Back in 2023, my partner and I had the idea to create an oracle deck of ancient tools and objects. Here we are, three years later, with an almost fully realized cartomancy tool that looks very different from where we started.
The earliest motivators were to remind people of the magic of innovation, careful observation, and the deep archetypal roads that tie us together, regardless of culture, time, and region. These ideas have evolved (or, maybe, rather expanded) over the last few years, but inherently remain the same.
You can read more about the themes of the Envoys & Artifacts deck on the campaign page, but in this post I wanted to share some behind-the-scenes views, so that readers can look into our process and hopefully understand the work and love that have gone into this deck.
It’s also to help diminish any notions of us of AI in the content creation of the Envoys deck. With such rampant AI-generated tarot and oracle decks, I know this is a big concern for many readers and collectors. I realize without seeing these creations in real time, there will always be a question of authenticity, but I hope these sketches will put any concerns at ease.
Please enjoy this little trip down memory lane! I think it is really interesting to see how our ideas have grown and changed over three years, and I hope you do as well.
Early Concepts
Our first cards were the Deadeye and the Gatherer, and you can see from some of these sketches and mockups that the initial design looks really different from the final version of the cards.
This early period was difficult. We loved the idea behind the deck, but were really struggling with the way it should look. I knew I wanted it to be a companion to the Forager’s Daughter Tarot, but our designs and compositions were just not aligning. They felt clunky, unintuitive, and just “off”. I also realized at some point that we hadn't included any animals, and I think that was a big part in the 'personality' that was missing from the drawings.
I’ll be honest, it felt really bad to scrap those first drawings and start over. At first. It felt like we had wasted so much time and effort, and I’m sure many of you are familiar with the feeling of failure when something just doesn’t work out. But I kept reminding myself and my partner that this was part of the process, it was natural for things to evolve, and the revised versions would be much better and feel more natural.
My Process
A little bit about my process: I work pretty fluidly between traditional and digital drawing. I keep sketchbooks for thumbnails, studies, and ideation, but also do much of my sketching and composition configuration in Photoshop (where I end up doing my final drawing and coloring). There’s something I will always love about holding a pencil and feeling the drag of graphite on paper. But to be honest, working digitally is often faster and easier for me now. Over the years, both have become integral to my creative process, and both definitely have their pros and their cons.
These are some of the early designs for the Artisan card. I mean, look at those misshapen octopus heads! I played a lot with color in this one, too, trying to find the right palette and mood for this expressive creature.
Collaboration
My partner has a background in Printmaking and subsequently is amazing with color, so he often comes in after I’ve done the base layers and shifts things around. I am always impressed when I hand him a file that I feel very uncertain about, to see how it is transformed through color and the addition of texture.
While he is taking the lead on much of the writing and the layouts for the book and box design, we work closely together to come up with the concepts for the cards, the symbols used in the imagery, and the overall messages of the archetypes in each.
I feel our combined life experiences, creative and business knowledge, and longing for a wider, deeper human connection and awareness make this an especially unique and thoughtful project. As with everything we do, we carefully consider each detail, from the packaging to the finish on the cards. Once it’s all complete and out in the world, I hope you’ll also resonate with these choices and themes, and that the Envoys & Artifacts Deck becomes a staple in your reflective practice.
Here are some more sketches!
