1. Initial Ideas & Context
Your Name

2. Pre-proposal

3. Initial Reaction
• Considering the length of the project and the big value that the
grade for it holds, I think that the project I decide to make as my
FMP should be something I'm personally interested in. Making I
as personalised as it could be will increase my chances of showing
what I am as an artist and will help me make the process
enjoyable and easy.
When examining my options for a possible FMP ideas my
thoughts initially went immediately to something I'm already
familiar with, drawing. However, to modernise my hobby and
bring it to a more media-related level I decided to consider digital
art. Although my experience with using graphic tablets is minimal,
I decided to allow myself to learn and expand my comfort zone by
dedicating my work to use it as the main tool in my work.

4. Mind Map

5. Mood Board

6. Mood Board
Click to add text

7. Mood Board Analysis
Is there any repetition in the images you have collected?
Repeated colours/images styles/fonts/tone/mood
Many of the featured cards (from both styles) feature signs
that are commonly associated with mysticism e.g., the all-
seeing eye, sun/moon or star motifs and references to
the bible/Greek mythology.
How will your mood board influence your final product?
It set a tone and overall, non-specific style for my project as
well as inspire the initial design of the cards and aesthetic I
might go with.

8. Influence/Inspiration
HOLLY SIMPLE STUDIO
She is a Philadelphia based artist and designer with a strong belief that her art should be and is
strongly reflective of herself, with a unique style she managed to create her own brand of sort.
On her website (https://www.hollysimplestudio.com) she has launched an online store where
hand-made clothing, jewellery and card decks are available for purchase.
Her style is simple, yet bold, far from realistic. The use of many vibrant colours and cartoon-
like nature of her works makes it look like a child's drawing rather than a serious piece of art.
But Holly does not take her craft too seriously, treating it as a fun way of expressing herself
and what she enjoys. Her Simple Studio was born in 2014 when Holly crated her zine Roy G.
Biv is DEAD (FLASH WARNING: https://itshollysimple.tumblr.com/post/80110565203/roy-g-
biv-is-dead-the-zine).
From there she continued to release digital sketchbooks and self-painted clothing, but the
loudest of her creations, so far, is the HOLLY SIMPLE TAROT deck which is still available to buy
in several boutiques all around the globe. It contains 80 cards with illustrations all original to
the artist.
When creating her decks, Holly pays much focus into their function of inspiring people's self-
growth. In her latest Amulet Friends Oracle, she mentions the importance of her evolving
relationship with Mother Nature that heavily influenced her artistic process.
The themes of magic, spirituality and nature are sprinkled all over Holly's art.
In the context of recent political events, Holly announced that all the profit she makes from
selling certain T-shirt featured on her website will be donated to Ukraine Crisis support.

10. Influence/Inspiration
Hila Klein
Hila Klein is another great inspiration to what I envision my project to
resemble.
She is an Israeli-American designer, artist and online persona. She co-
hosts H3H3 Podcast and holds a position of a CEO of the streetwear
clothing brand she has created herself called Teddy Fresh.
She began her internet career in 2011 when together with her husband
Etan Klein she started their YouTube channel h3h3Productions. They
gradually gained publicity and large-scale recognition and soon became
one of the biggest internet personas at the time. They eventually
expanded their online presence by launching a second YouTube channel
called 'H3 Podcast' that to this day hosts quad-weekly podcasts.
In 2017, Hila started her online streetwear brand Teddy Fresh, being no
only the CEO of their company but also the principal designer of most of
their clothing, a lot of which feature Hila's hand-drawn illustrations which
I find to be particularly inspiring.
Through her art, she focuses on conveying what clothes mean to her. She
belies that garments should be a fun, affordable way of letting people
express themselves. She often makes clothes collaborating with products
and brands usually targeted at children and young people. From
collaboration with the cartoon series SpongeBob SquarePants to a
Looney Tunes, Elton John or more recently Rick and Morty series collabs,
Teddy Fresh brings all targets all kinds of audiences.
Hila herself is a mother of two, her youngest son Bruce being born on the
second of February 2022. She is viewed by most as an archetype of a
powerful modern woman.

11. Influence/Inspiration
Hila Klein

12. Bebhinn Eilish
A young female artist from Ireland. She is
primarily active on Instagram and Etsy
where she sells prints and copies of self-
described feministic work.
Her drawings are primarily focused on female
body, identity and the role it plays in
contemporary world. Her style could be
described as slightly cartoonish and playful in
its nature, Bebhinn uses a lot of vibrant colours
and surreal ideas to enhance her works. This
contrasts with often featured topics of sexuality
and nudity she likes to include in her artwork,
Bebhinn isn't afraid of featuring naked female
bodies the way they are- with body hair, stretch
marks, during menstruation or lactation.
Women portrayed by this artist are often
accompanied by symbols and images speaking
of their erotic nature and birth-giving role (e.g.
pomegranate used to symbolise vaginas or
flowers growing from a pregnant bellies
symbolising new life). To some beautiful and
true, to others vulgar and bold, Bebhinn's
artwork is without a doubt one of a kind.
Two cards from a Tarot set
crated by Bebhinn.
A self-portrait of Bebhinn.

