Author Topic: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1  (Read 77138 times)

Offline weavingheart

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #30 on: September 18, 2016, 03:18:46 AM »
Wonderful, thank you. Your feedback is very thoughtful and thorough, I very much appreciate the time you have taken to help me
💕

Offline Mamashag

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #31 on: September 22, 2016, 12:25:38 AM »
I've worked through each letter and completed one line each of 'till, wit.' There is much work to be done on each. Still struggling with nibs and ink! Trying out several nibs, but not happy with any particular one. (No idea how to rotate these images, sorry.)
« Last Edit: September 22, 2016, 12:32:49 AM by Mamashag »

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #32 on: September 22, 2016, 01:07:24 AM »
@Mamashag

That is excellent work. The thickness of the shade is just right now and you are taking them down to the last 1/3rd consistently. The flow you have achieved in the 2nd 'w' on the last line is just lovely to see.

There isn't much to critique here. You are a little unsure on the exit hairlines. This is common with left handed scribes. It will go away in time and all your hairlines will look like that 'w' I mentioned. The crossbar of the 't' could be a little wider too.

The assignment for this lesson is to write the words ill, will, built, jilt and one word of your choice (I wrote out 'till' and 'wit' as examples of joins used in this group of letters). Judging from your work, I don't think you will have any problem with those. 

I think you are ready for the next lesson as soon as you submit the above :-)

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

Copperplate Tutorial :: Toronto Pen Company

ash0kgiri

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #33 on: September 22, 2016, 03:13:03 AM »
Hi @Mamashag,

This is amazing progress in such a short time. I also had lot of problems with nibs. Finally I settled in for Gillotte 303. As a beginner Walnut ink is what i would recommend as it gives finer hairlines and you can see the flaws clearly. Its also gentle on nibs unlike Sumi.

Hope this helps you.

Keep writing,
-Ashok

Offline AllisonP

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #34 on: September 25, 2016, 05:20:04 PM »
So I started calligraphy a couple of months ago (though with limited practice). There are a few smudges but it would be good to get some feedback  :)

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #35 on: September 26, 2016, 01:44:39 AM »
Hi Allison - it is great to have you join us.

Your letter forms are quite good and you have command of the slant. This gives you a solid base to build from.

There are only a couple of minor tweaks needed here and there.

1. The turns at the bottom of your letters are too rounded. Interestingly you draw them better in the individual letter practice but in the words they become too rounded. The picture is blurry but it seems to me that you are not lifting your pen at the base line as you come off the shaded stroke. This is important as it establishes the exit hairline as a separate stroke. This is important because your exit hairlines will change shape depending on the following letter in some cases. You will see this in lesson-2.

2. The letting-up of the shade should occur in the last 1/3rd of the x-height. You are letting up at around the halfway point.

3. The shades should be about 25% thinner than you have them in this example. The weight of the letters is a bit too heavy for this size of writing.

4. I suspect this will get fixed if you take care of no.1 & 3 but some of your letters are crowding each other i.e. the exit stroke from one is meeting the next letter lower than the middle of the x-height - this brings the letters too close together.

5. The loop of the 'j' is a bit more pointed at the bottom. The thickest part of the counter (the empty space inside the loop) is at about the 1st descender line. Also, the exit hairline out of the 'j' should be the same as an entry hairline for an 'i'.

6. The two counters of the 'w' should be visually the same size. You have a tendency to make the second one bigger.

7. In 'jilt' - make sure the two dots of the 'i' and the top of the 't' are all at the same level. Yours are not even.

OK - I know this more than a few points but these are mostly minor. I am sure you will master them quickly.

Remember to practice in groups of 5. Please post the assigned words with the above in mind. I will be looking forward to it.

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

Copperplate Tutorial :: Toronto Pen Company

ash0kgiri

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #36 on: September 26, 2016, 06:43:40 AM »
So I started calligraphy a couple of months ago (though with limited practice). There are a few smudges but it would be good to get some feedback

Hi @AllisonP,

Thats really nice for the first attempt. Salman have given you the detailed feedback. Follow them religiously and you see the difference. :D
Keep writing and keep posting.

- Ashok

Offline AllisonP

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #37 on: September 27, 2016, 06:33:57 PM »
Thanks Salman for the feedback.  Lots of things to work on so I will post once I have had a bit more practise...

Thanks @ash0kgiri for the encouragement!

