Every day?

I don't think I should make a vow to post every day on this blog. I am happy to do so on the envelope blog, but, it will probably be easy to add a post here every time I have a comment from a reader. Amy responded that she has not settled in on any particular style, she is still getting acquainted with the nibs and ink. And having fun. That's a very good way to start.

Here is a fun bouncy pointed pen mane that I wrote. It is on that sparkle paper. Sparkle or shimmer papers are very popular and I find them to be very friendly to the pointed nib. The hairlines on this one are rather clunky, but it doesn't bother me. I love super fine hairlines but some paper and ink combinations do not yield fine hairlines....but if the nib feels good gliding along the paper, it doesn't bother me to have clunky hairlines once in a while. I like variety.

And, here is the tip of the day.
I am not sure how many books mention this and I do not have time to research today.
I'll just mention it as one of the things you need to know.

There are natural oils on your skin including that part of your hand that touches the paper when you write. So, if you are filling an entire page of lined notebook paper and your hand slides back and forth across the paper, by the time you get to the bottom, you may have trouble with the nib skipping. And that might be because of the oil. So, you may want to use a guard sheet under your hand. A few scribes wear fingerless gloves, but that sounds clumsy to me. Or maybe it is the best solution ever. I really should try it some time.

I mostly do envelopes, and so I usually do not have a problem with oily build up on the envelope. When Mr. Legend commented that he was having trouble with the nib skipping, I didn't include this as a possible problem because I forgot about it. If the skipping does not happen at the top of the page, but becomes a problem as you go down the page, then you might want to try a guard sheet.

Some people tape the guard sheet to the desk and then tuck the paper under the guard sheet and pull it up as they write. This is a really good idea because it keeps you writing in your optimal spot - vertically. Too often, people zone out and write line after line and eventually, their hand is at the very edge of the desk. There is a sweet spot, right in front of your nose where your writing will be better. If your hand is falling off the edge of the desk your writing will suffer.

It is also important to move the paper (to the left) if the line you are writing on is wider than about 4 inches. As your hand gets too far to the right, you do not have a direct line of vision and your arm is reaching out and it is harder to maintain consistency in anything. If you are writing LARGE, then you might be able to write longer lines. But for small writing, make sure that you keep the sweet spot right in front of you.

Another way to have a guard sheet is to place a blank sheet right under the line where you are writing. This works well, except when you jiggle and smear the ink. And, it is really important to know that the edge of the guard sheet will be much friendlier if it is a folded edge. The actual edge of a sheet of paper is rather sharp. Your hand will not glide smoothly when it moves up and down across the edge. So, fold the sheet of paper and put the folded edge under the line where you are writing and it will be a nice smooth edge. This seems like a very minor point, but I actually consider it a cardinal rule. If I ever need a guard sheet and I just grab a sheet, without folding the edge and try to get by with the sharp edge, I inevitably snag my hand on the edge and goof up the writing. So, you may take my advice or learn the hard way. Or maybe you have been using a sharp-edge guard sheet for decades and never have any problems. There are no absolutes to any of this. Just try everything and you will find what works for you.

I'll post a photo of my favorite type of guard sheet pretty soon. I have a couple actual jobs with deadlines to tend to today :-)

My Slanted Opinion - 1

Here is a shout out to Amy who left a comment on the spooky experiment post. I always enjoy hearing that people become so engrossed in their practice that they *forget* to do their chores. Yay Amy!! She mentioned that she was "a little unimpressed" with the Molly Thorpe book, Modern Calligraphy. I think the main problem with any instructional book when it is written by one person - is that you only get one perspective. And sometimes, an author will leave out an Essential Tip.

We each have a unique path that started when we were about 5 years old and penmanship is something that grows and evolves. We are products of our teachers. Some of us have had between 20 and 30  teachers. I am guessing that Molly has not. But, she does include a ton of valuable information for people who are just starting and want some success at a modern style with nibs and ink. Trust me, it takes a long time to study with 20-30 different teachers.

I am going to go through all three books by single authors and add some information that I think will help everyone get more out of the individual books. The essential tip for the day is slant. Eleanor Winters and Gordon Turner both recommend the 54 or 55 degree slant that is traditional with copperplate.

