Learning Copperplate...

[caliken]

In the interest of handwritten Copperplate as opposed to the careful, formal version, I thought that it might be useful to post this example from some years ago. This was for a special one-off promotion at the Sheraton Hotel. Having been produced overnight for a short-lived event, the lettering is obviously far from exemplary, but I think that it was fine for a few days' exposure, after which, any remaining copies would have been 'binned'. This handwritten example of everyday copperplate took about an hour to complete and was written with flexible dipped nibs.

 

Whilst this example is 'nothing to write home about' (sorry about that!) it does show the commercial viability of fairly indifferent lettering, and there are several examples of better lettering on this thread. So, why not do a bit of selling and make your nibs work for you? Think of all the lovely pens you could buy with the proceeds!

 

Ken

 

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

Edited June 1, 2011 by caliken

[CatBookMom]

Ken, that is yummy in every sense of the words (pun intended)

[smk]

Ah - what a lovely example of Calligraphy at work. I have been too busy to put in regular practice sessions these past couple of weeks but this example provides great motivation.

 

Thanks for sharing this Ken.

 

And CBM, many thanks for your kind words. I get lucky sometimes :-) Have you resumed your cursive italic practice?

 

Salman

Edited June 1, 2011 by smk

[kla631]

I'm glad this thread is still going on. I just decided to learn Copperplate and find it frustrating. Im using an oblique pen nib don't know who made it. Some days I find it frustrating other days rewarding. I started out with learning the letter forms with a pencil because jumping to pen and having it get caught in paper and splotching ink or not holding the pen right.

 

Calligraphy has been one of those things where I pick it up and put it down but recently I've picked it up again. I've gotten pretty good at italic, insular, uncial, with perseverance, now I want to just as stubborn with copperplate. I am glad this thread is going, reading from the begining back in Feb where it all stared and looks like my practice sheets today.

 

Thanks so much.

[smk]

Welcome to FPN kla631.

 

Its great to have you on board. I am sure you are going to have fun learning this hand. I found it the most demanding of hands but just as rewarding when things start to come together.

 

Your idea of practicing the letter forms with pencil is a good idea. In fact, Dr. Joe Vitolo has instructions on how to make an oblique pencil (link here) for practice. If you use a soft pencil like 6B, you can emulate line variation to some degree with light upstrokes and heavy downstrokes.

 

I found that I benefited a lot from practicing the basic strokes in the beginning. Caliken posted the exercises for this in the beginning of this thread.

 

I uploaded some of my before and after practice sessions earlier in this thread. Even though I still have a lot more to learn, I think you will agree that the progress has been substantial.

 

I wish you the best of luck. Please do share your practice sheets with us as you go along.

 

Regards,

Salman

 

ps. It would be lovely to see some examples of the other hands you have learned.

 

  On 6/4/2011 at 2:17 PM, kla631 said:

I'm glad this thread is still going on. I just decided to learn Copperplate and find it frustrating. Im using an oblique pen nib don't know who made it. Some days I find it frustrating other days rewarding. I started out with learning the letter forms with a pencil because jumping to pen and having it get caught in paper and splotching ink or not holding the pen right.

 

Calligraphy has been one of those things where I pick it up and put it down but recently I've picked it up again. I've gotten pretty good at italic, insular, uncial, with perseverance, now I want to just as stubborn with copperplate. I am glad this thread is going, reading from the begining back in Feb where it all stared and looks like my practice sheets today.

 

Thanks so much.

[kla631]

Thanks, I also want to learn illumination just for a pet project I plan, now to find a book illumination for the non artist would be wonderful. LOL.

[Wickwack]

Hello again everyone! I've had a LOT of stuff going on in my life, found out we got a new home in LV and the same day got a diagnosis of breast cancer (crazy! no history - found thru my routine checkup!) but the prognosis is excellent after surgery sometime this month. Now we have to put our house here on the market...

 

ANYWAY - I haven't had any time to sit down with my pens and every time I check this forum I am so envious!!! Such beautiful work! I've missed posting regularly but hope to be back soon!

 

Keep up the good work - I'll be lurking around the corner peeking in!

 

kla631 - I have several illumination books hoping to find one for a non-artist like myself, if you find one let me know! For now, try Zentangling - VERY easy to do (it's basically doodling) and you can incorporate it into illumination!

 

Rhea

Edited June 5, 2011 by Wickwack

[Ghost Plane]

Rhea, sorry to hear the news. At least treatments seem very effective these days. Have friends still cancer free 20 years out.

 

Here's a moving checklist to help bring sanity to the chaos of packing in the midst of everything else. Flylady It's not as detailed as the military checklists, but it will get you started.

 

Remember to leave your pens out to pack in the car.

[fuchsiaprincess]

  On 6/5/2011 at 1:28 AM, Wickwack said:

Hello again everyone! I've had a LOT of stuff going on in my life, found out we got a new home in LV and the same day got a diagnosis of breast cancer (crazy! no history - found thru my routine checkup!) but the prognosis is excellent after surgery sometime this month. Now we have to put our house here on the market...

 

ANYWAY - I haven't had any time to sit down with my pens and every time I check this forum I am so envious!!! Such beautiful work! I've missed posting regularly but hope to be back soon!

