Tarot cards have captivated people for centuries with their intricate artwork and mystical symbolism. Whether you're a seasoned tarot reader or you just appreciate the artistry of these enigmatic cards, the idea of creating your own custom deck can be incredibly appealing.
With Microsoft Designer’s Image Creator, you can craft a stunning, personalized tarot deck easily. In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of creating a cohesive set of tarot cards that reflects your individual style.
Planning your tarot deck
Since we want this deck to be cohesive, it’s helpful to do a bit of planning before we fire up Image Creator. Here’s what to consider:
Choose a theme or style for your deck
Pick a theme you’ll be excited to stick to for the whole deck. Your theme will guide your creative decisions throughout the process, ensuring a cohesive look and feel across all cards. A few options include:
- Nature-inspired: Incorporate elements of flora and fauna
- Celestial: Draw upon the mysteries of the cosmos
- Minimalist: Focus on clean lines and simple shapes
- Fairy tale: Reimagine classic stories through a tarot lens
- Artistic style: Pick a style like impressionistic, watercolor, or papercraft and use it throughout to reinforce your theme.
If you’re not sure yet, head to Image Creator and start experimenting! Just remember to finalize your chosen theme before you start building the rest of the deck.
Decide on the number of cards
A traditional tarot deck consists of 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. However, you're not bound by convention when creating your own deck. Consider these options:
- Full 78-card deck: Ideal for those wanting a comprehensive set
- Major Arcana only (22 cards): Perfect for focusing on life's big themes and lessons
- Custom subset: Choose the cards that speak to you most, creating a unique, abbreviated deck.
Select the option that aligns best with your vision and the time you want to invest in the project.
Using consistent prompts
You're now ready to head over to Image Creator and start your project!
Before we create our first card, let's talk about the key to a cohesive deck: consistent prompts. When using AI to generate images, the way you structure your prompts will greatly influence the style and cohesion of your cards. Here are some tips:
- Use the same basic format for each prompt to make it easier to stay consistent.
- Specify your chosen art style in every prompt.
- Include recurring elements that will appear across all cards.
- Be specific about colors, lighting, and composition.
For the deck we're creating today, we’ll use the following recurring elements to keep our style cohesive:
- A flat graphic, simple composition
- The colors magenta, cyan, red, and yellow on a pale peach background
- We’ll include the phrase “vertical size tarot cards” in every prompt
Creating your first card
Let’s kick our project off on the right foot by starting with the Force, which represents trust, discipline, and order—perfect for manifesting a tidy deck.
Here’s the process in a nutshell:
1. Add your prompt to Image Creator’s text box.
2. Click Generate and wait for the AI to show you a few designs that address your prompt.
3. Review the generated images and select the one that best matches your vision.
4. Optional: Select Edit and use Designer to add text with the name of the card (pro tip: add a solid rectangular background behind the text to make it more readable).
5. If none of the images quite hit the mark, try regenerating or tweaking your prompt.
How to refine your prompt
Based on the results, you may want to refine your prompt. Here are some strategies:
- Be more specific. If the AI didn't capture a particular element correctly, describe it in more detail
- Get simpler. If you’ve included lots of details and elements, try cutting back on the non-essential elements to help the AI focus on what matters.
- Adjust the style. If the overall look isn't quite right, try a different artistic style. This is especially useful if you’re having trouble generating “realistic” images—styles like papercraft, art deco, and impressionistic make it clear that you’re not going for realism.
- Emphasize important elements. Put key features earlier in the prompt or use words like "prominent" or "focal point."
- Experiment with synonyms. Sometimes, slight changes in wording can produce significantly different results.
Create a template prompt
Once you’ve landed on a prompt you love, use it as the base template for all your cards to help maintain consistency (and make your life a little easier!). Here’s ours:
A flat, graphic color block illustration of [representative image—e.g. “woman with lion”] in magenta, cyan, red and yellow colors with a simple composition. The background is a pale peach color. Vertical size tarot cards.
Three versions of the results:
Create the remaining tarot cards
Now, take your template and fill in the specifics for each card, creating one at a time. Keep the following tips in mind to maintain consistency as you go:
- Create your cards in order. This helps you build on each previous card's style.
- Review your deck regularly. As you create more cards, periodically review them side by side to ensure they still feel cohesive.
- Be flexible but consistent. Allow for some variation to keep things interesting, but always return to your core style elements.
We’ll use our template to make eight* more cards to show you how this project comes together. Feel free to modify our template to make your own cards if you like it!
*It’s actually 24 more cards because we're generating three cards for each prompt so we can have options. This can make it easier to finalize the deck later (covered in the next section), but isn’t strictly necessary.
