9 of Swords

[egypturnash]

Despair, cruelty, lying, subtle dishonesty. Yet another unpleasant card from the high end of the Swords.

I've been working on this one for a while; it was in progress when I had to drop everything to go down to New Orleans. I fooled with it in fits and starts over this very complicated week.

The swords-in-word-balloons was a sudden bit of inspiration that let me finish it. I didn't know what to do with the last couple of swords; I tried hanging them on a suggested wall but it wasn't working.

Edit: Less colors, slight composition/contrast tweak. Still not spectacular but much better. Less is, quite often, more.

Print available on Artspots.

Comments

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

Otherwise perilous though it may be, I would enjoy this world in which about a third of all the people are naga and nobody seems to mind. I had a long look at this card about betrayal, having every other possible thought about it including the wordplay of "s-words"*, before even realizing that (a) the serpent might be intended as a symbol of perfidy here, and (b) it still might not be. To acknowledge the former almost feels like racism, knowing all the cheerful snakey people on the other cards.

*snugglebunnies

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

I didn't intend it to be such - but I became aware of that after the initial rough. And left it in. Because, well, ambiguity is good.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

It took me a while to find the ninth sword, until I finally realized it was slung behind the standing person's back. That works well with the theme of the card.

As for the serpent as the symbol of deception... honestly, her expression and demeanor is so sympathetic and concerned that I could easily interpret this image as the REMOVAL of the Knife of Cruel Despair from the bloodless wound it leaves.

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

It's hard to count all the swords in this one - I kept on having to double-check as I was working on it!

Hopefully the whole scene is ambiguous enough that which way the knife is going will be decided based on the context of the other cards nearby! My intent was 'about to go in' but the change of the observer from serpent to human with matching gear tattoo makes it much more... complicated.

[eriscontrol.livejournal.com]

I like the swords in word balloons here. What was the source of this inspiration?

Also, would you happen to still have a copy of the original? I'd like to see it for comparison. Always curious. :)

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

Desperation, mostly! I was looking at the bits I'd sketched in Illustrator and thinking "what the hell am I going to DO with these swords?". I didn't want to have them hanging on a wall because I wanted the setting to remain ambiguous; putting them on a wall put it inside and that didn't feel right.

It was 2AM, I was still kinda groggy from a long day, and inspiration just struck. Put 'em in balloons. Change them from 'real' swords to more symbolic ones.

As to the earlier version - nope, sorry, it's been saved over. There was some red and green here and there that just muddled the message, the left figure was about 1/8 of an inch to the right, and the sword just to the left of her was angled left, instead of right. A bunch of little changes that fixed niggling little errors.

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

the left figure was about 1/8 of an inch to the right

Aha, I thought something had gone missing. I liked that, as it appeared to me, she was very quietly placing the dagger in her conspirator's hand, and the moment was captured when both their hands were on it.

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

My intent in the drawing was 'steepled fingers' and I thought it was just waaay too confusing a silhouette in the earlier version. Though that reading of the original version certainly fits the card in general...

[amygdalate.livejournal.com]

I was gonna be a noodge about the contrast, but yes, this is much much better. <3