If Molly Thorpe included any discussion about slant, I have not found it. And when I flip through the book, I see a variety of slants which is a huge no-no in traditional copperplate. It is perfectly fine in modern calligraphy to have a variety of slants. Since Molly does not mention slant (correct me if it is there and I just missed it) I think the reader is missing some essential information. Her block lettering is mostly upright. Most of the time, her slant is about halfway between 90 (which would be straight upright) and the traditional 55-degrees of copperplate. It's a very nice slant. But, the part where she does not even talk about it leaves the reader with some missing pieces to the whole puzzle.

In my discussions with some of the rock stars in the world of calligraphy and lettering, many of them have agreed that most people have a natural slant. And....it can be very beneficial to use your natural slant when you are first learning a particular style.

MUSCLE MEMORY. I talk about it all the time. If your muscles have been cruising along, making the same slant for decades...stick with that slant.

YIN YANG. And even though, I just said to stick with the slant that is your natural slant....now I am going to tell you to try different slants.

WHY DO I CONTRADICT MYSELF? Because it helps you to integrate your muscle memory with your new skill. And this is why I will never write a book. There are too many ways to approach lettering. None of them are right or wrong. It is hard to predict which approach will yield the best results. As Mr. Legend wrote in his comment....the only thing that is a given...is that you'll need to put in some time practicing.

My envelope pictured above is one style that requires very little practice. I wrote amy spencer amy spencer with a very fine pen. Then on the last 3 names, I put in a second stroke wherever the stroke was a downstroke. on *spen* you can see the double strokes. on the *cer* i added some tiny cross strokes. on the second amy, i filled in the double strokes and on the second spencer, i went over the fine line with a bolder pen and put about three layers of extra width to build up the down strokes. so, there you have it.... 3 versions of faux calligraphy. fun. easy. minimum of practice.

Molly Thorpe seems to be doing just fine by using her personal slant (73-degrees) and embracing inconsistency. Gordon Turner has one page (33) where he shows some alternate styles that include different slants. I did not find any examples of variations of slant from Eleanor Winters. She simply recommended 55-degrees.  She explains the math behind the 55-degrees in such detail that your brain could easily explode if you are math phobic. This kind of detail can be very off-putting to beginners. Don't worry. I'll be happy to help you find an easier way if you don't like all that math.

If you are working on traditional copperplate, you might want to try all the lettering, exactly as it is presented in the books...but if your natural penmanship has a different slant, try using your own slant and see what happens. If you want more advice on this topic, leave a comment and I will post more.

With traditional copperplate, it is my opinion that you really need a lot of practice on paper that has slant lines. So, the easiest thing to do is buy a the copperplate practice paper from John Neal.

P01-8. JNB Copperplate/Engrossers Pad 8.5X11in

I prefer the 8.5 x 11-inch pad and will include my reasoning in a separate post.

You can also print out your own paper with guidelines.
http://www.iampeth.com/lessons_guidesheets.php
But the John Neal practice paper is much better paper than the do-it-yourself method.

Essential information

Computers sometimes refuse to post photos in the right direction. We won't let it bother us.

I forgot to mention something that is essential to nice lettering with nibs and ink. It is really hard to make pretty lettering when you have a single sheet of paper on a hard surface.

You need some *cush.*

The easiest thing to do is write on a stack of 4-6 sheets of paper. If you look closely, you will see faint lines in the photo. There is a sheet of lined notebook paper under the sheet of photocopy paper. That's an easy way to give yourself some guidelines.
Or you may just write on notebook paper.

You need cush with all kinds of pens and markers. I imagine a sheet of blotter paper would be perfect.
I'm sure you can still find blotter paper somewhere.....

And conversely, beware of writing in a notebook. When you start on the first page and the notebook is 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick, as your hand gets down to the bottom of the page, it will be falling off that edge and you will not be able to write neatly. I am pretty emphatic about discouraging students from writing in notebooks or on tablets. I think loose sheets are much friendlier. As Mary Jones says: That is just my opinion, but I am right.