First Real Attempt At Copperplate

[rodman]

hello everyone:

I became interested in copperplate/engrossers script about two weeks ago. I've been doing chancery and old English styles off and on for around fifteen years. becoming disinterested and burnt out I haven't really picked up a pen in around five years until I discovered copperplate about two weeks ago. after practicing relentlessly for about the last week and a half I have managed to turn out only what my abilities allow. I am posting to get some feedback. please be honest so I can maybe become as good as some of the copperplate calligraphers I have seen on this site...I realize this is a very elementary level attempt but with your help I am willing to become the best that my abilities will allow......

best regards,

rodman

 

p.s. i know i misspelled psalms..

DSCN0556.JPG

Edited July 24, 2012 by rodman

[WestLothian]

That's a very impressive 2 week sample!

 

Your slope looks consistent as does your x-height - that just leaves spacing, shape and shade.

 

These are the hardest aspects that I personally continue to struggle with.

The 'W' spacing, the 'o' shape and the "w" shade would be the most obvious next steps for improvement.

Rather than describe the issues I would suggest comparing those letters to a reference exemplar.

 

Your "A" is not lame; just showing a hesitant wobble

[Achim]

Nice for a first try!

Your "w" is simply wrong (it's "ui" or "iu" with a missing dot). It should end with a dot on the x-height. Please compare to examples in this forum (e.g. in Caliken's new pinned thread).

The connection between "i" and "n" or "u" and "n" is also wrong - you should first come up to near full x-height from the first letter and then curve to the "n"-downstroke. The "underlinking" is only used in some italic variants.

 

I suggest to first write single minuscule letters a page at a time with a good exemplar to compare with. Only after mastering those I'd start with combinations ("in", "un", "wh" etc.) and (simple) words like "minimum".

 

Best, Achim.

 

 

[rodman]

That's a very impressive 2 week sample!

 

Your slope looks consistent as does your x-height - that just leaves spacing, shape and shade.

 

These are the hardest aspects that I personally continue to struggle with.

The 'W' spacing, the 'o' shape and the "w" shade would be the most obvious next steps for improvement.

Rather than describe the issues I would suggest comparing those letters to a reference exemplar.

 

Your "A" is not lame; just showing a hesitant wobble

thank you for your honest opinion. yes, i have issues with spacing and shading. i read in elenor winters book (mastering calligraphy) that the basic rule for word spacing is to imagine an oval in that space. but still easier said than done, right. i have found what i think is a good examplar from this site.

thanks again,

rodman

Edited July 25, 2012 by rodman

[rodman]

Nice for a first try!

Your "w" is simply wrong (it's "ui" or "iu" with a missing dot). It should end with a dot on the x-height. Please compare to examples in this forum (e.g. in Caliken's new pinned thread).

The connection between "i" and "n" or "u" and "n" is also wrong - you should first come up to near full x-height from the first letter and then curve to the "n"-downstroke. The "underlinking" is only used in some italic variants.

 

I suggest to first write single minuscule letters a page at a time with a good exemplar to compare with. Only after mastering those I'd start with combinations ("in", "un", "wh" etc.) and (simple) words like "minimum".

 

Best, Achim.

Edited July 25, 2012 by rodman

[rodman]

Nice for a first try!

Your "w" is simply wrong (it's "ui" or "iu" with a missing dot). It should end with a dot on the x-height. Please compare to examples in this forum (e.g. in Caliken's new pinned thread).

The connection between "i" and "n" or "u" and "n" is also wrong - you should first come up to near full x-height from the first letter and then curve to the "n"-downstroke. The "underlinking" is only used in some italic variants.

 

I suggest to first write single minuscule letters a page at a time with a good exemplar to compare with. Only after mastering those I'd start with combinations ("in", "un", "wh" etc.) and (simple) words like "minimum".

 

Best, Achim.

 

yes achim,

i totally agree with all of your comments and will use them to further develop my skills. one of the main problems i have is the correct way to connect the letters. for example, the "x" to the "e" or the "s" to the "o" and so many others, the word "prevention" or "sphinx", just to name a few. i know it would be impossible to show me how to connect every letter in every word in the english alphabet but there are some that are more tricky than others. oh well, i guess this is why they say practice, practice, practice. but i want to make sure i'm practicing the correct way. don't want to develop any bad habits right out of the gate..can you or anyone else out there post a few examples of some unusual connecting letters? i would appreciate it.

regards,

rodman

Edited July 25, 2012 by rodman

[WestLothian]

There are some very useful link words such as "minimum", "Egypt" and even "circumlocution"

IAMPETH can be a good resource for words and examples but it's best not to mix the styles but to select one to practise.

