Anatomy Of An Illuminated Letter

[palansil]

I recently completed my latest illumination project. I thought I'd share the steps in the process, not just the final product.

 

Step 1: Drawing. This is the hardest part for me as I'm not very good at drawing. My plan was to draw the letter many times until I got one that looks good. I did the same for the flowers and vines, drawing them many times until I was happy with them. Here is a picture of some of my practice work and the finished sketch:

 

 

http://www.home.comcast.net/~palansil/010_1.jpg

 

 

 

http://www.home.comcast.net/~palansil/010_2.jpg

 

 

Step 2: Gold Leaf. My previous attempts with illumination involved gold ink or gouache. This time I wanted to try gold leaf. It's not real gold but some sort of metallic leaf from a kit by a company called Mona Lisa Products. I figured as "real" illuminations involve gold, this would be a good place to start learning. This step was easier than I expected but I suspect that real gold leaf is tricky to work with.

 

 

http://www.home.comcast.net/~palansil/010_3.jpg

 

 

Step 3: Painting the base layer. This style has a simple color scheme of red and blue with white detail painted over it. All the painting is done in gouache. Here is the blue/red layer:

 

 

http://www.home.comcast.net/~palansil/010_4.jpg

 

 

Step 4: White detail. I planned to do this partially with a dip pen but ended up doing it all with a brush. It was very fun to paint this part but a little tricky to paint the areas were the white blends in with the color underneath.

 

 

http://www.home.comcast.net/~palansil/010_5.jpg

 

 

Step 5: Black outline and finished product. It is always surprising to me how much better these things look when all outlined in black. I meant to use gouache for this but dipped my pen in ink by accident and went with that.

 

 

http://www.home.comcast.net/~palansil/010.jpg

 

 

When I was finished I really didn't like how it turned out. After it dried, I covered it up with a piece of paper and left it there for 24 hours. I figured I could touch it up later. But when I looked at it the next day, I found I actually liked how it came out. My only complaint is that the white lines could be cleaner. I think a finer brush or dip pen would help with that. Not to mention much more practice.

 

I'm interested to hear any comments you may have about this. It's been kind of a long post, so I hope you enjoyed it!

 

FYI: The book I used as a guide to do this is called "The Bible of Illuminated Letters" by Margaret Morgan.

[The Royal Pen]

Wow!

 

That's simply beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

 

I've seen illuminators using "gold leaf pens" to apply gold leaf, and can I just ask how you applied it?

[inkstainedruth]

What did you use for the base layer of the gold? With real gold leaf it's generally a layer of gesso, sometimes built up to give some dimensionality. When you apply the leaf you breathe on the piece to dampen the gesso slightly (I've known of people who use a straw to give themselves some control), then apply the leaf -- usually in more than one layer -- with a fine brush. Afterwards, the piece is burnished -- this isn't smoothing out the gold so much as the gesso underneath so the leaf doesn't reflect any of the imperfections in the surface of the gesso.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Stompie]

Whoa, waaaay to complicated for me - I'll just scan yours, print it out and glue it on something

 

Very nice!

[jbb]

Thank you for posting that!!! I love it! Please post more as you do them.

[palansil]

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

 

As for applying the gold leaf: As I mentioned it is fake gold leaf from a kit. I don't think the kit was meant to be used on paper but in my tests it worked and looked fine. First I applied a basecoat of some sort of red paint. I don't think this has a purpose on paper other than making it easier to see where the adhesive has been applied. The second step was to apply the adhesive (which smelled and looked like plain old Elmer's glue). Then I let it set for about an hour before applying the leaf. I used the rounded edge of a pen (a Pilot Penmanship!) to smooth out the leaf and make sure it sticks everywhere. This was done through a layer of wax paper. Finally, I brushed off the leaf that wasn't glued down with a dry paint brush.

 

Ruth -- the book I used listed the steps you describe for applying actual gold leaf. I wanted to start small before moving on to the gesso and burnishing needed for applying "real" gold leaf. Hopefully I'll eventually get to that.

[jbb]

This post really inspired me and I'm attempting some illumination too. Your pictures really help break down the process. Thanks!

[caliken]

White detail. I planned to do this partially with a dip pen but ended up doing it all with a brush. It was very fun to paint this part but a little tricky to paint the areas were the white blends in with the color underneath.

 

This is nice, bright illumination with strong colours.

 

Just a small point. If you paint the base blue in Acrylic which dries waterproof, you'll have no trouble with the colour spreading or diluting when you paint on the white detail in gouache, and this detail can be as fine as your smallest brush.

 

Great work.

 

Ken

[smk]

palansil - your post comes at just the right time for me. I promised my nephews and nieces that I would do their names with an illuminated letter for the initial and was just getting ready to start - your post provides added confidence.

 

You have created a very attractive initial.

