Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4

[Anjali N]

Hi Salman, I am trying out a new ink and a new nib & experimenting with less shading. Do you see an improvement in width consistency? (Apologies for the lack of centering and the shaky f's). Also, any tips on squaring the tops / bottoms of letters? I feel like it still looks blobby but I'm unsure of how to improve it (it always seems like I'm getting the paper too wet from the ink). Thanks!

[Salman Khattak]

@sarthina - this is good work! Are you feeling more comfortable with the 's' now?

Let's give the assigned words a try now. I think you will get it easily at this point.

- Salman

[Salman Khattak]

@Anjali N

Wow - what a difference from your last submission. Whatever you are doing is definitely working :-)

You have done it! You are ready to move on to the majuscules when I get the time to put the lessons up.

- Salman

[sarthina]

Thanks for the feedback, @SMK .
You mean writing the words at the beginning of this group or the sentence??

[Salman Khattak]

I meant the words but you can do the sentence too if you feel like it. I think you are ready to take it on.

S.

[Anjali N]

Thanks, Salman!! Appreciate your guidance and patience! As much as I love the feel of the 66EF nib, I couldn't control it well, so will stick with the nib I switched to. Looking forward to continuing on with the majuscles when you post them!

[sarthina]

Hi.
Well, not much to say, just practicing... Of course there are some letters gone wrong, but ...up from a plane they look good  .

[Salman Khattak]

Very nicely done @sarthina - you have made it through the minuscules.

The secondary shade on the looped descenders of the 'y' and 'g' should be very slight - no more than a hint. Other than that, you have produced a well executed script that you should be proud of.

Do keep up the practice. It helps to practice any elements you find slipping about once every 2 weeks and your script will remain sharp.

- Salman

[sarthina]

Thank you very much, Salman. Both for your kind words and, especially, for your patience and helpful feedback.
Of course, I'll keep practicing and I think I'll give it another try with the sentence. I'm considering posting it to my previous post on Kind critique section if you don't mind. And I am proud (kinda  ) but it is only lately that I discovered how much work, time, determination, attention and systematic practice it takes to get around here (which is not far, I know, but "every thousand miles starts with the first step").
Looking forward to majuscules...

[Salman Khattak]

You are most welcome @sarthina - I am glad and thankful that these lessons are useful to so many people. I have limited time available for feedback but I try to get back to it at least once a week - I hope that is not too frustrating.

- Salman

[Chetwyn Clarke]

Hey Salman!

I'll continue to work on the things you mentioned in Group 3.  So far this group has been challenging, with the f being the most so.  Here's what I have so far.  For the f's, I like the second underlined one; the one with the question mark appears to have a loop that is too big. I also like the f in "from".  For the r's: I think those are coming along; some of the "compound" strokes are a bit too thin, but I'll keep working at them.

[Salman Khattak]

@Chetwyn Clarke

The 'f' is a challenging letter but I am sure you will get it quickly with your good sense of proportion. The ascender loop is exactly like the descender loop of the 'y' but upside down - so turn the paper upside down to double check. Also, the shaded stroke of the 'f' should be a bit more wedge like - it should start expanding just below the 1st ascender line and achieve full width not before the waist line.

The 'r' doesn't have such a pronounced shoulder. The hairline down from the 'blob' joins what looks like the last 2/3rds of the compound stroke.

Keep practicing those 'o's.

- Salman

[Chetwyn Clarke]

@SMK   It's been a rough couple weeks, and nowhere near as much practice as I would have liked.  Getting back around to it over the last 2 days, and this was today's practice.  I think the f's are coming along, but work to be done on the r's and s's.  Getting the blob on top correct, and that upside-down c will be my work for the next week.

- Chet

[Salman Khattak]

@Chetwyn Clarke

The 'f's are indeed coming along nicely. The 'r' looks good too. The 's' needs some work like you have mentioned. Note that the max shade of the 'c' is just slightly lower than the mid-point of the stroke so when we turn it upside down, the weight will be on the higher side of the mid point - your 's's have the weight (i.e. max shade) on the lower side. The shade should be pretty much gone by the time you reach the base line. Turn the paper around and see if the top of the 'c' looks good.

- Salman

[ash0kgiri]

Do you see an improvement...

This is superb progress Anjali. Waiting to see your Majuscules