Invitation To Show Off Your Stuff...

[MusinkMan]

Just noodling around...maybe one day I'll get better.

 

[Stompie]

That is nice Musinkman.

 

Oi, that oblique flange can take a variety of nibs without having to bend it!

[caliken]

You know what I think is hurting you is that graph paper. All of those vertical lines are making it difficult for you to keep your slant consistent. That happens to me too, especially when I try to write on graph paper. I think it causes an optical illusion or something.

 

 

You beat me to it, MusinkMan! That just what I was going to say!

 

Grid paper is helping to keep your lettering straight and helping to control consistent letter height, but it's no use for sloping italic. The upright lines cause conflict and make even sloping unnecessarily difficult.

 

This paper is for italic practice. Instead of the upright, the slope is given (In this exampled it's 8 degrees). The horizontal lines are 5mm apart.

 

I make my own guideline sheets using a simple technique with a computer drawing programme. A sheet like this takes me, at the most, ten minutes to produce. I save them and print off as required in pale blue or green. I never write directly on a black grid as the lines interfere visually, with the writing. Over the years, I've amassed a large collection of guideline sheets at all sorts of sizes with sloping lines to accommodate any type of script.

I'm surprised that so many on this forum are always looking for grids for practice, as it's such a simple thing to do yourself. Believe me, I'm computer illiterate, and if I can do it - anyone can!

 

Ken

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/5mmitalic600.jpg

Edited April 2, 2013 by caliken

[caliken]

Just noodling around...maybe one day I'll get better.

 

Nice lettering - great progress MusinkMan. Your shades are even and your hairlines are lighter. It's looking good

 

Ken

Edited April 2, 2013 by caliken

[MusinkMan]

Woooo Hooo! Thank you Ken! Gains are coming slowly but believe me, I'm writing A LOT. I still see plenty of flubs, but it's always "after the fact" that I see them instead of before. Hard for me to get the bottoms square (i.e., on the p's). I tried retouching, but I think that caused it to look even worse. I'll get it though...I'm like a mad dog at this point. LOL! Also working on the Spencerian thing too. This is all such fun for me, it really is.

 

Life is good sometimes.

[MusinkMan]

Ooops...disregard...accidental post

Edited April 3, 2013 by MusinkMan

[Earthdawn]

You'd think I'd be an expert on the letter "L" by now. But I feel more unsure and shaky than ever. The touch has to be so light that I find my penpoint skipping and shaking. Almost feels like I have to keep the point "hovering" over the page. No feedback from the nib at all. With the Nikko, it's easier because I don't have to be so light-handed. But the Leonardt Principal...that thing has made me say some bad words. LOL. All of the below is from the Principal nib. It's not good either...I guess I'm "paying my dues" at this point.

 

 

It looks pretty good to me ... but then again it also looks like a scene from The Shining as well :hmm1:

[mboschm]

Nice work mboschm. Italics with a broad pen, right? I love the color of the ink too. Very Leonardo-esque. I thought your e's were ok. You know what I think is hurting you is that graph paper. All of those vertical lines are making it difficult for you to keep your slant consistent. That happens to me too, especially when I try to write on graph paper. I think it causes an optical illusion or something. But really a very cool piece of writing. Did you use a dip pen or a fountain italic for this one?

 

Thanks a lot!

[Inkysloth]

Copperplate writing for a hotel restaurant.

 

Ken

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/SheratonDickensianTeaHouse700.jpg

 

That is absolutely gorgeous! I'm guessing you don't really need telling

 

As an aside, my mind misread it as "Sheraton Dickensian Flea House", which would be an entirely different sort of establishment.

[MusinkMan]

You'd think I'd be an expert on the letter "L" by now. But I feel more unsure and shaky than ever. The touch has to be so light that I find my penpoint skipping and shaking. Almost feels like I have to keep the point "hovering" over the page. No feedback from the nib at all. With the Nikko, it's easier because I don't have to be so light-handed. But the Leonardt Principal...that thing has made me say some bad words. LOL. All of the below is from the Principal nib. It's not good either...I guess I'm "paying my dues" at this point.

 

 

It looks pretty good to me ... but then again it also looks like a scene from The Shining as well :hmm1:

 

 

 

 

Nope, not good. But I've gotten better since, believe it or not! It's one of those things where I tried and tried and TRIED that nite to get decent L's, but it just wouldn't happen. The next day, the same (and about 400 more L's). Frustrated and about to give it up...

