An Artist's Guide to Tarot - Illustrating the arcana with expert artists

This mystical book explores the otherworldly art of tarot cards, interpreted by a selection of talented professional artists.

Modern tarot enthusiasts come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures around the world, and artists in particular have become fascinated by the mythical imagery of the cards. Tarot, originally a popular card game in fifteenth-century Italy, came to be used for bringing the subconscious to the conscious; a way of espying the holder's deepest thoughts and desires. Whether you view tarot to be a spiritual outlet, a psychological tool, or an artistic medium, there's no denying its popularity. You need only look to Kickstarter for confirmation, which sees tarot cards dominating the Art section's 'Trending' page. Many popular artists have contributed to this growing trend, including such beloved names as Djamila Knopf, Abigail Larson, and most recently Guweiz, with his successful crowdfunded book campaign including a highly demanded luxurious tarot deck.
Each item in tarot art has a specific meaning, and this book's artists showcase their own unique interpretations while guiding the reader through their ideation techniques and design choices. Talented contributors include Núria Tamarit, the Valencia-based illustrator of books such as Season of the Witch and Daughters of Snow and Cinders, and Faith Schaffer, the Los Angeles-based designer known for Disenchantment and The Owl House, who reveal the processes behind finished illustrations that are rich with symbolism.
The book features an insightful introduction from bestselling author Sasha Graham, the world-renowned tarot expert behind the acclaimed Dark Wood Tarot deck. Finally, there's a gallery of tarot-card art created by successful artists in the recent past. The result is a special, keepsake art book that combines an intriguing glimpse of the history of tarot with inspiring, artist-led design processes and a stunning selection of never-before-seen tarot art.

About the author

Introduction by Sasha Graham, based in Manhattan, New York, USA. Sasha is a world-renowned tarot expert, bestselling author, award winning tarot deck creator, actor and educator who teaches and lectures around the globe. Her work has been translated into more than 10 languages and she is the author of 12 books.

Edited by 3dtotal Publishing, based in Worcester, England, UK. 3dtotal publish high-quality art books dedicated to bringing invaluable training to beginners, hobbyists, and professionals alike. Their books feature top industry professionals from around the globe who share their experience in skillfully written step-by-step tutorials and guides. Illustrated throughout with stunning artwork, these best-selling publications offer creative insight, expert advice, and essential motivation.

Contributions from Núria Tamarit, the Valencia-based illustrator of books such as Season of the Witch and Daughters of Snow and Cinders. She has 75K Instagram followers.
Contributions from Faith Schaffer, the Los Angeles-based designer known for Disenchantment and The Owl House. She has 130K X followers.

Summary

This mystical book explores the otherworldly art of tarot cards, interpreted by a selection of talented professional artists.
For centuries, Tarot has received stigma from communities around the world. The stereotype is an easy one to envision: a wizened woman with kohled eyes and clinking bangles, wanting to read your future from a deck of painted cards. However, most modern tarot enthusiasts today come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures around the world, and artists in particular have become fascinated by the mythical imagery of the cards. Tarot started out as a popular card game in fifteenth-century Italy, used for bringing the subconscious to the conscious; a way of espying the players’ deepest thoughts and desires. Whether you view it to be a spiritual or scientific tool, there’s no denying its popularity. You need only look to Kickstarter for confirmation, which sees tarot cards dominating the Art section’s 'Trending' page. Popular artists have also jumped on board with this growing trend, including big names like Djamila Knopf, Abigail Larson, and most recently Guweiz with his successful crowd-funded book campaign.

Each item shown in traditional-tarot artwork has a specific meaning, and the contributing artists showcase their own interpretation while guiding the reader through their thought process and stylistic choices. The book also features an insightful introduction from best-selling New York author Sasha Graham, who is a world-renowned tarot expert. Finally, there's a gallery of tarot-card art created by successful artists in the recent past. The result is a special, keepsake art book that combines an intriguing glimpse of the history of tarot with inspiring, artist-led design tutorials and a stunning selection of tarot art.

Foreword

We use the 3dtotal.com website and name to promote all our art titles. This includes adverts, announcements, features, and a free chapter on our site. We also use our various social media platforms to publicise the book: Facebook (197K Likes), Instagram (117K followers), X (50K followers), and Pinterest (8K followers). In addition we post promotional videos for all our books on YouTube (11K subscribers). Book releases are also announced to our mailing list of 15.5K subscribers.
In terms of print marketing we send out promotional postcards and a catalogue with all physical orders in our online shop to promote book titles that are about to be released. We also send review copies to popular magazines, websites, and blogs such as ImagineFX and Parka Blogs, and work with sites such as Creative Bloq and CG Cookie to promote the usefulness of our books on their websites. In addition we advertise our titles on the popular Character Design References Facebook page (930K Likes). Artists involved in the book are always asked to promote the book to their audience – this means our titles are often mentioned on social-media platforms with as many as a million followers.

Product details

• Assisted by: 3dtotal Publishing (Editor), 3dtotal Publishing (Editor), Sasha Graham (Introduction), Graham Sasha (Introduction)
• Publisher: 3dtotal Publishing
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 04.02.2025
• EAN: 9781912843978
• ISBN: 978-1-912843-97-8
• No. of pages: 288
• Dimensions: 217 mm x 29 mm x 263 mm
• Weight: 1152 g
• Illustrations: Color & B&W illustrations throughout
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Interior design, design; Tarot, BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Divination / Tarot, ART / Techniques / Drawing, ART / Subjects & Themes / Human Figure, ART / Digital, ART / Study & Teaching, Art techniques & principles, Teaching of a specific subject, Digital, video and new media arts