1. Six of swords
Prompt: A flat, graphic color block illustration of a man on boat in magenta, cyan, red and yellow colors with a simple composition. The background is a pale peach color. Vertical size tarot cards.
The results:
2. Tower
Prompt: A flat, graphic color block illustration of a tower falling down in magenta, cyan, red and yellow colors with a simple composition. The background is a pale peach color. Vertical size tarot cards.
The results:
3. Justice
Prompt: A flat, graphic color block illustration of a woman with old scales, cyan, red and yellow colors with a simple composition. The background is a pale peach color. Vertical size tarot cards.
The results:
4. The Empress
Prompt: A flat, graphic color block illustration of a woman goddess sitting on a throne, cyan, red and yellow colors with a simple composition. The background is a pale peach color. Vertical size tarot cards.
The results:
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5. King of Cups
Prompt: A flat, graphic color block illustration of a man holding a chalice, cyan, red and yellow colors with a simple composition. The background is a pale peach color. Vertical size tarot cards.
The results:
6. Sun
Prompt: A flat, graphic color block illustration of a giant sun in magenta, cyan, red and yellow colors with a simple composition. The background is a pale peach color. Vertical size tarot cards.
The results:
7. Lovers
Prompt: A flat, graphic color block illustration of a couple of lovers, cyan, red and yellow colors with a simple composition. The background is a pale peach color. Vertical size tarot cards.
The results:
8. The magician
Prompt: A flat, graphic color block illustration of a magician in magenta, cyan, red and yellow colors with a simple composition. The background is a pale peach color. Vertical size tarot cards.
The results:
Review your deck for consistency
Once you’ve created all the cards you want in your deck, take a step back and give your work a final pass to ensure the whole collection is cohesive and visually striking. Some tips to keep in mind as you go:
- Lay it all out. Download all your tarot card designs into the same folder (we recommend creating a new one and naming it after your project). When you’re ready to review your deck and select your final cards, switch to a large thumbnail view or open the images so they’re all displayed together on your screen (you can also print them if you prefer). This bird's-eye view will help you spot inconsistencies.
- Check your color palette. Ensure that your chosen colors are used consistently across all cards. Are some cards standing out too much or not enough?
- Evaluate your style. Look for any cards that seem to deviate from your established watercolor style. Are the brush strokes consistent? Is the level of detail similar across every card?
- Assess your symbols. If your cards include any recurring elements, make sure they’re present and consistent in all cards.
- Compare within suits. For the Minor Arcana, check that each suit has a cohesive look while remaining distinct from the others.
- Look for balance. Make sure no single card or group of cards overwhelms the others. Your deck should feel harmonious when viewed as a whole.
Finalizing your deck
Congratulations! You've designed, refined, and polished your deck of tarot cards. Now it's time to add the finishing touches and prepare your cards for use.
Add text or card names (optional)
If you want to add names, numbers, or any other text to your cards, wait until all your artwork is finalized so you’re not doing extra work on cards that won’t make the cut. When you’re ready to add text, pick a font that complements your cards’ style and keep it consistent across every card. Also keep the font’s size and placement consistent, aiming for high readability without obscuring anything essential in the artwork.
Once you’ve found a text layout you like, you can “templatize” it by swapping out the background artwork for each tarot card and updating the text in the foreground as you go.
Download the final card designs as you complete them. You’re almost done! A few extra housekeeping tips will help you out here:
- Name your files systematically (e.g., "MajorArcana_00_Fool.jpeg", "Wands_01_Ace.jpeg") to keep them organized.
- Back up your work! Store your card images in multiple locations, including cloud storage, to ensure you don't lose your hard work.
- Save the final prompts you used for each card so you can revisit them if you notice an error or want to create another deck in the future.
Suggestions for printing
You can use your cards digitally or print them out (optional: along with designs for the back of each card).
If you decide to print your cards:
- Choose your card size. Standard tarot cards are usually around 2.75 x 4.75 inches, but you can choose a size that feels right for your deck.
- Select your paper quality and finish. For a professional feel, choose a high-quality cardstock and decide if you want a matte, glossy, or linen finish for your cards. Each finish offers a different look and feel.
- Print a test batch. Before committing to a full deck, print a few cards to check color accuracy and overall quality.
- Explore printing services. Look into print-on-demand services that specialize in tarot or playing card decks. These services can even provide a professional finish and packaging.
Manifest a more personalized future with Image Creator
Congratulations on creating your very own custom tarot card deck in Image Creator! Whether you use it for personal reflection, readings for others, or simply as a beautiful art piece, you've created something truly special. And in the process of thinking through the artwork for your deck, you may have even discovered new layers of meaning that deepen your relationship with the cards and your own intuition.
May your new deck bring you insight, inspiration, and an even more magical connection to the world around you!