Here is the entire deck I propose to publish for the Infinite Fool Tarot and the book I wrote about the Fool’s journey through the tarot world. I can finally put this to rest, and whether it is to be published or self-published, I’m not expecting much from it. I know I am just some person who loves writing and art expressing themselves.
Major Arcana
I already went through this in the last post.
Cups
I reworked the two, three, and a little of the Knight of Cups. It came down to simplifying the card and removing some designs that didn’t make sense. I love my two of cups card; it is one of the cards I’m most proud of. The three just needed to be better, and to be honest, I have a more challenging time drawing women, so I did a lot of work on this one. I wanted the knight to be more transparent and closer to the viewer so that the imagery of Don Quixote was definite.
Wands
Most of these cards have minor edits. While I constantly get new ideas,
I have to reread each chapter to make sure the card in the story makes sense. If you don’t know the book’s story, it is the Fool traveling through the world and meeting each “card.” I redo the six to be more precise and closer to the chapter on which it is based. I also put the Miles Davis “logo” as the horn player on the bridge. I gave the seven a little love, with her shadow growing behind her from the lights of her magical wands.
Swords
I reworked the two of swords. When I initially drew this card, I tried very hard to capture an “Asian” motif in the card, but the process did not work well in the cards’ continuity; frankly, I couldn’t translate what my head was picturing on paper. I also edited the Knight and Queen. The inspiration behind The Knight is a scene from The Man From Snowy River, a movie I saw several times as a child, where the “man” rides a horse down an impossibly steep slope. I also returned to the eight of swords and tightened up the imagery.
Pentacles
I had to rework the six of pentacles to be much more straightforward and less like the source painting I was basing on the last card on. I also redid the ten card to be much more apparent in its two scenes in one card, the old king sitting in regret and the sand cranes flying over a sunset sea. This is the card I let myself experiment with, but it stays with the continuity of the rest of the deck. I also decided to rework the knight to be more front and center on his tea plantation. I also felt weird not having the Green Man imagery in my deck, so I made him the king of pentacles.
Now, I must put up with rejection and failure and shop this for publishers. I’ve never tried to do this before, and when I try to research what to do, it is a chaotic, confusing, rule-bound process with agents, inquiry letters, and publishers.
If that doesn’t work out, I will have to self-publish. While many resources exist for self-publishing tarot decks and books, there is nothing on doing the combination. I know that if I go the self-publishing route, I will have to do crowdfunding of some sort, which isn’t my favorite way to ask for help.
If you happen to be reading this and know anything that might help, please reach out. I would love to learn how to make this happen. Publishing a book has been a lifelong dream of mine, and it is extra special because it is also a tarot deck. Any insights would be much appreciated, even if they are about the self-publishing direction. Thank you to those who have enjoyed seeing these cards come to fruition.