Valery Tsai

Eternal/Blight

I've always enjoyed exploring fantasy elements and making designs imbued with ideas that are not naturally present in our world. I don't like telling explicit narratives. Rather, I enjoy using fantasy as a lens to make serious things cool and magical, and to make scary things like death appear human.

The parallel of death and life seemed interesting to explore within the context of a card game, where there are usually two opposing sides. In my piece, the concepts of life and death are split into two worlds. On one side is an ever-expanding, eternal growth that sprawls desperately, uncontrollably, and hungrily. On the other side is the blighted forest that contains the growth, withering its insatiable roots and urging its inhabitants to seek solace amidst the endless darkness. And at the intersection of overwhelming chaos and daunting silence, we find balance.

I present this narrative in the form of cards, offering the artifacts of a game, but not the experience of gameplay. I've always wanted to be a game artist. As much as these cards could have been stand-alone illustrations, the context of cards changes them so drastically, from the visual composition to the text and narrative. They're not just illustrations. They are vertical, 2.5/3.5 inch, character-centered, bordered images. The cards set limitations but also open up a myriad of possibilities.

Card games have an interesting culture, where even though the cards explicitly have written rules and instructions, they are blatantly ignored in favor of fostering an intimate connection to the card as an artifact of observation. I like that people have the option to play them, but can also just collect them instead. They're not just art, but also not just game pieces. They're uniquely cherished objects that require their users to actively reject their original method of use. Despite the cards not fulfilling their intended purpose of being played as a game, people still view them as precious and collect them.

In weaving the narrative of the battle between life and death into the context of a fantasy game card collection, I wanted to express the idea of viewing both life and death as precious, and rejecting the idea of a singular purpose in life. We need to remember that life is too short to tie to one purpose or meaning, and there is no singular path for us to remain on to feel like we matter. The fragile state of life isn’t shattered by death, but instead makes our time temporary and all the more precious.

Once people stop playing the game, the card's potential becomes limitless, and the death of its purpose breathes life into the cards.

Portfolio