I contacted Paraluman Studio to find out more and I was so surprised by what I learned. Here is my interview:
Q. PARALUMAN STUDIO HAS PUT OUT SO MANY DECKS I HARDLY KNOW WHERE TO START. SO I GUESS I'LL START WITH, WHAT'S YOUR NAME?
A. Lynyrd-Jym Narciso, though I went by just Lynyrd Narciso with the Vanessa Tarot. Paraluman Studio is my, er, vanity press name, or artistic name, or alias, or whatever.
Q. MAYBE YOU COULD TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON.
A. I’m working on several things at the moment – all tarot decks. I’m trying to finish some projects I started some time ago. They’re all different from each other, though I am finding that I nowadays have this inclination to insert esoteric details in them. I know it sounds secretive, me not giving out their titles – I’ll be announcing them once I’m close to finishing them.
A. WE CAN'T WAIT! WHAT IS YOUR ARTISTIC BACKGROUND, EDUCATION?
A. My college degree had more to do with Development Economics than with art. I have always been attracted to finding categories and taxonomies in things however (it started with zoology when I was younger), and, as I’ve always been a frustrated artist as well (though not having any formal artistic training), this “categorizing of things” has led me to exploring different art styles. I am not sure if that made any sense. Lol
Left: from Discorporae Tarot, Middle: from Tarot Gasgot Right: from Tarot Eventide
Q. IT DOES MAKE SENSE, THOUGH I'VE NEVER HEARD IT DESCRIBED THAT WAY BEFORE. I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU HAVE NO FORMAL ART TRAINING. YOU'RE A NATURAL TALENT. HOW MANY DECKS HAVE YOU CREATED?
A. I’ve self-published 17 tarot decks (most of them majors-only because it was much more expensive to self-publish in the early days) and 2 Lenormands over the years. I also have two tarot decks published by different publishers (The Vanessa Tarot by US Games Systems Inc., and Tarot ng Daigdig sa Balintataw by Adam McLean’s independent press), and a forthcoming Marseille-inspired deck also by US Games called Tarot de Maria Celia (it should hopefully come out before the year ends!). I have a number of complete and unfinished designs too (including playing cards and other types of decks), and I’m slowly working on finishing the unfinished ones and finding ways to get the completed ones published (the playing cards designs are particularly difficult to self-publish because of the particular demands of the market. So if maybe anyone of you knows of publishers I can submit them to...
) (update: the Tarot de Maria Celia will be published later this year by U.S. Games)Top: from The Vanessa Tarot, bottom left, from Tarot ng Daigdig sa Balintataw , right, Tarot de Maria Celia
Q. WHAT MEDIUM(S) DO YOU USE IN YOUR ART?
A. They’re mostly a mix of traditional art (pen and paper, brushes and paint, etc.) and digital art. Digital is essential to my works, even if just to retouch the art.
Q. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR PROCESS?
A. It of course starts with an idea – either for a theme or for a particular card. I sketch it, ink it, create a couple more cards, get bored or frustrated, put it aside for a while to let the ideas “ferment”, and then pick it up again when new inspirations come along. It’s a bit roundabout and definitely not the most efficient process, but, it works for me and gets things done in the end.
Q. MOST PEOPLE FIND THE IDEA OF PRODUCING DOZENS OF CARDS FOR A SINGLE DECK TO BE A DAUNTING TASK, EACH CARD AN INDIVIDUAL PIECE OF ART, BUT YOU’VE DONE IT SO MANY TIMES NOW. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF CHOOSING A THEME FOR THE DECK IN REGARDS TO KEEPING YOUR IMAGINATION GOING TO COMPLETE AN ENTIRE DECK?
A. A theme helps keep things cohesive. Consistency is important. I agree that each card is an artwork on its own, so it might help to think of a deck as an art exhibit of 78ish artworks, each different from each other, but bound by the single theme of the exhibit itself.
In terms of choosing a theme, the normal advice I guess I’d give is to choose a theme which you’re attracted to, because it helps maintain your drive to finish the deck. But, it also depends on how a person’s mind works, like some people work better when they’re challenged with a difficult theme or one out of their comfort zone. I guess it starts with really knowing yourself and being honest with yourself. And asking yourself questions like, can I really do this? Can I push myself to do this? What should I do to make this happen? Stuff like that.
Also: work, work, work. You won’t get a deck finished if its just all inside your head. There might be a lot of failed attempts till you get it right, but the practice you get from those attempts also helps improve your art.
Q. HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO GIVE UP ON A DECK?
A. Well, yes and no. I’ve given up on some deck ideas (which were drunk crazy to begin with, like a Motown Minchiate! I kid you not!
), but once I actually start working on a deck’s art, well, like I said earlier, I may put it aside for some time, but I do (hopefully) eventually push myself to finish it.Q. ARE ALL THE DECKS PUBLISHED BY PARALUMAN YOUR DESIGNS OR DO YOU PUBLISH OTHER PEOPLE’S WORK?
A. They’re all my original work. There was this one deck that was supposed to be a collaboration between another artist and myself, but that’s one of the unfinished decks in my list. I have toyed around with the idea of publishing other people’s works, and maybe I might do that some time in the future.
Q. WHAT DECKS HAVE YOU RECENTLY RELEASED OR ARE ABOUT TO RELEASE?
A. I released The Gravenchase Lenormand and Anino Lenormand early this year, and as I mentioned above, I have an upcoming deck to be published by US Games Systems Inc. hopefully later this year – Tarot de Maria Celia. I also have several decks I am working on at the moment, the titles of which I’ll announce soon (depends which ones are close to getting done).
Left: from The Gravenchase Lenormand, Right: from the Anino Lenormand
Q. WHERE CAN PEOPLE SEE MORE OF YOUR WORK AND WHERE CAN THEY PURCHASE YOUR CARDS?
A. My Etsy shop is here: – it has the Lenormands and matching bags.
I also have an account at Game Crafter which publishes two tarot decks I created a couple of years ago.
You can see it HERE :Tarot Resom (majors-only), and Tarocchi di Marcelo Inciso.
Tarot Rikit inquiries are Here
I may be reached via Paraluman’s email, paralumanstudio@gmail.com
My main website is here: Paraluman Studio - my unfinished works can be seen there too.
I WANT TO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS. MAYBE SOME OF OUR MEMBERS WILL HAVE SOME MORE FOR YOU!
I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO HAVE A LOOK AT THE WEBSITE. YOU WILL BE AMAZED. LOTS OF PICTURES AND INSIGHT FROM THE ARTIST ABOUT THE DECKS.
HERE IS JUST A TASTE TO WHET YOUR APPETITES:
Top: Masque Tarot, Middle Left: Tarot of the Lepidpteran People, Middle Right: Golden Court Playing Cards, Bottom: Matchstick I Ching
I will stop now, just go to the website and see for yourself! Paraluman Studio
I hope to catch up with Ly soon and find out a little more about him and what he's been up to since this original interview.
Originally posted by Joan Marie Sep 2017, republished here with the permission of Lynyrd-Jym Narciso
