Inspiration The inspiration for my illuminated manuscript is the movie Mune: Guardian of the Moon. In this movie, the sun and moon are dragged across the land by two giant temples, shaped like beasts The Guardians of the
Sun and Moon are in charge of the temple’s path, ensuring that day and night are on schedule. Every few hundred years, new guardians are picked from the day and night tribes. Both tribes live in harmony because
the Sun needs the moon and the moon needs the sun. Giant serpents are seen as evil and can corrupt the heart. This movie is available on Netflix.
Style The style of illuminated manuscript I chose is the Islamic style. Islamic manuscript decoration used geometric and natural designs to fill the spaces on the page. The text and illustrations are framed with
multiple lines and surrounded by complex borders. “Geometric shapes containing calligraphy are surrounded by rhythmic organic designs ranging from plant forms to abstract arabesques�
I drew inspiration from the use of bright colors, the way text was used as a decoration and has a natural flow and the balance between structure and organic lines.
Text Page
English
Japanese
Source
1
A handle On the moon And what a splendid fan
月に柄をさしたら ばよき団扇かな
Haiku (Sokan) https://www.tofugu.c om/japan/haiku/
2
As long as the sun shines brightly the moon will glow humbly
太陽が明るく輝 く限り、月は謙 虚に輝くでしょ う
Movie Quote
Page 1
Stage 1 ❖ Sketched a few rough ideas down.
❖ Played with different border shapes/styles and how the text should be arranged. ❖ Decided to use Japanese kanji
because the characters have geometric as well as arabesque lines
Page 2
Page 1
Stage 2 ❖ In pencil, drew the layout of the page. Measured the text frames and border. ❖ Used a watercolor block (Grain fin/Cold Pressed) as my canvas ❖ Used acrylic paint for the border and illustration. ❖ For page 1, using the evil serpent from the movie as the basis of the border.
❖ Page 2 is an illustration of the two temples walking the sun/moon
Page 2
Page 1
Stage 3 â?– Page 1:Used crisscross
designs in the border to mimic the scales of the snake. Added organic elements to the space outside the border. In pencil created the guidelines for the text. â?– Page 2: Finished the main illustration. Picked the best movie quote that translated to Japanese and would fit systematically within the border
Page 2
Page 1
Final Stage â?– Page 1: Used Indian black ink for the text to achieve the proper brush stroke . Paid close attention to the thickness and order of each stroke (Note: a skilled
calligrapher can notice if the strokes are not in the right order) Added abstract designs within the text box
â?– Page 2: Used acrylic paint white paint for the text to decorate the border. Used red lines to separate each border
Page 2
Page 1
Page 2