True Love

No, I really pulled this card for tonight's entry. As you might've guessed, the more time I spend on this project, the more I discover what works and what doesn't. After the last update, I decided to do some planning. I made a list of the easiest cards and the more difficult ones and will work on the cards in this order. This has definitely sped things up.

The only issues I've run into lately are line thickness and having the artwork stay balanced throughout the deck. Some symbols appear thicker than others (curiosity). Again, this worried me and I thought I wouldn't be able to figure out a solution. I am also happy to say this issue needed some time, and I found a way to get around this unevenness (gosh, what one learns in the world of digital art).

So far, I have made improvements to four cards, and, again, these are rated 1-2 on a scale of 1-4. I have also been working on the Life Areas card, which is having some thinness issues (as opposed to the symbols being too thick). I will be excited to unveil the new look at the reader's forums once I can get a certain amount of symbols done.

In addition to this update, I have created a progress bar (see above). I will keep it more accurately updated in the future.

As always, my helpers continue to give valuable feedback, and I have been able to think about the cards in new ways and modify them. There are still some gaps in getting the most information out of this deck at times. However, the P.O. is beginning to show it's personality, tending towards a literal one. I think, really, it depends on who is doing the reading.

In any case, I plan to be back with major updates. Until then, please stay tuned and thank you for reading!!

Time...(no not the song)

Social psychology class is now over, and I've made some time to devote to the deck. Several people have been asking about it and when it will be available. And still, I am not really certain. If I can keep a good pace of working on it a few hours a week, it could be anywhere from 6 months to a year.

So far, there are 7 cards I've spent the day making serious improvements to. I've also been able to darken the indicators around the cards, which is what was bugging me for the longest time. I've added indicators to the Gathering card and modified its symbol to better represent its meaning. I've also added indicators to the P.L. card (code for those who have had a reading before!).

While 16 cards will stay as they are, revisions still need to be made to 20 cards. I'm trying to be as enthusiastic as I can be right now *grin*. Good news is that some of these improvements will not take long, now that I've learned much. However, some will require some ingenuity and improvisation, and it might take days rather than hours to improve one card. I've saved the Reunion card for last, because this is the one card that needs the most work so far.  Aside from this, I do not even want to get into discussing the manual.. because it needs a lot of updates. So far, it is a good 40+ pages in Word that does not include the new cards or the updated ones.

In any case, I'm pleased to report that things feel like they're coming together. I will be printing the new cards in the coming day or three, along with that missing life areas card (improved), and will be trying them out.

Wish me luck and stay tuned!!

Too Excited I Forgot the Title...

So over the past week, I've made and settled on some revisions to the deck that I can say I'm happy with. I used good-old fashioned bitmap to redraw (refine) some of the symbols, and Illustrator to smooth them out with the trace feature. And no, I didn't have to, or want to use any other tools!

The cards I've made improvements to are Transition, which has a more thicker line to it; Longing, these lines were straighten up a bit, the Man and Woman cards, which now include 'both' and 'neither' glyphs in addition to the sun (yes) and no (crescent) ones. So I'm excited. I also figured out how to line up all the glyphs so they are level at each of the four corners. The Path card was also refined in its appearance and meaning. It is similar to the Wheel of Fortune in Tarot or like the Key in Lenormand: it appearance signifies an open door that presents a golden opportunity when upright, none or delayed if in the inverse. This is in addition, to it's original meaning of having a clear head (when upright). Bear with me as I still discover this creation ;)

There are still many in the deck that need a lift. This week I may also be unveiling some new cards I mentioned in a previous post and see how well these do at the reading forum. I have decided to continue working digitally from this point on, but if there is a need to switch back over to a real pencil, then I may do so and see if I can actually get away with it. Below are the new Man and Path images.

In the meantime, I have been really enjoying the process unfold, solving puzzles around the creative process.  I am also looking forward to showcasing new versions of the cards this weekend at the forums.

And of course, none of this would be possible without those who gave all their great feedback! Thank you!!

Please check back for more updates soon. Thank you for reading!!

Mind: No Mind

So I thought I'd give another update on the deck's progress after the 4th of July holiday. So far, things could be better. Last week, I got this tablet in the mail. Let's just say it was not what I was expecting. The lines came out sharper, but there were too many drawbacks to continue using it. I think I may just stick to hand-drawn images and make revisions the old fashion way, at least until I have enough money to purchase something better.

On top of everything, I lost my life areas card and will have to print another one. I have at least five new cards I need to print and test via my forum thread. I am also thinking of adding "both" and "neither" indicators to the sun and moon ones, but I'm thinking maybe I have all the indicators I need and it is just a matter of asking the right questions, and not cluttering up the cards.

Good news is that two out of five of the new cards have already been designed and I may start working on the other three this week. As mentioned, I will be hand-drawing these and then cleaning them up digitally. I'll also be searching for a tool/method that sharpens and darkens lines. As for cards that have already been designed, this will be especially difficult to do, but I will find a way and update this blog on that process.

Okay, so here I go... I'll hopefully be back with better news. In the meantime, happy reading!

