Created for a private collector, this project began with the collector’s personal reading of two footballers, their shared history and connection. The requested themes included loyalty, separation, faith, legacy and the hope of reunion. These interpretations reflect the collector’s perspective and are presented as the narrative basis of the commission, rather than as an objective or official account of either player or their relationship.

My role was to translate and expand that emotional brief into a coherent tarot-inspired visual system through visual research, classical references, Latin mottos, emblems, ornamental symbolism, composition and digital illustration, refining the imagery with the client throughout the process.

Deliverables: Three card fronts and three coordinated card backs.

I reframed the commission as a tarot-inspired triptych. Repeated arches, ornamental borders, football motifs and a controlled blue–gold–red palette connect the set. Each card then uses a distinct posture, architecture and symbolic vocabulary to express a different stage of the same relationship.

BLUE — loyalty / succession GOLD — memory / separation RED — endurance / faith

The blue card presents a new captain as both heir and guardian. A throne, crown, trophy and Milanese triumphal arch frame his rise; a blue serpent and football sceptre reinforce loyalty and continuity. Red hands complete the coronation, linking his new role to the absent figure who helped shape it.

The red card recasts the player as a modern gladiator moving through a Roman arena passage towards light. His upward gesture, cross and thorn-wound imagery connect faith, family duty and physical sacrifice. A distant blue figure keeps the possibility of reconciliation at the end of the journey.

At the collector’s request, the central mirror is a hand-illustrated reference to the Mirror of Erised from the Harry Potter universe. I integrated this requested motif into the wider composition to visualise the collector’s themes of memory, separation and hoped-for reunion. Opposing profiles and staffs show two paths moving apart, while the blue and red serpents remain intertwined. An altar-like staircase strengthens the visual hierarchy and turns the motto Amicus usque ad aras into the structure of the composition.

During review, I tested grasping hands to represent pressure and resistance. At full scale, they made the lower half visually heavy. I removed them and transferred the same meaning into thorns and blood, preserving injury and persistence without competing with the figure.

An early version placed a combined snake, cross and laurel emblem between the figures. Although decorative, it competed with the mirror scene. Replacing it with altar-like steps strengthened the visual hierarchy, reinforced the Latin motto and gave the shared memory a clear destination.

I carried the same geometry, arches, emblems and Latin mottos into three coordinated backs. Each keeps its own colour identity while the shared structure completes the six-piece set.

The final delivery included three high-resolution card-front illustrations and three coordinated card backs for a private digital collection and personal printing. Layered PSD and high-resolution JPEG files were supplied, and the client approved the completed work.

ROLE Visual concept development · narrative interpretation · visual research · art direction · composition · ornamental design · digital illustration · final artwork

TOOL Clip Studio Paint

DURATION December 2023 – May 2024

PROJECT NOTICE Independent private commission. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any player, club, league, national team, J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. or any other rights holder. The Harry Potter-related reference was included at the collector’s request; underlying third-party rights remain with their respective owners. Displayed as a watermarked portfolio sample; no official merchandise or licensing relationship is implied.