As I told my friend Carrie Paris when I previewed this one to her by email last night: If I didn't know that I have some real bastards laying in wait for me further along in the Minors, I would feel guilty about how easily this one came together!
The four of cups, still in progress thank you very much, has been like pulling teeth without anesthesia. This was a dream. Sometimes when I'm doing research for the deck, an image comes along that just screams a specific card to me... or at least Urgently Whispers something like "You know I'm the Knight of Swords, don't you?"
This was one of those times. I found the central image months and months ago when I was working on the Majors, and immediately knew where she was going end up. Last night I needed not to fuss with something -- so I went with the lady who knew where she was going. All I had to do was isolate her, hand-color and artify her, tilt her up very slightly for a more dramatic angle, layer in the elements of the background and work in the final effects. Oh, I needed to giver her a sword, too... and I nearly put it into what would have been the wrong hand. Everything just fell into place: I found exactly the right clouds, exactly the right tent and exactly the right cypress tree in nothing flat, and the card finished itself in something like two hours.
Not only that, but when you pair her with my Bucket Rider, I think the Knights actually start to present a Unified Front. That makes me feel like I'm on the Right Track.
Dang, I wish they were all this easy...
-- Freder.
www.ducksoup.me
