Help! Calligraphy over a watercolour background

[mandybuckley]

I'm hoping someone can help me with how to tackle my next (ambitious) project. I'd like to make up a  thank you note to put at each place setting at my wedding in October.

I have some beautiful smooth 600gsm watercolour card to use for the project and ideally I'd like to paint a watercolour background and then write over it using finetec golds (shimmery, shiny, sparkling perfection in a palette!). How does everyone write straight? Do you draw your pencil lines in and then erase them afterwards? Does that smudge or erase the watercolour? Or is there a secret calligraphers' way to do this?

[AnasaziWrites]

I'm hoping someone can help me with how to tackle my next (ambitious) project. I'd like to make up a  thank you note to put at each place setting at my wedding in October.

I have some beautiful smooth 600gsm watercolour card to use for the project and ideally I'd like to paint a watercolour background and then write over it using finetec golds (shimmery, shiny, sparkling perfection in a palette!). How does everyone write straight? Do you draw your pencil lines in and then erase them afterwards? Does that smudge or erase the watercolour? Or is there a secret calligraphers' way to do this?

You may find this thread of interest:
http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=3890.0

[Susan C]

A lot of watercolor artists swear by the Prismacolor Magic Rub eraser and something like a 2B pencil will erase more easily.

[Jodi]

I use a light table.  You can just print guidelines on a computer and put them under your watercolor paper.  As long as you don't make your watercolor too dark, that will work great.

The other thing I do is spay at least one coat of a fixative over the watercolor before I try writing on it.  Otherwise I get a lot of "bleed".

The Ph. Martin iridescent inks work well on watercolor.

I've not had any luck with any erasers on watercolor.