Spencerian: Controlled Speed?

[AllenG]

It's the shading that kills me. Getting it thick right there at five o'clock on the arc with that gentle on the inside and the almost 90° turn on the outside. Nailing that has thus far alluded my fine motor control.

 

I have the same problem with this oval: http://www.iampeth.com/lessons/ornamental_penmanship/FB_Courtney/dashy_writing_page3.html

Keeping the shade at the 10 o'clock position has been a challenge. I always end up shading with the weight at the bottom, as it is in coca-cola.

[Mickey]

It's the shading that kills me. Getting it thick right there at five o'clock on the arc with that gentle on the inside and the almost 90° turn on the outside. Nailing that has thus far alluded my fine motor control.

 

I have the same problem with this oval: http://www.iampeth.com/lessons/ornamental_penmanship/FB_Courtney/dashy_writing_page3.html

Keeping the shade at the 10 o'clock position has been a challenge. I always end up shading with the weight at the bottom, as it is in coca-cola.

 

This is where using a light hand and flexible point helps. If find it's harder to control where the shade centers if the point is too stiff. (The light hand is simply a prerequisite for the flexible point.) Proper alignment is also important. Make sure your forearm is at right angles to the return angle (30 degrees) not the writing line. Alternatively, the slit should be in line with the slant angle. (If both conditions are true or the slit is somewhere between the two slants, your pen set up is optimal - correct grip, proper flange geometry etc.)

 

Finally, keep moving. Don't slow down too much and remember to maintain the circular movement. I think it's easier to apply the shade quickly, as a stroke aimed at the center of the arc, relying on the resistance and springiness of the point to do most of the tapering. Don't concentrate on where to begin the shade. Concentrate where you want the center to be and keep the pen moving. Take fine muscle control out of the equation. Consciously steering the point through the curves doesn't work for me.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Mickey

[Mickey]

Here's today's discovery (probably the last for this thread), also addressing shade problems. Hasn't anyone noticed that the slant of the reverse oval shade (and of the principle stem) nearly always agrees* with the return angle (30 degrees) and the shade on the direct oval with the primary slant (52 degrees)? If you didn't think to look, you might not have noticed. Obviously the timing and dynamic for mashing these shades is going to be different. (Remember we're trying to write the letters, not draw them. We need to fire the shade message down the nerves well before the eyes tells us it's necessary.) Not observing this geometry may be all that's really wrong with AllenG's shades - misplaced loyalty.

 

I think it may be time to wind down this thread. In case you've forgotten (or didn't know), I'm not writing this from an expert's point of view. I'm not the old professor imparting wisdom won from a lifetime slinging ink; I'm more like the kid in "10 Things I Hate About You" trying to keep one lesson ahead of the hot girl he's tutoring. Being one of those who typically exhausts all the wrong ways before stumbling on to the correct, I thought documenting what finally worked for me and how I found it might be useful to the other stumblers out there.

 

Keep practicing.

 

 

* a straight line drawn between the beginning and end of the shade would be parallel to the slant

Edited October 22, 2014 by Mickey

[Anne-Sophie]

Mickey, do you use Seyes ruling?

[Mickey]

Mickey, do you use Seyes ruling?

 

Most of the time. No particular reason other than I'm used to it. I don't slavishly adhere to it, though. My typical x-height (when writing, as opposed to practicing) is about 80% of the Seyes spacing.

[swain]

Your post #29 is really informative and explains much that I couldn't grasp. Keep them coming, you do have a following.