalty and trust, going to great lengths to help those we care about. Roach is our most faithful companion and will do whatever he must to come when we call, even if it ends up with him on a roof.)
And that's it! The deck is complete! I believe I've decided to use the fancier card back, it still matches the artistic theme of the deck and I want prettier backs on my deck, so I can have them. This deck really went pretty smoothly, although it was a challenge sometimes to find pictures depicting positive things, most Witcher art is combat or portraits. But I managed and I am very happy with it. All that Gwent art helped me so much, and gave me a quality of art I don't always get when I'm making fanart decks. But I suppose official Gwent art isn't fanart, is it? Oh well. I love my deck.
Now to printing!
Sunday, July 4, 2021
The Witcher Pentacles Suit
The pentacles suit is done! I had a lot of indecision with this suit but after making multiple versions of cards I was able to come back and cut out the extra one so I don't have a bunch of extras. I think it went pretty well.
The pentacles suit gets the Scoia'tael banner and the siege row icon.
I was happy to get Avallac'h in at the ace, even if it's with his mask on. I was having trouble finding a good place for him. The portal and his offered hand definitely speak of new opportunities to me.
I really fought with the 2. I had a nice image of a random street performer girl juggling daggers which did match the meaning, but I have so many characters that I want to get in the deck I wasn't happy with having a card with a literal non-character, not even a minor character from a small side quest, she's literally just no one, just a random member of a performing troupe. I had trouble finding another option and at first I wasn't super comfy with Orianna in this place. But I would definitely say Orianna is juggling many things that she needs to balance, there's a significant amount of careful balance and give and take in her life. And her situation is an interesting one. So she goes here. It might not be the most perfect fit ever, but I'm satisfied with it as I've thought about it more.
The 3 also had two options because I had a neat picture of Geralt and Iorveth fighting together that worked well for teamwork, but I plan to put Iorveth on the 4 of swords so I didn't really want to put him on another card. And this is kind of a great picture of Triss and Yennefer working together, from the end of the last book I believe. And I'm a big fan of girl teamwork.
The 4 is just funny. Man I love that part in 2 where the troll tries to keep Triss. It's hilarious. The trolls are so great in these games, man.
For the 5 I had a nice picture of the crazy guy you find in Skellige in the boat where the ice giant lives who talks to the skulls of his dead companions. Seemed a good match. But it was very important to me to get Vivienne into the deck because her story had a pretty strong affect on me and I realized her curse worked beautifully here. So, sorry crazy Skellige guy, you got cut.
6 I had planned for ages, Nenneke is perfect for this card and I love this picture.
For 7, hilariously enough after reading the description on the artist's page this drawing is not actually meant to be Vernon Roche, but damn, coulda fooled me. And I decided to ignore that. It's totally Roche, waiting for the restoration of Temeria.
The 8 had a few good options, I had this one of Yoana, a good picture of Eibhear from Novigrad and one of the runewright from the DLC, but in the end I just love Yoana and I support women in blacksmithing.
I'm not sure if Uma really represents luxury and success, but I really wanted him in the deck, and doesn't he look happy here? It's close enough.
The 10 is Hjalmar and Cerys celebrating her coronation, I think it's perfect.
Cahir is my page, he was definitely a bit naïve and eager. Eskel always struck me as the responsible, methodical one of the wolf witcher boys, so he works well here. And Cerys of course is my queen. And as promised, Vesemir is here in his proper king spot. Used a different picture though.
And the sources:
Ace. Artist: https://www.artstation.com/gawel, image not on page
2. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/PK8N1
3. https://www.deviantart.com/telmand/art/The-Witcher-Merigold-s-Hailstorm-535794002
4. https://www.deviantart.com/cg-zander/art/Where-is-Triss-Merigold-409774108
5. https://www.deviantart.com/skyrawathi/art/Gwent-Art-Contest-Vivienne-s-Transformation-739591539
6. Artist: https://www.artstation.com/bpsola but no longer on page
7. https://www.deviantart.com/servia-art/art/NORDEN-583123832
8. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/45wal
9. https://www.deviantart.com/cg-zander/art/Uma-s-Curse-Gwent-Card-785720518
10. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/58keoz
Page. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/65Zv5
Knight. Artist is https://www.artstation.com/gawel, no longer on page
Queen. https://www.deviantart.com/blackassassin999/art/Queen-Of-Skellige-651692834
King. Artist is https://www.artstation.com/gawel, no longer on page
And that's it for the pentacles! I already have ideas for every one of the swords cards, so I expect that suit to go real smooth.
