Illuminated letter S Hello, dear friend! Hope you are well and having a good day :) Today we are drawing illuminated letter S in Medieval style Find the list of materials for this art project in the description under the video First, you will need a sheet of watercolor paper (mine is 10.5x 15.5 cm) I'm using Arches hot pressed 300 g/m cotton paper Divide it into 4 sections with indents from edges (so you could frame your artwork) You can also indent these small sections to help you fit the letter within the borders Sketch out the shape of your letter with a pencil. Don't worry if it looks too rough, you can fix it later Visit my webstore and portfolio www.theloomingmorrow.com The history of Medieval world exploration is interesting and surprising. When it is easy to imagine Medieval people knowing not much about the world lying beyond their lands, it is actually not really so. Fixing the lines I'm not content with Using soft brush to remove debris and avoid finger prints After the collapse of the Roman Empire and up until about the 1200s, European kingdoms and states did not have much means and, therefore, need to engage in active exploration. Draw a line in the middle of the empty space of the letter's bottom part Sketch a sea serpent around this line Sketch out a ship Try to draw ship using soft, half-circle lines to match the letter's shape During that time, though, Muslim travellers and merchants sailed throughout the Indian Ocean reaching as far as Southeast Asia and East Africa and bringing their religion to the new lands. Making a narrow border on the letter S's body Later on we will be drawing a white decorative pattern within this border Starting from about the 1100, European crusaders would battle Muslims for control of the Holy Lands in Southwest Asia. Adding decorative elements connecting letter S's upper and bottom parts In 1275, the famous Italian trader Marco Polo travelled as far as China and managed to reach the court of Kublai Khan, the founder and the ruler of the Mongol Empire. Drawing 4 petals inside the round decorative element During the Crusades that lasted from 1096 until 1270, the people of Medieval Europe were introduced to spices and luxury goods from Asia (you can watch my tutorials on how to draw various spices). Erasing unnecessary lines Now we are going to make all lines lighter with the kneaded eraser Shape your kneaded eraser into "baguette" :) and roll it over your sketch Lighter lines will be less visible under watercolor layers you will still be able to see your sketch Polychromos Dark Indigo 157 colored pencil (Faber Castell) Use a dark blue colored pencil to go over the ship's outlines For small scale work, it's helpful to use a very sharp pencil Use the same pencil color for outlining the letter's shape Importing and trading spices through overseas exploration became quite a profitable business in Europe, giving a reason to search for new sources of wealth in other lands. After the Crusades had ended, the demand for spices such as cinnamon, ginger, pepper etc., did not subside. Since the demand was higher than the available supply, merchants charged high prices for spices, thus turning them into goods affordable only for nobility and royalty. After finishing drawing over the letter's outlines, erase the underlying sketch lines he whole spice trading arrangement was rather complex: the Muslims and the Italians had control over the goods from East to West. Remove the debris with a soft brush to avoid finger prints' residue on paper Polychromos Indian Red 192 We are using colored pencils now because they won't smudge/ bleed under watercolor Muslim traders would sell goods to Italian merchants who, in their turn, would resell them with a mark-up price throughout Europe. Polychromos Terracotta 186 Of course, such arrangement was not very much loved European traders as it cut into their own profits. Permanent Green Olive 167: outlining botanical elements (resembling acanthus) Dark Sepia 175: going over the sea serpent's sketch By the 1400s, the new monarchs of Spain, England, Portugal, and France encouraged European merchants to seek a way to bypass the Italian traders. That meant it was important to find a sea route directly to Asia.
