Hi,
@Chessie You have excellent advice from
@TeresaS and
@Erica McPhee -- There is no one true perfect way in any calligraphic script; there are only (and have ever only been) many variations with respect to purpose and pleasure. And thank goodness for that, or my already difficult paleography job differentiating the work of long-dead utterly self-effacing medieval scribes would be even more ridiculous.
Here are a few practical notes about broad edge calligraphy (which is mostly what I do along with paleography and some painting). I prefer Mitchell nibs to the Brause ones, and I avoid the clip-on reservoirs. If you're having trouble getting the ink started, give the nib a little side to side wiggle on the paper to get it going. I also really like Parallel pens. I think 32# HP premium paper can sometimes get overwhelmed by the amount of ink broad edge nibs lay down, especially if you're using sumi (liquid or ink sticks). Walnut ink is my go-to for drafting layout on 32#HP, but if I'm going to be working on letterforms, I use Rhodia dot or graph paper for better ink control; 90lb watercolor paper if I really need to be serious about control during practice sessions (and even the cheap versions of 90lb watercolor paper are good enough). I usually use walnut ink for practice & layout, because it's less expensive (especially the crystals, which also travel well), and it's gentler on metal nibs than sumi, which can be kind of corrosive if it's lacquered.
I'm flagging the rest of this for pedantry, in case you just want to stop reading now, and just soak in Teresa & Erica's terrific advice to follow your heart, your eyes, and your goals for using the script. Like seriously - there is no calligraphy police who are going to take you to calligraphy jail for not following a particular exemplar rigorously enough, except with regard to getting certified by IAMPETH or some such, as TeresaS says. But if you're just starting to explore the whole broad edge dip pen experience, you're probably a little ways from that - and really, if you get good at using the tools, you'll be able to learn whatever script you like to whatever exactitude time and practice permit.
I'm also tagging
@Zivio - because pedantry! (Hello, Friend!)
If you really want to get to the foundations of Foundational, you could check out Edward Johnston's own book,
Writing & Illuminating & Lettering (1906):
https://archive.org/details/writingilluminat00johnrich/mode/2up, where he publishes the first exemplar of what would come to be called "Foundational".
If you're using David Harris's
Calligrapher's Bible, you're seeing Harris's version of Johnston's z on p.249 of
W&I&L. Here Johnston shows how Foundational, which he calls "slanted pen" is devised from Roman and half-uncial forms. When he starts calling it "Foundational" he references Caroline minuscule from a 10th-century English exemplar, the Ramsey Psalter (
https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/ramsey-psalter)
Johnston is remembered for his contributions to typeface design as well as calligraphy, and he was hugely influential -- he designed the iconic modern, san serif font of the London Underground! his students founded the venerable Society of Scribes and Illuminators! But if even the actual inventor of Foundational changed his mind about how it should look, as he adapted medieval exemplars for modern usage, I don't see that we need to treat even the great Sheila Waters's exemplars as infallible gospel, whether or not we agree with her very austere aesthetic. /pedantry
You do you! Paleographers 500 years from now will be really happy about it.
--yours truly, K