Gathering the following materials will be essential in creating the perfect illuminated letter: a pencil, ruler, a black felt marker, several sheets of card stock paper, an 8-pack of broad-tip colored markers, an 8-pack of fine-tip colored markers and a pack of metallic markers in shades of gold, silver and any other colors needed.
Research some Old English fonts on a computer to get some ideas for letter designs. Use a word processing program to browse fonts, or research typography ideas online. Fold a sheet of card stock paper into fourths. Open the sheet of card stock paper and use the four spaces created from the folds to sketch four different letter drafts with a pencil. Add interesting embellishments, lines and curves to the letter sketches to recreate a traditional illuminated letter. Choose the best sketch to recreate for the final draft.
Recreate the letter sketch from your rough draft onto a new sheet of card stock paper. Use a ruler to create a border around the edge of the paper to highlight the letter. Use the broad-tip colored markers, the fine-tip colored markers and the metallic markers to fill in the letter and border. Use a black felt marker to outline the letter and border and incorporate additional detailing to finish the project.
Those who want to take their illuminated letters to the next step can add to their letters or begin making manuscripts. Artisans who work with illumination often use gold leafing to further embellish their work; however, gold leafing can be more costly than metallic markers and paint. To create an illuminated manuscript, add an ornate illustration at the top of the page, create your illuminated letter where the text will start and then use a black calligraphy pen to add text. Card stock paper can be substituted for a thick parchment paper to create a more authentic-looking manuscript.