Customer Reviews

The Illuminated Alphabet

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A gorgeous book showcasing and demonstrating decorative calligraphy. Step by step instructions for a wide variety of styles and period pieces of illuminated lettering. A great way to add some interest to sketchbook journals. HOWEVER! A patient and attention-to-detail mindset is required for this exacting art form.

"This book contains the best things to know to begin doing Illuminated manuscript writing. The authors list great resources, give useful lists, and then help you get started!!
In addition, I like the several styles of complete alphabets, how they are presented and described, and how to do the illumination techniques. It has taken me several years and attempts to find a book this beautifully complete. Other potential authors and publishers could learn from this wonderful book, because finally I feel confident enough to tackle the several projects I've got waiting for me. You don't have to be an artist to begin to do this work when you use this book.
Thank you to the authors and the publishers for their insight. Now I have the knowledge to be more confident in knowing where to start and how to progress with illuminating some of my projects.
Sandra Jones Ireland; Prince Edward Island Canada

When you start illumination, you want to try different styles to see which fits your interest and talents best. This book creates a step by step walk-through for many different styles in a do-able manner for a beginner. But beyond that, the book provides examples of where to go from there. For instance, start of with the letter used as the example. When you finish that, try including one of the borders shown in that section using the same skills developed by following the example.
What this book accomplishes is to help you develop the "vocabulary" used by the sample styles. As you develop the vocabulary that the sample styles illustrate, you are on the path for more complex work (i.e. see Christopher De Hamel's books). Also, by learning the basics that this book provides, you are ready to play with styles not covered because you have the basis for where other styles came from or what they led into.

It you have any interest in calligraphy, luminations, or just pure beauty, then this is one small volume you will want to add to your collection. Now I must admit that the skill needed to create these wonderful works of art is much greater than I will ever have, but that is okay. I use works such as this purely for inspiration. I figure that it is a nice world just to know "someone" out there is able to creat something like this. It gives me something to shoot for. This work is certainly not for beginners but I don't think a beginner would be hurt one bit for having read and studied it. I shows just what can be done if you have the skill and knowledge. This is always a good thing. I also appreciated the authors notes on the history of this art form. I do know something of history, and this information alone was worth the price of the book. Recommend this one highly.

a well done and inspiring book on illuminating letters. a good read for a small book. the illustrations were beautiful and easy to follow.

This book has helped me to learn and try my hand at several different styles of medieval illumination. I highly recommend this to any potential scribes out there!

Whether you are interested in creating illuminated alphabets or want the book for other purposes, such as learning something of the history of illuminated alphabets, this is the perfect book. The printing examples are elegant, the colors brilliant and absolutely lovely, and the price, less than $11. for the beautiful paperback, cannot be beat--unless Amazon reduces the price even more. I have my own copy of the book and have today ordered two more to give as Christmas presents to friends that love beautiful artwork.

This is a very high quality book, the paper is thick and the colors are vivid and plentiful.

Timothy Noad shows you in step by step photos and excellent instructions how to create calligraphy like they did in the medieval period. He shows you how to apply gold leaf, lists of what you will need for a given illumination- paint colors, brush sizes, paper type.

The photos of the finished works are alone worth the price of the book.

As a novice scribe in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) I ordered many books having to do with calligraphy and illumination. This book, the Illuminated Alphabet, has proven to be very helpful and I am extremely pleased with it. The images are large and easy to see and the examples have given me wonderful ideas for the scrolls I am learning to create. Learning painting techniques and seeing the detail is what I needed and this book has done exactly that. I highly recommend this book for those learning how to be scribes.