Tip For Fine Details
Tip: Using enhanced magnification for detailed work.
Tips And Tricks To Making A Neat Scroll
I make them too. One distinguishing trait between a beginning scribe and an experienced one is their clean page. Experienced scribes have tricks they use to keep their scroll neat and clean as they work. Here I offer some to you in case you haven’t figured them out yourself. Wash your hands before you begin working and omit hand lotion. Don’t have […]
Tips To Drawing More Period People
The way Medieval faces, feet, and hands appear in manuscripts varies by era or location, often in the details. Some appear cartoonish others more realistic. What’s the best way for you to learn how to draw period-looking people? Motifs I traced then transferred to M. Luciana’s Renaissance scroll. Most of us have been seeing since we were born but learning how to observe […]
Secrets Of Artist Brush Repair
Have you ever had this happen, your favorite illumination brush is eaten by your dog? That’s what Pippa did recently. All Fixed Well, she didn’t eat the whole brush. She chomped the handle into two pieces, just above the ferrule. That left me an unusable stubby brush. But, I was able to rescue it. Using my electric rotary Dremel-type tool I drilled out […]
The Useful Paint Niche
Recently at our scribal meeting, I was asked about how I use my gouache palette. Do I put out new paints for each painting session? Do I reconstitute the dried paint in its well? What do I do if the paint breaks into small bits? All great questions. This is what I do. You may find other scribes work differently. […]
Tip To Seeing Like An Artist
See the details? Have you been asking yourself when painting a preprint or charter why experienced scribes put the shadows where they do? Why the whitework goes where it does? Or how you transform what you see to the page? Here’s an idea for you to try. Before the huge number of illuminations on the internet, I would hunt down books that had enlarged the small pictures of illuminations. Today it’s easy to do the same thing yourself with online images. Find a high-resolution digital illumination picture you like and zoom-in. Enlarge and expand them dramatically. Save them or print them out. Then take your time and study their strokes and details. Try to recreate them. On Pinterest, I have a few boards that may help you with this. Illumination: Drapery Illumination: Shading Illumination: Strokes Illumination: Whitework I have confidence you’ll figure things out. The more illuminations you peruse and pore over the strokes the easier it becomes. It’s all about you recreating tiny details. Related Prior Post: 5 Tips To Train Your Artist Eye Related External Page: Advanced Illumination by Mistress Nerissa de Saye
Tips For Using Sakura Micron Pens
Micron Pens. Check out the tiny tip of my biggest one. As you might have noticed, I use Sakura Micron pens on most award scrolls. They are a modern convenience that replaces a quill for outlining before and after painting. These pens have waterproof, quick-drying archival pigment ink that does not feather or bleed through paper. When dry it is smear […]
Outwitting Scribal Dirty Slips And Missteps
I’ve created many award scrolls over the years. Along the way, I messed up or dirtied my share. From them, I learned a few tricks. These may help you too. Neatness is a primary criterion for a quality scroll. I love working with pergamenata, but it doesn’t do well with oils. To help that you start with a simple prep. Go over the perg with a large non-latex white vinyl eraser. This removes oils and unwanted marks. You may also do this after the scroll is done and very dry. As I work I use a guard sheet under my working hand. This prevents adding hand-oil or marks. You could wear cotton gloves for this, but I find them cumbersome. They alter my sense of touch especially for fine paint strokes and lettering. I use an etch scratch nib in a holder to remove unwanted ink or paint marks. You might also use an Xacto knife for this. I prefer the curved scratch nib except when working between letter parts. Then I use the pointed nib. Luttrell Psalter Illumination Example Period effect. The more an award scroll looks like a period work the better. When I use modern gouache I select colors similar to those in my medieval inspirations. Some medieval manuscripts are known for their unique color palette such as the Luttrell Psalter. If your scroll emulates it your paint colors should also. You also want to apply them in a similar style. Newer scribes […]
Tips For Saving Money As An SCA Scribe
