"rhythm" - Can Someone Explain This To Me?

[Zipzap]

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/6883/img1662q.jpg

[melissa59]

Nice italic penmanship, Patrick!

 

I was trying to use a Safari fine to learn italic but it didn't look right. Getting a 1.5 nib for my Safari was exactly what I need so I could see if I was forming the letters correctly or not.

 

Also wanted to add something that I saw today in one of Tom Gourdie's books:

"Good Handwriting should be

Clear, so that every letter is perfectly legible;

Rythmic, so that all strokes are moving in the same direction and are parallel;

Natural, so that basically all letters conform to the natural scribble movements of the hand. Modern handwriting should be simple and streamlined, without any unnecessary strokes and should allow for the pen to be lifted and the hand moved along the paper as convenient."

[patrickfp]

Nice italic penmanship, Patrick!

 

I was trying to use a Safari fine to learn italic but it didn't look right. Getting a 1.5 nib for my Safari was exactly what I need so I could see if I was forming the letters correctly or not.

Thank you. I was surprised by the difference in look and feel of a large pen.

[Pierce]

I would agree larger text and even something like a chisel tip felt pen would help.

 

Also, slow down. You crawl, you walk, you run, you fly.... eventually. Practice is about getting it right. The more quality practice you put in the more it will reflect in your daily writing.

 

Enjoy the process

[Pierce]

http://pierce.tv/uploads/example1.jpg

 

This is my extremly limited experience of italics. There is a lot of pen lifting and each letter is formed onto the tail of the last letter.

 

The rhythm in this case to me is the correct pen lift and the replacement of the pen.

 

Its far from a stellar example, but I admire your persistance and want to see you achieve your goal.

[caliken]

IMO there has been a lot of constructive and detailed information on this excellent thread. This advice is from Lloyd Reynolds -

 

"Move slower on the heavy stems, quicker on the up-swing hairlines. Use little pressure on thick strokes, less pressure as the lines get thinner, and almost leave the paper on the swift up-stroke hairlines. Contrasts of pressure, friction, speed and visual thickness can combine to produce rich rhythmical contrasts and variations in beat. At first exaggerate these contrasts."

 

Ken