13. Skills Audit
• Creative thinking- Throughout my private and academic life I was often
encouraged to expand and work on my creative thinking abilities. Having a lot of
experience with drawing and oil painting, I have managed to obtain a good idea
of my own artistic workshop. Throughout my research I'm hoping to obtain
more specific knowledge of how to design tarot cards and be able to produce
completely original designs for my own product.
• Substantial knowledge of the Photoshop software- I feel confident in my
abilities to operate the Photoshop software. However, after several years of
active usage of it, I am still yet to discover every possibility that the programme
has to offer in case of creating digital paintings/drawings. I'm sure that with
some practice I will quickly expand my knowledge and will be able to effectively
use Photoshop to make my project.
• Decent artistic abilities, drawing, ability to combine colours in order to create
visually appealing colour compositions-When it comes to my drawing skills, I
have a lot of previous experience. I have been creating sketches, drawings and
paintings throuout most of my past and thus I;m aware of mygood, constantly
expanding abilities. When it comes to digital art, my experience is much shorter.
This leads me to believe that, at first, the task of creating digital pieces might
come across as a slight challenge. However, I'm certain in my abilities of quick
adapting and bewlieve my lack of greater experience will not be a big obstacle.

14. Why are you making this project?
I have decided to create a selection of tarot cards because I view this as an opportunity for me to
express myself creatively, as well as personally. Working with something so well established as
Tarot cards allows me to take concepts and conventions of a standard tarot set and change them
in order to suit my own ideas and convey messages important to me. There is little limitation to
designing each card, as their meanings could be understood in many ways thus fit a lot of forms.
Another important quality of Tarot, one I found to be crucial when deciding on my project, is its
use in daily self-growth and truth seeking. Although, in the past, I have not participated in Tarot
readings myself nor was I ever spiritual, I always found the idea of seeking peace in Tarot rather
fascinating. The truth is, I believe that it is not cards themselves that tell anyone's fortune, but
our own interpretation of them. It does not influence what’s happening around us, but rather
can encourage us to change our perception of things and find a different way of thinking.
I find the idea of interpretation as highly inspiring and motivating, it gives me a lot of wiggle
room as an artist which is important in creating a project such as this one.
I’m aiming to re-create a well-known concept and make it more modern and relatable to social
issues important to me. I see this project as an opportunity of self discovery, as well as
communicating my thoughts and feelings to a potential recipient.
Instead of creating a full arcana, I am aiming to create half of one. I think that limiting myself to
making 11 cards will allow me to put more thought into designing each one and will help me to
avoid mass producing any of them (which would be undesirable considering such personal
nature of my project).

15. Hopes for the FMP
One of my hopes for this project is to expand my understanding of creating art in a
more digital form. Prior to starting my FMP I had very little opportunities of
working with graphic tablets and using Photoshop software as a platform for
digital art. Throughout this project I am wishing to become more familiar with
both, bringing my technical skills to a higher level. By doing so, I will be able to gain
more courage for engaging in more future projects of that sort.
Another one of my hopes for the FMP is to create a n aesthetically pleasing
product I would be able to use as a potential portfolio piece. As I mentioned
before, my experience with digital art is little, however I have always seen digital
art as a crucial market for the future of the art industry. If I ever desire to continue
working in this field, having a set of illustrations designed and produced by me
would come handy. I will aim to produce 11 pieces of art that would fit well in my
portfolio and would showcase my skills to a potential employer.
Finally, I hope to create a highly personalised product, that successfully
externalises my opinions and feelings on today’s world. I always believed in the
right to express yourself through various forms, one of them being art. I aspire to
start a conversation on topics such as religion, spirituality and identity. All of the
products will be highly subjective, influenced by my age, gender and nationality.

16. Strengths and Limitations
I consider my creative thinking and artistic abilities to be the biggest strengths going into this
project. I see myself as quite experienced when it comes to drawing, coming up with ideas and
successfully illustrating them on paper or canvas. I have years of experience in that matter, which
makes me feel secure when thinking about possibilities for this project.
Since a young age, I was able to expand my technical abilities of sketching, drawing and painting. I
am hopeful that my skills will turn out to be on the same level when taken to a digital form.
Although I’m certain of my abilities of fast adapting and quickly becoming familiar with new
platforms to express my art through, I am a little concerned about how well I will perform when
forced to work with a graphic tablet as my primary tool. I had very little experience with using this
type of device, having created a maximum of three unfinished digital pieces in the past. This is
without a doubt a weakness of mine that I hope to overcome during production.
What was always an obstacle to me, was the lack of familiarity with the software as well as the
tablet itself. I have never had enough time or motivation to force myself to use it, which puts me in
an inexperienced position.
However, I have already mentioned that I’m not too worried for myself, because now, after several
months of using Photoshop software I am more knowledgeable in using it and able to figure things
out as I work. I’m more than certain that whenever there will be an obstacle to overcome, I’ll be
able to work it out myself without needing to have years of experience with digital art to back me
up.

17. Potential Research Activities
For my research I'm planning on exploring:
- Various existing Tarot sets, their meaning and basic
conventions as well as what do people use them for,
their role in people's everyday lives (This will allow
me to familiarise myself with standard conventions
of Tarot sets, how they look like and what they are
aiming to bring into my audience's lives)
- Meanings behind each cards from the major arcana
( as to give myself a good foundation for re-
interpretating chosen cards and creating my own
original ones)