I just came back from Dick Blick’s, the only place in Omaha that sells artist grade gouache. I only wanted a tube of permanent white, but I came home with more. Broke my SCA budget. Has that ever happened to you? You spend less when you shop for art supplies online, especially by comparing prices and looking for sales. Large online […]
Nurturing Your Scribal Visual Awareness
As an SCA scribe, I’m both scroll designer and producer. Without a knack for each and both together the scrolls I do fall short. Luminous scribal creations are best handled by frequent practice, exploration, and experiment. Each scroll is unique for the accumulated knowledge and skills expressed at the time you produce it. Your entire scribal experiences flow into each work you […]
Calligraphy And Illumination Holiday Gift-making Ideas
Illuminated Angel Pictures In My Home Our gift-giving season is fast approaching. It’s a busy time of the year for everyone. Often I’ve created gifts with calligraphy and illumination, especially 12th Night gifts. Calligraphy and illumination are useful for gifts within and without the Society. I’ve made gifts of bookmarks, small illuminations, and a birth certificate for my grandson. He are others you […]
Tips to Avoiding Calligraphy Mistakes
Oopsie I do everything I know how to letter a neat clean scroll, but it happens. I’m half done, or more, and I splatter the ink, leave out a text word, or some other goof. The neatest way to handle this is to start over. The best way is to avoid making the mistake. Corrections, some very silly ones, are […]
Secrets To Reducing Scribal Pain
If you’ve read about me you know I am a retired dental hygienist. Although I’m not a physical therapist or yoga instructor, as a hygienist for 35 years I learned a thing or two about hand and body pain reduction. Some tricks I learned apply directly to scribal practice. As a scribe concerned about pain control, my two main considerations are […]
5 Tips to Make Your Scroll Look Period
Inspired by14th century French manuscripts. I’m on a quest. I constantly search to see the details in illuminated manuscripts to incorporate in my illumination. This started when I first found medieval manuscripts. It’s what enthralled me then and still does. The search is how I learned to make scrolls appear like illuminated medieval manuscripts. Along the way I learned these tips […]
5 Tips I Learned From Taking A Scribal Break
Me teaching paint making. I had changes in my life two years ago so I drifted away from creating scrolls. Then M. Elynor of Glastonbury asked me to teach my paint making class. That sparked my interest and return to scribal art and teaching it. I’ve learned a few things returning from my scribal pause and thought they might […]
Ink Feathering Tip
Higgins Eternal Ink after adding gum Arabic. Done on Bristol board. Recently I had trouble with my Higgins Eternal Black Ink feathering on paper. I thought it was past its use. When I realized I had been working on Bristol board and typing paper, not my usual Pergamenata, I blamed the support. So I did an experiment. I added a […]
5 Tips To Train Your Artist Eye
People don’t see detail like a camera, and yet as a scribe detail is penultimate. We anticipate what we think we should see therefore we miss things. Our logical brain gets in our own way. My first SCA art teacher, M. Gillian of Dragonsley, showed me a way around this, at least for my then novice brain. To draw an […]
Battling Calligraphy
Scroll production is a battle with calligraphy for me. I receive the task, research and plan the script and motifs I want to use. When I begin the lettering, the first and largest permanent motif, I’m tense. The page is blank and the more expensive the support–Bristol board, pergamenata, or calfskin vellum–the tenser I am. There is a deadline to meet, […]
Calligraphy Mistakes, Making And Managing Them
If there’s a way to make a scribal mistake I’ve probably made it. Especially in calligraphy. I’ve miscopied words and lines, skipped lines, repeated words, misspelled words, and been misinformed. I’ve spilled ink, changed hand style, and misjudged line spacing. Being tired, too caffeinated, stressed, or rushed adds to my shakiness. There are things I do to limit Titivilus reach, […]
6 Scroll Design Tips
I’ve been writing my scroll layout handout for the coming Lonely Tower Scribes’ class. While it’s too detailed for here I thought a few design tips might be appreciated. Picking your inspiration I first choose a medieval style relating to the recipient’s persona or interest. If that’s not possible because time is short and I can’t find that information on […]
An Itinerant Scribe 