Alarice
Beatrix von Thal
USING THE
WRONG MATERIALS
This generally won't
result in your scroll being returned, however there
are some basic rules about what materials we use.
We hope that the scrolls we are producing today
will last without fading or cracking through at
least the recipient's lifetime, perhaps longer.
(Just think - the scrolls we are trying to emulate
lasted for centuries!)
Paper
Any heavy, parchment
type, acid-free paper is fine.
Ink
You should onlyuse
permanent ink - it is generally a darker, more
solid colour, and of course, it is permanent.We
would recommend Calli, Rotring Opaque and Higgins
(all retailing for around $8-10 a bottle which
lasts forever).
If you are rubricating
(calligraphing with coloured ink - popular in
gothic styles) we would not recommend the coloured
inks which are available. They tend to be watery
and fade easily. Instead, try watered down
guache.
Paints
Do not use acrylic
paints, textas or felt tip pens. You should only be
using Designer's Gouache (any brand). The most
widely available is Windsor & Newton. Gouache
is similar in consistency and behaviour to the
paints used in period, and generally does not fade.
When it dries it can be used again by watering down
(so you won't have to waste any - one tube will
last for years if looked after), and it can also be
used as ink (see above). A basic set of period
colours from the Windsor & Newton range would
be as follows:
Red: Cadmium
Red Pale
Yellow: Cadmium
Yellow Pale
Blue:
Ultramarine
Green:
Mistletoe
Purple:
Spectrum Violet or Purple Lake
Black: Lamp
Black
White: Zinc
White or Chinese White
Other colours from the
W& N range may also be useful, depending on the
style of scroll you are doing.
For metallics, you can
use either leaf or gouache. Once you've mastered
the art of laying gold leaf, you may find it easier
than using the paint. Instructions are readily
available in art books. Leaf is readily available
at art supply shops (anywhere from around $40-$50
per 25 sheets) as well as the gum needed to lay
it.
If you don't wish to
use leaf, or can't afford to, then metallic
gouaches are fine. I would suggest that you do a
couple of coats to get it even - it takes
practice.
Outlines
You should really
outline your artwork - particularly the device.
Theoretically you should do it with a very fine
brush and black guache. Most people find it easier
to use a technical drawing pen (such as Rotring).
This will give your scroll a much more "finished"
look.
CALLIGRAPHY
Spelling
Take Care! This is by
far the easiest and most common mistake to make -
and the hardest to fix. Watch out particularly for
hard to spell names (such as Welsh),
repeating/missing part of a word (such as
maintaing/ maintainining), ending one line and
beginning the next with the same word (unto whom
these presents shall shall have come...), and of
course, simple spelling mistakes. If the mistake is
in the name, blazon or Royalty names, then it will
have to be returned to be re-done. Other mistakes
may be ignored if they are minor (after all, period
scribes made spelling mistakes too!)
You may find it easier
to write the text in pencil first, so that you have
something to follow. Avoid sing-a- long music,
television or conversation while you are writing -
there is a tendency to write what you are hearing
rather than what is on the page.
And of course, ALWAYS
do the calligraphy first - it is much easier to fix
an illumination mistake than a calligraphy one -
and illumination takes many more hours.
Date
I should be giving you
the correct dates. I generally give both mundane
and Society dates so that you can double check. If
you work it out yourself and the dates don't match,
call me and I will tell you which is right. I makes
mistakes too.
Capitals
Follow basic grammar
rules - first word of a sentence, names, place
names should all get capitals. So do titles such as
King/Queen, Prince/Princess and so on, and
Kingdom/Principality. This may be inappropriate for
certain calligraphic styles, in which case, just
use common sense to preserve authenticity and
legibility. In blazons, the only word to get a
capital is Or (the metal), to avoid confusion with
the conjunction.
Signatures
Don't forget to add in
Rex/Regina, Prince/Princess (Princeps/Princepessa)
or Viceroy/Vicereign, as necessary, so that the
Royalty know where to sign their names. The space
for the signature should be before the title - so
that it reads correctly (John Rex and Jane Regina).
If it is not clear where you are expecting them to
sign, rule a faint pencil line as a hint (it can be
erased later.) Never actually put the name in where
they are to sign - sometimes the appropriate
royalty cannot be found and current royalty will
sign for them. The signatures can be either above
or next to the appropriate titles. A space for the
Crux Australis or Vesper Principal Herald to sign
is generally optional.
Spacing
Rule your lines
evenly! Try not to miss a line! This sort of
mistake can be very noticeable. In the case of
pre-printed scroll blanks, take the line spacing
from that already on the page, and try to fit the
wording in such away as to disguise the fact that
it is pre-printed.
And try to match the
pen size and script!