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #38 on: September 28, 2016, 09:12:04 PM »
Hi Allison - while the list is long, I am sure most of these are just things that will get fixed as soon as you start paying attention to them. I find most of my learning is knowing what to do - the 'doing' part isn't half as hard as figuring out what to look for.

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

Copperplate Tutorial :: Toronto Pen Company

Offline baodingball

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #39 on: September 30, 2016, 12:27:31 PM »
Hello, I´ve been doing the exercises in this wonderful tutorial and I thought I´d share my work to get some good comments and suggestions so I would know that I am heading to right direction.  I am using a Leonardt Principal, some india ink which I diluted with water ( trying to do some experiment), and 20 gsm copy paper.  I will appreciate any feedback.  Thanks.

ash0kgiri

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #40 on: September 30, 2016, 12:47:36 PM »
Hi @baodingball,
This looks really good. Like the even Spacing between letters. The joins are good,  and Consistent slant. Salman will provide you with his detailed feedback.

Keep writing,
Ashok

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #41 on: October 01, 2016, 01:36:07 AM »
@baodingball

It is good to have you join us. This is indeed an excellent start. You have gotten pretty much everything right in terms of letter shapes. I am particularly pleased with the counter of the 'j' as that can be a bit tricky. I also like the turns at the baseline - not too rounded but not too sharp either - very nice.

Having said that though, there are a couple of things that need attention.

- Your strokes are 'bouncing' all along the waist and base lines i.e. some strokes are coming down all the way to the base line while others turn around before they quite make it there (look at the base line of the first 'ill' on the last line). The same with the waist line (look at the 'w' and 'i' in the last 'wilt' on the last line). The dots of the 'i' and 'j' should also be at the same height. Are you working with the guidelines printed (or drawn) on the paper you are writing on?

- The spacing in your letters is generally good but inconsistent in some places. In 'built' on the last line, the two 'i' strokes of the 'u' are closer together than the space between the 'u' and the 'i' - these should all be the same. In 'jilt' on the last line, the space between 'i' and 'l' is more than the space between j-i and l-t.

- The crossbar of the 't' should be horizontal.

As you can see, these are all easy to fix just by paying a bit of attention. The spacing could be an exception but I am sure you will get that easily. Your practice has paid off. You are almost there :-)

I will be looking forward to a reworking of the same exercise. You don't need to post the whole page - just the assigned words and one word of your choice will do.

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

Copperplate Tutorial :: Toronto Pen Company

Offline Anjali N

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #42 on: October 02, 2016, 12:04:50 AM »
Salman, thanks so much for sharing your time and expertise! It is so generous!

Here is my attempt (I'm a newbie). It seems like the width of my downstrokes are highly variable - I assume no better way to practice consistency than just doing lots of downstrokes? Thanks for your critique and advice!

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #43 on: October 03, 2016, 12:36:04 AM »
@Anjali N

Anjali - you have a nice fluid style of writing with a consistent slant. This means you have a good posture and are placing the paper at the correct angle. This gives you a good base to build on.

I think you have good pen control so most of your work will be on figuring out 'what' to do rather than being frustrated by the 'how' - one can't ask for a better start than that IMO :-)

Now for a bit of the feedback:

1. It seems to me that you are writing at a pretty quick pace. This might be a remnant of your brush and modern calligraphy practice both of which depend on the fluidity of movement to a certain degree. Fluid movements are important in Copperplate too but one cannot let it affect the stroke shape or weight. I suspect the inconsistency you noted in the weight of the shade is mostly due to this. It will take a bit of practice to slow down just enough to have good control throughout the stroke.

I might be entirely wrong in my assumption here and you might actually be going too slow - so correct me if I'm wrong :-)

2. The width of the shaded strokes can be reigned in a bit. The 'i' in 'ill' is a good weight to shoot for. Also, go back and square-off the tops of the letters after completing either the letter or the word (but before the ink dries). This will make your script looks much more polished.

There are only 2 items in your first feedback but these are important. You might feel a bit off when adjusting the speed (up or down) and managing the weight of the letters. Stay with it though and you will soon reap the rewards.

I will be looking forward to your 2nd attempt at this lesson.

- Salman

ps - it makes my job easier if you let the ink dry before taking a picture :-)

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

Copperplate Tutorial :: Toronto Pen Company

Offline Anjali N

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1
« Reply #44 on: October 03, 2016, 01:12:21 AM »
Thanks so much for the feedback, Salman! I truly appreciate it! I will practice and be back with a re-attempt  :)