Fun fact, when my subject matter is as grim as something like the Witcher, the swords suit is not to difficult to figure out.
Thursday, July 1, 2021
The Witcher Cups Suit
The cups suit is done! This one wasn't nearly as hard for some reason. And I didn't have nearly as much Gwent art in this one, got a lot more fanart. But I found some good stuff.
FYI, the cups suit gets the Northern Realms banner and the Ranged row icon.
The ace is just a bottle of Yen's perfume, subtle, sexy and also cup shaped. It was a struggle to find a high res version of the painting of Iris and Olgierd for the 2, but I knew I had to have them there. Even if it all goes wrong after that painting. Their story is so sweet and then so sad.
I have two threes because dammit, I worked hard on that first one. I really wanted a picture of Geralt drinking with the boys for the three, but all I could find was this one picture in a totally different art style, and it originally had just a plain white background. I spent so much time removing that white background and the faint white outline it left on them so that I could find a good tavern picture and drop them in it and hopefully not have it look too unnatural. I think I did an okay job, but I can tell it just doesn't fit in the deck. So I will be using the card of Zoltan chilling with his friends. I just had to show my work for the first version.
The 4, honestly, I don't know how well Ermion/Mousesack fits the card, other than the fact that he's offering a vessel similar to the traditional imagery and I wanted to make sure he made it into the deck.
My 5s are just an art debate. Both of them apply to the meaning, I just can't choose which one I like more yet.
The 6 made me laugh, who doesn't love the painting of angry baby Ciri? I know the frame around it looks a little odd, but it gets cut out in the printing, don't worry. And Kalkstien is the 7 because if anyone can offer you lots of options, it's our dear alchemist. Plus there's a lot of vessels of some form around him holding who knows what, it fits.
The 8 sort of broke my heart, that's Essie Daven from the books and her story made me cry. I almost put Vivienne there, but I think I have a better place for her. And the 9 is one Borkh Three Jackdaws and his Zerrikanian bodyguards, I can't think of a better wish granted than a hot tub with those two.
The 10 I'm quite proud of, you wouldn't know it but the original picture cuts off the top few inches of Geralt's head and the sky does not extend that far up. So I cut out the sky from further over and fit it around them and drew in the top of Geralt's head. I think it looks great. For the page I'm just happy I finally found a place for Shani. And I adore Dandelion's dramatic pose for the knight of cups.
The queen was another photo editing escapade of mine, if you look at the original, you'll see that Triss looks rather angry in the picture. Well, I wanted this picture for my queen, but I don't really want the queen of cups looking angry. So I spent a LOT of time editing her eyebrows to take out the anger and just make her a little softer. I also think it turned out amazing.
The king took me a lot longer than I thought it would to find the right image, I think this one is actually a promotional image from a mod to improve the graphics of the game. It had the right look for me.
Art Sources:
Ace. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Y14Ld
2. I found the high res image here: http://witcher.reactor.cc/tag/hi-res, it's official game art but I can't find the actual artist.
3a. Guys: https://paticmak.tumblr.com/image/141565695656
Tavern: https://wallpaperaccess.com/tavern
3b. Internet says the artist is https://www.artstation.com/razuri but again, it's not on the page.