Spreading Christianity was also a motivation for European explorers. Erasing pencil sketch This eraser is Tombow Mono Zero eraser pen Earth Green 172 watercolor pencil (Albrecht Dürer) Wet a small firm brush and pick up pigment off the pencil You will have more control over watercolor when working on small details Paint the sea waves Albrecht Dürer Olive Green Yellowish You can mix pigments on paper by picking them off the pencils with the same brush I'm using Aquafine 2/0 round brush by Daler Rowney Albrecht Dürer Chrome Oxide Green 278 You can use watercolors in pans or tubes instead of watercolor pencils For example, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias would explain his motives as “to serve God and His Majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness and to grow rich as all men desire to do”. Terracotta 186 watercolor pencil Paint the sky Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils: Delft Blue 141, Indathrene Blue 247 Wet a small firm synthetic brush and pick up pigments off the pencils Bartolomeu’s journeys made him the first European mariner to round the southern tip of Africa which opened a sea route from Europe to Asia. After his expedition, Bartolomeu Dias settled in Guinea in West Africa, where Portugal had established a gold-trading site Albrecht Dürer May Green 170 watercolor pencil Paint the botanical elements Albrecht Dürer Gold Ochre 183 watercolor pencils Paint the round element yellow He was ordered to work as a shipbuilding consultant for the expedition of Vasco da Gama.
Together with Vasco da Gama, Dias sailed as far as Cape Verde Islands Polychromos colored pencil: Dark Sepia 175 Drawing a tiny oar and sail. If your pencil isn't sharp enough, you can use a waterproof ink pen for small details For example, Micron pen 0.1 or 005 or Copic multiliner (same size) It's important to use waterproof ink, otherwise it'll smudge under watercolors Drawing a tiny sailor. Or at least attempting to draw :) A decade after Dias’ historic travel around the tip of Africa, Da Gama’s ships managed to reach India in May 1498. Polychromos Indian Red 192: draw a flag Another sailor with Dark Sepia pencil (drawing his head first, then the body) Only the head of the third sailor is visible Erasing the underlying pencil sketch Removing the debris with a clean and dry soft brush Albrecht Dürer Terracotta 186 watercolor pencil Painting the sky again When the ships reached the port of Calicut in India, their crews were amazed by the city’s shops offering not only spices, but also rare silk fabrics and precious stones. Albrecht Dürer May Green 170 and Olive Green Yellowish 173 Painting the sea waves with this mix Olive Green Yellowish 173 Albrecht Dürer Chrome Oxide Green 278 The Portuguese sailors filled their ships with the goods and spices like cinnamon and pepper and returned to their homeland in 1499. Albrecht Dürer Gold Ochre 183 watercolor pencils Albrecht Dürer Chrome Oxide Green 278 and Deft Blue 141 I'm using even smaller brush for the darker waves In the end, their cargo turned out to be worth 60 times the cost of their voyage. Albrecht Dürer Chrome Oxide Green 278 and Deft Blue 141 Thus, Portugal was the first European country to establish trading outposts along the west coast of Africa. It was also the leader in developing and implementing sailing innovations. Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils: Delft Blue 141, Indathrene Blue 247 Painting shadows on the sail Portugal was so active in overseas exploration thanks to the strong government support, such as the one shown by Prince Henry Burnt Umber 280 watercolor pencil: coloring the ship Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils: Delft Blue 141, Indathrene Blue 247 In 1419, prince Henry founded a navigation school to gather cartographers (map makers), shipbuilders, sea captains, instrument makers and scientists and encourage them to develop their trade. Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils: Delft Blue 141, Indathrene Blue 247 Apart from the need to get to primary sources of exotic spices, Medieval exploration became more active due to advances in technology. In comparison, in the 1200s it was nearly impossible for a European sea captain to cross thousands of miles of ocean and return back safe and sound. Pale Geranium Lake 121 watercolor pencil Gold Ochre 183 watercolor pencils The major problem was that European ships at that time could not sail against the wind. However, in the 1400s shipbuilders designed a new type of ship – the caravel. Deep Cobalt Green 158 Polychromos colored pencil Dark Indigo 157 Polychromos colored pencil: shading acanthus Thanks to its triangular sails adopted from the Arabs, caravel ships were able to effectively sail against the wind. Moreover, they