Author Topic: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4  (Read 29824 times)

Offline sarthina

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #30 on: January 14, 2017, 04:14:55 PM »
Back again. I did practice on specific letters and I'll post my practice words though I don't feel like I'm ...proficient or something. I'll keep practice anyway.
P.S. Don't mind the first 'extr?me' - it's crap. Hope it doesn't injure anyone's eyes.
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Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #31 on: January 15, 2017, 10:38:42 PM »
@sarthina - I know sometimes it feels like the progress has plateaued and further practice is not producing any results but stick with it.

I can see the slant of the 'o' has improved a lot. The 'e's are falling over a bit tubt the 'o' in 'socks' is spot on, as is the 'c' next to it. the 's' is also nice in that the upside down 'c' is more like a 'c' than before. The 'x' still needs more work but if you can get the 's' this close, the ''x cannot be that far behind :-)

- Salman
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Offline sarthina

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #32 on: January 21, 2017, 12:58:01 AM »
The day of the fox  ;)
...coz this is what I've been practicing lately. Looking forward to some feedback. Have a nice weekend everyone.
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Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #33 on: January 22, 2017, 04:51:17 PM »
@sarthina - lovely work once again. I really like the shape of the counter on the 'f' - very nice. The 'o' has much better slant now and the 'x's look good too.

The 's' can use a bit more work though. The very slight left movement at the top of the shaded curve works with the non-blob 's' like you have done on the very last one. Continue to use that if you are more comfortable with it. The upside down 's' shape of the blob isn't quite there yet on the regular 's'.

Continue practicing the 's' with the rest of the letters in this group now that you have the 'o' figured out. Use 's', 'e' and 'c' the most just to lock in the structure of the 'o'.

I will be looking forward to the next update.

- 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 4
« Reply #34 on: January 23, 2017, 11:49:53 PM »
Hi Salman, I'm back! :)

Attached is a new attempt. Not perfect (something really strange going on with slant and join with the i-n of "going," badly shaped d in "standing," etc). But hopefully an improvement over my last attempt.

Look forward to your feedback.  Thanks!

ash0kgiri

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #35 on: January 24, 2017, 02:10:44 PM »
Hi Anjali,

Looks good. I feel the shade is a bit thicker for the 'x' height. For detailed comments over to Salman.

-Ashok

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #36 on: January 24, 2017, 03:35:03 PM »
@Anjali N - this is good work Anjali and an improvement over the last attempt.

A couple of things that jumps out at me are:

1. Your shades are not consistent. The two 'f's on the fist line both have different weights of the shade. The 'n' in 'not' is thicker than the 't'. The 'g' s all have lighter shades than the rest of the lettering.

2. The shade of the 'f' should start just below the 1st ascender line. Yours start after the waist line - this makes the 'f' look much weaker than the letters around it.

3. The 'i-n' join you refer to suffers from the taper in the 'i'. You will see it if you compare this to the 'i-n' join in 'standing'.

4. Do not forget to square the tops of the letters so they are nice and crisp.

If you notice, none of the above has to do with the structure of the lettering. This should be good news. We are now refining your script and these things are what differentiates the merely 'ok' from the 'really good'. You have the ability - just need a little refinement of the eye.

As for the weight of the stroke that Ashok mentioned, I generally find that lighter shades look more elegant but there is work by Lupfer with pretty heavy shading that is just stunning. Play with the different weights of shade to see what you like best.

- 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 4
« Reply #37 on: January 24, 2017, 03:44:52 PM »
Thank you, Ashok and Salman!  As always, I appreciate the feedback.  I will keep practicing, with a particular focus on the items that were mentioned.

Regarding weight, do you think I would be better served by a different nib (in addition the more consistency in my strokes)?  Or do you think it has nothing to do with nib & it's 100% consistency?  What I'm trying to say is that I'm using an EF66 and wondering if I might be able to achieve consistency more easily if I were to switch to a less flexible nib?

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #38 on: January 24, 2017, 03:58:56 PM »
It is indeed possible that you will get better control with a different nib. Each nib has its own character and some will work better for you than others. FWIW - I find the EF-66 a bit hard to control too although I used it for a large part of my early learning practice. The Gillott 303, arguably a more difficult to control nib, works much better for me.

I am of the opinion that one should master one nib and use it for everything. The 303 works very well in this regard as it can produce lettering as large as 3/8th of an inch and is precise enough to be used for small lettering. I think this has much to do with the snap-back that I quite like.

The Hunt 101 can produce much larger shades and is still quite usable for smaller lettering but feels a bit too soft in the snap-back department for my liking. It is a superb nib though - I used it for all the examples in these lessons.

These two are the nibs I use most. I have tried one Musselman's perfection nib (thanks to a very generous friend) and I would love nothing more than to get a lifetime supply of it but sadly that is well beyond the reach of my tattered wallet even if the nibs were to become available :-)

- 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 4
« Reply #39 on: January 24, 2017, 05:20:53 PM »
@SMK Thanks, Salman!  I do have a Hunt 101 in my collection, so will give that a try & will get my hands on a 303, as well.  The flange on my current pen holder is only fitted for the EF66, but I gave my husband a strong hint that I wanted an Hourglass universal pen holder for my upcoming birthday (strong hint = email with the subject line "birthday" and a link to the holder).   ;D

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #40 on: January 24, 2017, 05:58:57 PM »
Good one Anjali - I am sure your husband very much appreciates the 'hint' :-)

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

Copperplate Tutorial :: Toronto Pen Company

Offline sarthina

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #41 on: January 26, 2017, 05:19:20 PM »
It is killing me!!! The "s" minuscule. And the "x". Sometimes I feel like I GOT it, sometimes my hand (and nib and ink and paper) just doesn't want to listen to my brain. And I get frustrated. And if I see that 2 or 3 rows of practice just don't look/feel right, I decide to leave it for some other time. I looked over your example many times, draw the letters by pencil, measured them, traced over them with nib w/o ink... And, yes, asking myself if I'm just stupid?! :o
On the brighter side of things  :D, I found a word (that's me discovering the wheel again  8) ) that is short and it has both "s" and "x" in it and which pleases all of us - if it's not only on the paper 8).  You'll figure it out for sure. Oh, yes, and I hope I'm not stepping on eggs here.
Take a look here: @sarthina_scribit

Offline Salman Khattak

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #42 on: January 26, 2017, 08:35:17 PM »
@sarthina - you have a good 's' in the first 'socks' and 'stork' on the first line. The others are not bad either but these are the better ones. The 'x's are nicely done so I would say you have that covered. I especially like the 'y' in xylo - that is one beautifully done letter.

A bit of a break might do you good. Also, I think you are being a tad too hard on yourself. You write a very nicely balanced and formed script.

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

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Offline brd4790

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #43 on: January 26, 2017, 08:49:05 PM »
Sarthina, look at your practice sheet you posted in October http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=5070.15
You've made so much progress! great job! Maybe Salman is right that a short break will do you some good - especially if you practice every day... after like 3 days of practice I get angry  >:(
Kindest Regards,
Brad

Offline sarthina

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Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4
« Reply #44 on: January 29, 2017, 03:38:01 AM »
Thanks, Brad, for your appreciation. Actually, I too get angry when my hand doesn't obey so I leave the nib aside and do something else (in fact, lately, this "something else" means I am flirting with broad edge calligraphy  ::) ). But there are moments when frustration escalates no matter what I do. I should have started this beautiful art when younger....
Latest update below...
Take a look here: @sarthina_scribit