 

S.

[jbb]

Here's my attempt at the letter C.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7520289918_0aec6414fa_o.jpg

[palansil]

Thanks again for your encouragement everyone! I've always been more analytical than artistic. So I am still surprised when I do something like this and it turns out looking good. I guess the trick is to use my analytical nature to break down a project like this into more manageable steps.

 

caliken: So far, I've only worked in ink and gouache. I'll have to give acrylics a try sometime.

 

smk: I've enjoyed your work in other threads. Hopefully you can post the illuminations you come up with.

 

jbb: I like your "C"! What did you use to paint it?

[jbb]

jbb: I like your "C"! What did you use to paint it?

I'm using metallic pigments mixed with gum arabic, watercolors and colored pencils so far. How do you apply the adhesive for your gold leaf? Is there a way to get nice controled lines?

[palansil]

I'm using metallic pigments mixed with gum arabic, watercolors and colored pencils so far. How do you apply the adhesive for your gold leaf? Is there a way to get nice controled lines?

 

I applied the adhesive with a small brush which allowed for good control in small spaces. I think outlining everything in black really helps to smooth any rough edges. I've used metallic ink before. I outline the region I want to be gold with a small pen and then switch to a larger nib to fill in. Again, I like the design for your "C". Did you base it on something?

[jbb]

I applied the adhesive with a small brush which allowed for good control in small spaces. I think outlining everything in black really helps to smooth any rough edges. I've used metallic ink before. I outline the region I want to be gold with a small pen and then switch to a larger nib to fill in. Again, I like the design for your "C". Did you base it on something?

Is the adhesive you use the one specially sold for gold leaf? I was given some faux gold leaf but no adhesive. The "C" is just made up out of my head.

[palansil]

Is the adhesive you use the one specially sold for gold leaf? I was given some faux gold leaf but no adhesive. The "C" is just made up out of my head.

 

The adhesive I used came in a kit. It came in a small plastic jar simply labeled "adhesive" so I don't really know much about it. But it smelled and looked just like Elmer's glue. So if you have any Elmer's laying around, I would try that first with a small piece of the leaf. Just let the glue set for about an hour (until clear but still sticky) before applying the leaf. Here is a link to the company that made the kit: Mona Lisa Products.

 

I can do a project like this if I have an example to base it on. I'm impressed that you can create something like your letter from scratch. When you get your gold leaf figured out, be sure to post the results.

[jbb]

The adhesive I used came in a kit. It came in a small plastic jar simply labeled "adhesive" so I don't really know much about it. But it smelled and looked just like Elmer's glue. So if you have any Elmer's laying around, I would try that first with a small piece of the leaf. Just let the glue set for about an hour (until clear but still sticky) before applying the leaf. Here is a link to the company that made the kit: Mona Lisa Products.

 

I can do a project like this if I have an example to base it on. I'm impressed that you can create something like your letter from scratch. When you get your gold leaf figured out, be sure to post the results.

Thanks for the info. Once I get the gold leaf to work I'll post a picture.

[jbb]

I bought the Mona Lisa adhesive (which might well be watered down Elmers glue) and here is my preliminary sketch of letter J with just the gold leaf in place. Are you doing any more illuminations? Please post when you do.

 

Can you paint or outline over the gold leaf?

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/7552745182_6ed7f50aa9_o.jpg

Edited July 11, 2012 by jbb

[palansil]

I bought the Mona Lisa adhesive (which might well be watered down Elmers glue) and here is my preliminary sketch of letter J with just the gold leaf in place. Are you doing any more illuminations? Please post when you do.

 

Can you paint or outline over the gold leaf?

 

 

Looks good so far! I was surprised how easy it was to apply the fake gold leaf. I was expecting to need a lot of practice to get it right but it came out okay from the first try. I did try painting on the leaf with gouache and it seemed to work. And I had no problems outlining it in black ink.

 

I wasn't going to post this but since you asked...

 

My mom's birthday was last week and I got her a blank card and illuminated the inside. The vines are pretty much copied from this book: Writing & Illuminating & Lettering by Edward Johnston (see page 198). There was another thread here a while ago with similar vine decorations. That's where I heard about this book. Anyway, the black letters were written with a 1.5mm Lamy Joy and Noodler's Black ink. The rest is gouache (green and gold) with the "H" and "B" outlined in black Speedball calligraphy ink. Just be careful -- I absentmindedly picked up one of my fountain pens to sign it and the ink feathered like crazy. Greeting cards do not have fountain pen friendly paper!

 

 

 

http://home.comcast.net/~palansil/HB.jpg

[jbb]

Very nice palansil.

[jbb]

In case it's not apparent, this is the letter "L."

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8166/7571919226_bc2006da4d_o.jpg

Edited July 15, 2012 by jbb