Qotw - 2017

[inkstainedruth]

Well, this week I'm on time (early even)! Not entirely happy with the results but the two previous attempts were not any better. Those Italic swash capitals are not easy to do with a non-italic pen and have them have the right flair to them. And the lower case "z" isn't much better. But I am starting to get the curve and slant for the lower case "v"s and "w's....

Of course next week I will have limited to zero internet access. And probably no time to practice even if I did nave access to scanner or to wi-fi....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Just noticed that I screwed up and didn't crop out the bad start at the top of the page.....

Edited March 9, 2017 by inkstainedruth

[Randal6393]

Hey, Ruth,

 

That's great work, to get the look and feel of italic with a monoline pen. Great work! As for the error you didn't cut, well, it adds character to the quote.

 

Enjoy,

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks Randal. One of the earlier attempts looks a little better overall, since the x height was a bit shorter -- the letters looked more uniform and weren't scraggly as if they were a teenager who'd just had a growth spurt. But the word "Revolutionize" ended up appearing, well, somewhat drunk, since the word didn't really stay on the base line. I was having trouble enough with that crazy cursive italic "z" as it was....

I have a template I made up and printed off, with rule lines to match a college ruled notebook that I put under the page I'm writing on, rather than spend time ruling lines for something that's effectively just an exercise -- I was trying to visually keep track of the x-height, and that didn't alway work. And of course, doing x-height templates for every different pen I own (the way I did when I was taking calligraphy back in college) is just crazy talk.... It's the difference between 4 or 5 Speedball nibs vs. roughly 80-85 working pens (only a very few of which are italics).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ksm]

 

I'm still working on my handwriting. Suggestions?

[Randal6393]

Your handwriting is very good -- better than my formal italic. Mostly, continue to practice. And read up a bit on the difference between formal and informal italic. Fluidity and ownership comes from writing and using the hand to the point that you concentrate more on what you are writing than the letter-forms. Again, that comes with practice.

 

As for the format, more space between lines, watch the tangling of ascenders and descenders, give attention to organization and spacing. Very well done.

 

Enjoy,

[ksm]

Thanks. Actually I wanted to write it on paper with 7mm between lines, but this 5mm graph paper from last year's webplanner was everything I had at hand, and there was not enough space on the page to write on every third line.

[dms525]

I chose to write out the more abbreviated version of the quotation.

 

 

 

Pen: Stipula Etruria de Architectura Alberti

Ink: Akkerman #24

Paper: Rhodia dotpad

 

David

[Randal6393]

A copperplate handwriting example in my favoured iron gall ink from kalligrafie.ch in Switzerland. Was nicely surprised, mailing costs were no more than USPS costs would be.

 

@David, Love your italic handwriting. That quick 's' is one of my favourite letters. Abbreviated or long, whatever you feel like doing.

Edited March 10, 2017 by Randal6393

[dms525]

A copperplate handwriting example in my favoured iron gall ink from kalligrafie.ch in Switzerland. Was nicely surprised, mailing costs were no more than USPS costs would be.

 

@David, Love your italic handwriting. That quick 's' is one of my favourite letters. Abbreviated or long, whatever you feel like doing.

 

Thanks, Randal. If you are referring to the "s" joined to the preceding letter, I agree. The joined double "s" is especially nice, IMO.

 

David

[bobje]

That 's' connected to the previous letter is so much fun, and it looks like you really enjoy it in copperplate as well, Randal.

[Randal6393]

Yes, I love the joins that make handwriting look different than formal hands. Freedom in writing is something that I strive for. It's amazing to me that -- to really look natural -- I must practice and study a lot.

[ksm]

I've tried once more with formal hand...

 

 

... and I'm still far from beauty of the model.

[DrCodfish]

I've tried once more with formal hand...

 

 

... and I'm still far from beauty of the model.

 

​Hard for me to imagine how you could get closer to the beauty. I may have asked this before but is this a guide sheet you created or is it something you have acquired?

 

​Anyway, you have something here to be pleased with.

 

Dr. C

[ksm]

I've created guide sheet using my guidelines generator.

 

Model has better spacing, shapes of 'e' and many small details. What is more important my writing has 'forced' feel while Ewa Landowska's model has feel of natural 'swing'.

 

A review of Ewa Landowska's book by one of members of Polish fountain pen community unfortunately in Polish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX8b9xy5usA

Edited March 11, 2017 by ksm

[smk]

ksm - that is very impressive Italic. Maintaining good control for the whole of that long piece of text is difficult and your quality of letters remains strong all the way to the end. That is a beautiful piece of writing.

 

- Salman

[Randal6393]

@ksm, Agree with Salman, beautiful example of formal italic. Now, about that cursive hand ...

 

Enjoy,

[Sagarb]

[bobje]

Sagar is in the house! Nice work!

[da vinci]

Not my best effort today. No italics inked so used my MB Woolf medium nibbed pen. Slightly rushed, and the Robert Oster Grun Schwarz ink on Tomoe River paper was rather 'slippy'...

 

 

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af344/996nick2009/Fountain%20Pens/image_zpsvbwvdqoq.jpeg

[ksm]

 

Just kidding

 

My foundational needs a lot of work.