🎴XVII - the Star: Gideon's dirty magazines (TLT Tarot) // WIP (Patreon)

General Note: All cards will be cleaned & finished up once the concept for all of the major arcana is established and I've found a comfy routine in CSP . The font and banner/decoration are also placeholders for now.

The Star brings hope, renewed power, and strength to carry on with life. It shows how abundantly blessed you are by the universe as evidenced by the various things around you. It may not be directly evident at the moment, for this card follows the trauma of the Tower card. Remember that you hold within you all that you need for your fulfillment - the only thing that you need is courage. (Labyrinthos.co)

The Star is one of the few cards I didn't have a specific person in mind but rather a concept. I feel the cohort represents the meaning of the Star quite well. The magazines Gideon found work quite well I think.

I've seen some interesting theories and discussions online about how these "dirty magazines" may very well be propaganda to join the cohort and I love this theory. I tried finding a good mix to represent that with the different headlines in the magazines.

Some process/concept notes:

I've picked up various references for this. Starting with simple magazines scattered. The playboy magazines are obvious as well and gave a good indication on how far I could go without making it completely NSFW. I've kept the Playboy font and made the second O a small skeleton with bunny ears.

I've also looked up some pinups with military and vacation themes. Lastly, I wanted the magazine to give off a false promise of paradise awaiting for Gideon - so Hawaii and beach photos were the biggest inspo for coloration.

Various thumbnail tests:

I ditched putting Gideon in there pretty quickly. I also didn't do anything with a shuttle since I couldn't find any final composition and background I liked with that. Plus it was hard to fit the card's symbols in there. Once I went into an actual water -> pool -> vacation --> false paradise direction, it came together quickly.

Different Magazine Scatters:

I also tested different angles the magazine could be lying on the surface. I was on the fence between this middle and right layout. Ultimately I picked the right because it's the largest. But looking at it now, I also really love number 2. Who knows, maybe I'll go and change it to the second composition once I'm starting to finalize this card.

Hope you enjoy!