Simple Italic Writing

[caliken]

Italic is a great example of a wonderful lettering style which has survived for centuries because of the underlying strength and beauty of its basic form. I have attempted to show it here, at its simplest - unjoined and with no flourishing or decoration whatsoever.

 

Whilst there is no such thing as an "easy" style of lettering to learn, IMO italic is arguably the best of all styles to adopt as personal handwriting, as it offers almost limitless opportunities for individual expression whilst remaining perfectly legible and unmistakably italic.

 

As ever, opinions are very welcome.

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/Italicnewsample4.jpg

[WendyNC]

While I don't disagree with any of your points, the problem I have with using it is that I find all the stopping and starting slow and disruptive, especially as compared to something like monoline business writing. Is there any solution to that?

[caliken]

While I don't disagree with any of your points, the problem I have with using it is that I find all the stopping and starting slow and disruptive, especially as compared to something like monoline business writing. Is there any solution to that?

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. :embarrassed_smile:

 

I was attempting to show italic in its basic form. I agree that written as above is too slow for everyday personal handwriting - it's much faster written with simple joining ligatures. In fact, I think that it's easier written in the "joined-up" form, as the ligatures naturally create good inter-letter spacing.

 

The above version is italic in its very simplest form, and can be the basis for the development of good personal handwriting IMO.

 

caliken

[WendyNC]

Thank you for the clarification. I think I'm being slow tonight. Now all I have to do is learn those tricky ligature things. Every time I try to join up the letters, I find myself reverting to my "natural" monoline hand. I suppose it's a matter of practice.

[jimk]

Is "italic" even an appropriate term for handwriting like this?

[caliken]

Is "italic" even an appropriate term for handwriting like this?

This is unmistakably italic and serves to prove my point!

 

Even when written at speed, the strength of the underlying letterform is such that it can be read with no effort and is entirely legible.

 

This is a very good example of everyday, personal italic handwriting.

 

Thanks for posting!

 

 

caliken

Edited March 28, 2010 by caliken

[HDoug]

Thank you, caliken, for posting your italic exemplar, and jimk for a sample of your own very personal italic.

 

I thought these might be interesting to add to the mix. This first example has been attributed to Arrighi and is a section of a papal bull. He must have had to write it out rather quickly because I've never seen such a ligatured sample from him. I calculate the x-height at around 2mm.

 

http://homepage.mac.com/hdougmatsuoka/images/arrighi/excerpt.jpg

 

This next example I took from Gunnlaugur Briem's website (http://briem.net/). It's an example from Nicollo Nicolli, who is pretty much the creator of the form. He used italic for all sorts of things -- for letters, and for making copies of documents and books.

 

http://homepage.mac.com/hdougmatsuoka/images/pen/niccoli.jpg

 

There is great variety in italic. (For purity of form and gorgeousness, it's hard to top caliken's example!)

 

Doug

Edited March 30, 2010 by HDoug

[Jasper]

I feel a bit out of the loop here...perhaps you could help me understand something.

 

You're talking about italic...as opposed to/in comparison to what? Roman? Aren't they both very legible?

 

And how is it that jimk's example is italic?

[caliken]

I feel a bit out of the loop here...perhaps you could help me understand something.

 

You're talking about italic...as opposed to/in comparison to what? Roman? Aren't they both very legible?

 

And how is it that jimk's example is italic?

Thank you, Doug for the two examples which are both interesting and revealing.

 

Jasper,

 

Sloping Roman minuscules are legible but aren't Italic, which is a specific style.

In this example, the first n is sloped Roman, and the second, Italic.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/NN4.jpg

The sloped Roman 'n' is a two stroke letter and is therefore less useful in a handwriting style compared to the Italic 'n' which is written in one stroke and is therefore quicker.

 

One easy way to identify italic is to recognize the wedge shape produced here between the first downstroke and the subsequent upstroke. This 'wedge' shape occurs throughout the italic minuscule alphabet and has a lot to do with its attractiveness. It occurs naturally as handwriting speeds up and the addition of some ligatures at about the same angle as the wedges can enhance the overall appearance of the writing.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/EXTENDING2.jpg

 

It also appears in an inverted form, as in the letters 'd' and 'g' for example.

 

This 'wedge' shape is apparent throughout jimk's example. The lack of looped ascenders and descenders is another indicator.

 

For a full guide to the characteristic shaping of italic letters, I suggest studying the Chancery Italic instructions by Ann Finley at the top of this forum, where the subject is covered in depth.

 

caliken

Edited March 28, 2010 by caliken

[jimk]

You're talking about italic...as opposed to/in comparison to what? Roman? Aren't they both very legible?

 

And how is it that jimk's example is italic?

 

Exactly how to classify letterforms, that is a difficult puzzle, & can't have any final answer I don't think. But for modern handwriting, the big split is really Palmer vs. Italic.

 

Palmer is slanted a lot and the letters are widely spaced, while Italic is moderately slanted and the letters are more closely spaced.

 

Palmer has very few lifts of the pen in a word - mostly just dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Italic generally has more lifts. A lot of this comes from the mechanics of the pen. Italic often avoids pushing the pen. For example, I tend to use two strokes for the letters o, e, and g. Palmer loves the full loops. With a pointed flexible nib pen, the push is very thin, while the pull is often fat. Roundhand has all the pull strokes fat, Spencer has just some pull strokes fat, and Palmer got rid of the width variation.

 

Palmer has looped ascenders for h, f, l, k, b, and looped descenders for p, f, g. Italic avoids these loops.

