PENDRAGON ALPHABET

Inspired by illuminated manuscripts and Victorian ‘Animated Alphabets I thought it would be an interesting challenge to jump into this witty and engaging calligraphic tradition. I set myself some design parameters and elected to create letters, numerals and symbols that were precise enough to be clearly read without imposing them over a backdrop of the letter form. I also chose to base each piece on the supple but anatomically credible contortions of a single figure.

I opted to recruit dragons of the Western tradition to the task. Their long reptilian necks and tails, four legs, a pair of boney wings and the creature’s natural tendency to the serpentine offered great scope.

Every scale and plate is individually drawn and coloured. It allows for immense versatility in terms of scale of reproduction, colour variation, layering and overlay.

Work on an accompanying lower case alphabet featuring sinuous serpents is currently in progress.