4. Can't find the artist anywhere, but it is the art from his Gwent card.
5a. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/yLaB3
5b. Artist: https://www.artstation.com/gawel, not on page
6. https://www.deviantart.com/vollhov/art/Portrait-Cirilla-Fiona-Elen-Riannon-In-childhood-620402822
7. Artist: https://www.artstation.com/yamaorce but no longer on page
8. https://www.deviantart.com/azzedar-san/art/Essi-Daven-740205279
9. https://www.deviantart.com/nastyaskaya/art/Villentretenmerth-Tea-and-Vea-739911600
10. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/witcher-something-ends-something-begins
Page. https://www.deviantart.com/agussw/art/The-Witcher-3-Wild-Hunt-Shani-854841497
Knight. https://www.deviantart.com/akreon/art/Dandelion-737362198
Queen. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xz1OE1
King. It appears to be from a mod to improve the graphics of the game: https://forums.cdprojektred.com/index.php?threads/the-witcher-3-hd-reworked-project-by-halk-hogan-pl.62456/
And that's it! On to the next suit!
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
A quick note
So, Vesemir isn't the king of wands. It felt wrong and it bothered me so much I had trouble falling asleep last night. Vesemir is the king of pentacles, and will be placed there, but Crach An Craite has been made the king of wands and I'm much happier about it.
The internet says this is the artist: https://www.artstation.com/gawel but the image is no longer on the page. I believe that this art is one that was used for his leader card in the Witcher 3, which I was trying to avoid, but it's a good picture and honestly, Crach has the same problem as his son Hjalmar, just no art. So I went with it.
Anyways. I said I was done with the wands suit.
The Witcher Wands Suit
The wands suit is done!
Man, I fought with this suit. I'm trying very hard to balance including as many important characters as I can while also using my favorite pieces of art and all the while trying to associate things with tarot meanings. Which I realize is how ALL these decks work when I create them, but man, it's tiring.
So, quick recap, for the wands I am using the Monsters faction banner and the Agile row icon for all wands cards. I add extra ability icons as I feel it's appropriate, not every card gets one, I just go with my gut.
For all suits, Kings will get the Commander's Horn effect, Queens will get Morale Boost, Knights will get Muster and Pages will get Spy. Those are just the effects that seemed to match the royalty in my mind.
For my ace, I'm sure there's more significant sorceresses I could have put there than Sabrina, but look at all the firey wands energy she has there. And she's definitely about to unleash something big, if you know what happens here.
The 2 is Queen Meve from the Thronebreaker standalone Gwent game, also the queen that knighted Geralt, which does occur in that game interestingly enough. She was a great leader that refused to let her power be taken from her. While I'm not terribly interested in playing Thronebreaker for myself, I did see videos of all the story and I didn't want to just leave Meve out.
Foltest for the three, another leader not afraid to strike out. And Priscilla in the 4, clearly celebrating with her music in a tavern.
I like Kiera for the 5 because her whole story in the game is overcoming obstacles just to survive after the witch hunts that started in the second game. And Movran Vorhees for the 6 is sort of representing the pride of the whole Nilfgaardian empire, and their victories, because damn those guys did some damage whenever they invaded.
I wanted to use Hjalmar An Craite in the royalty here, but the poor guy suffers from a painful lack of art. There's a few things but nothing I super liked, except for his Gwent card that just shows his back, and I did not want the back of a character for a royalty card. So he got bumped to the 7 of wands, just so he's not missing, and Vesemir got added in. I'm not sad to have Vesemir in the royalty however.
God, there's so many characters it feels almost wasteful to put a character like Vesemir in twice, which, based on his importance, is INSANE.
Letho on the 8 is there because a: I couldn't ignore Letho, and b: He moves REAL FAST in this scene. Seriously. The opening scene of the second game is amazing.
I just love my 9 of wands, the Redanian soldier troll. He was such a hilarious little side quest, even if he's not really an important character or anything, I'm happy to have him there. He was determined to stay at his post no matter what! What a trooper.
The 10 is just a lovely image of Geralt looking worn out, only natural, the life he leads.
My page is Angouleme from the books, she's spunky and firey and deserves recognition. Ciri as my reckless and bold knight, although if you look at the original art you'll see I had to mirror the image, the artist put Ciri's scar on the wrong side of her face and it would have driven me CRAZY. Saskia was always the only choice for the queen of wands. And then of course, Vesemir as the king.