were sturdier, too. Another novelty adopted from the Muslim mariners was the astrolabe which helped European travellers to improve their navigational techniques. Naples Yellow 185 Polychromos colored pencil Deep Cobalt Green 158 Polychromos colored pencil Earth Green 172 watercolor pencil Polychromos Indian Red 192 colored pencil Astrolabe helped to sight the stars and allowed sea captains to calculate latitude, or how far north or south of the equator their ship was at the moment. Polychromos Terracotta 186 colored pencil Polychromos Burnt Umber 280 for the ship Terracotta colored pencil: adding a pencil layer to the skies for texture A Chinese invention – magnetic compass, - aided the Medieval explorers in accurately tracking direction. Sakura Gelly Roll 08 white gel pen: drawing a wavy pattern For example, in the 17th-century, a sailing vessel would carry 8000 pounds of salt beef, 600 pounds of salt cod, 2800 pounds of salt pork, 2 large casks of cider... ...1 barrel of salt, 1 barrel of flour, 30 bushels of oatmeal, several casks of butter for a 3-month long trip for the crew of 190 sailors If your pattern seems too pale, go over it one more time And intensify the blue background around the pattern Pigma FB black ink brush pen Darkening waves' lines In the years after Da Gama’s voyage, Portugal built a blooming trading empire throughout the Indian Ocean. Darken the outlines of the letter In 1514, it strengthened its position in the region by building a fort at Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. In 1510, the Portuguese conquered Goa, a port city on India’s west coast, and turned it into the capital of their business empire. Polychromos Indian Red 192 colored pencil Dark Indigo 157 Polychromos colored pencil I'm going over the brush pen lines with a dark colored pencil this will make the lines less sharp and more resembling Medieval manuscript illumination They later sailed to Indonesia (the East Indies) and attacked the city of Malacca on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula (in 1511). Pigma FB black ink brush pen: darkening the contour lines Polychromos Dark Sepia colored pencil: darkening the ship Portuguese sea captain Alfonso de Albuquerque explained the importance of capturing Malacca: Cairo and Mecca’s trade would then be ruined and Venice would not have spiceries any longer. Pigma FB black ink brush pen Indeed, Portugal’s gaining control over Malacca and domination on trade from the East allowed Portuguese traders to sell goods from Asia at around one-fifth of what they used to cost when exported through the Arabs and Italians. Such success in Asia attracted attention of other European nations. For example, Spain sent an expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan which arrived in the Philippines in 1521. Detailing with a small size ink pen (Copic multiliner 0.1 or .005) Spain claimed the Philippines and began settling them in 1565. In the early 1600s, other European nations began coming to Asia with the desire to establish their own trade empires in the East. You can also use Sepia color ink pen Hatching to enhance texture and to shade The 16th century saw the rise of the Netherlands: being ruled by Spain since the early 1500s, the country declared independence from it in 1581 and established the Dutch Republic. Hatching the sky as well Soon after, the Dutch Republic became the leading sea power among European nations. By 1600, they owned the largest fleet of ships in the worlds – 20,000 vessels. Copic green ink multiliner 0.1 Polychromos Dark Indigo 157 colored pencil They battled the English for dominance of the Asian region, weakening Portuguese control.
Both countries then formed East India Companies in order to establish and manage trade throughout Asia. Faber Castell Olive Green Yellowish watercolor pencil Painting the sea serpent Albrecht Dürer Chrome Oxide Green watercolor pencil By 1700, the Dutch controlled much of Indonesia, had trading posts in other Asian countries and the nation’s capital, Amsterdam, became a leading commercial center. Indathrene Blue: darkening negative space around the white pattern The English East India Company switched its focus to developing a successful business trading of Indian cloth in Europe. Also painting this area darker for the white gel pen pattern to look more vivid Although European nations fought for trading opportunities in Southeast Asia, their influence in that region did not extend much beyond the port cities. When the sea serpent has dried, add details with a small ink pen Gelly Roll white gel pen: when the watercolor layer has dried, finish drawing your pattern Wait for your artwork to dry completely, then erase the remaining sketch lines Hope this video was helpful. Thanks for watching and have a great day!