 

Keep up the good work - I'll be lurking around the corner peeking in!

 

kla631 - I have several illumination books hoping to find one for a non-artist like myself, if you find one let me know! For now, try Zentangling - VERY easy to do (it's basically doodling) and you can incorporate it into illumination!

 

Rhea

 

Hi Rhea,

 

Congratulations on the new house! Sorry to hear about the breast cancer, but sounds like it's all good - no family history, early surgery, etc.. Like Ghost says, the medical fraternity is very well-equipped to deal with breast cancer, so I am certain that you are in good hands.

 

Keep popping in. I have been rather busy myself, so haven't been practising either.

 

Good luck with the sale of your house!

 

Warmest regards,

Soki

[smk]

Rhea - so sorry to hear about the breast cancer. I'm sure all will work out even though it might not feel like it at the moment. Hang in there, you are in our prayers.

 

Salman

[kla631]

Thank you for the book recomendation will check into it.

And now combatting copperplate, actually made some progress, learning to hold pen in not so death grip where my wrist starts hurting soo bad, LOL noticing the pen or nib makes the thin and thick strokes naturally instead of forcing it and was able see the thick and thin lines. Also to learn not to compare to books because those are laser printed and look lovely where hand, nib and ink will look slightly different. I think that is where my frustration in the past was.

 

And discovered certain inks tend to bleed in printer paper and even some sketch paper. Made some ink as an experiment with water and acrylic paint I had lying around first batch was excellent nice blue then decided to make a bigger batch and it was too thick for the flex nib so had to water it down, and watered it much, so now I'm waiting for evaporation:). Worked lovely for the broad nibs though.

 

Thanks again.

[smk]

kla631 take care not to let the acrylic paints dry on the nib. They dry waterproof and can't be washed off. I have gotten good results with 'Calli' calligraphy inks and Higgins Eternal Black as well as walnut ink.

 

Edited to add: Try Gouache - it gives excellent results and can be washed off without any problems. Just add water to any left over dried mixture to revive it. Much more dip pen friendly than acrylics.

 

Salman

Edited June 5, 2011 by smk

[kla631]

Thanks, yeah I rinsed the nib before re dipping because I heard about acrylics. Thanks. I have higgins "calligraphy" ink too but that tends to bleed some.

[Wickwack]

Ghost, salman & Soki - thanks so much for the kind thoughts! My surgery is next Tuesday the 14th. I'm very optimistic - I plan on bringing my pens, inks & plenty of paper to wile away the time (I may not be able to put my arms above my head for awhile but I'm sure I'll be able to write!) I'm excited because thanks to Soki I bought some new calligraphy inks and they really do make a difference! I'll pop in as I can and hope to be back in full swing within a few weeks! I'll be watching!

Rhea :meow:

Edited June 9, 2011 by Wickwack

[Ghost Plane]

Remember to stay well hydrated after the surgery. It helps flush all those nasty chemicals you want gone from your body.

 

We'll be looking for you. Your motor skills may take a hit between the anesthesia and the surgical site, so don't aim for perfection - just physical therapy and relaxation.

 

And don't skimp on the pain meds initially. Staying relaxed and pain free early on will speed your healing and recovery. Not that I've logged some time in surgery or anything...

[fuchsiaprincess]

  On 6/9/2011 at 12:32 AM, Wickwack said:

Ghost, salman & Soki - thanks so much for the kind thoughts! My surgery is next Tuesday the 14th. I'm very optimistic - I plan on bringing my pens, inks & plenty of paper to wile away the time (I may not be able to put my arms above my head for awhile but I'm sure I'll be able to write!) I'm excited because thanks to Soki I bought some new calligraphy inks and they really do make a difference! I'll pop in as I can and hope to be back in full swing within a few weeks! I'll be watching!

Rhea :meow:

 

Excellent :clap1: Which inks did you buy? Can't wait to see the results of your hospital stay (of the calligraphic variety ). You will be in my thoughts, especially on Tuesday. And listen to Ghost - don't skim on the pain meds.

 

All the best

 

Warmest regards,

Soki

[smk]

Rhea - I wish you a very speedy recovery. I'm looking forward to having you back with us in full form and uploading some nice stuff soon.

 

Best of luck,

Salman

[Wickwack]

Thank you all again for the kind words - we may not know each other personally but it sure feels like we know each other "humanly" if that makes any sense! I really appreciate all the tips.

 

Soki - I bought some J.Herbin & Watson (?) calligraphy inks. Most of them are metallics which I'm super excited to use. Have you ever seen the Victoria Hold(?) video where she writes "Joy" with flourishing? Stunning.... I've watched it countless times. I also bought a sample pack of 6 regular colors. As soon as I tried them I saw what you were talking about when you began using gouache. Some FP inks are just very "wet" and not conducive to dip pen use but ohhhhh.... the colors!

 

I'll be up and around very soon I expect!

 

Rhea :meow:

[Ghost Plane]

We'll be waiting.

[fuchsiaprincess]

Hi everyone,

 

Haven't been practising much, but finally had the chance to pick my pen up tonight.

 

Here it is :

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/fuchsiaprincess/IMG_0001.jpg