Anyways, here's what I did, continuing to lean on the massive amount of Gwent art out there:
And here's the sources:
Ace. Unable to find the artist but it's from the Gwent standalone game
2. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EVavJe
3. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/oow1m
4. The internet says it was done by https://www.artstation.com/tokkunstudio but the image is no longer on the page
5. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xw1A2
6. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xLWKW
7. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/qNJ3D
8. The internet says it's by https://www.artstation.com/lorenzomastroianni but the image is no longer on the page
9. https://www.deviantart.com/cg-zander/art/Redanian-patriot-631516298
10. https://www.deviantart.com/nikivaszi/art/Geralt-of-Rivia-618206461
Page. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OyyBzK
Knight. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/reBPG
Queen. https://www.deviantart.com/akreon/art/Saskia-Gwent-Card-683149847
King. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/gyroe
Despite the struggles, I'm not mad about how it's going, I've got some pretty art and important characters. On to the next suit!
Friday, June 25, 2021
Wait, I'm still making tarot decks?
The Witcher!
Now, for the record, I'm no bandwagoner. I bought The Witcher 3 for the PS4 a long time ago, when I first got my PS4, 2015-2016ish? And I was looking for RPGs for my new console. I played for a few hours, and died A LOT, and put the game down. But I was interested in the universe.
So I dug up the books. This happened to be around the time we were visiting Stu's parents for Christmas so there was a decent amount of downtime for me to read, so I plowed right through the books, and loved them. I think this was like, 2017-2018 ish? I'm not 100% positive. But this renewed my desire to play the game. I was also now interested in The Witcher 1 and 2.
I did some research. The Witcher 2 was easy enough, I could pick that up for Xbox 360. The Witcher 1 was a little less easy, it seemed to be exclusively a PC game. And the reviews were not encouraging, it seemed the gameplay had some issues. I did buy it on Steam, in a bundle deal with The Witcher 2, but I'm just not much of a PC gamer. I only have a laptop, and while it's totally possible to play games on it, and I've done it before, it's just not how I like to play games, I'm a console gamer. So I decided to find a youtube Let's Play of someone playing the game for the first one, and then play the others myself.
For the record, this is my youtuber of choice, his name is Christopher Odd:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdAy0KqpdA2Lp2_Qp0yNk2g
I watched him play the first game and enjoyed it immensely. Someday I might go back and try to play it myself, but we'll see.
Once that was done I fired up my Xbox copy of the Witcher 2. (Yes I know I bought it on Steam, but like I said, I'm a console gamer, if I can use a controller I will.) I scaled down the difficulty a bit cuz I'm a big ol' pansy and I was worried after the difficulty I'd faced in my previous attempt at The Witcher 3. But I had a great deal of fun with it, and I intend to go back to it someday on a higher difficulty.
If you're familiar with the game, you know there's a very large choice you make at one point in the Witcher 2 that DRASTICALLY changes where the game goes. I looked at what choice Christopher Odd made and decided to make the opposite choice so I could watch his playthrough later just to see what all happens. It was a great game, I loved it.
So I then watched Christopher Odd's plays just for complete information. Also found that he'd played again and taken the alternate route so I could watch him play my route and see if anything was different, which was interesting.
I did learn that it seemed the fact I had played on an easier difficulty than Christopher Odd meant that I had missed out on the depth of the gameplay, and even just some fun extra violence. As a result I was unwilling to try to play the Witcher 3 again on an easier difficulty, despite the solid ass kicking I'd gotten last time I'd tried to play the game. Hell, my little brother Corey had even made an attempt to play the game for me just so I could see the plot, but we never finished. So in the end I hoped that my experience with the Witcher 2 meant that I'd have a better grasp on how the game was supposed to work and went ahead and stuck with normal difficulty. And I managed!
