_Drawing._
[Sidenote: Eccles. ix. 10.]
[Illustration: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with
thy might.]
To begin with the purely mechanical part of our work, let us
enumerate the materials required for drawing the outlines:--
[Sidenote: Pencils.] 3 Pencils--F, HB, and BB. 2_d._ each.[1]
[1] N.B. The prices of materials vary so much, that only a general
idea can be given of them, as some guide to beginners.
[Sidenote: Indian-rubber.] A piece of Indian-rubber.
[Sidenote: Brushes.] Red sable brushes; the sizes sold at 4_d._,
6_d._, and 8_d._ each: also 2 small sizes of the _best_ Camel's
hair, 2_d._ each, necessary for Bessemer's gold paint.
[Sidenote: Cardboards.] Large sized London or Bristol board, 6_d._
per sheet, and upwards. This is a glazed (hot-pressed) cardboard.
"Mounting-board" is rather cheaper, costing 6_d._ and upwards for a
large sheet, but, not having so fine a surface, will not so easily
bear rubbing out. It takes colour well.
Pale-tinted cardboard, grey, brown, &c., is sold in large sheets, at
about 8_d._ per sheet.
[Sidenote: Vellum-paper.] Vellum-paper, a good imitation of vellum,
is sold at 1_s._ per sheet.
[Sidenote: Tissue and Tracing-paper.] Some sheets of white tissue
and transparent tracing-paper; the latter for preserving copies in
outline.
[Sidenote: Rulers.] 2 Rulers (flat); one of wood, about two feet
long, another of bone, 6 inches; 6_d._ each (ivory, 2_s._.). A
T-ruler is very useful; 1_s._ and upwards.
[Sidenote: Portfolio.] A portfolio, 2 feet by 10 inches, to hold the
scrolls, would be useful in preserving them from injury; cost, at
the drawing-shops, 3_s._ 6_d._
A list of the necessary paints will be given in the directions for
colouring, page 9.
[Sidenote: Alphabets (capitals).] The beginner should endeavour to
obtain one or two sheets of alphabets (capitals) in black and white,
of the full size required, say about two inches high.
[Sidenote: Lower-case (small letters).] An alphabet of "lower-case,"
or small letters, is subjoined, which will be found to harmonise well
with almost any capitals, and is in proportion to those of two or two
and a half inches high.
[Sidenote: Enlarging or reducing Capitals.] But although the beginner
will do well to copy or trace letters of the exact size required,
he cannot too soon commence the practice of enlarging or reducing
the copy, otherwise many very beautiful initial letters will be lost
to him. The great art in copying on a different scale is to observe
carefully the proportions of the original: keep every branch of the
letter _equal_ in thickness, if the original be so: or if copying,
for example, a capital A, and one side of the arch be twice the
width of the other, let the copy preserve the same proportion. In
the letter B, observe if the two bows be of equal size; the lower is
generally the larger of the two. In an equal-sided letter, like M or
O, observe what ornamental parts are opposite to each other.
[Sidenote: Enlarging or reducing Small Letters.] In drawing (or
copying) small letters, be careful to make the stems of _equal_ width
or thickness, and those which pass above or below the line of equal
and proportionate height or length. The tops of t's should always be
lower than those of the other long letters, as in writing, and the
dots of the i's in a line with the tops of the t's.
[Sidenote: Books of Alphabets, &c.] There is a small book of mediæval
alphabets, published by Masters, price 2_s._, suited to beginners.
_The Book of Ornamental Alphabets, Ancient and Mediæval, collected
and engraved by F. Delamotte_ (published by E. & F. N. Spon, 16
Bucklersbury, London), is valuable to those who can enlarge while
copying; it contains upwards of forty alphabets, beginning with
those of the 8th century, also several initial letters, and a page
of monograms, crosses, &c.--most of the alphabets are one inch in
height--price 4_s._ The best and most recent collection of letters
that I have met with is _The Handbook of Alphabets, Initials, and
Monograms_, engraved by William Gibbs, published by Houlston &
Wright, 65 Paternoster Row, London, price 5_s._
[Sidenote: Value and use of Capitals.] [Sidenote: Dedication.] In
arranging for the outline of a text, first select the necessary
capitals. The initial (or first letter) must be the handsomest of
all, as being the introduction and dedication of the work to The
Blessed Trinity. Capitals are generally employed throughout the
Sacred Names; the first letter may be the largest, the following of
the same height as the small letters.
[Sidenote: Emphasis.] They are also prefixed to such words as we wish
especially to emphasize, as in the following examples:--
_Be clothed with Humility._
_My times are in Thy Hand._
_Watch and Pray._
The emphasis of _colour_ will be given in the proper place (pp. 14,
&c.).
