Learning Italic

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

I found this old quote in my quote journal. I prefer quotes from my books though so I think I'll stick to them in the future.

 

Pen: Wing Sung 3008 with Lamy 1.5mm stub nib.

Ink: Pelikan 4001 Konigsblau.

Paper: Local.

 

[bobje]

Nice work, Royal. Love the f and a shapes.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Nice work, Royal. Love the f and a shapes.

Thank you. I enjoy writing the F, though I need to close my ovals tighter.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

My majuscules game is horrible so I avoid them like the plague.

 

Pen: Pilot Pluminix B.

Ink: Diamine Kelly Green. Such a lovely green, it shades so well.

Paper: Clairefontaine 90g/m.

 

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

See what I was saying about majuscules? Horrible stuff.

 

Pen: Pluminix B.

Ink: Diamine Kelly Green.

Paper: Local.

 

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Pen: Wing Sung 3008 with Lamy 1.5 nib.

Ink: Pelikan 4001 royal Blue with a drop of Sepia, although it looks like the residue of the precedent drop of Rouge Hematite to me... A mistake in my notes probably.

Paper is a Notami notebook by an Italian brand called Red in Blu.

 

 

Same pen, ink, and paper.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Pen: Wing Sung 3008 with Lamy 1.5mm stub nib.

Ink: RK Salix with a drop of Pelikan Royal Blue in the beginning.

Paper: Notami notebook.

 

Pen: Wing Sung 3008 with Lamy 1.5 nib.

Ink: Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue with a drop of Herbin Rouge Hematite.

Paper: Notami notebook.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

I played around with Pelikan 4001 Red, letting a drop of other colors into the breather hole of the pen inked with 4001 Red, following Lgsoltek's suggestion. I really enjoyed the results.

Pen: Wing Sung 3008 with Lamy 1.5 stub nib.

Ink: Mostly Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Red.

Paper: Notami notebook.

 

The first quote is by Dante Alighieri, what's written on the doors to Hell. In English I reckon it's something like "Leave all hope all ye enter."

 

 

This is the title of a spin-off book in the Harry Potter saga. A book about many fantastic creatures, their characteristics and their habitat. A lovely reading.

 

A Room of One's Own is the title of an essay/article/book by Virginia Woolf. Extremely interesting reading, I've jotted down some quotes from this book and they will appear in the quotes thread soon.

 

Pen: Pilot Pluminix B.

Ink: Diamine Kelly Green. I don't know why it's so light here. I only cut the scan in Photoshop, I never mess with the color. It's possibly because of the paper.

Paper: Notami notebook.

Edited April 27, 2018 by RoyalBlueNotebooks

[knarflj]

I played around with Pelikan 4001 Red, letting a drop of other colors into the breather hole of the pen inked with 4001 Red, following Lgsoltek's suggestion. I really enjoyed the results.

 

 

What tool do you use to administer the drop into the breather hole, RBN? I like the result, too.

 

Also, I can see your italic is getting better and better. Good work!

 

Jenny

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

 

What tool do you use to administer the drop into the breather hole, RBN? I like the result, too.

Also, I can see your italic is getting better and better. Good work!

Jenny

You're the only one then but thank you!

And I use another fountain pen, provided that I can squeeze ink out of it in some way. With piston fillers and converter-filled pens I just operate the piston or the converter. With cartridge-filled pens I guess I'd have to bring out my syringe, but I haven't tried this last method yet.

[knarflj]

Oh, I never would have thought of doing that! Seems very simple once you explain it, though. Thanks.

 

Jenny

[amberleadavis]

Dang, this thread is cool, but it is a bummer that so many of the photos are missing.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Dang, this thread is cool, but it is a bummer that so many of the photos are missing.

Damn Photobucket deprived me of so many ink and fountain pen reviews, then I come here and . I'm so incensed at that website.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

My current Italic.

Pen: Lamy 1.5 stub.

Ink: Diamine Midnight.

[dms525]

My current Italic.

Pen: Lamy 1.5 stub.

Ink: Diamine Midnight.

 

You are showing a lot of progress! Keep up the practicing; it's clearly paying off.

 

If I may make a couple suggestions: You appear to be inconsistent in your nib angle. I find this to be one of the hardest habits to develop for those who have spent years using ballpoints and/or pencils. Letter angle is also a bit inconsistent, and the letters are mostly upright rather than slanted.

 

At your stage, it is generally helpful to frequently check back with your exemplars. As a rule, one ends up with the best hand by rigorously duplicating one model of letter forms before allowing a more personal handwriting emerge. Work on individual letter forms, then letter spacing in words, then word spacing, etc.