[rodman]

yes, i need to choose one variation and go with it instead of flipping back and forth. makes things a lot easier to learn that way. i think this is what you were suggesting.

thank you,

rodman

Edited July 25, 2012 by rodman

[smk]

Rodman - this is a great start. I do believe you are doing it the hard way though. Its much easier to start with the basic strokes first and get them down pat. Copperplate is a highly disciplined hand and all the letters are made up of a few basic strokes.

 

Ken has shared an exercise in the beginning of the 'Learning Copperplate' thread that was a great help. Also, check out the exercises shown in various books available on IAMPETH.com (link to lessons). I used the strokes shown by W.A. Baird as an example - also check out E.A. Lupfer's.

 

The videos on that page are also a very big help. Try to master one thing in a practice session and you'll be producing enviable Copperplate in no time.

 

Salman

 

Edited to add link to E.A. Lupfer's lessons. The first page of these has really good advice and saves one buckets of blood, sweat and tears down the line IMHO :-)

S.

Edited July 26, 2012 by smk

[tdzb36]

Great！You do a good job on 1-2 weeks. I think when you are practicing calligraphy you can use the paper with guidesheet maybe your calligraphy‘s effect will be better

 

tdzb36

Edited July 26, 2012 by tdzb36

[rodman]

Rodman - this is a great start. I do believe you are doing it the hard way though. Its much easier to start with the basic strokes first and get them down pat. Copperplate is a highly disciplined hand and all the letters are made up of a few basic strokes.

 

Ken has shared an exercise in the beginning of the 'Learning Copperplate' thread that was a great help. Also, check out the exercises shown in various books available on IAMPETH.com (link to lessons). I used the strokes shown by W.A. Baird as an example - also check out E.A. Lupfer's.

 

The videos on that page are also a very big help. Try to master one thing in a practice session and you'll be producing enviable Copperplate in no time.

 

Salman

 

Edited to add link to E.A. Lupfer's lessons. The first page of these has really good advice and saves one buckets of blood, sweat and tears down the line IMHO :-)

S.

 

salman:

you are absolutely correct about starting with the basic strokes which is what I've been doing. this just happens to be one of the first things I chose to combine those basic strokes together with. should i have all the basic strokes down pat before i start to form letters and join them into words? if so, i will only practice those until i think i am ready to progress onto complete sentences but as a beginner how will i know when i'm ready to move onto more complicated and involved exercises? I didn't think you guys wanted to see a bunch of practice lines and curves so I thought I would maybe give you all something you could really pick apart. this is sort of an end result of my efforts up to this point. I truly realize I have a very long journey ahead of me and am willing to accept any type of advice, especially from the ones with the experience such as yourself and all the others that have commented so far. there is just so much information out there that it's overwhelming. sometimes the research and deciding which way to go can be more of difficult than the art of copperplate itself. I hope I haven't broken any rules. but like I said, with all the choices to go with on learning it's very difficult for a novice such as myself to decipher what the rules are.....thank you all for your responses.

best regards,

rodman

Edited July 26, 2012 by rodman

[smk]

Rodman - your practice of the basic strokes shows in the sample you've uploaded. I mistakenly thought that you were practicing the whole alphabet at the same time - sorry for that.

 

You are absolutely right about the need to narrow down your instruction material. It took me a while to narrow down the options and then sought advice on which one to learn from - I ended up with W.A. Baird's lessons. I would recommend the lessons from E.A. Lupfer (linked above) for their completeness and great instructions. Watching the videos by Dr. Vitolo are a great help too.

 

Please do share your squiggles and half made letters - they show much more than letters.

 

Salman

[rodman]

Rodman - your practice of the basic strokes shows in the sample you've uploaded. I mistakenly thought that you were practicing the whole alphabet at the same time - sorry for that.

 

You are absolutely right about the need to narrow down your instruction material. It took me a while to narrow down the options and then sought advice on which one to learn from - I ended up with W.A. Baird's lessons. I would recommend the lessons from E.A. Lupfer (linked above) for their completeness and great instructions. Watching the videos by Dr. Vitolo are a great help too.

 

Please do share your squiggles and half made letters - they show much more than letters.

 

Salman

 

salman:

I will investigate these suggestions and go with them. and I will start showing more than just words. not trying to start a whole new topic on copperplate but I would hope to get feedback from you...

thanks,

rodman