Malthus Cartoon Art Thread

[Malthus]

Heh I do wonder what people who haven't seen the show could make of the cards. 

[Barrister]

Heh I do wonder what people who haven't seen the show could make of the cards. 

I am impressed with the artwork and your talent.

But, I have to say, I am kind of baffled why you would take so much time and effort on such a project.  Not that this is a criticism - you be you! - I just don't get it.

[Valmy]

Heh I do wonder what people who haven't seen the show could make of the cards. 

"Cocaine is a hell of a drug."

[Malthus]

Heh I do wonder what people who haven't seen the show could make of the cards. 

I am impressed with the artwork and your talent.

But, I have to say, I am kind of baffled why you would take so much time and effort on such a project.  Not that this is a criticism - you be you! - I just don't get it.

Well, mainly I want to finish a whole deck of cards. I've always loved card art. Most typical card art is beyond my abilities or interests (it's done by professionals who do intricate engraving styles). So cartoony style card art suits me better.

Drawing is fun - I find it so anyway - but I've always had trouble thinking of what exactly to draw (the dreaded 'art block'- wanting to draw but not being inspired to draw). With a deck of cards, you know what you have to do - draw all the cards in the deck.

Using this fan art theme I have already established characters and settings to mine; the show lends itself to this because the four "queens" each represent a faction and have caste-marks on their cheeks representing one of the suits (hearts, spades, clubs, diamonds).

These particular character designs really appeal to me - they are relatively simple to draw, allowing for lots of variation in style. I find the character designs really visually appealing. The creativity then comes in designing the composition and layout, which are the things I most enjoy.

I've always enjoyed drawing fantasy characters, but what I like best is artists like Charles Addams or Edward Gorey - cartoony styles with a mixture of creepy and cute. This show fits that aesthetic to a T. I sometimes do more typical fantasy themes but I'm not as into that. 

Another thing I find is that restrictions on style and content make the process more interesting; hence only using black and gold rather than full colours, and the card format. 

Doing fan art provides a ready-made audience who are enthusiastic and supportive, so the drawings get lots of attention when posted online (one of the cards topped 10,000 likes on Instagram, which did surprised me).  If I did fan art for a larger fandom I could probably get an even larger audience, though - but none so far have appealed to me. 

Edit: I'm already worried about what project to take up after this one is finished!

[jimmy olsen]

They look wonderful

[Malthus]

Heh I do wonder what people who haven't seen the show could make of the cards. 

"Cocaine is a hell of a drug."

Not the first drug I would have thought of. 

[Malthus]

They look wonderful

Thanks! 

[Oexmelin]

You could extend the project with cards depicting the major arcana from a Tarot deck.

[Malthus]

You could extend the project with cards depicting the major arcana from a Tarot deck.

That would be interesting! Though I'm not as familiar with the Tarot deck, it could be a fun adaptation.

[Oexmelin]

Some of these could be straightforward, but perhaps more fun to subvert expectations. Many of them can also be used to evoke some key moments of the show. The Tarot of Marseilles is perhaps the most well-known classical representation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot_of_Marseilles, but the Visconti-Sforza Tarot is the one used to illustrate Italo Calvino's Castle of Crossed Destinies (https://www.tarot.com/tarot/decks/visconti)

The Fool / The Juggler (truth / impulsivity)
I - The Magician (gifts / talents)
II - The Priestess (awareness)
III - The Empress (motherhood)
IV - The Emperor (authority)
V - The Hierophant (guidance)
VI - Love / Lovers
VII - The Chariot (drive)
VIII - Strength
IX - The Hermit (solitude / self-reliance)
X - Wheel of Fortune (the buying of vowels)
XI - Justice
XII - The Hanged Man (sacrifice / choice)
XIII - Death (transformation)
XIV - Temperance
XV - The Devil
XVI - The Tower (destruction)
XVII - The Star (hope)
XVIII - The Moon (doubt, lethargy)
XIX - The Sun (vitality, energy)
XX - Judgment
XXI - The World (fulfillment)

[Malthus]

X - Wheel of Fortune (the buying of vowels)

I can see some will be reasonably easy choices ... others will require creativity

The Fool / The Juggler (truth / impulsivity) - Ruberiot in "Song Day", with marionette of Star
I - The Magician (gifts / talents) - Eclipsa?
II - The Priestess (awareness)
III - The Empress (motherhood) -  Eclipsa with Meteora.
IV - The Emperor (authority) - Queen Moon.
V - The Hierophant (guidance) -  Glossaryk.
VI - Love / Lovers -  Has to be Star & Marco.
VII - The Chariot (drive)
VIII - Strength
IX - The Hermit (solitude / self-reliance)
X - Wheel of Fortune (the buying of vowels) - Father Time's wheel
XI - Justice - the Cube of Truth/Eclipsa's Trial
XII - The Hanged Man (sacrifice / choice) - Star allowing the Wand to be destroyed
XIII - Death (transformation) - Mewberty
XIV - Temperance
XV - The Devil - Toffee
XVI - The Tower (destruction) - the wreck of Mewni Castle?
XVII - The Star (hope) - Star Butterfly!
XVIII - The Moon (doubt, lethargy) Moon, after her betrayal.
XIX - The Sun (vitality, energy) - Marco?
XX - Judgment
XXI - The World (fulfillment) - The melding of the two worlds in the last episode

[KRonn]

Doing fan art provides a ready-made audience who are enthusiastic and supportive, so the drawings get lots of attention when posted online (one of the cards topped 10,000 likes on Instagram, which did surprised me).  If I did fan art for a larger fandom I could probably get an even larger audience, though - but none so far have appealed to me. 
.............

Edit: I'm already worried about what project to take up after this one is finished!

Congrats, and well deserved as these cards you make are so good, so cool. Great pics. As for a next project, would you be looking to draw/create on something different form cards, or a non-drawing project? Or perhaps not yet decided.

[Malthus]

Doing fan art provides a ready-made audience who are enthusiastic and supportive, so the drawings get lots of attention when posted online (one of the cards topped 10,000 likes on Instagram, which did surprised me).  If I did fan art for a larger fandom I could probably get an even larger audience, though - but none so far have appealed to me. 
.............

Edit: I'm already worried about what project to take up after this one is finished!

Congrats, and well deserved as these cards you make are so good, so cool. Great pics. As for a next project, would you be looking to draw/create on something different form cards, or a non-drawing project? Or perhaps not yet decided.

Thanks!

Not decided - I still owe some friends in the fan art community some art, which I said I'd do when the cards are done.

There's an upcoming show called Hazbin Hotel that's being produced independently (funded by online contributions!) that looks very interesting. Only some clips available so far, but it's built up a big following. I may do some fan art for that, as I like the character designs - hits the "creepy/cute" spot hard.

A clip (lots of freezeframe bonus):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWrM-eDxTas

[KRonn]

Nice, sounds good Malthus. 

[Malthus]

The Traitor (Nine of Clubs)