 

I don't recall what instructional materials you use. Was it Fred Eager?

 

Happy writing!

 

David

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

 

You are showing a lot of progress! Keep up the practicing; it's clearly paying off.

If I may make a couple suggestions: You appear to be inconsistent in your nib angle. I find this to be one of the hardest habits to develop for those who have spent years using ballpoints and/or pencils. Letter angle is also a bit inconsistent, and the letters are mostly upright rather than slanted.

At your stage, it is generally helpful to frequently check back with your exemplars. As a rule, one ends up with the best hand by rigorously duplicating one model of letter forms before allowing a more personal handwriting emerge. Work on individual letter forms, then letter spacing in words, then word spacing, etc.

I don't recall what instructional materials you use. Was it Fred Eager?

Happy writing!

David

 

Thank you very much for the feedback David!

You're spot on on the nib angle, it's the most difficult thing to control, for me. I try not to lean over the page too much so I don't have back pains in the future, but I feel like I lose control of the angle many times.

I've used fountain pens since I was ten, but until a year ago I've always used cheap iridium points or Pelikan steel nibs, which are forgiving in terms of rotating the nib left and right during writing. They don't have a tight sweet spot, so I'm not used to keep one angle so strictly as Italic demands.

 

When I trace the alphabet in between writing sessions, it's my impression that the letters are good, but when I write sentences the letters come out all awkward. I have no idea what to do about this.

And as instructional material, I watched the Lloyd Reynolds videos on Youtube, and I have his book, the one he uses in the videos, in PDF version. I used this material to start and practice my alphabet. Then I started watching calligraphy videos on Youtube and found out about the variants.

[Tasmith]

Excellent example of improving with practice!

[dms525]

 

Thank you very much for the feedback David!

You're spot on on the nib angle, it's the most difficult thing to control, for me. I try not to lean over the page too much so I don't have back pains in the future, but I feel like I lose control of the angle many times.

I've used fountain pens since I was ten, but until a year ago I've always used cheap iridium points or Pelikan steel nibs, which are forgiving in terms of rotating the nib left and right during writing. They don't have a tight sweet spot, so I'm not used to keep one angle so strictly as Italic demands.

 

When I trace the alphabet in between writing sessions, it's my impression that the letters are good, but when I write sentences the letters come out all awkward. I have no idea what to do about this.

And as instructional material, I watched the Lloyd Reynolds videos on Youtube, and I have his book, the one he uses in the videos, in PDF version. I used this material to start and practice my alphabet. Then I started watching calligraphy videos on Youtube and found out about the variants.

 

Lloyd Reynolds was opposed to practicing by writing each letter over and over. As a disciple of the "Arts and Crafts" movement associated with William Morris, he believed that all practice should be in the form of "real work," i.e., a project with a product at the end. In other words, he didn't like "exercises" very much. That said, I know of two exceptions he made: He used a chain of m's, called in his work book an "arcade" for getting the rhythm and consistent nib angle right. The second exception is that somewhere I heard him say or read that he would write O's for an hour before starting work on a commission. Both of these do seem to help develop motor memory as well as "warm up" your hand for good italic writing.

 

I have seen the work of some scribes who have more polished hands than mine after a few weeks practice. I envy them. It took me a few years practicing more than an hour most days to get pretty consistent ascender angles. I'm still working on it. The message is, reflective practice pays off. For most of us, it takes years to achieve anything like calligraphic quality italic handwriting, but it's well worth it, in my opinion.

 

BTW, I just got back from Portland. While I was at Reed College, Jaki Svaren was going over the proofs of a new edition of her book, "Written Letters" which is a wonderful resource but has been out of print for years. I will surely post a notice on FPN when the new edition is released. (Jaki was a student of Lloyd Reynolds in the late '40s - Yes, she is approaching 90 years old! - and has taught calligraphy and been a professional scribe ever since.)

 

Happy writing!

 

David

[amberleadavis]

David, thanks for that info. I've been practicing with actual vocabulary. I find that if I practice writing words that I will use, I have a better chance of spelling them correctly in the future.

[dms525]

David, thanks for that info. I've been practicing with actual vocabulary. I find that if I practice writing words that I will use, I have a better chance of spelling them correctly in the future.

 

My practice is usually a list of words that begin with each letter of the alphabet and are members of some class, for example the names of trees. Sometimes, I capitalize the words. I can now spell the names of trees correctly. I think. Beyond that, not so much.

 

David