Doodles and Things

[wangxiuming]

Thank you everyone for your kind words and encouragement! It means a lot. And I definitely can use some blessings from RNGesus

Unfortunately, I'm not taking on unpaid requests at the moment. If you are interested in a commission, please send me a PM and I can provide my commission information. However, I have a few projects on my plate already and cannot guarantee when I will be able to start on additional commissions at this time.

As for the reference I used for Eldarian, it was Chris Evans!

[wangxiuming]

Another long-overdue tarot card. Here is Wren as The Tower:

With Wren, I debated for a long while about what card would work. At first, I was leaning toward a gender-bent Emperor card, because the idea of having a kickass female assassin as The Emperor had an odd appeal for me. I also considered The Hanged Man for a little bit. Ultimately, with consultation with Wren's player, we settled on The Tower with the intent to express some of the emotion and upheaval behind Wren's defection from Darkhold.

I had done The Tower previously, but as with all my past art, I have gradually grown to hate it. Plus, my old Tower was in a different style and in completely different dimensions than all the rest of my cards thus far, so I knew I had to replace it eventually.

In its upright position, The Tower represents sudden change, chaos, revelation, and awakening, among other things. Here, I try to embody those themes by capturing Wren's flight from the Zhentarim after discovering the true horrors within the faction.

Random notes:
- Most of my previous cards thus far have had characters with very neutral expressions (including my original tower card, one of the reasons why I dislike it now). For a card with the jolt and energy of the Tower, I wanted something where the character was a bit more emotive.
- Lightning strikes the tower. In the Rider-Waite cards, the lightning strikes represent a sudden epiphany.
- Wren's horse is silver-gray, an excellent complement to the themes and character development from these events, in my opinion. It recalls the white horse from the Death card, which encapsulates transition points and new beginnings.

https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-m ... ana/tower/

[Glowfire]

Wow, that is amazing. I love the energy from it! You captured it really well!

[Wolfrayne]

I've said it before and ill say it again.... I really want this deck of cards. Absolutely amazing work

[The Whistler]

ho lee chit

[Arn]

So glad you're doing this again. Amazing work, as always.

I went back to look at your old Tower card, and I thought:
1. Oh, it's your own characer!
and then
2. LOL you don't like it???

When you complete the deck, you should totally print them onto actual cards.

[kleomenes]

Brilliant!

[wangxiuming]

Thanks, everyone!

I have been considering whether I want to actually print physical cards out once I'm done with the Major Arcana, but I have a feeling a deck would be pretty sad without all the minor arcana (A - K of the four tarot suits) ... but that's an additional 50+ cards to paint and I don't know if I have it in me to do them all xD.

My goal right now is just to finish the major arcana, which I'm about halfway done. I'll give printing some more thought as I get closer to finishing them.

@Arn: I am stricken with the cliche artist feeling of hating your old work. In retrospect, that original tower I did was a bit of a mess thematically and I always felt iffy about the composition. It was one of my very first attempts at doing something besides portraits/simple figures so there was definitely room for improvement. Not that I don't still have a ton to learn now.

[Arn]

I mean, I get it. I am just saying that to my eye, everything you do is so good.

So. Good.

Ugh.

[Fury_US]

Absolutely nobody hates an artists work as bad as the artist himself does, it's just a fact of nature.

Wang, it may be possible to use something like Vista Print or some form of print on demand, where people who would like to have a print of their character's card can order a print in various sizes for framing, etc if you didn't fee like trying to print it out as a deck. A full tarot deck is a lot to take on, but I'd honestly be happy with just the Major Arcana. Just, you know. Find out what the cost would be to get them printed, and set up a kickstarter, maybe.

[VDub]

Should have used a "Deck of many things" for the theme. There are only 22 of them.

[Winterborne]

These are entirely incredible, i can't wait to see more.

[wangxiuming]

Thanks for the kind words everybody. It means a lot! As for printing, I'll definitely look into it once I get closer to finishing all these arcana. And I had no idea a deck of many things even existed =[. Will have to look into that as well! But I have to say, what I love about the tarot cards is the symbolism that comes attached.

Anyway, here's the latest card: Suul, as the Wheel of Fortune!

This was a challenging card for me (who am I kidding, they were all challenging D=), in no small part because it features a character played by an artist that that was my original OG art mentor: Nyssis! Without her encouragement and guidance, I would not be where I am today in terms of my art. And, it was in fact her utterly stunning tarot cards (there's a couple in this thread, and one here) that actually inspired me to attempt them myself.

It took some time and consideration to decide on what arcana I thought Suul would best embody. After discussing with Nyssis about the latest developments in Suul's life, I thought the Wheel of Fortune major arcana would be suitable.

https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-m ... f-fortune/

Simplistically, the Wheel of Fortune represents karma, life cycles, and a turning point in one's life, among other things. I thought these were particularly appropriate for Suul based on the character growth and development she's experienced in her recent time on BG. Suul was once a bandit who stole and killed out of necessity, but also felt no remorse for her actions. In her time on BG, however, she's gained new perspectives that now cause her to feel guilt for her prior crimes. This seemed like a big turning point for her that I thought I would try to capture.

In my card, I have the actual Wheel part of the Wheel of Fortune represented by a circular mirror. Around the mirror are stone carvings that depict various events from Suul's past. Inside, we see Suul aiming an arrow at her reflection - a symbol of the guilt she now feels for past misdeeds. It also embodies the karmic meaning of the card - where once she aimed her arrows at innocent merchants and travelers, now she's aiming at herself.

Random notes:
- Out of all the cards I've done so far, this probably is the one that differs from the original Rider-Waite tarot card the most.
- The original card features lots of different creatures, including an angel, an eagle, a bull, and a lion. I continue my trend of excluding these elements for uh ... stylistic reasons (or possibly laziness ).
- Kudos to you if you can name the events in Suul's past depicted by the stone carvings.

[VDub]

Amazing. Truly talented. The card has depth. Aiming at herself in the mirror is perfection.

[Nyssis]

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, wangxiuming. Words can't begin to describe how much your work is my guiding force to become a better artist and attempt new techniques, and I feed off the creative energy in your pieces. You're a huge inspiration!

I look forward to seeing more in the near-future and beyond. Now, time to sit down and dust off my tablet too. :)