[Sidenote: Distinction of Style, Date, and Country.] It is advisable,
if possible, to select the capitals from the same alphabet; but if
all that you require for the text do not suit your taste, there is no
absolute objection to the introduction of others, subject to certain
conditions. On no account mix the letters of different countries;
the Italian, for instance, with the Saxon; they would be utterly
incongruous. Also, as a writer amusingly observes, "Avoid letting
your work appear as though it had been begun in the tenth century,
and only completed in the sixteenth, or, as I have once or twice
seen, _vice versâ_."[2]
[2] _What Illuminating should be, and How it may be Practised_,
by M. Digby Wyatt, B.A. &c., Illustrated by W. R. Tymms. Price
1_s._ 6_d._
[Sidenote: Legibility essential.] But although rules of style,
date, and country, are important, they should never, in my opinion,
be carried out so rigidly as to make our work either fantastic or
illegible--two very serious blemishes. Indeed, if we sacrifice to
strict chronological order all possibility of reading the letters
without an interpreter, our labour, as far as others are concerned,
is worse than useless, tending to bring the whole art into disrepute.
[Sidenote: Important Distinction.] Capitals with simple curves should
not be mixed with those in which the curves become pointed, the
styles being distinct.
[Sidenote: Best Styles.] The styles which prevailed from the 11th
to the 14th century are considered the best, the later ones in
particular. After that date the art of illuminating gradually decayed.
[Sidenote: First Sketch on Tissue-paper.] In proceeding to draw the
outline of a text, it is a most useful practice to sketch it out
roughly on tissue-paper, in order to ascertain what space it will
occupy. This plan will prevent much disappointment (and rubbing out,
which should be carefully avoided), as, even after long practice,
we are often mistaken in the supposed length of a printed sentence:
nothing can look worse than one-half of the letters spread widely
over the scroll, and the rest crowded together, to make up for the
room wasted at the beginning.
[Sidenote: Rules for Drawing the Outline.] Having decided on the size
of the initial[3] and capital letters, allow a sufficient space above
and below them, and cut out the strip of cardboard by a ruled line,
measured accurately at each end, so that the width throughout shall
be equal.[4] The spaces left above and below the _capitals_ may be
equal (if for one line only), but rather less below than otherwise;
1½ to 2 inches[5] is a fair proportion. In ruling for two lines of
letters, be careful to leave sufficient room between them, or the y's
and g's of the upper line may interfere with the d's and h's of the
lower, as also with the capitals.
[3] The initial letter is often _much_ larger than the other
capitals.
[4] Various forms of scroll will be alluded to in speaking of
"Borders," omitted here for the sake of clearness.
[5] These and similar measurements are given, as being in
proportion to the small alphabet and capitals subjoined.
Now, with the HB, rule two lines for the small letters, as _lightly_
as possible, consistently with clearness, as these are afterwards to
be rubbed out. There is no occasion to draw an upper line for the
capitals, as they should be traced in: unless the hand be a very
practised one, this method is necessary, to avoid much disfigurement
of the cardboard from corrections.
[Sidenote: To trace Capitals.] To trace the capitals: cut out a piece
of tracing-paper, an inch or two larger every way than the letter to
be copied; rule a line on which to rest the letter, as it will be
wanted afterwards; place this over the pattern (with the ruled line
close beneath it), and trace every line steadily with the HB. This
done, remove the tracing-paper, turn it over (right side downwards),
and blacken all the lines with the BB pencil. Now place the letter,
right side _upwards_, on the space you intend it to occupy on the
cardboard, letting the ruled line correspond exactly with the lower
line ruled on the scroll: this will ensure the capital being quite
upright in its proper position. Hold the tracing-paper down firmly
with the left hand, _never shifting it until the whole letter be
completed_, and with the F pencil trace (_i.e._ go over) every line
of the copy, pressing firmly, but not so hard as to cut through the
thin paper. It may then be withdrawn, and, if correctly done, the
letter will be found legibly traced on the cardboard. It is right
to finish the outline firmly (but not too dark) with the HB, as
clearness is of great importance when you are colouring.
Some initial letters, such as O, T, &c. admit of the insertion of
a small photograph of a sacred subject, several of which can now
be procured, even at one penny each. Among others may be selected
the "Ecce Homo," "The Saviour bearing the Cross," "Blessing little
Children," &c.
[Sidenote: Small Letters.] So little practice is required to draw the
small letters correctly, that it is scarcely worth while to attempt
tracing them; indeed the difficulty of keeping a large piece of
tissue-paper steady interferes greatly with the chances of success.
