Author Topic: New to calligraphy  (Read 2944 times)

Offline Diane Bennett

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New to calligraphy
« on: January 09, 2018, 01:10:16 PM »
Hi everyone,

After a few stressful months at the end of last year I needed a distraction.  Calligraphy was the answer.

I decided to try copperplate and have been really enjoying it, it's so peaceful and calming.

I have been practising the strokes most days and now feel brave enough to try to put the letter together.

I would be very grateful if anyone could offer me some feed back, I am using a book by Eleanor Winters as reference, but Even though I know some of where I'm going wrong, an opinion and advice from others would be very helpful.

This is my attempt and joining the letters.

Thank you in advance

Diane
« Last Edit: January 10, 2018, 07:05:58 AM by Diane Bennett »

Offline Diane Bennett

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2018, 07:00:58 AM »
The photo is upside down, tried to rotate it and it stayed the same can anyone tell me how to get it the right way up.

Thanks

Diane
« Last Edit: January 10, 2018, 07:07:03 AM by Diane Bennett »

Offline AnasaziWrites

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2018, 10:48:07 AM »
The photo is upside down, tried to rotate it and it stayed the same can anyone tell me how to get it the right way up.

Thanks

Diane
@Diane Bennett
I saved it to my computer, inverted it, and post it for you here upside up.
In general, try to photo your work straight on to avoid distortion or even better, scan it (if you have a scanner).

Offline Diane Bennett

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2018, 12:04:29 PM »
Thank you, I did try but it didn't rotate.  I will scan next time.  Very new to this and was looking for a few pointers, but I can seen the benefit if laying the page flat.  Thanks again.

Diane

Offline Jenafer

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2018, 01:35:55 PM »
I am a beginner to copperplate as well, but I think this looks great! I started with Eleanor Winters book also but found I was learning more quickly with watching how the letter forms are made.

You should check Dr. Joseph M. Vitolo he has a guide and video's that correlate to his guide. Very good!
guide:
website: http://www.zanerian.com/

Hope this helps!

Offline Diane Bennett

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2018, 02:58:41 PM »
Hi Jenafer,

I have this downloaded to my iPad, it is a great resource.

I stopped looking on the internet as there seems to be a lot of conflicting information and it was a little confusing.  Now I focus on the tutorials on here which Salman kindly offers.  Getting the feed back and detailed explanations have helped so much.

I do use Dr Vitolo's videos too.  Like you, I want to see how the letter forms are shaped.  I am just about to start learning the capitals with his videos.

Happy penning

Diane

Offline Jenafer

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2018, 02:46:36 PM »
I stopped looking on the internet as there seems to be a lot of conflicting information and it was a little confusing.  Now I focus on the tutorials on here which Salman kindly offers.  Getting the feed back and detailed explanations have helped so much.

Ugh I completely agree. Now that I've learned the letter forms from him there are some letters that I would like to find an alternate version but still stay within the true copperplate style and I am having trouble deciphering whether something is truly copperplate or not.

Offline Diane Bennett

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2018, 04:31:35 PM »
@Jenafer

Yes, I have trouble with what is true copperplate too, but I think it's all in the learning.  I am sure Dr Vitolo has some alternative letter forms on his website.  I'm still learning the basics, but I do like to play once I have practice is over.  Have you tried the tutorials that Salman teaches? they are really good.

Offline neriah

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2018, 09:44:03 AM »
The best resource for traditional copperplate is The Universal Penman by George Bickham. There is a printed book which can be bought on Amazon and in the most calligraphy stores which carry books. It can also be found online on web archive: https://archive.org/download/AncientHistory-WorksInPublicDomainPublishedBefore1923PartThree

There are three versions, but pdfs aren’t as good as printed book (which also doesn’t have the best resolution). However, it is good enough to see which letterforms are traditional copperplate and which deviate from the traditional form.

Another awesome resource is Zanerian Manual which was published online not so long ago: https://masgrimes.com/archive/zanerian-manual

File is huge due to high resolution scan but it is the best reference for Engrosser’s script.

As to not historical resources, Dr. Vitolo’s book is awesome as well as Eleanor Winters Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy. Just be aware that these resources teach different calligraphy styles. Copperplate and Engrosser’s are similar but still different scripts. IIRC, there are few threads on this forum which go into details, I try to link them later, am on mobile right now and find it a bit tricky to do search.

EDIT: Links to the thread that may be useful. Unfortunately photos are missing :/

http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=1452.msg19289#msg19289
http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=4978.0
http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=5768.msg70935#msg70935
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 12:42:51 PM by neriah »

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2018, 12:54:09 AM »
It is important to understand that Engrosser's Script (as described in the Zanerian manual) is different than traditional Copperplate with its foundations in English Roundhand as shown in The Universal Penman.

English Roundhand (ER) was a handwriting system designed for Clerks to use for writing official documents. The examples of ER found in The Universal Penman are highly formal engraved specimens used mainly for advertising the skills of the writing master. In actual use ER was not executed as precisely. We have many examples of lovely ER in official church and business correspondence but none reach the levels of execution found in The Universal Penman. ER was executed with an oblique cut quill. Careful study of the letter forms in The Universal Penman reveals that many of the strokes cannot be made with a steel nib in one go.

Engrosser's script (ES) is essentially the formal execution of ER with a pointed flexible steel nib much in the line of what an engraver would do with a burin. This was developed mainly in the United States and reached its peak in popularity and sophistication in early 20th Century. This very formal hand is drawn very slowly with frequent pen lifts as well as changing the orientation of the paper for some strokes.


- Salman

I have an opinion and I'm not afraid to use it.

Copperplate Tutorial :: Toronto Pen Company

Offline Jenafer

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Re: New to calligraphy
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2018, 10:05:24 AM »
@Diane Bennett yes, i've browsed through Salman's tutorials, they seem really great too!

@neriah I downloaded the Zenerian Manual the other day but haven't had a change to look at it yet. Thanks for the recommendation of the universal penman too!

@Salman Khattak Thanks so much for the history behind this :)