Micography

Micrography (from Greek, literally small-writing – "Μικρογραφία"), also called microcalligraphy, is a Jewish form of calligrams developed in the 9th century, with parallels in Christianity and Islam, utilizing minute Hebrew letters to form representational, geometric and abstract designs. 

Colored micrography is especially distinctive because these rare artworks are customarily rendered in black and white.The artwork is created from text that forms an image when viewed at a distance, creating an interplay between the text and image. 

The photomosaic, whose tiny individual images form a mosaic when viewed from a distance, is a modern analogue.

To do the project:

1. Select an author or musician for this project. Find a reference photo with good contrast. (see info below about contrast)
2. Sketch the contour line of the portrait LIGHTLY in pencil on 12X18 paper. The GRID METHOD works well to help you draw the portrait in proportion. 
3. Fill the portrait in with text from the author/musician’s mouth. This could be poetry, song lyrics, quotes or written text in books from the author. Fill in with words! 
4. The actual lines (ex. neck, chin) are just written on with words. You will start to notice the smaller the letters and the less space between, the more "filled in" the image appears (just like pointilism, eh?). This part is all done with ink.
5. View more examples here: https://mymodernmet.com/portraits-of-authors-in-their 
6. The words in the portrait will create the various values. You may use an ultra fine sharpie or a calligraphy pen for this project. 

​Here are a few examples from my students over the years: 

Examples of good HIGH Contrast images. You can also edit a photo in Pixlr: turn it to black and white and bump up the contrast. ​

If you have trouble drawing the portrait in proportion, you can use the grid method. 

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