How to Decorate the First Letter of a Paragraph & the Margins of a Page With Brilliant Designs

Illuminated letter with portrait of King Henry VIII

Illuminated lettering or the decoration of the first letter of a paragraph has long been considered a forgotten art form. Popular as far back as the early 12th century, it was often performed by monks as they transcribed history or religious texts. Arguments have been made that decorated writing should be considered along with Egyptian hieroglyphics. It is basically the practice of decorating a text or single letter with forms that refer to either the text itself, or in some way the writer. As the art form became more popular, royalty demanded the most skilled artisans be available to highlight the most basic of notes and parchments. Today, the art form is finding a renaissance of its own, becoming more popular as a form of decorated calligraphy. Here are some ways to create your own decorated pages.

Things You'll Need

• Thin pencil
• Thin marker or calligraphy pen
• Ruler
• Good quality paper or parchment
• Colored pencils, markers or paint
• Gold or silver pen/marker

Instructions

1. 

   Choose your text. The first step is to choose the text you wish to decorate. Whether a poem, story or greeting card, the text itself will need to be printed on your paper in the best possible calligraphy style.
   At the same time as you are choosing the text, consider the type style you wish to use. You should consider using the same type style for the text as for the basis of your illuminated letter.
   In the example here, we are choosing the first letter in the author's name: "D."

2. 

   Begin your design by deciding what type of flourishes or background artwork you can add to your letter, while still maintaining the basic shape of the letter itself. Seen here are three possibilities. The first is a design that weaves itself in and out of the letter. The ivy vine pattern makes an excellent background for other types of flowers or nature designs. The second letter shows a more architectural design. These flourishes are similar to Victorian edging and even molding used in designs of architecture. The third letter shows a Celtic influence where the design itself is embedded into the form of the letter.
   Using your pencil, sketch in the design you decide upon, until you are happy with the result. After your design has been finalized, take the thin tip marker or calligraphy pen and blacken the lines so you have a straight black and white design.
   Starting with these basic designs is relatively easy for even the most inept artist. There are many patterns and traceable designs available that can assist you in this step. Keep in mind that the best design for your letter should in some way reflect either the content of the text or something about you.

3. 

   Add color to your design. Using colored markers, paint or colored ink, color in the design you have created. You can make it as colorful as you'd like, but let it reflect the finished product you are trying to create.
   Since you are finishing your letter on the paper you will have your text on, take the time to carefully fill in your text using the same style font you picked out as the base for your letter. Using the ruler as a guide, make sure your lines of text are straight. Your initial letter should be much larger on the page than the rest of the written information. Once your text has been written in, darken it with the marker or pen (if done in pencil).
   Continuing the design you've created with your letter, now is the time to enhance the borders. For example, the colored letter below contains the ivy vine design. This design can easily be extended down the sides of the pages. Once the design has been created for the sides, blacken the lines and color it in using the same color scheme used in the letter itself.

4. 

   Using the gold and silver pens, highlight those areas you've chosen so that it appears to bring life and light to the design. Highlighting the letter design with gold and silver is what truly makes it illuminated. As you can see from the below, the Celtic designed "D" from Step 2 has been darkened and colored in with black and red, leaving areas that edge the letter free to be inked in gold.
   Carry the gold or silver highlighting to the margin areas of your page where you have continued your design.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice your design on scrap paper before placing on the good parchment or finished paper. Use a word processing program to "type" your text on the page first, then copy over with darker marker or pen. This is a great way for beginners to line up the text before beginning decorating.