Help on woad

[Brad S]

I'll will be painting a celtic warrior from Kirin 120mm this winter. I'm thinking of painting a woad on his body. Could someone direct me in the right direction for reference on woad design. I got the osprey book on celtic warrior, but it did not have very much info on woad design.

Thanks

Brad Spelts

 

[Anders Heintz]

Whats a Woad?

 

[Brad S]

Anders,

A woad is a plant that they got a blue dye from to paint or tatoo their bodies with in an intricate design. The design is referred to as their woad. The design had ritual significance and might have indicated social rank. The warrior felt protected and his strength enhanced from these designs on his body.

Thanks to anyone with some help

Brad Spelts

 

[Anders Heintz]

Hey Brad,

Thanks for explaining! I had no clue. That will be cool to see painted, I hope you get some responses soon!

 

[Joe Hudson]

Brad,

I think Phil Kessling would be a good source for this information. You may want to PM him.

Joe

 

[Bert Takken]

Is a waod something the same as a tribal?. Maybe then searching on some tattoo-site will help
Bert

 

[KeithP]

Seems to me I saw a thread on Woad on MedRom. You may want to check it out...

Keith

 

[poch mahone]

Isn't woad something Elmer Fudd dwives on?

Brian

 

[gary]

Brad,

Woad is indeed a plant. Pretty much, the only source of blue anything until indigo showed up in the Late Middle Ages.

If you plan on portraying a woad body paint, I'd recommend a dark, greyish-blue color; similar to a greyed out version of Prussian blue, or early war Luftwaffe dress uniforms. This is pretty close to what woad powder looks like, and that's what would have been mixed with grease or lard for the 'paint.'

I suppose it's possible the dye solution could have been used, but considering the pH levels of the solution, it could get rather uncomfortable after a while.



Gary

 

[Brad S]

Thank You everyone for youe info. Gary, i really appreciate the info on the color of the dye. This will be most helpful.

Thanks again

Brad Spelts

 

[gary]

Brad,
I had no idea you were in Colorado... I'm in the Phoenix area... shucks, we're almost neighbors! If you'd like more info on woad, drop me an email and I'll shoot a few things off to you.

Gary


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