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Entry tags:
- art,
- fanart,
- harry potter,
- ramble,
- tarot
HP Tarot thumbnails - Justice
I would have saved this for tomorrow's schedule, but it's 10:30pm and I'm STILL sitting at work so I feel like producing something. Here's a LOT of rambling about a simple(?) card.
Justice is about karma and just rewards. I chose Neville Longbottom for this card because he truly is the one character who achieves his potential despite all unlikeliness.
Notable art bits:
1. The traditional portrait of Justice bears a sword, which is representative of decisiveness, consciousness, and intellectual acuity. Of course here Neville has the Sword of Gryffindor, which marks him as a true Gryffindor, as well as being the physical means to accomplish his greatest deed. I chose to have it lying across his lap instead of him holding it upwards or downwards because it felt more true to Neville's nature - not combatative or judgmental, but at the ready if needed.
2. The Sorting Hat is here because it's, you know, judgement and destiny and stuff again, as well as doubling as the crown worn by Justice which is wisdom and insight and that kind of stuff I don't care to look up right now. Justice might be blind, but most tarot decks seem to have her seeing clearly, and I think that's a pretty good thing, being such a visually-oriented person myself. Besides, if I pull the hat over Neville's eyes you wouldn't be able to see most of his face and then how would you know it's Neville huh?
3. Justice carries the scales of balance and judgement, harking to the weighing of a person's soul. Neville is holdinga Rememberall the prophecy, which is the evidence that he had the potential for a great destiny even before his birth.
4. She sits before a drapery between two pillars, which represents balance and harkens back to the High Priestess. Oh look, the Room of Requirement hideout just happens to be decorated that way :P
5. Wardrobe is undetermined. The Hogwarts uniform boarding school look is pretty cool, but I figure that would be a class-time only thing along with the pointy hats that are supposedly part of uniform but you never see depicted anywhere because it looks silly (and hides faces), really. T-shirt and jeans is about as good as you can hope for when (previously) in hiding as a wanted fugitive, eh?
6. I originally had a composition that was much more literal to actual book events, but as I was drawing it, it occurred to me that it really doesn't feel very much like a Justice card. And even though this is slightly more of a Harry Potter fanart project than a tarot deck project, I would still much prefer to have a deck that's readable on its own. I can still be pursuaded to the alternate image if you guys speak up, but honestly, I think this one works better because MOAR SYMBLSM.
By the way, I can't think about Neville in book 7 without thinking about him as he was in Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness. I can't exactly recommend you guys read that fanfic, because 1) it's FREAKING HUGE 2) it's 10 times darker and more gruesome than JKR would EVER get 3) you might never think about the book and characters the same way again. However if you dare to chance it, you'll read a story that's 1) unbelievably canonical 2) better than the actual books themselves 3) the best characterization for practically every single minor character at Hogwarts. Just don't read the sequel(s) unless you have a really strong gut. It'll haunt you, I guarantee.
(Anyone out there already read them previously?)
-----
"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy." - Neville Longbottom
"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy." - Neville Longbottom
Justice is about karma and just rewards. I chose Neville Longbottom for this card because he truly is the one character who achieves his potential despite all unlikeliness.
Notable art bits:
1. The traditional portrait of Justice bears a sword, which is representative of decisiveness, consciousness, and intellectual acuity. Of course here Neville has the Sword of Gryffindor, which marks him as a true Gryffindor, as well as being the physical means to accomplish his greatest deed. I chose to have it lying across his lap instead of him holding it upwards or downwards because it felt more true to Neville's nature - not combatative or judgmental, but at the ready if needed.
2. The Sorting Hat is here because it's, you know, judgement and destiny and stuff again, as well as doubling as the crown worn by Justice which is wisdom and insight and that kind of stuff I don't care to look up right now. Justice might be blind, but most tarot decks seem to have her seeing clearly, and I think that's a pretty good thing, being such a visually-oriented person myself. Besides, if I pull the hat over Neville's eyes you wouldn't be able to see most of his face and then how would you know it's Neville huh?
3. Justice carries the scales of balance and judgement, harking to the weighing of a person's soul. Neville is holding
4. She sits before a drapery between two pillars, which represents balance and harkens back to the High Priestess. Oh look, the Room of Requirement hideout just happens to be decorated that way :P
5. Wardrobe is undetermined. The Hogwarts uniform boarding school look is pretty cool, but I figure that would be a class-time only thing along with the pointy hats that are supposedly part of uniform but you never see depicted anywhere because it looks silly (and hides faces), really. T-shirt and jeans is about as good as you can hope for when (previously) in hiding as a wanted fugitive, eh?
6. I originally had a composition that was much more literal to actual book events, but as I was drawing it, it occurred to me that it really doesn't feel very much like a Justice card. And even though this is slightly more of a Harry Potter fanart project than a tarot deck project, I would still much prefer to have a deck that's readable on its own. I can still be pursuaded to the alternate image if you guys speak up, but honestly, I think this one works better because MOAR SYMBLSM.
By the way, I can't think about Neville in book 7 without thinking about him as he was in Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness. I can't exactly recommend you guys read that fanfic, because 1) it's FREAKING HUGE 2) it's 10 times darker and more gruesome than JKR would EVER get 3) you might never think about the book and characters the same way again. However if you dare to chance it, you'll read a story that's 1) unbelievably canonical 2) better than the actual books themselves 3) the best characterization for practically every single minor character at Hogwarts. Just don't read the sequel(s) unless you have a really strong gut. It'll haunt you, I guarantee.
(Anyone out there already read them previously?)
no subject
I also think swords are easier to balance when one is cross-legged, but that might be because I'm short, whereas Neville is quite long, iirc.
no subject
I think guys don't do cross-legged sitting much. :P