The Empress - Alternate (Patreon)

I've been feeling a bit frustrated by the process of creating each card in the absence of context. Overall, I would like to have these cards share a unique style that is a little bit different from how I've illustrated other parts of the project.

So, I've been building a little bit of a style guide for myself to begin the process of creating a unified look for the tarot cards.

With that in mind, I revisited the earlier take on the Empress card with a little color experiment. Placed in context with the other cards and imaging this piece printed at card size, I'm leaning back toward this piece as the official art for the empress card. It still needs a little polish, but rather than fuss over it I'm going to begin planning the next cards in the series with my new learning in hand.

Oh well. The one I finished a week ago will likely fall away as an extra piece of alternate art. Perhaps it will also get retooled as a different illustration.

We'll see! I'm trying to stay fluid as this thing comes together.