The world is abuzz with Outlander news in 2025, from the production wrap on the 8th and final season of the STARZ series, adapted from New York Times Best Selling author Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed saga, to the debut of the upcoming prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, on Aug. 8. Fans of the book series were further treated to the title of the highly anticipated 10th, and final, entry to the book series in May: “A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out.” Though Gabaldon states on her website that the timing of release is uncertain, she did give a rough estimate of around three to five years following the last release, which was “Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone,” in 2021. So, optimistically, that would be sometime in 2026 at the latest, though the author gives no guarantees. After all, period research takes time and so does writing 800 pages of fiction.
While fans await more Outlander, in one format or another, Penguin Random House just delivered their own offering on July 15: an official Outlander Oracle. Featuring 54 cards, the deck is marked by a unique artistic style that imagines the characters and themes of the series in a stunning collection of watercolors. “When we first started working on the project, we had a completely different creative vision for it,” says Karina Giada, watercolorist and illustrator of the oracle, recalling early conversations with the publisher. “We were actually going to do it 100% digitally in the shape of almost silhouettes, because that's just kind of the vision they had. Different silhouettes being filled with various themes. And I actually started it, and I had a lot of creative freedom with how it looked.”
Giada is no stranger to character art, getting her start as something of a fan artist. “I think I started doing it with Harry Potter,” she recalls. “Then, that led me into doing other books just to see, you know, if I could really home in on what the author had described.” Eventually, she posted some of her Outlander fanart as an entry to an art contest for the books, and it caught the eye of its author. “I got an email from Penguin Random House that said, basically, ‘we saw one of your fan arts…and Diana saw it and she really, really liked the art style.’” She admits, “I thought it was a scam, at first, but I eventually, kind of nervously, responded to the email.”
Through those initial conversations, the original vision for the deck was established, including its primary focus. “I was a huge fan of the show, and a huge fan of the books, but one thing that I really love about this particular project is that they really wanted to ensure that we were separate from the show,” she explains. “So, it was completely based on the books, and I was so excited because we were able to set aside everything to do with the show and focus on our own artistic vision and how the author describes all these characters in the books.”
While the original vision was to create the imagery 100% digitally, a reorganization of the project, from the publisher’s side, introduced a new art director. “She really liked the watercolor approach to my illustrations, and she wanted me to focus on the traditional art, instead of digital,” Giada says, adding, “and it became a bit more contained, after that. They provided me with a little more direction, which I did appreciate because it made it a little easier to visualize and get feedback.”
The art process for the cards then began in earnest, with sketches being created digitally as a first step. “I’d have three or four sketches for each card that they could choose from,” she recalls. The chosen sketch would then be modified and refined. “It was a lot of trying to figure out exactly how each one was based on the theme and how we wanted it to be displayed for the audience.” Once all of that was determined, Giada would finally set paint to canvas. The real challenge, she says, was time and conquering her own perfectionism.
“We had to do 54 illustrations in eight months and, for somebody who's fairly detailed in her work, it was kind of challenging,” she admits, “to be a little bit looser and not be as picky as I usually am about my own work because I am my biggest critic. And so that was quite a challenge to sort of keep telling myself, you know, it's OK…move on to the next one…don't be afraid of being a little less perfect.”
Of course, anyone familiar with Giada’s work would be challenged to find flaw with it. Her portraits are remarkably detailed, to the point that is almost impossible to believe that they are all done in watercolor, one of the most difficult art mediums to master. I point this out in our interview, and she responds, “It was one of my first paints I had as a kid. I think we all sort of start with watercolor when we're kids and then people either stick with it or move on to oil, you know, to get elevated and more detailed.”
Watercolor has a mind of its own, she adds, and while that might be a point of contention for some, it is part of the draw for Giada. “With a lot of paint, it’s very contained, and you can really sort of see exactly where each paint stroke is going to go. But that’s never the case with watercolor, and it surprises you every time.” She adds, “I really like that aspect of it. I’ve thought about dabbling in digital art or even going to oil, but I’ve kind of established myself as a watercolor artist, and this is my bread and butter now. So, it’s a skill I want to keep honing and modifying, and making my own.”
There’s also the physical aspect of painting itself but, following the creation of 54 original illustrations for the Outlander Oracle, the physical evidence must now be contended with, somehow. “When I first started, and I thought I had all the time in the world, I did them all as actual paintings,” she recalls. “Then, as we started to enter more of a time crunch, I couldn’t paint everything constantly, so I ended up painting the backgrounds separately. So, they would be pre-made, and then I overlaid, in Photoshop, whatever I had painted.” She laughs. “So, now I have some of these paintings, in kind of bits and pieces, lying around my drawers because we had to stitch them in Photoshop.”
Every artist has their favorites, of course, and in the case of the Outlander Oracle, Giada chooses The Lovers which, naturally, features Claire and Jamie. “It’s my favorite, not just because of the subject matter, but also for how the colors flowed in that one. There’s such beautiful harmony in how the colors are working between Claire’s wavy hair and Jamie’s. Then I’ve also surrounded them in thistle, which is the main Outlander plant.” In fact, she adds, fans should be on the lookout for the many iconic plants of the Outlander series. “I wouldn’t call them Easter Eggs exactly,” Giada says, “because they’re really something we wanted to focus on, but it would be really cool if somebody who does know their plants is able to pick some of them out. Like, belladonna here and some rosemary and thyme there…and one thing I did do, because each plant has its own significance, is made sure that whatever plant I’m using, it does meet the theme of the card.” Giada notes she did research to ensure she understood the plant meanings because some Outlander fans are passionate about the subject. “I didn’t want anyone to look at it and say: She doesn’t know what she’s doing!”
Clearly, Giada knows exactly what she is doing, and word appears to be getting around. Fans of dark and gothic romance will see her work featured in incoming releases from authors Keri Lake and RuNyx, as well as the upcoming title in Penn Cole’s Kindred’s Curse Saga. To track these projects and more, follow @karinagiada on Instagram!
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