Be Kind! :)

[treehugger9]

So..
I started learning something like two weeks ago, following Erica's tutorial (thank youuu), I'm very shy but I surely need critiques..
I show you this poem by Emily Dickinson written with Nikko n°357 and watercolors, it's a present for a dear friend who loves this poem, I wrote it in italian so I also post here the english version in order to let you understand!

If I can stop one Heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one Life the Aching
Or cool one Pain
Or help one fainting Robin
Unto his Nest again
I shall not live in Vain

[Scarlet Blue]

You've got rhythm! Spacing looks good... The water colour paint may have been to watery, hence the blobs on the 'l'....? but overall : I like... and I like the colours.

[treehugger9]

You've got rhythm! Spacing looks good... The water colour paint may have been to watery, hence the blobs on the 'l'....? but overall : I like... and I like the colours.

oh! thank you very much!
Yes, I think it was too watery and I put too much ink on the nib, I hope I'll soon learn how to avoid blobs, they are big enemies!
I must admit I like to colours too, it tried to use colours according to the meaning and the words of the poem, so I chose red for words like "spezzarsi", which means breaking, and pink for words like "aiutare", which means to help, and so on.

[Linda Y.]

It's a really great start - you have the letter slant and spacing down quite well, and nice rhythm too, as Scarlet has said. I have not used Nikko 357, is that a flexible, pointed nib? I think with a more flexible nib, you will be able to do "thinner thins" and "thicker thicks," which will make the letterforms even more graceful.

Bravo!

[Starlee]

Two weeks? Seriously?! You are certainly off to an excellent start and show uber potential. I agree on the rhythm. It's great! All you need is more time and more practice. As you get more comfortable with the pen, you will improve drastically. Less shaky, more even slant, etc. Right now, there is just so much to learn! Tackle one thing at a time when you sit down to practice, and you will progress quite rapidly.

[Nickkih]

Your off to an excellent start, Nice job!But everyone here is right practice practice practice watch Erica's videos and practice some more - that my friend is the name of the game in calligraphy. What doesn't click with you now will later. You will think your not making any progress then BAM! You see that you got the o just right or whatever. I too love rhythm and spacing and I really like your m's and n's. 😊😊😊😊😊😊

[Erica McPhee]

I agree with what everyone has said. It has a nice soft, gentle feel to it. I like the variation in color - it gives it a nice lilting quality. Great job! 

[treehugger9]

It's a really great start - you have the letter slant and spacing down quite well, and nice rhythm too, as Scarlet has said. I have not used Nikko 357, is that a flexible, pointed nib? I think with a more flexible nib, you will be able to do "thinner thins" and "thicker thicks," which will make the letterforms even more graceful.

Bravo!

Mh, I think the Nikko 357 is not so flexible, I'd like to try some more flexible nibs, can you give me some advices?
I didn't choose the Nikko 357, my brother bought it to me in Japan (I asked for Nikko G and Nikko Zebra, but I remembered just "Nikko" and he chose two type of nib randomly).
Thank you so much!

Two weeks? Seriously?! You are certainly off to an excellent start and show uber potential. I agree on the rhythm. It's great! All you need is more time and more practice. As you get more comfortable with the pen, you will improve drastically. Less shaky, more even slant, etc. Right now, there is just so much to learn! Tackle one thing at a time when you sit down to practice, and you will progress quite rapidly.

Oh thanks! I'll do it, you said right, I have to become more comfortable with the pen. I'm using a straight pen, I bought Mitchell elbow nib but I didn't find it comfortable, I don't know if I should change to a oblique pen, since I have lots of problems with squaring the tops and bottoms and I really don't know if I'm holding right my straight pen..

Your off to an excellent start, Nice job!But everyone here is right practice practice practice watch Erica's videos and practice some more - that my friend is the name of the game in calligraphy. What doesn't click with you now will later. You will think your not making any progress then BAM! You see that you got the o just right or whatever. I too love rhythm and spacing and I really like your m's and n's. 😊😊😊😊😊😊

Thank you Nikkih!
In this moment I'm thinking I'm not making any progress.. I learnt the basic letterforms and I'm practicing but I don't know if there are progress! I hope you are right!

I agree with what everyone has said. It has a nice soft, gentle feel to it. I like the variation in color - it gives it a nice lilting quality. Great job! 

Erica! It's a pleasure to receive your comment since I'm learning just following your tutorials
Thank you!




Well, you all were very kind! Maybe too much?
Your replies made me happy, but don't be afraid of making critiques!

[AndyT]

No, people haven't been too kind - it's an attractive piece of writing and if I'd produced something like it after just two weeks, I'd be like a dog with two tails. 

Concerning progress, please don't worry about it.  In my case progress hasn't been linear, more a series of steps when suddenly something will come right, or a bit better at least.  Just keep at it!

[treehugger9]

No, people haven't been too kind - it's an attractive piece of writing and if I'd produced something like it after just two weeks, I'd be like a dog with two tails. 

Concerning progress, please don't worry about it.  In my case progress hasn't been linear, more a series of steps when suddenly something will come right, or a bit better at least.  Just keep at it!

Thank you! 

[Linda Y.]

Mh, I think the Nikko 357 is not so flexible, I'd like to try some more flexible nibs, can you give me some advices?
I didn't choose the Nikko 357, my brother bought it to me in Japan (I asked for Nikko G and Nikko Zebra, but I remembered just "Nikko" and he chose two type of nib randomly).
Thank you so much!

You were on the right track - both Nikko G and Zebra G are great for beginners. Are you able to get them where you are, instead of having it picked up in Japan?

[treehugger9]

Mh, I think the Nikko 357 is not so flexible, I'd like to try some more flexible nibs, can you give me some advices?
I didn't choose the Nikko 357, my brother bought it to me in Japan (I asked for Nikko G and Nikko Zebra, but I remembered just "Nikko" and he chose two type of nib randomly).
Thank you so much!

You were on the right track - both Nikko G and Zebra G are great for beginners. Are you able to get them where you are, instead of having it picked up in Japan?

I'm going to order some of them as soon as possible, unfortunately my wallet is always empty Ahaha

[treehugger9]

What do you think?

[Starlee]

You are coming along well, and have definitely achieved thick thicks....but they look choppy (especially in your round forms--see the small a). Sometimes letter shading can take the focus away from letter forms. To work more getting your letter shapes right, try writing with less thick-thin variation. I know it's not as much fun, but you can better see whether you're making the form correctly. Either that, or try writing your letters bigger...that always highlights areas needing improvement.

[treehugger9]

Thank you!
Do you think that practicing with pencil could help me? In this way I wouldn't have the "distraction" of the thin and thick..