Now, that's not to say I didn't die, and frequently. But I had a better idea how a witcher fights and how the mechanics of this game might work. And I finally grasped the mechanics and successfully became a witcher in full. I mastered the alchemy and the signs and the sword. And I proceeded to pour my WHOLE LIFE into the game. I explored every point of interest in the world, reveling in the joy of just exploring the world. I loved spending evenings crawling all around the countryside just to see what was out there. I played every inch of the game I could. And when I was done, I bought the DLC and played every inch of that game that I could. Toussaint rocked my world, I've never seen such a beautiful video game world. I've never actually had a video game stop me in my tracks to watch a sunrise, but this game did. Repeatedly.
I also spent HOURS playing Gwent. God I loved Gwent. It's such a simple card minigame, but I was fascinated by it.
Anyways. I could spend a great deal of time raving about my love of this game. And the way finishing it left a hole in my life I've been struggling to fill ever since. Skyrim was a shallow disappointment. Breath of the Wild worked beautifully but I became so obsessed with it that I dropped 200 hours into it inside a month and cleared it right the fuck out. Next up is Horizon Zero Dawn at my brother's recommendation and we'll see if that game fits in the Witcher shaped hole in my life.
So OBVIOUSLY when the TV show happened, I was IN. I wasn't 100% sure about them casting the guy who played Superman in a bad Superman movie as Geralt, but the moment I saw him in action I was in love. I couldn't help it. He's perfect. And amazing. And BEAUTIFUL. I mean, HOT DAMN.
I watched the show, I loved the show, I've watched the show repeatedly since then and eagerly await more while thinking I might reread the books.
So there. I believe I've adequately described how I'm not JUST a horny fangirl, hot for Henry Cavill. I mean, I definitely am that, but I'm not ONLY that.
I mean.....
Did you SEE that bath scene? You can't really blame me.
For the record though....
I'm not really hurting on either side, video game Geralt can GET IT.
Anyways. That's so not the point of this post.
(Side note: Isn't it a little tragic I felt the need to write all this out just so I don't get gatekeepered by some asshole accusing me of not being a real fan?)
THE POINT OF THIS POST is that The Witcher consumed my life and I found that I now needed a tarot deck in my beloved Witcher universe. However I wasn't right away in the mood for deck making and I hadn't struck quite the right inspiration for the look of the deck. I toyed with using the faction card frames from the standalone Gwent game but could only find a few that were open frames, I'd have had to spend a great deal of time erasing art from the frames so I could put whatever I liked in it, and it didn't look nice. So I sort of back-burnered the idea. I just worked on collecting art on my Witcher Pinterest board in the meantime.
I did decide I needed a physical Gwent deck however. It took a little searching, but I found this site:
Which gave me excellent files for every Gwent card in The Witcher 3. Including the DLC, which has another faction. Based on my previous experience self printing decks it was easy enough to upload the files and print them off. I also found a Gwent playmat design that I could print as well, so I now have a fully functional physical Gwent set. I have yet to play with it, I only have one friend who cares about the Witcher and knows how to play Gwent, but it will happen.
Time passed. I despaired at the filming delays of season two of The Witcher due to Covid. I continued to pin Witcher fanart and tried desperately to find a game I'd love that much.
And then, two nights ago, I found this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/9b6d1l/the_witcher_3_gwent_cards_template/
That, my friends, is a complete template of the Witcher 3 Gwent cards. Not the Gwent standalone game, there's significant differences. (I watched Christopher Odd play a little of the standalone Gwent game and it didn't really interest me, I've been watching a video to get the plot, maybe someday I'll try playing it, but it doesn't super appeal to me because of how different it is from the game in The Witcher 3.)
That template has all the design elements of the cards from the Gwent game from the Witcher 3, the titles, the banners, the card powers and icons. Everything you would need to design your own unique Gwent cards in the style of The Witcher 3 Gwent.
Or. To make a deck of tarot cards that look like Gwent cards.
And there it was. That was it. That was the idea. That was my Witcher tarot deck. I would make my deck like Gwent cards, which was really my idea from the beginning, I just hadn't found a way to execute it that I liked.
That template was a godsend. Every icon was just a layer I could make visible or not in my photo editing software by clicking a checkmark, easy fucking peasy. And I was able to find the Gwent font in a simple google search, to make sure everything looked right.
The point of all this is that tonight I finished the major arcana of my Witcher Tarot, and I want to show it off!