 

BUT THEN...as if by magic, they started rolling off my pen very nicely. Huh??? I think that maybe the muscle memory and the brain (at least my brain) needed "time" along with repetition; in order to assimilate things and get everything in sync.??? Hey, I'm far from capable at this point, but check this out and see if you can see a difference in these L's and the former ones. I know it's not great, but I could sure tell the difference:

 

 

This is tedious and boring practice. I think it's called "paying your dues". LOL

Edited April 3, 2013 by MusinkMan

[Stompie]

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/Popsjill/pens/DSCN1348_zpsb4d7e2e1.jpg

 

Ok, hit me with the criticisms please!!!!

[Mickey]

 

This is tedious and boring practice. I think it's called "paying your dues". LOL

 

I may have the solution for you, MM. For a while, don't worry about anything except your grip. Keep it absolutely relaxed. Concentrate on your forefinger being completely inert, just along for the ride. Don't try to hold it stationary. That builds tension Keep it inert and relaxed. The pen RESTS in the tripod.

 

Have the inside edge of the forefinger's first pad on the grip, not its center and definitely not its tip. Give the forefinger less influence. From this position, when you want a shade, don't think about pressing the nib into the page, gently squeeze the grip instead, press your 2nd and fore fingers toward your thumb. You'll be surprised. That will provide a nice subtle and controlled shade.

 

When you need more dramatic shades, let the last two fingers lead the hand in a slight clockwise rotation, almost as if giving a small slap. (With Spencerian, that can sometimes be a fairly large slap.)* The point is to get the fingers (especially the forefinger) out of the business of directly moving the pen. They'll do what they're supposed to do (very little and very small) once you get out of their way.

 

* Added: This is for shades on the right side of letters. For left side shades, it's the thumb that leads the rotation, anti-clockwise. Similarly, for left side squeeze-shades (my term) the forefinger dominates, for right side squeezes, the 2nd finger dominates.

Edited April 3, 2013 by Mickey

[MusinkMan]

Thanks, Mickey. You definitely have me pegged for the improper grip, as well as the "method" I'm using to apply pressure to the nib. I'm fixing to hit the practice again, and will start incorporating these principles.

 

On the shade thing...like on the lowercase L's, the shade happens once the downstroke crosses the x line. I'm finding that isn't very much distance to apply a shade, and it always comes out too "abrupt"; looks more like a mistake than a shade. Will this new grip technique remedy that problem?

[Zed]

OK my two cents.

 

I have recently been asked to cover a sheet with nice writing - both contentwise and otherwise - with a pen (Wahl Eversharp Skyline) I recently sold.

 

Best, Zed

[MusinkMan]

OK my two cents.

 

I have recently been asked to cover a sheet with nice writing - both contentwise and otherwise - with a pen (Wahl Eversharp Skyline) I recently sold.

 

Best, Zed

 

 

Holy Cow, bro! That looks AWESOME! Excellent Excellent! And with a fountain pen, no less! Beautiful job! Love the color of the ink, too. Sheesh, you guys are just too good. *Musink bows head in shame*.

 

Seriously, loved it, man!

[MusinkMan]

 

Chattery chattery finelines. So hard to keep things smooth with a Leonardt Principle That pen is so soft and so responsive, you have to be steady even when writing on air. Just takes more practice I guess.

Edited April 3, 2013 by MusinkMan

[mvarela]

OK my two cents.

 

I have recently been asked to cover a sheet with nice writing - both contentwise and otherwise - with a pen (Wahl Eversharp Skyline) I recently sold.

 

Best, Zed

 

That's simply beautiful, Zed!

[Zed]

Many thanks for your kind words!

 

The ink I wrote the sample with is Diamine Umber.

[MusinkMan]

That's some seriously good copperplate. Beautiful stuff,man!

[MusinkMan]

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/Popsjill/pens/DSCN1348_zpsb4d7e2e1.jpg

 

Ok, hit me with the criticisms please!!!!

 

Its cool stuff, Stompie. I can promise you that if you invest about $20US in Michael Sull's little book entitled "Learning To Write Spencerian Script", you will find yourself astounded at the improvement in letterforms and insight. And you will see instant improvement too, like the first day! You can order it online at John Neal's or from Mr. Sull's website. The instructions are easy to follow and Mr. Sull is so good at teaching in a very "down home" way. Your thin lines are nice and smooth, something that I cannot seem to get my head wrapped around. One thing that sort of leaps out at me is that your caps seem a bit out of proportion (in size) to your other lettering. They often descend far below the baseline. Just give that a shot and see if it doesn't have the effect of cleaning things up. But hey, I'm certainly no expert (not even "moderately good", so be sure to consider that in what I'm saying.). LOL!