Illuminated Letters

There are few of us who do not admire the beauty of an Illuminated manuscript or who do not recognize the skill of the artist who produced it.

PowerPoint by Karen Tanner

You will discover how to start

With a simple letter and change it into something much more

adventurous.

Look… Check out the

decorations, patterns, drawing and gold embellishments!

Illuminated Letters In progress!

The Basics We commonly apply

the term to a manuscript, or other artifact, usually with lettering that is richly decorated with colorful and gilded patterns or designs.

Strictly speaking Illuminated lettering is

lettering that “lights up”.

This effect is achieved by raising the gold slightly above the surface of the page so that the light catches the highlight.

Loosely interpreted,We’ll look at severaldifferent styles of“ILLUMINATION”Including: Metallic media Raised gilding

metallic paints and decoration

Student works

Uses… Practically speaking,

Illumination works best when used

sparingly-just a touch of gold here and there.

Use for special creations-perhaps a poem, saying or text for framing.

Different Medias

Inks

Paints

Markers

Metallics

There are 2 things that will make drawing letters easier:

•1.Well lit, clean & uncluttered table to work on.

2. Use a good pencil, drawing lightly on paper to rough in letter.

3 approaches to Illumination: Decorate the lines that form the letters.

Enhance the flourishes.

Leave the letter untouched and illuminate adjacent parts of the design.

Always start with the basic letterform-

Not the decoration,

and let the illumination grow from it.

Unless the actual letter is to be gilded, it is best to leave it to the end and then apply gold sparingly to the design-

Less is better!

Try one of these projects- Heraldry Shield Bookmark Gift Box and Tag Greeting Card Illuminated Letter or Initials Origami Book Journal Cover

Student examples:

Illumination today

Let the adventure begin!