 

Palmer tends to get even wilder with majuscules/capitals - big letters with even more loops. Italic majuscules/capitals are shorter and just simple Roman forms. OK, Italic majuscules can get flourished too, but usually the underlying Roman form is not too scrambled - the flourishing tends to stand a bit outside the main form. I confess, I find highly flourished Spencerian majuscules to be almost impenetrable.

 

That's a start, anyway!

[Jasper]

Caliken and jimk...

 

Thank you both for the explanations...very helpful! Now i can see how jimk's example is italic.

 

It's not that i want to practice italic handwriting...i actually really like my handwriting (whatever the mix of styles it is). But i enjoy looking at other beautiful styles and it's always nice to have an understanding.

 

Thanks,

Jas

[TrevorML]

Ken... would it be possible to see a sample of your speed italic handwriting as opposed to your structured one as above (as beautiful as it is)... I think I remember see one you posted sometime in the past unless I am mistaken... which is more than likely :-)

 

I find the work of Briem to be so invaluable for learning to write italic at speed in an everyday hand, and it has helped to greatly improve my own hand esp in getting some consistency in it... altho I must admit that is does still tend waver/vary a bit and stray around the page if writing long passages... short texts and esp one liners or so I can manage to keep to a descent standard but I would love to be to keep to style like the work of some of the magnificent example of the 16 century masters... their examples of actual handwriting (as opposed to their more refined papal document or copybook style) is most beautiful... the looseness and free-flowing freedom of letterforms with such beautiful consistency is just lovely...

 

I am constantly borrowing out books on 16 century writing from the library at the uni where I work... fortunately the library in the late 80's and early 90's had a couple of head librarians who were very passionate about calligraphy so the library is very well stocked, albeit with nothing very recent unfortunately due to their retirement in recent years... just last week re-borrowed for about the millionth time the brilliant Kathryn A. Atkins: Masters of the Italic Letter: Twenty-Two Exemplars from the Sixteenth Century and recently finished reading AS Osley & Berthold Wolpe's Scribes and Sources, and James Wardrop's The script of humanism some aspects of humanistic script, 1460-1560

the Digital Scriptorium is another magnificent valuable (and free) resource

italic is a most fascinating area of study and so beats staring at the tube and it's endless drivel every night

Edited March 29, 2010 by TrevorML

[caliken]

Would it be possible to see a sample of your speed italic handwriting as opposed to your structured one as above?

This was written at my medium-pace - not as slow as formal work but fast enough for everyday use.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/Theyarenotsaying_edited-1.jpg

 

...and this was written around thirty years ago, at a faster speed.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/writingsample4a.jpg

 

I've just realised that my basic handwriting has changed very little over during the intervening years.

 

In spite of my attempts to improve it, I still write far too slowly...it must be some kind of character defect!

 

caliken

Edited March 29, 2010 by caliken

[mcrouse]

Would it be possible to see a sample of your speed italic handwriting as opposed to your structured one as above?

This was written at my medium-pace - not as slow as formal work but fast enough for everyday use.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/Theyarenotsaying_edited-1.jpg

 

...and this was written around thirty years ago, at a faster speed.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/writingsample4a.jpg

 

I've just realised that my basic handwriting has changed very little over during the intervening years.

 

In spite of my attempts to improve it, I still write far too slowly...it must be some kind of character defect!

 

caliken

 

I think it is safe to say that many admire your work and would love to come close to it at any speed.

[limesally]

I love Briem's website, and I too, found it useful and encouraging when I stumbled upon it a few years ago.

 

This may be heresy, but Caliken, I think I actually prefer your 30-years ago version! It somehow strikes me as more lively and spontaneous. But really they are both beautiful, both then and now.

 

I think my natural hand is italic - that is to say, the lines my hand seems to prefer gravitates towards that style. But I always write at speed, and I do think simple italic holds together fairly well for legibility at speed.

[TrevorML]

I think my natural hand is italic - that is to say, the lines my hand seems to prefer gravitates towards that style. But I always write at speed, and I do think simple italic holds together fairly well for legibility at speed.

 

it would be great to see a sample of your speed writing

[TrevorML]

In spite of my attempts to improve it, I still write far too slowly...it must be some kind of character defect!

 

I wish I could have your "character defect"

 

could you email me some... please

[edit] I forgot to profusely thank you Ken for reposting those fantastic samples... much appreciated

Edited March 30, 2010 by TrevorML

[TrevorML]

some VERY lousy camera phone pics of my standard writing speed italic... which is pretty much my style of choice and what I use most of the time... both samples done very quickly at work and without too much due care... the lighting at work was playing havoc with my phone's camera so will post a clearer sample later

 

monoline

 

 

 

medium italic

 

 

 

 

[edit] weird... never noticed how the medium italic is coming out almost as monoline... maybe it is low in ink as that pen gets very fine when low on fuel

Edited March 30, 2010 by TrevorML

[caliken]

TrevorML,

 

IMO there are many fine examples of personal, italic handwriting on this forum....HDoug, Ann Finley, Italicist - the list goes on and on and here's another great version.

 

To anyone who has studied the Italic letterform in any depth, this has obviously been written by someone who knows the rules and has then chosen to break them in a beautiful, personal way. I particularly like the way the ligatures join to the top of the letters 't' and 'i' :blink:

In the first example, the speed of writing has produced a very attractive and unusual ligature from the letter 's' to the letter 't'. Also, there's a general spikiness producing deep wedge shapes, which is against all the rules, and is very attractive. There is nothing tentative about this writing...it reeks of self-confidence, in the nicest possible way

 

I envy your spontaneity.

 

caliken

Edited March 30, 2010 by caliken

[Jasper]

TrevorML...

 

truly lovely writing!

 

And...Leonard Cohen, right?!

 

~Jas