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Islamic Biomorphic Patterns: Creating Motifs Inspired by the Natural World
A practical guide to drawing and painting intricate biomorphic botanical patterns which honours historic Islamic motifs and encourages experimentation.
The ancient art of Islamic pattern is steeped in tradition, with dazzling motifs inspired by geometry and nature. Islamic biomorphic patterns are the floral, organic and flowing designs that usually sit within a geometric frame and are sometimes referred to as Arabesque, Islimi and Rumi. These patterns appear on everything from grand architectural monuments to illuminated manuscripts.
In this practical guide, learn how to analyse 12 patterns from the Islamic lands and draw them with a combination of geometry and freehand technique. Then, discover how to paint these patterns in contemporary and traditional ways, and explore colour harmony with watercolours. Esra Alhamal also teaches you how to produce your own shell gold, prepare your paper, and outline with ink and a brush to create stunning Islamic art compositions.
Following the historic way of learning from the masters, Esra starts each project by introducing and analysing a pattern sourced from historic ceramic tiles and illuminated manuscripts before showing you how to reproduce it with colourful step-by-step instructions. Soon you will have the knowledge to understand how these biomorphic patterns came to be and gain the skills to recreate designs and paint them beautifully.
The ancient art of Islamic pattern is steeped in tradition, with dazzling motifs inspired by geometry and nature. Islamic biomorphic patterns are the floral, organic and flowing designs that usually sit within a geometric frame and are sometimes referred to as Arabesque, Islimi and Rumi. These patterns appear on everything from grand architectural monuments to illuminated manuscripts.
In this practical guide, learn how to analyse 12 patterns from the Islamic lands and draw them with a combination of geometry and freehand technique. Then, discover how to paint these patterns in contemporary and traditional ways, and explore colour harmony with watercolours. Esra Alhamal also teaches you how to produce your own shell gold, prepare your paper, and outline with ink and a brush to create stunning Islamic art compositions.
Following the historic way of learning from the masters, Esra starts each project by introducing and analysing a pattern sourced from historic ceramic tiles and illuminated manuscripts before showing you how to reproduce it with colourful step-by-step instructions. Soon you will have the knowledge to understand how these biomorphic patterns came to be and gain the skills to recreate designs and paint them beautifully.
176 pages, Paperback
Published February 18, 2025
4 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 10, 2025
[4.5 stars]
I just jumped straight into Tezhip not really understanding how they brought geometry into it. And since I just so happened to find this super niche hobby that has close to zero media coverage or any proper step by step tutorials in english (most are written or recorded in farsi/turkish and even those I had to scour the entire internet for haha or they're super expensive).
So this was really helpful in understanding how Islamic biomorphic patterns are made using geometry. I'm so grateful you wrote this book!
I'm not exactly a professional or anything but I do think it would've been useful to have images next to the step-by-step instructions e.g making of the shell gold, prepping of the paper etc. I also think more bullet points would be useful in readability though I suppose it's the writer in me being nitpicky.
I hope Esra makes a second book! It would be nice to learn more about the spiral formations (vines) I've seen in other works, making your own design or reading more about the history of these designs with their specific names, locations and such. So happy you made this available in PDF/Ebook format as well <3. Will have to do a few re-read's to get the patterns down on paper. Might post my work on social media in time, maybe... probably... hopefully... INSHALLAH I ACTUALLY WILL.
I just jumped straight into Tezhip not really understanding how they brought geometry into it. And since I just so happened to find this super niche hobby that has close to zero media coverage or any proper step by step tutorials in english (most are written or recorded in farsi/turkish and even those I had to scour the entire internet for haha or they're super expensive).
So this was really helpful in understanding how Islamic biomorphic patterns are made using geometry. I'm so grateful you wrote this book!
I'm not exactly a professional or anything but I do think it would've been useful to have images next to the step-by-step instructions e.g making of the shell gold, prepping of the paper etc. I also think more bullet points would be useful in readability though I suppose it's the writer in me being nitpicky.
I hope Esra makes a second book! It would be nice to learn more about the spiral formations (vines) I've seen in other works, making your own design or reading more about the history of these designs with their specific names, locations and such. So happy you made this available in PDF/Ebook format as well <3. Will have to do a few re-read's to get the patterns down on paper. Might post my work on social media in time, maybe... probably... hopefully... INSHALLAH I ACTUALLY WILL.
Displaying 1 of 1 review