In drawing these letters (with the HB), be careful to make all the
stems of equal thickness, and let them be in due proportion, of
height and width, to the accompanying capitals. [Sidenote: Distances
between Letters and Words.] The letters should be placed as near to
each other as is consistent with clearness, and about half an inch
may be left between each word: let these distances be kept uniform
throughout the work. Study to draw the letters perfectly straight and
upright, to ensure which is the use of the ivory ruler, thus:--
[Sidenote: Test of Correct Outline.] Having sketched in all the small
letters as well as possible, turn the strip of cardboard with its
_end_ towards you, and I fear you will be shocked to see how many
of the letters are out of the perpendicular. If, however, they have
not been too heavily drawn, they may now be readily corrected by the
little ruler, keeping the scroll still in the same position. The
advantage of this method is, that a line which, to an unpractised
eye, will appear quite perpendicular, when turned into a horizontal
position instantly betrays its deviations. It may be objected that
the use of a ruler encourages idle and careless habits, but this is
only the case when it is employed to draw by, and not, as it should
be, only for correction.
[Sidenote: Stops and Ornaments.] The ornamental stop--or perhaps
a Greek cross--and any other intended additions, should be traced
now. When the hand and eye are a little practised, sprays of trefoil
and similar decorations will look more natural and easy, if drawn
freshly upon the scroll. Triplets of leaves and berries have a
graceful and suitable effect, and these, in illuminations, may be
drawn conventionally, rather than naturally. A clever writer[6] says,
"Rigidly avoid contrasting natural with conventional foliage. Adopt
which you like, for by either beautiful effects may be produced;
but mix them, and the charm of both is gone. Natural foliage may
be successfully combined with any other varieties of conventional
ornament, excepting those based upon natural foliage."
[6] M. Digby Wyatt, B.A.
The Vine Passion-flower, Ivy, or any trefoils, have a beautiful
effect, if gracefully twined about, or drooping from the initial
letter.
[Sidenote: Photographs in Initial Letters, &c.] The introduction
of small photographs (of sacred subjects) either into the initial
letter, or placed before it, with a simple border in gold, edged
with blue, has often a beautiful significance and effect. Care
should, however, be taken in the selection, that the picture and the
sacred words subjoined have a real connexion with each other. For
example, the Magdalene at the foot of the cross is not suitable in
illustration of the text, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into
Thy kingdom." A square picture may have the lines of the border
prolonged so as to cross at the corners and finish about half an inch
from the principal line. An arch may be surmounted with a cross.
[Sidenote: Borders.] _Borders._
[Sidenote: Plain.] To those who prefer concentrating all possible
beauty of decoration on the sacred words of a text the most approved
border will be that resembling "a riband of blue," which is most
simple in execution. Rule a line rather less than a quarter of
an inch from the edge of the cardboard, and fill it in carefully
and steadily with colour. The ruled line is indispensable to the
preservation of a neat and uniform edge. If blue already predominate
in the scroll, red can be substituted in the border; gold, without
a coloured outline on each side, always looks indistinct. Lines of
colour may be drawn within the edge, using a reed pen (or large soft
quill), and the long ruler.
[Sidenote: Ornamental.] A triple trefoil in each corner, coloured,
with gold edge, has a good effect, if the letters are very plain:
these should, however, be _in addition_ to a plain coloured edge
or border.--Ornamental borders should consist of suitable sprays
wound round a thick bar, which gives an appearance of solidity,
the grace of curved lines being much enhanced by contrast with the
perpendicular or horizontal.
[Sidenote: Reverse Side of Scrolls.] If the scroll is meant to
represent a riband curled at the ends, or folded, the reverse side
may be ornamented with gold stars, or foliage. Plainly shaded blue,
with perhaps a narrow gold edge, will, however, be found most
suitable; if prominent colours are gaudily used for the reverse side
of the riband, it will appear to come forward, leaving the text in
the background.
Specimens of differently shaped scrolls are affixed to each of our
chapters.
[Sidenote: Firmness essential.] In conclusion, it cannot be too
strictly enforced, that every line, straight or curved, should be
_firmly_ drawn, and the edges, in painting, be kept perfectly neat
and clear. Whether from unsteadiness in outline, or from a shaking
hand when painting (especially in gold), nine-tenths of the amateur
illuminations produced have a quivering ruggedness about them which
could well be dispensed with. In ornamental finish, also, this
unsteadiness is almost universal, so that the points of small leaves,
or _fleurs-de-lys_, instead of being sharply defined, most frequently
degenerate into unsightly loops, similar to the following example.
[Illustration: As it should be.]
[Illustration: As it generally is.]