In our time, the process of making icons has become much simpler. Thanks to the development of new technologies and techniques, icons were made faster and easier. In particular, as a result of this, more different kinds of icons have appeared, among which one can meet, for example - icons of amber or relief icons made of metal, the method of manufacturing of which differs greatly from the classical one.
The iconographic canon, that is, the totality of rules and norms governing the writing of icons in Orthodoxy is conservative and has hardly changed for several hundred years. Actually, both the process of making written icons.
In spite of the fact that a lot of icons are now made with the help of machine production, the icon painting workshops do not lose popularity, and the icons painted by the hand of a skilled icon painter, like in antiquity, are of great value.
Writing an icon is a multi-stage and time-consuming process in which several different specialists can participate, each of which is responsible for its part of the process.
Begins to produce icons from the selection and processing of the board for the icon. This is one of the most crucial stages, because the final result will directly depend on the quality of the board. For the writing of the image, wood of lime is most often used.
The wood is sawn on boards, dried, and fastened together, giving the necessary shape. Then the board is primed and pasted with a stick - a linen cloth, on which the gesso is applied - a white primer. More than ten layers of gesso are applied to the pavolock, and the better the primer is applied, the better the colors on the icon will be preserved. After priming, the icon is grinded, betraying its surface to ideal smoothness.
The final stage of preparing the board is to cover the background of the icon with gold leaf. On the polished board, with the help of a blunt needle, the contours of the image are translated, after which the background is covered with gilding.
Only after such a complex process artists are engaged in the icon painters. In the practice of icon-painting schools, it often happens that one icon can be written by more than one person. Typically, the landscape, the clothes of the saint and other details depicted on the icon, are written by less experienced icon painters, and the writing of the saint's face is more skilful.
When writing the icon is usually used egg tempera. Typically, these paints are handmade based on egg emulsion and mineral pigments. With tempera it's very easy to work, it dries quickly and is perfect for drawing small details. Using this paint allows you to apply both dense, saturated colors, and the finest and lightest layers of paint.
The last step in the process of preparing the icon is the varnish coating, in order to keep the paints from external influences.