ILLUMINATION
Heraldry
We frequently get
scrolls with minor mistakes in heraldry. For
instance, getting counter-changed colours around
the wrong way, having a charge face the wrong way,
or having the wrong charge altogether. These days I
am enclosing pictures of the devices for everything
I assign - this is usually black and white. If for
any reason you are unsure about the heraldry -
PLEASE CHECK IT - either with your local herald or
me, or from a source book such as Fox-Davies (be
careful though - some SCA conventions are different
to mundane ones - for instance we draw our acorns
the wrong way round).
Colours
Quite often the
scrolls I receive have very watery colours. The
scrolls in period tended to use very strong
colours, although reprints may look pale because
after sever hundred years the colour has faded.
This is something of a matter of taste, but my
experience is that strong colours look better. At
any rate, the paint should never be so thin that it
is very uneven, or that pencil lines can be seen
underneath.
Unfinished
It can be very easy to
forget to colour tiny details. Before you decide
the scroll is finished, check it over thoroughly.
Check every gothic leaf, every piece of clothing,
every capital and so on.
(Personally I prefer
to see white details - particularly backgrounds in
devices - painted with white guache. Although it is
often hard to see the difference between the paint
and the paper, in some lights it looks very
different, and painting in the white gives a much
more "finished" look. But make sure you don't miss
a spot - that becomes obvious too.)
Mistakes
Correcting mistakes in
illumination is generally pretty easy, provided you
have used designer's guache. Always colour in light
colours first - if you make a mistake you can go
over it with a darker colour (ie. if you have a
device with a yellow background and a black chief,
do the yellow first; if you go over the line the
black will cover it.) If you've made a major
mistake (such as getting the colours the wrong way
around), with care, you can fix it. Wet the spot
with a fair amount of water, leave for ten seconds
or so, and then with a clean dry tissue or cloth,
press down and quickly lift off the guache. Repeat
until almost all the colour is gone (some may soak
into the paper fibre - you can't change this). When
it is all off, you should be able to paint over the
stain with a fairly thick guache. Take care not to
wet the paper too much - it may warp. If this
happens put some heavy books on it and leave it for
a few hours. Also take care not to smudge the
colour onto the surround paper.
If you do get smudges
of ink or guache on the paper, try rubbing it out
with a soft rubber (for faint guache) or
apen/typewriter rubber (for ink). Then buff the
paper with a shiny stone - it should become
unnoticeable. Don'trub so hard that you make a
hole! Some high quality paper (not that which we
use for AA blanks), and vellum, is able to be
scraped back with a scalpel with undetectable
results.
GENERAL
MISTAKES
Margins
Leave at least 2
inches as a margin. Remember that it is likely that
the scroll will be framed.
Creasing
Make sure when you are
working on your scroll that you don't bend the edge
over the desk. This will produce a crease which is
virtually impossible to remove. And be careful when
transporting them too!
Signing
Don't forget to sign
the back. Not only does this give the recipient the
chance to thank you, but it also lets me know who
is doing the work and what standard it is at. Sign
in pencil, or in pen behind some dark illumination.
Press very lightly so that there is no impression
showing through on the scroll. Some scribes like to
leave their mark somewhere in the illumination - if
you do this make sure it fits in with the feel of
the scroll and sign the back with your name
anyway.
Seals
Leave plenty of room
for the seals. The general guide for Kingdom seals
is 5cm diameter for the Kingdom and 3.5 cm diameter
for the herald. For Principality allow larger than
this as both seals are larger (7cm for the
Principality and 5cm for the herald). These are the
actual dimensions of the seal, if you don't want
wax covering your illumination allow a bit more
than this. Wax can be temperamental, and very
difficult to confine to a small space. The more
space you can allow for the seals, the less likely
it is that the wax will cover some illumination or
text. On original scrolls, you can provide ribbons
from which the seals will be suspended. Keep in
mind that this will be more difficult for the
recipient to frame.
Period
Try to stick to period
elements. The College in Lochac has achieved a
reputation for excellence throughout the Knowne
World, and much of this is due to the emphasis we
have placed on maintaining a high level of
authenticity. You don't have to document everything
you've done (although I like finding out where you
go the various elements from), however I think
you'll find that many libraries and bookstores have
books of period manuscripts which will provide all
the inspiration you need to do your scroll in a
period manner. Straight fantasy elements will be
looked down upon seriously (possibly returned).
When colouring the pre-printed AA blanks, keep in
mind the sources from which these were designed and
colour them accordingly.
Finally
Don't hang on to an
assignment which you don't think you will finish
Swallow your pride, hand it back, and when you have
the time again, ask for a new assignment. Remember,
somebody could be working on it now!
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