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…
Tracing is not cheating. Well, it is if you are passing something off as your own work. But meticulously copying a medieval manuscript you admire is excellent practice. It works well for copying illumination motifs and is a period practice. This image of the manual is from the Public Domain Review Tracing is even better for calligraphy….
Years ago I entered my first competition with an illumination. In my documentation, I wrote about using tracing paper to transfer the image. One judge commented on my lack. I still remember how down it made me feel. The way I handled that, as I often did, was to go to the library and research….