Relearning how to use a fountain pen

October 11, 2008

Thanks to this forum, I have decided to return to using a fountain pen. The odd thing is I am actually finding it awkward to write with one and still not quite sure I've grasped the right hold on it (which is rather embarrassing since it's the pen I used for most of my childhood). I'm either holding too lightly so my writing is shaky, or too firmly so that my hand tires quickly--but the fatigue could also be from my deviating from a hold I've been more used to with a ballpoint.

Anyway, I am going very slowly at the moment trying to keep the glide on paper smooth by taking care not to shift the angle of hold and of nib on paper. Below is my first sample with a Pilot Varsity Disposable Fountain Pen, which is what I will use until further notice. That is besides the dip pen which I hope to learn to use for the first time.

Can someone advice me on how long descenders should be? I know ascenders can either be longer than caps or same height. What is the rule for descenders? As you can probably tell, I wasn't sure when I did this piece:

http://images40.fotki.com/v1333/photos/3/31573/6796763/AReturntoFountainPens-vi.jpg

Any feedback or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

October 11, 2008

IMO there is very little wrong with this italic - very impressive!

As you get used to the fountain pen, any shakiness you are experiencing will disappear very quickly.

It is generally accepted that with a minuscule height of 5 pen widths, majuscules (capitals) are about 7.5 pen widths and letters with ascenders and decenders around 9 pen widths.

However, this isn't carved in stone, and does tend to vary a little from calligrapher to calligrapher.

caliken

Edited October 11, 2008 by caliken

October 11, 2008

Thank you, caliken for your kind words and advice on descenders. I'll practice some more and then perhaps post another sample that shows more uniformity in descender length.

October 12, 2008

Beautiful handwriting, good job. Dip pens are 10x more fun tho imho. Good luck with them.

IMO there is very little wrong with this italic - very impressive!
As you get used to the fountain pen, any shakiness you are experiencing will disappear very quickly.

It is generally accepted that with a minuscule height of 5 pen widths, majuscules (capitals) are about 7.5 pen widths and letters with ascenders and decenders around 9 pen widths.

However, this isn't carved in stone, and does tend to vary a little from calligrapher to calligrapher.

caliken

I was under the impression that that pen width thingy wouldn't work with a regular FP like the one he's using and the sample given is handwriting not calligraphy.

October 12, 2008

Beautiful handwriting, good job. Dip pens are 10x more fun tho imho. Good luck with them.

Thank you kindly. I can't wait to get a hang of dip pens. I am hopeful that getting used to a fountain pen's hold will be a good preamble to the world of dip pens.

I was under the impression that that pen width thingy wouldn't work with a regular FP like the one he's using and the sample given is handwriting not calligraphy.

I think you are right, yucki8aby, but what I thought I would do with the advice caliken gave was write the same words or the alphabet using a calligraphy pen to get and idea what the heights/lengths of the letters should look like, and then once I get a visual of how they look proportion-wise, perhaps apply that same ratio to visually gauge my handwriting and see if that improves it a touch. I'll be sure to share my results so you and anyone else can tell me what you think.

Until KateGladstone pointed out from a sample I sent her, that my caps were looking top heavy because they were twice the size of my x height letters, I had no idea there was anything odd about them. Since making them shorter so they are about 1.5 times the x height, I am finding them more pleasing to the eye. So I'm anxious to try out the other calligraphy rules on my handwriting to see if they have a similar effect.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Edited October 12, 2008 by aNONIEmous

October 12, 2008

Sorry yucki8aby - you're right.

The information concerning letter height relates to edged nibs - I was answering an earlier PM I had received from aNONIEmous and stupidly stuck my reply into this thread!

As you say, the handwriting example was produced with a monoline pen.

Sorry for the confusion.

caliken

Edited October 12, 2008 by caliken

October 13, 2008

Before I try to apply the proportions of Italic calligraphy to my handwriting, I wanted to make sure I understood the pen-widths, particularly for the descenders. I at first thought the 9 pw was to be applied only to the "tail" of the letters, but they looked awkwardly long. So I'm guessing when it is said that descenders should be 9 pen widths long, you include the x-height measurement in the nine--is that right?

Please check my work below and tell me if I'm on the right track. (I accidentally drew the ascender line is a touch higher than 9 nib-widths. )

scan0040.pdf

October 13, 2008

To add my two cents' worth, your proportions in scan0040.pdf are excellent. The guidelines are good and will work well. Formal Italic is written at about 5 pw. Cursive Italic, used for rapid and everyday handwriting, is written at 3 to 5 pw (sometimes even as little as two pw). Some of the joins work better at 3 pw than 5. Ascenders and descenders are "scrunchable" and may be of just about any length, flourished or plain, etc.

Once you start writing on plain paper with no guidelines, your writing should take on a look that is unique to your hand. IMHO, it is that personal variation that makes Italic so much fun. Character is also added by using the edged pen -- when are you planning on using a stub nib? A few hours with a stub may help with learning to hold the pen tip on the paper at one angle.

Luck to you -- have fun!