Here we go:
Yes, I am aware there are two Lovers cards. I can't seem to choose between the two. I'll probably print both of them and then put one in my chaos deck I've been building.
For reference:
Close Combat (the sword icon) = Swords or Air
Ranged (The bow icon) = Cups or Water
Siege (The ballista icon) = Pentacles or Earth
Agile (sword and bow icon) = Wands or Fire
So for the major arcana the yellow icons represent the element that major arcana card is associated with. Those icons will also identify their suit, when I get to that.
I'm also using the Skellige faction banner for major arcana, the Northern Realms will be Cups, the Scoia'Tael will be Pentacles, the Monsters will be Wands and the Nilfgaard will be Swords. As for the other icons, the card effect icons, for the major arcana I simply followed my intuition for which icon matched the card I was working on. I will do the same for the suits. although I will probably assign a particular effect to the royalty. I'll go into that when I post the suits. Once I've made the suits.
I'm currently debating between two different card backs:
The first one is the one designed to go with the traditional neutral Witcher 3 Gwent cards, the second is cooler but comes from the standalone Gwent game. I'm not sure which I'll use yet, but I'm mulling it over.
Also, yes, those images are downsized in hopes it won't take too long to load here on my blog. If you want to print your own set, as long as it's for PERSONAL USE ONLY, let me know and I'll share my full size files. Again, PERSONAL USE ONLY. I do not own ANY of this art, it's not mine or any other random person's art to sell. On that note, here's the art credits!
Back A: Official art
Major Arcana
21. Can't find the source, but a watermark says it's by lilac_and_goosberries
I had another small issue. The Gwent weather cards. The template included icons for them, but the icons covered the space where the numbers went, which I will need for every card. But it felt wrong to just exclude them, based on their importance in Gwent and the fact that my tarot deck looks like a Gwent deck. So I had the thought that maybe I could just add the weather cards in as bonus cards, and I loved that idea. My weather cards have slight alterations from the Gwent versions, and I'll tell you how I plan to read them in a tarot reading.
(For credits, these are all official art.)
The world is too cold to move now. You are frozen in place and you risk hurting yourself if you struggle. It may be better to seek shelter and warmth rather than fighting against the weather now.
The sun is shining and all is well, enjoy the pleasant weather while it lasts, you never know when clouds will roll in.
It is time to rally the troops! Draw up your courage and your strength, call in your allies and fortify your defenses, be strong!
Things are not as they seem. You are distracted by something that seems like the real problem, but it's just a distraction. Alternatively, take some time to practice on smaller issues, rather than tackling the big one right away. Practice makes perfect.
You are lost and confused, the path in front of you is obscured and you are blind. If you charge forward you risk becoming more lost.
Life is all about change. Even when it seems like something is ending, it's just continuing the cycle. Life comes from death. New growth always springs from what was left behind, nature moves on.
Clear out. Something is not working for you and it's time to remove it from your life completely. Sometimes you need to clear the clutter that's there to allow new growth. Burn it to the ground to clear your space for new things.
Storms are raging all around you, but you've been here before. You know how to navigate the storms, you'll come through all right.
Those are just my initial ideas, based on my intuition. I'll write out something better when I have time to sit and think about it.
I'm mostly focusing on video game art, since the TV show isn't done yet, I don't want to dig too deep into the show and have it feel incomplete because of future important TV things. Although you can see I did include TV Calanthe in the Judgement card, but that's just cuz Calanthe is LITERALLY not present in the video games. And if they ever make a Witcher 4 I'm screwed anyways. (The same thing happened with my Final Fantasy deck that doesn't include FF15 and my Zelda deck that doesn't include Breath of the Wild. This is the risk I take.)
I'm also avoiding using the art for characters used in the Witcher 3 Gwent game, although I'm relying heavily on the Gwent art from the standalone game. I gotta say, designing a deck of cards in a universe that includes and EXTENSIVE card game is definitely making my life easier.
I'm loving making these cards and I'm so pleased with how it's gone so far.
Stay tuned for the suits!