Desktop Publishing with da Vinci
Fonts and Clip Art Inspired by This Renaissance Man
Painter, sculpter, engineer, architect, Leonardo da Vinci had many interests, many talents. From his sketches of flying machines and the human body to the enduring enigma of The Mona Lisa, da Vinci's work continues to amaze, delight, and puzzle us.
Let's have some desktop publishing fun with the work of this Renaissance Man.
Write Like Leonardo
Perhaps your own artwork may never achieve the popularity of The Last Supper or Adoration of the Magi but you can leave your own da Vinci mark on your desktop projects with his right to left hand writing.
Whether it was as a security measure or for some other reason, Leonardo da Vinci sometimes liked to write backwards (mirror writing). At Will-Harris House, Daniel Will-Harris introduces us to the da Vinci typeface available from P22. It includes not only backward letters but forward (normal) characters and 'extras' (dingbat font) of some of da Vinci's sketches and paintings. [Available in Mac/Windows formats]
See a project that uses the P22 da Vinci typeface at the Microsoft Typography site. A Las Vegas treasure hunt demo "shows how layout, color, illustration and typeface can be combined to produce a very distinctive look and feel when applied to a medium length text document."P22 also has a display of some of their da Vinci fonts in use in magazine covers, packaging, etc.
Robin's Designs has various artist inspired fonts including Rodin / Michelangelo, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Illustrate With the Fine Art of Leonardo da Vinci
Tired of the same old clip art but you want to use something "familiar" to illustrate your next project? Many of da Vinci's most famous paintings and drawings are often used in advertising and other printed works. Perhaps one of the most famous is The Mona Lisa. Robert A. Baron has a wonderful Web site featuring Mona Lisa Images for a Modern World. It's both entertaining and inspirational. From fun facts about how other artists have recreated this famous face to little known "facts" and comments from readers ("Leonardo da Vinci's favorite baked delicacy was the chocolate chip cookie...") you could easily overdose on Mona Lisa.
Some of the inspirational images that you could adapt for your own desktop projects include Gift Wrap, postcards and ads featuring images, morphs, or caricatures of Mona Lisa.
Here are some sources images featuring the work of Leonardo da Vinci.
Antiquities
PCX and TIFF images. The Art & Architecture category includes a few da Vinci sketches. Online ordering from The John Stewart Company. Collections under $20.
Circa:Art Illustration Collections
Includes da Vinci & The Italian Renaissance CD collection with 80 images in 3 resolutions. $149.99.
Corbis
For a low fee (about $3.00 on most I saw) you can get nice JPG images of Mona Lisa, a da Vinci self-portrait, or various sketches for personal use as wall paper, posters, etc. Do a search on "da Vinci" or specific paintings.
The works of Leonard da Vinci
Not familiar with the full range of da Vinci's work? Explore these many links to images of his paintings and drawings.
Put Leonardo on your desktop with the Art of Leonardo Da Vinci screensaver.
