Learning Copperplate...

[gshillitani]

Today's efforts are awful.

 

I did have three of the nibs recommended in the Winters book, so I tried all three (motivation to do more drills LOL). The Gilliot 404 and the Hunt 56 were ok, though the 404 seems a bit stiffer than the 56. The Hunt 101 on the other hand wanted to make really wide strokes and didn't seem to care what I wanted it to do

 

 

Edited February 28, 2018 by GinaS

[jeremiah.l.burns]

I'm the the exact same situation, Jeremiah! I'm going to rescue my Copperplate books from the cabinet right now

 

 

Welcome back aboard, Gina! :-) The more, the merrier!

 

Today's efforts are awful.

 

I did have three of the nibs recommended in the Winters book, so I tried all three (motivation to do more drills LOL). The Gilliot 404 and the Hunt 56 were ok, though the 404 seems a bit stiffer than the 56. The Hunt 101 on the other hand wanted to make really wide strokes and didn't seem to care what I wanted it to do

 

2018-02-27 19.05.07-min.jpg

 

2018-02-27 19.04.40-min.jpg

Not awful at all! You're just out of practise. :-) Your upturns, downturns, and compound curves are *way* better than mine, for example.

 

I've read really good things about the Hunt 101 (on this thread, I believe). I wonder if it's better for when you're more confident in your muscle memory.

 

I've just taken receipt of my first Principal EF nibs. Like the 101, I hear *nothing* but good things, but also that it's very soft and takes a soft hand to get good hairlines. So I might not be ready for them yet. Doesn't matter, since they don't fit my only oblique holder (Speedball). But I do have another oblique on-order.

 

The nibs were an absolute steal. Anywhere else I look, they run between £1.50 and £2.00 each, but these were a bargainous £1 each!

[gshillitani]

I have some Principal also... will try those in the future. For yesterday's attempt I used a Nikko G (I read somewhere that Ms. Winters now recommends these over the ones listed in her book for Copperplate). The large blob of purple is not the dip pen's fault, I had a fountain pen malfunction (actually it seems to be irreparably broken).

 

 

[gshillitani]

 

Not awful at all! You're just out of practise. :-) Your upturns, downturns, and compound curves are *way* better than mine, for example.

 

I beg to differ, sir

[jeremiah.l.burns]

Oh no! Shame about the fountain pen. Boy, when they go they really make a mess, don't they?

 

Good job sticking with the practice! For constructive criticism, I'd say have a look at your Os / ovals, which to my eye look too round/circular.

 

I did a practice sheet last night as well. Will post when I'm back on my laptop. But I'm struggling with a basic concept: pen position.

 

Dr Vitolo's manual and indeed his videos make it clear that the paper should be adjusted so that the downstroke is perpendicular to your torso and parallel to the pen tip. The theory being that it makes achieving the desired angle of 55° more natural. However, if I do so, I find the tops and bottoms of my stems are not parallel to the top and bottom of the paper.

 

They run at an angle like this → \.

 

I'm going to work on paper position as I think I've been doing things wrong. Either Vitolo's guidance is flawed or, more than likely, I've misinterpreted it.

Edited March 4, 2018 by jeremiah.l.burns

[jeremiah.l.burns]

Okay, here we go. The first is my practice. Working on upturns, downturns, etc. Hopefully you can see what I mean about the flat ends of my stems. Another thing I'm working on is getting the curve to ... well ... curve. I sometimes struggle to achieve the desired "(" or ")". There are also a couple of "w" attempts from my 9 year old daughter, who came in and wanted to have a go. :-)

 

The second sheet is just a play. (Funny...I'm singing the song in my head as I'm writing and my hand starts going auto-pilot to the part I'm singing rather than the part it should be writing. Haha)

Edited March 4, 2018 by jeremiah.l.burns

[gshillitani]

I really like your curves - and good choice in a song also I was wondering something similar the other day about the angle. In order to align my pen with the slant marks, I have to hold it like it is in the picture, and sometimes my paper is tilted even further to the left. My stems are pointy too.

 

Here are yesterday's efforts.I started out with the Leonardt Principal and sumi ink... did not go well. The rest of it is a NikkoG with good old Higgins. The first page fell on the floor and my dog stepped on it, sorry about the dirt I have nobody to blame for the inky fingers, however

 

The pen was an inexpensive Jinhao, likely mass produced. It's not a big loss, but I admit I spent a bit of time trying to figure out what happened. I'm one of those people who wants to know 'Why?' always LOL

 

 

[jeremiah.l.burns]

Hahaha. Pets. What can you do? ;-) How do you find the Principal? I hear it's *very* flexible.

