Hello everyone! I´m fairly new at this whole world (around two months, I think), but I absolutely love it. I´ve just finished the Royal Road to Card Magic (still practicing every single trick though) and right now I´m just learning some tricks from YouTube. I´d like to read more books on card magic or mentalism, but I´m really not sure on which one to get at my level, or if I should download tutorials, or what to do at all. I´ve heard of Card College and of the Expert at the Card Table, but from what I´ve understood from reading these forums those might not be the best option for a beginner. What should my next step be?
Like you said, there are many levels of card magic.... Some ranging from complete bunglers to a refinement you nor I could only dream of being. My advice is to keep practicing the tricks and sleights in The Royal Road to Card Magic. Rinse and repeat as they say.. Read , Study , Practice. Pick up a book called Expert Card Technique and read, study, practice the material in there. The Expert at the Card Table is another book you might want to try once you think you are ready to apply yourself. I have been on the forums for about 5 years a load of information on here is unquestionably the best.. Also have a look at this video. Welcome to Theory11!!
If you want to focus on card magic, check into Card College 1 & 2. They're about $35 each, but they cover everything you'd need to know for a career in card magic.
Mentalism is a different beast all together. Many people will say that mentalism is just another branch of magic but this is not correct. They have mutually exclusive theatrical motivations. Magic creates a suspension of disbelief (a willing engagement in a make believe environment where everyone involved agrees to not question what's going on and just enjoy it). Mentalism encourages belief in the claims made. Those claims can be natural or supernatural, but it's performed as if it's real. Most magicians cannot pull this off, if I'm being frank.
Granted, most proper mentalists would probably botch a magic show, too.
The other major difference is that magic requires deception, whereas mentalism does not.
So my advice there is don't worry about mentalism for now. Work on building your theatrical skills before you even approach that field, because without theatrical finesse, mentalism will fail.
Mentalism is a different beast all together. Many people will say that mentalism is just another branch of magic but this is not correct. They have mutually exclusive theatrical motivations. Magic creates a suspension of disbelief (a willing engagement in a make believe environment where everyone involved agrees to not question what's going on and just enjoy it). Mentalism encourages belief in the claims made. Those claims can be natural or supernatural, but it's performed as if it's real. Most magicians cannot pull this off, if I'm being frank.
Granted, most proper mentalists would probably botch a magic show, too.
The other major difference is that magic requires deception, whereas mentalism does not.
So my advice there is don't worry about mentalism for now. Work on building your theatrical skills before you even approach that field, because without theatrical finesse, mentalism will fail.
First off, you've already had a great start. I mean, just two months and kinda finished RRTCM? I've had the book for around a year or more, and I haven't still mastered it absolutely! XD
By the way, do realise that while the distinction between beginner and 'expert' card books is a good rule of thumb to follow, it's really you who decides what you want to learn. If a beginner wants to learn the, say, pass. Who's there to stop him/her? It's really up to you. Don't be afraid to break the mould and what you (or anybody else) think you should learn.
Get Expert Card Technique maybe, because it's a great sequel to RRTCM.
For mentalism, get Karl Fulves' book on it, offers a great starting ground, to get you to start thinking along 'mentalism' lines. Otherwise, just stick with the basic choice and get Practical Mental Magic by Anneman, it's great. But I do feel it'd be better if you read Fulves' work first...for Anneman assumes you know a lot of the basic terminology already. But it's up to you.
Also, just saying, if you want, you may consider Derren Brown's Tricks of the Mind. I think if you're at a stage where you do know some great effects, you should know how to make them hit stronger, and Derren's work is always a great read, informative, and even fun...that is, if you can bear how he sometimes starts using big words absolutely unnecessarily. XD XD