Hogwarts acceptance letter

[Marcotl]

Why not buy a replica made by the original prop maker? Replica Harry Potter's Hogwarts™ Acceptance Letter

That replica is a dream! But it also takes away the fun and purpose of this forum which is elaborate replicas ourselves, also the replica from MinaLina contains the typed letter. Aaaaaand.., it's very pricey.

 

[juno]

But it also takes away the fun and purpose of this forum which is elaborate replicas ourselves

may I ask how did you rounded the vertices in that one?

I wouldn't want to take away from your fun of figuring it out yourself. ;-)

 

[omartalaat98]

I only have a couple of low resolution pics to hand.

View attachment 971738

I did a write up for my blog but never got around to posting it up here. One of the fonts ended up being licensed for one of the video games. Never know where these things will lead.

>> The Perfect Hogwarts Acceptance Letter <<

the blog is blocked from view, may i ask how u made the red wax seals? they dont look like wax are they

 

[Krats]

may i ask how u made the red wax seals?

I squeezed hot glue onto a some thick plastic then pressed the seal design into it. I peeled the cold glue from the plastic back then painted it with red acrylic. They look quite convincing and they're a lot less fragile than wax.

 

[LongJohns]

the blog is blocked from view, may i ask how u made the red wax seals? they dont look like wax are they

I found this link: 10 Digits: The Perfect Hogwarts Acceptance Letter…

 

[Marcotl]

Finally some updates on this project! I've been very busy with work, this project and some others that I'll share sometime later.

Here's an iteration of the envelope, this time including the letter sheet and both of them using the paper I chose after an exhaustive search. The paper is slightly yellow and has some texture that you can feel (I think this texture will work amazing with the printed one to create an amazing feel and look).

And here's the next iteration. This time I added the Hogwarts crest and the text.

For the Hogwarts crest I searched through the internet until I found a version I could work with. It is the one used in the original prop, not one of the many variations that exist today. I also researched so I could find the exact placement, I didn't the crest to be placed "just there".

The text took a lot more time since I drew every single letter to be exactly like the one in the [printed] hero prop envelope. The color was just green, this iteration wasn't completed before another one appeared.

 

[Marcotl]

Once I had the envelope printed I felt like the adress was huge, it was exactly like the [printed] hero prop envelope in shape, size and placement but still felt not right. I decided to change it to match some other envelopes that had the adress in a smaller size and not centered but slightly to the right. This is what I got:

This felt way better but then I decided to take a very different path: I was working in the handwritten letter, so it made no sense that I used the printed envelope design when there were many handwritten envelopes too so I started working in the handwritten envelope Harry himself holds in the movie.

 

[Marcotl]

Now I present the iteration I am currently working on! The handwritten envelope Harry holds for the first time. This process is consuming a lot of time, especially because I am drawing every letter to match as much as possible the ones in the close-up screencap. The color is of course not final. Many letters are yet to be drawn and even the ones you see done are not final.

When I printed this sample I had a mini heart attack because it finally looked authentic! The size and proportions look truly handwritten, they look like they could have been written with a dip pen like the original hero prop was.

Comparison between the screen used and the one I am creating.

And some real size detail.

 

[flamare]

@marcoti What kind of paper did you use for the envelope and letter? I'm currently exercising in the two font types in order to make my own prop replica true to what was seen on screen. Thanks a bunch for your help in advance!

Now I present the iteration I am currently working on! The handwritten envelope Harry holds for the first time. This process is consuming a lot of time, especially because I am drawing every letter to match as much as possible the ones in the close-up screencap. The color is of course not final. Many letters are yet to be drawn and even the ones you see done are not final.

When I printed this sample I had a mini heart attack because it finally looked authentic! The size and proportions look truly handwritten, they look like they could have been written with a dip pen like the original hero prop was.

View attachment 976998

Comparison between the screen used and the one I am creating.

View attachment 977002

And some real size detail.

View attachment 977003

 

[Marcotl]

@marcoti What kind of paper did you use for the envelope and letter? I'm currently exercising in the two font types in order to make my own prop replica true to what was seen on screen. Thanks a bunch for your help in advance!

Hello! Sorry for replying one year later! In case it still helps, the one I said I decided to go with is a paper called Sundance Felt, however I might end up using another one, I really wanted to use it because I like the texture however I ended up recognizing the original prop has only printed texture and the paper is smooth. There is another Sundance paper called Sundance Smooth, I'll check that up in case it suits the project better.

I also noticed you're quoting my last post, the paper you see in those prints is actually regular white paper, it looks slightly textured because I printed it, it's not the final paper I will use, I just printed to check my letters. The sundance paper I mention can be seen in previous posts.

 

[Marcotl]

Important update on this project.

The envelope is almost finished, I just need to adjust color a bit more and add the little stains in the "SURREY" part. The wax seal is ready too, I have even made many of them just for practice; I attach pictures.

 

[flamare]

Btw. the ink Mira originally used (which can be seen on display at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London) is Dr. Ph. Martins Grass Green, Concentrated Water Colour. Btw. looking really good.

 

[Marcotl]

Btw. the ink Mira originally used (which can be seen on display at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London) is Dr. Ph. Martins Grass Green, Concentrated Water Colour. Btw. looking really good.

Thanks for the info about the ink! I won't use ink on my final prop but knowing the exact one she used might help me with the color . Also consider showing your progress!

 

[Marcotl]

Maybe I'll use ink after all? I made a test and even though it was quick it kinda looks nice and very close to the letter handwritten by Mina, if I practice more it might look better.

 

[Marcotl]

Btw. the ink Mira originally used (which can be seen on display at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London) is Dr. Ph. Martins Grass Green, Concentrated Water Colour. Btw. looking really good.

Just in case this is usefull to other people, apparently they also use Moss Green.

 

[Marcotl]

Handwritting the letter is working way better than I thought, here is my first attempt, I think it looks good but probably after more practice it can look better.

Apparently Mina writes the lowercase d different nowadays so I used the old d design that we see on screen in the Philosopher's Stone. Any comment is appreciated.

Some big size detail (I wrote it in the real printing size, which is very very small).

 

[JamesM242]

Looking GREAT! Your handwriting is fantastic!

 

[Marcotl]

Looking GREAT! Your handwriting is fantastic!

Thanks! The idea is to make it as close to the original as possible.

 

[aaronstreet2020]

Amazing work! Is this something you’d be willing make more of and sell? I’d definitely be interested

 

[Marcotl]

Amazing work! Is this something you’d be willing make more of and sell? I’d definitely be interested

Thanks for asking and showing interest! To be totally honest that's something I haven't decided yet, of course I would like to make many of these letters and it would be great for other people to enjoy the letter as I will. However I am putting a lot of effort and time (plus money) in this project and it is so easy to copy it that I have doubts wether I should sell copies or not.

Sometimes I try to think about possible solutions to this problem, like selling copies only to people I know, or selling them at a very expensive price so only really interested people would buy it (I also think what could be a reasonable price).

If you (and any other people!) have any ideas just let me know, maybe more experienced people with prop replicas runs can help a lot with this.