 

Your Os look better this time! I think the first O in your second row of Is looks best, and closer to what you should be aiming for.

[jeremiah.l.burns]

I made a quick diagram of the issue I'm seeing with my pen-placement. If I keep the pen in-line with the main slant-angle, as per Dr Vitolo's video, I see an issue with my tops and tails don't run parallel to the line on which I'm writing as is desired. Hopefully the illustration makes sense. But for now, I'm going to have to either:

 

1) adjust my writing angle so as to have the pen perpendicular to the lines on which I'm writing; or

2) go back and "correct" each and every top and tail.

Edited March 5, 2018 by jeremiah.l.burns

[jeremiah.l.burns]

And here's a practice sheet from last night. Ugh. These upturns and downturns are killing me. ;-)

Edited March 5, 2018 by jeremiah.l.burns

[jeremiah.l.burns]

Finally, a play-session. Misspellings ("lack" instead of "back" because I forgot the last upturn on my "b") and punctuation issues (I forgot to dot an "i" and dotted a "w" instead of an "i" ... haha).

[toxicwitch]

You all look like you are doing brilliantly! I'm having issues with my holder at the moment so my stuff is too horrific to upload! I was gifted a beautiful wooden holder by Unique Obliques and I cannot find it! I am in the process of searching the house and using a cheap flimsy one that isn't great for my style. So far I have got an ink blot on my sofa and become disillusioned by how awful my strokes are with this holder. Not a great start! The Dick Jackson I would definitely recommend if you are having issues with curves - he takes you through all the errors and and tells you why they are happening so that you can correct them. You can sometimes pick them up second hand on Amazon or Ebay - that's where I found mine. I've had a look and there are some on Ebay just now - price range is from sublime to ridiculous for a brand new one - but for copperplate - you can't live without it! Keep it up everyone - super impressed! Lisa

[jeremiah.l.burns]

Thanks! Good luck with the pen hunt!

[gshillitani]

Short post, I had carpal and cubital tunnel release surgery this morning and I'm in a cast for ten days. Anyway, is this the book you were talking about, toxicwitch? I just got it yesterday.

 

I'll write more later, keep on practicing! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486803864/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[toxicwitch]

Hi Gina - get better soon! Yes I think that's it - my cover is different and I can't see inside yours but it is the same name and I don't think he did two called the same thing! It is a lovely book. Really hope you heal quickly. My friend had the same surgery on both hands and hasn't looked back!

 

Lisa

[gshillitani]

And don't feel bad toxicwitch, in addition to the fountain pen issue I posted a couple of days ago, I managed to spill an entire sample vial of fountain pen ink (General of the Armies by Noodlers) on my desk, mousepad, shirt, shorts, all down my leg, and on the floor 4 or 5 days ago LOL

[toxicwitch]

Oh no! You are having an excellent run of things - no pun intended! Let's hope that's the end of it now! You will soon be back to your best. Lisa

[gshillitani]

Hi Gina - get better soon! Yes I think that's it - my cover is different and I can't see inside yours but it is the same name and I don't think he did two called the same thing! It is a lovely book. Really hope you heal quickly. My friend had the same surgery on both hands and hasn't looked back!

 

Lisa

Thanks! I'm hoping it helps! Today was my left (non-dominant) arm, and I'm dreading the one on the right... it's soooooo difficult to do the simplest things like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand.

[toxicwitch]

Thanks! I'm hoping it helps! Today was my left (non-dominant) arm, and I'm dreading the one on the right... it's soooooo difficult to do the simplest things like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand.

My husband was having a little bit of it - really just started - and he has been doing exercises for around a month and he has noted a massive improvement. One is a stretch you hold for 5 minutes as often as you like; another is using a size 32 rubber band around your hands like a resistance band to open the carpal tunnel up by strengthening the weaker muscles causing the collapse; the other is weirder but you only have to do it for a week - you wear electrical tape around the base of your hand to form a kind of grabber effect for a week. I can send you links to the sites he found them on if you are interested. Lisa

[RINGO]

"Short post, I had carpal and cubital tunnel release surgery this morning and I'm in a cast for ten days. Anyway, is this the book you were talking about, toxicwitch? I just got it yesterday."

 

Gina, good day!

Try www.ringpenusa.com tools if you suffered of CTS, and need to use writing tools.

Ring Pen Ultra will be good to hold calligraphic writing instruments or brushes

or from here - https://www.amazon.com/Ring-pen-Ultra-Support-Writing-Medium/dp/B01N2BGQQI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

Edited March 5, 2018 by RINGO