Queer Expanded Tarot

This design is a take on something more personal to myself. Looking at the joy of being alone and the euphoria of being something that many people don’t understand. I leaned into my own experiences making something I could connect with.

This design pulls elements of eldritch and angelic character design for something very otherworldly. 

It embodies the phrases “bride to only myself” and “visceral love”, representing something seen as ‘pure’ into something slightly horrifying and awe inspiring.

The illustration focuses on the difference between how the subject character perceives themselves, and how the audience viewing the art perceives them.

The subject sees themselves as their upright meaning, “getting it right” in terms of their own identity. The audience sees the characters as their reverse meaning, with a “lack of self awareness”, and how extremely different they are from the world around them.

Despite this the design is still beautiful, with the character unabashedly happy with themselves.

In romantic illustrations, simple actions are seen through a new lens as they are done out of love. The softness and ‘love’ of an action is represented as a uniquely beautiful thing.

However these actions can also be experienced in a platonic way. Reinterpreting traditionally romantic actions into a platonic sense can help to give more sense into why these actions are important.

Because of that this illustration is centred around a scene of a wedding, as the main subject marries only themselves, working into the phrase “bride to only myself”

This is a statement of rejection towards everyone and the world around them, and shows they accept and love themselves as how they are now, and not how they could be.

The piece is balanced with the idea of “visceral love” exploring feelings of loving without restriction.

Aspec identities lie outside of typical romantic/intimate relationships, which can lead to boxing yourself in thinking that expressions of affection are limited to expressions of “love”. To love without restriction is to disregard these limits, to release yourself from the expectations of society and enjoy your life on your own terms.

Choose to be free and uncaring with your feelings, ‘love’ something without the condition of ‘loving’ it, and without caring what others will see your expression as.

The visceral need to enjoy your life and expression is more important than others' view on what ‘love’ should be. Everyone should be free to ‘love’ without condition.

Moodboard

This card’s design concept was focused on the meaning of the card and how it related to a Quoiromantics experiences. How courage is required to face down uncertainty of your own identity and experiences.

The experiences of the world are represented as a storm that constantly buffers the Quoiromantic as they navigate their way through life. Feelings of romance and intimacy intermingle together, and this experience can become even more complicated as outsiders offer their viewpoints.

Within this storm the Quoiromantic has a strong sense of self as they brave this storm.

The subject character of a mecha links with being a vanguard in the storm, while also keeping a sense of humanity and elegance within their form. Mechas are extensions of their pilots, able to navigate the harshest of scenarios while keeping the pilots safe.

The mecha design has more characterful elements to reflect a personality more in the design.  Racing Miku series from Goodsmile Racing turned into a huge inspiration with their designs incorporating technological elements into a feminine design. Tech wear and silhouettes with strong changes in shape soon became my focus, as they added a natural variety within a design hinting towards a more human personality.

The quoiromantic flag uses muted colours in its design. This leads to using strong contrasts between the neutral colours.

The teal and green highlights from the flag fits together with the sci-fi theme of the design. Using them to highlight the mech against the neutral background as a fantastical force standing against the storm.

The subject character is angled as a fantastical mix of tech and magic as it strides through uncertain storms and waters. Mirroring how a Quoiromantic lives with this uncertainty everyday they become more determined with each step.

Music

determined songs - stronger themes of determination - love hurting but with strength in the music despite that Forest - Yuki Kajiura Denki Yohou - inabakumori

Moodboard

Representing Akiosexual requires looking at love from a different angle.

Aspec identities can be misunderstood as tragic or painful especially as this card has associations with ‘poverty’ and ‘neglect’. This piece was to focus on a positive spin of these meanings.

The viewpoint of the artwork is of someone who can enjoy love for what it is, without needing or wanting input from another person. Feeling love and enjoying it without spreading it to others or the subject of their affection.

This piece developed towards themes of monsters, beasts, and wildlife. Love represented more as a wild force taking over areas without someone's intervention.

Attraction would be something which could grow abundantly while not looked after, like a wild garden. But when it is actively addressed it will be trimmed away.

From an outsider's perspective it can be seen as suffocationing or unwanted, but it’s actually enjoyed for what it is, without a need to cultivate it as an Akiosexual.

The themes of material loss are echoed in a character unaffected by the scene around them. A metaphorical poverty within feelings is represented, rather than a literal interpretation.

Tera Terada’s illustration “Liberation” was a massive inspiration, with its feelings of ‘emptiness’ within the piece, even though it was filled with wildlife. The foliage suffocates the area with colour and density, colours wash the piece into one scene. This gave the inspiration to focus on swallowing the subject character in their surroundings of nature.

A-spectrum identities are typically represented as non-humans, as a shorthand for not being able to understand human emotions. This however can cause difficulty as it can boil down a very complicated and human experience to a dismissive ‘non-human’ viewpoint.

This design has a human figure as the main subject but is balanced with the objects of the characters affections (allo sexuals or romantics) as the more inhuman designs.

Allos are represented as spirits who inhabit the garden with the subject character. They are not active participants in the area, but rather observers and echos of what the Akiosexual sees them as. In this design they are the inhuman outsiders to a world of the Akiosexual. While the Akiosexual is comfortable in their place within it.

Living comfortably with yourself can be difficult for many aspec identities. Acknowledging that your life choices may be incomprehensible to outsiders, and being happy with those choices and yourself regardless takes a long time to achieve. I wanted to try and represent some of that, as even though the card embodies poverty and material loss, this isn’t interpreted as a negative experience.

Music

Soft melodic music - Love songs with a melancholic theme my long forgotten cloistered sleep  –  Yuki Kajiura everytime you kissed me  –  Yuki Kajiura

Moodboard