Querent

I realize it's been awhile since I posted an update. I've had some set backs in my personal life which have delayed the deck's progress. But it's okay. Everyone goes through that period when nurturing something. I've come up with a few new cards that will cover some gray areas. For example, the Enemy card has come up to describe conflict between friends instead of it's literal meaning, i.e., someone the querent hates. In the meantime, I've come up with some new cards. These will touch on messages from "the other realms," such as the dream world. I know that in my life dreams are very important messages. The Unseen World is, and so this deck will be a little more versatile in that manner.

The artwork, again, is not to my liking when not drawn by hand. I feel organics will be very important when it comes to connecting with the deck. There is going to be a delay in getting the necessary equipment for this, but I'm staying hopeful about it. :)

I've also updated the manual to include some timing methods, but they can also be used with any card system really. I would like to share them here in my blog soon.

Some realizations/discoveries I've had about this deck is that it's a great informational deck. I took it to the park the other day to read for a friend and realized this. Prior to this, I did some research into minimalist decks. I wasn't quite sure why. I've always been that reader who connects to photo-realistic decks. But it did cross my mind that less art lends more to the imagination, much like books do to television. There's too much "noise" with a lot of visuals. I think that was what I discovered with the viking runes when I got the inspiration for this deck. Ok, yes, I'm barely understanding this in my 20 years of taking up cartomancy.

So where does this leave me with the deck? Well, I'm still exploring it and seeing how it can cover guidance questions as well as career/financial questions.

Stay tuned for the next update!!

New Additions + Revisions

Yesterday I added five new cards to the deck and tested them out at the forums. I feel like they've added some much needed depth to the readings. Note these were not drawn by hand but constructed digitally. This brings the deck up to 53 cards. So I may not have been entirely accurate when I posted in the introduction about number of cards here originally :x

I have been doing "what-the-next-day-holds" readings to further evaluate the predictive methods and capabilities of the deck. It's still too early to report in the results, but once I have some, I will share them here.

It's still going to be another month or two away for artwork revision. I'm getting ready to work again for the first time in seven months and so this will provide some funds that will go into the deck. I work in both paint and illustrator right now, and I am considering the purchase of a drawing tablet for revisions. I hear it can be a lot easier to work with graphic images rather than using a mouse. While I was looking up tutorials on Youtube, I came across a program called GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) that might be able to make things a bit easier as well with scanned images. Working in Illustrator has proven to be very complicated! I will be looking more into this program in the coming weeks.

As for changes, I've taken some indicators out of the deck. So far, these have been from the man and woman cards. I plan to leave all sun and moon indicators. I have also been tempted to re-do the hand-drawn cards in paint/illustrator using improved shapes and lines, but I feel this is going to take way the authentic artistic touch/style the deck originally came into being with. The only thing that would be original is the creative twist put on some very old symbols as well as new symbols.

Then there is the question of copyrights, too. I feel like before I post any further images of the deck, or discuss it in further detail, I need to seek out the advice of a legal expert. Gosh, it does feel really limited, but I can always watermark the images and place a copyright at the bottom of the blog, right?! I'll get back to you on this!

So I will wrap it up here for the night. Until next time, thanks for checking back!

The Double-Edged Sword

I've been in the testing phases with my deck as mentioned in my last entry. Before I attempt to make any further (and final) artistic modifications, I'm working on a clear idea of what the oracle can and can't do. I know, it's a huge undertaking... and I didn't expect it to be.

The way I've been going about answering such a question is by asking more questions that yield a more specific reading.

Another significant question that ties in with the first is: how will the deck change my previously held experience of what a reading is? How specific can it be? I think I've gone the farthest today with this question in one of my weekly readings.

Another way I am going about discovering this deck's potential is to go through each card. How much can a reader get out of a single one? How might vagueness be a problem? What can I do about it? I know, it's a lot to get lost in, but it can make a huge difference in the deck's quality.

One thing is for sure, I want to keep its look as simple as possible, and this might mean the elimination or minimization of some indicators. I created this deck because I wanted something simple but then the need arose along the way to have something that was specific inside. I think it's going to be one of those "deceptively simple decks."

I also did a reading on where I need improvement. The main concern was how much the reader's freedom plays a role in using the deck. Again, I'm on the side of simplicity. I think the more simple a deck is, the more room (or freedom) a reader has in using it to complete their reading style. However, that reader needs a creative awareness in order for the deck to be of any use. With this blog and deck, I would like to raise more of an awareness of that creativity in readers. Not to get all philosophical, but some readers have "maybe," "either," "or," and "I'm not sure" in their vocabulary. I'm one of them.

How and where does awareness become achieved? Are you actually limiting a reader's creativity by the more options you make available to them, or less? I'm really going Hermit here! As a creator of an oracle deck, one can only go so far in trying to help readers feel more creatively free with tools that otherwise place limits. I am definitely on the side of believing readers should be encouraged to transcend the limitations of what is provided in tools.

Ironically, I've been reading with this deck without using any real spreads. I think now is as good a time as any to begin trying this. When working with specificity, it becomes much more of a challenge to keep an open mind. Again, this is what either makes or breaks a reader, just try not to nick yourself.