Analog Revolution

Quill of Life

From: Cover Idea: Tree of Life
Regarding:

• Seals and Icons Part 1 & Part 2
• Bookplates and Letterplates
• And Ex Calamus
  

I remembered doing some design work on the Tree of Life a while back for a book cover. One of the designs, #3 to the left, sort of reminded me of a both a tree, a leaf and a quill all in one. It was my 'Elven-inspired' tree.

If I turned the design for #3 upside-down and took away my idea for 'roots', the overall look is very leaf-like. If I were to bifurcate it along the center axis then I would almost have a quill. This got me thinking again. One of my friends suggested a "Leaf-Quill" as a design element so I started doodling in Gimp (thy name be praised).

So I selected the image and cleaned it up so I had something to work with.

From there I wanted to turn it into more of a tree / leaf shape so I altered the base into a long stem. I think it really became more of a 'tree' than a 'leaf' but you get the idea. I needed to create some space where I could try and work in a quill.
(Below) Then I tried to attach what I thought would be a quill tip or nib to the shape in the hopes that it would become something of a writing instrument. Oddly enough it started to look more and more dart-like but I just went with it to see where it lead me.
(Below) In an attempt to make it look less dart-like and more quill-like I bifurcated it and dressed up the 'cut' line to give it some shape.

(Below) Once I turned it on its side and had a different look at it, it started to look more and more quill like.
(Below) then I turned it to an angle so it would look more 'swept' like a quill should.
...and I'm still not sure what to do with it.

Letter Seal

From:

• Seals and Icons Part 1 & Part 2
• Bookplates and Letterplates
• And Ex Calamus
  

In an attempt to combine both an Oak Leaf and a Quill into a single, unified icon I've tried to turn the two shapes into the letter 'T'. Not sure if it looks right though. Back to the drawing board.

Seals and Icons, Part 2

An elaboration on the previous post about Seals and Icons.


I'm going to see if I can get it turned into a rubber stamp first. I'll work on getting it made into a wax seal later.

Same design with a braid rather than a coil of rope as the 'edge'.

Seals and Icons

The Green Quill - the simple icon that I had begun to use when I was working as a Scribe within the Midrealm of the SCA. Since scribes didn't sign the front of their work, the simple green quill was something that I could hide in the design somewhere on the surface. It became something of a hieroglyphic signature that I began using not just in my scribal work but also in other venues.

Second to the quill, though older in use, was that of an oak leaf -specifically a white oak leaf (quercus alba). Green, the color of nature, and the image of the oak tree were all images that had a deep-rooted connection for me. In the SCA I was known as 'Thomas the Green' which came from 'Thomas the Green Guy' or 'Thomas the guy wearing the Green Tabard".




Even older than the oak leaf was the idea of a green triangle 0r three of anything in some kind of triangular configuration.

So in creating a symbol that would accurately represent me I had to incorporate those three concepts into one design.


A triangle of quills was the first idea that came to mind. It's a bit hard to draw free-hand but for a seal or letter head it kinda looks cool. The first version (left) had a big gaping hole in the center so I stuck an oak leaf in it and it seems to look like it belongs there (right).

So once I threw some color at it (turning the leaves and the quills green) it started to look more and more like a real design. I just wasn't sure which way the point should face.

Then I tried a triangle of oak leaves. That really got my attention because the interior space started to look like some celtic twist-spiral thing; a triskelion. This was a cool, if unintended design feature but it didn't look quite right. I might still use the design element - but not sure in what.

So then I pulled an image of an envelope and added the symbols to see what the seals would look like in action.

New Graphic Work

Ok, I've been working on this pilgrim logo for a while and I decided that the original version (here) was too empty. I wanted to put something in the background to give it a sense of scale and theme other than just a blank, black figure. So I began digging around for something that I could grab and alter to fit into the style of the image. Finally, this morning, I found some mountain clipart on a free clipart site that matched perfectly.

Pilgrim design v 2.0 with Mountain background

What I want to do now is to combine some urban elements to the image to give it a combination of both places where a Pilgrim might walk. I want to split the background down the center of the figure and have the city-scape on one side and the mountains on the other. Now I just have to figure out where to put the moon. I think that the moon would look better on the mountain side (the rural) and a star on the building (the urban) side. I'm going to have to decide what fits on each side once I find the nice, clean lines of the city element.

Bookplate v 1.0

The bookplate is something that I've been wanting to create for a while; something that I could use to mark my books. I wanted something that I could easily print out from my home office and use on everything from paperbacks and such. The image of the Hermit from the Rider-Waite that I've altered for my blog and such seemed a logical choice. It's a nice color of green too for the background.

Crook

Crook
Originally uploaded by Green Pilgrim.

This is a Pilgrim's Crook. I am experimenting with photoshop with different layers and such.

It was just an experiment.

-T

Pilgrim Gear Design ver 3.1

Pilgrim Gear Design ver 3.1,
originally uploaded by Green Pilgrim.

Latest update on Pilgrim Gear.

The addition of the crescent moon really added something to the feel that I was trying to create.

I asked for Barb, Zak, Dan and Heather to give me some input and so far they all liked it.

Now all I have to do is to work on the project this was designed for.

-Tom

Triangles, Triangles, Triangles

Another sketch from my notebooks made it over to the 101 Tales blog. This one fuses my interest in triangles and the construction of my own wizard's tower. :)

-T

Design Sketch: Medieval Scribe's Desk

A lot of my sketches end up being some kind of design or blueprint; it's just how I think.

When I got into my monastic phase in the SCA, I started to think about all the things that a Monk would have. What would his artifacts be? It's a question I ask of myself when I'm trying to understand or create a character; it's the archaeologist in me.

Here you see a simple box-table where the legs and central strut could either fold up inside the box-like top of the table and therefore make it easy to transport in the back of someone's truck or car.

The lectern floating above is a simple, two-sided lectern with iron candle sconces on either side to provide light. The triquetra-like hole in the side was more for function than decoration as I could hide supplies in there as needed.

Needless to say, I don't have a full-time carpentry staff at my disposal to create half of the things that I think up. When I first started learning from Bryian I had a notebook of ideas that I had to churn through to understand half of the concepts he was explaining.

Some of those designs were nightmarish to behold. Ok, a lot of those designs were just frightening from a construction stand-point, but I think that I've gotten better with my concepts over the years.