Considering Angerona's inactivity due to unfortunate reasons (I take it her modem died), for now we'll have to stick to unanimous voting -- albeit I'm in favor of the representation decisions being made by those who actually know Tarot more than the average Joe.
So here's my two cents:
- Debate. Debate like there's no tomorrow!
- Voting is an option, though Card representations and listing ought to be handled be handled by those qualified of the in-depth knowledge (such as xcalibur, Lady Marle, Syna, Angerona and RushingWind).
- Artists can work either individually or collaboratively, it doesn't matter; but results do. Depending on the circumstances, each artist can feel free to improve upon another's work if it can help build quality, and the community will decide if the improvement should be kept or discarded (such as it was for the back design). The community's voice and suggestions also matters, because ultimately the cards are for them -- but the artists also have the rights to accept or reject said suggestions based on their talent and *ahem* "Artistic license".
- The character art-style will stick to Chrono's default one, either Toriyama or Yuuki, or perhaps a blend of both. The design-style could either be inspired by Laverinne, Shilin or Yuumei, which fit the aesthetic requirements for a perfect Tarot. (And we REALLY need to get Alcyone in on this! There is no quality where there is no Alcyone)
- The color palette can vary. If there's one thing I despise it's restrictive color palette in multiple art-form. XD
Just a few questions though, since I have an unpainted picture in mind and thus wouldn't go about recklessly assuming: What do you mean by "broad representation of time periods"? What of the "Big Seven got a Trump"? What template did xcalibur describe? I guess that's why we need to index ideas for further discussion. 
I’m terribly sorry I have disappeared the whole week. A combination of unusual factors in my life (including 3 nights in row with my sleep interrupted by cats, starting a new business, taking a business course, attending to classes, etc.) hasn’t leave me enough time to even scratch my back (seriously… I should start offering magic tablets in exchange). But CT puns aside, I have been trying to follow the development of the project trough the emails as much as time has allowed me but just now I’m having time to catch up with the news.
Regarding the characters and elements for each card: Personally I prefer choosing by voting but I get Tushantin’s point. Maybe 2 or 3 well funded options could be offered for the general public to vote for the one they think that fits best.
Regarding the cards’ concept, my knowledge is very limited compared to Syna’s, so I haven’t wanted to get involved since my vision would be based more in artistic criteria than in the deep knowledge of the cards’ meaning, so I’m saving it for the next step of the project =), when the concepts are already settled.
- Artists can work either individually or collaboratively, it doesn't matter; but results do. Depending on the circumstances, each artist can feel free to improve upon another's work if it can help build quality, and the community will decide if the improvement should be kept or discarded (such as it was for the back design). The community's voice and suggestions also matters, because ultimately the cards are for them -- but the artists also have the rights to accept or reject said suggestions based on their talent and *ahem* "Artistic license".
I totally agree. As long as a standard of quality is respected and that the artistic decisions aren’t based on a whim (instead of respecting the cards concepts and meanings), I couldn’t agree more.
Personally I wouldn’t’ stick to Toriyama’s or Yuuki’s style (If I had to choose I would stick with Yuuki’s since as far as I have experienced Toriyama’s style is one of those thinks you love or you hate (and many people fall into the second category)). I would prefer a style most people felt less passionate about. Personally I would propose making a selection of styles and opening a voting poll. Maybe a more neutral style like the used on the sketches of the missing pieces guide:
http://www.chronocompendium.com/images/wiki/c/c0/114.jpgThose art styles are amazing, Tushantin! If we could reach such level of quality the whole project would achieve a new level of impact.
Also, I can’t remember who mentioned about adding the numbers to the cards. I would agree with that since those are really important parts of the cards elements.
Manly man had a similar idea. He mentioned, "that you find a way to incorporate the actual Arcana itself into the card. For your example, have something actually with the sun in it, such as Lucca in the pose she makes to cast Flare, only instead of the waves of fire behind her, it's... well, a picture of the sun."
I totally agree. The illustrations should involve the symbolic elements of the cards, even if those are stylized, reinterpreted or deconstructed. A random pic of the character (s) won’t be enough.
I think the first order of business may be to set a procedure for making decisions on the cards. Do we want to try and reach a consensus? Will it be by vote? Is everyone okay with a few people taking charge of the card selections? Will the artists work via collaboration, or by themselves, or in some combination of the two to try and nail a consistent aesthetic (perhaps at the expense of individual expression)? These are the sort of questions I'm pondering. We have four people, at least, who seem to know a great deal about Tarot; a number of fine artists; and more who have a rightful say in what gets chosen-- I think it would be easiest just to decide on procedure so things go smoothly, even if our procedure ends up being "Angerona makes the call."
While I’m totally for the individual expression, I firmly believe the deck needs to have a certain level of cohesion. Since different artist will be participating it can be expected to have the visual problem solved on the same way on every card (and I don’t want to kill an artist’s individuality and personal language) but some specific criteria has to be followed.
I will try to be as active as time allows (I’m planning to log in at least a couple times per week), but don’t let my absence stop you from developing this (especially since there isn’t much I can contribute with during this stage of the project).
