One of the final projects I did last semester for illustration 2 was to create a tarot that aligned with my personality. This project was a surprise from my professor, as it was not previously discussed in the syllabus, but it was a pleasant one. The project was due in a week which was a week shorter than we normally had to complete our projects. I quickly went to work brainstorming concepts, designs, colors, etc. One of the things I found most useful when working on this project were the online quizzes I took to determine what tarot card related to me. After five test results, the magician was the winner. I decided to go with traditional art on this project using pen and ink and Copic markers.

I sketched out different outfits before settling on the final design. I chose to make the character look similar to me since this project was intended to have us reflect the tarot card. I chose all the things I liked and placed them all over the card without over-saturating it. I love Alphonse Mucha and his art, so I always have Mucha-inspired influence in the illustrations I create. Once I finished with the concept I translated it to the paper with my pencil. I used white drawing paper and an HB graphite pencil. Once that step was done, I went over the graphite with ink using my micro prima 01 pens.

I let the ink completely dry before I color. On a separate sheet of paper, I would swatch colors to see which would go best together or which ones did not. I started coloring the background first, and then I moved on to the character. The finished piece took me a full 24 hours to make (with breaks of course!) and I received good feedback from my professor and classmates. The magician represents creativity and a flow of new ideas. The magician is hardworking and makes their ideas a reality. They are leaders and innovators which I can say is kind of accurate for me.