Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Medieval manuscripts are full of beautiful, illuminated letters. Would you like to learn how to draw your own version of an illuminated letter B? In this tutorial, I take you through the creative process. I have also provided a video where you can see the process in action.
Taking inspiration from a 12th-century medieval alphabet, I sketched the letter shape until I came up with a version I liked. Using the creative method described in the letter A blog post, I decided on a flower, saved images from Google search for reference, and let my hand loose.
I have provided a free PDF with the line art and letter B practice sheet in the One Tree Art Club library. You can draw from scratch or use my outline to paint your own illuminated letter. In this article, I show you how to make watercolor gold paint.
The drawing process
I first started drawing the flower. With the flower partially drawn, I embarked on the letter shape. Following this order, it is easy to integrate the flower with a letter shape.
If you first draw the full letter and then try to combine it with a flower, you may find yourself frustrated and stuck. It can become a puzzling dilemma of how to make it work. I know because I tried it many times before it dawned on me how to take the easy route.
When I recorded the drawing process, the camera was too close to my hand, so in this video, you will learn about the application of watercolor, gold paint, and colored pencils.
Top: My sketches of the letter B, taking inspiration from a 12th-century alphabet. Bottom: A photograph of this flower in a meadow is the inspiration for my artwork. I used my botanical handbook to randomly select a flower species for my illuminated letter and then search online for a photograph..
You can download a free practice sheet for letter B and then have a go at creating an illuminated letter yourself. If you want to focus on painting or coloring only, the PDF includes the line drawing of my letter B that you can trace or print out.
Some more tutorials with illuminated letters:
For art materials needed for this tutorial, check my Guide to Art Supplies.
