Request for Critique of engrossers script in copperplate.

[Tanvir Ahmed]

Three moons have come and gone since I have started to practice with some regularity.  Here I am after about three months.  The areas to improve are many.  downshade of "g" of mourning is not aligned correctly and the loop too thick.  Left shade of capital D is wavy and heavy.  Lower loop of compound curve in B is too flat.  Compound curve of J in jasmine is too straight.  These are the big ones.  Other mistakes are shades coming too low on lowercase and m and n has branching problems.  Capital P in pepper is not as good as the first P and stem of first lowercase p is too thin.  Top cut of t in salt is no good.  Other than few places, slant appear to be OK.  If you don't know what Brownian motion is, this practice sheet is a good exemplar of it or you can google it.

I am using Zanerian Manual for instruction.

Any suggestions to improve will be welcomed.

X height: 5mm
Slant: 52 degrees.
Pen:  Modern Gillott's 303 (current production)
Ink:  Tom Norton's Walnut.
Holder:  PIA Hourglass.


Thank you.
Tanvir

[Salman Khattak]

Wow. This is awesome work for someone who is just 3 months in. You have my respect Tanvir.

You have done a great job of critiquing yourself. The ability to analyse your work critically is both a blessing and a curse. The fact that you can see what needs to be improved means you have a well developed 'eye'. This can be a curse in that you only look at the mistakes and not matter how good you get, you don't really see the progress. You should date and keep your practice sheets. It feels good to bring them out from time to time and compare them with your current work.

So, what to do now that you have identified areas that need improvement. The clue is in your critique. You noticed that one of your P's is not as good as the other. Clearly, you do have the ability to draw a good P, so the next step is to work on being able to do that with consistency. The method I learned from my mentor works best for me (and keeps me from getting bored) is to choose one thing for a particular practice session of 15-20 minutes e.g. the capital 'P'. Now write it 5 times in a row - and stop. Go back and look at each one and place a tick mark against the best one(s). Now try to replicate/improve the best one 5 more times. Repeat. You will quickly develop the ability to consistently draw a letter this way. Always take a break after 15-20 minutes. Tiny muscles in our hands get tired without us realizing it - they recover quickly but do need a bit of rest.

Pretty soon you will be able to see the letter on the page before you write it.

- Salman

ps. Many would be happy with the level you have achieved btw. Please do keep practising. You have real ability.

[Tanvir Ahmed]

Salman, thank you for your kind remarks.  This is the second attempt at calligraphy.  First time I got into was in 2009 but I practiced less than 4 or 5 weeks total even if that much.  Did not even finish the lowercase alphabet.  I got seduced by the nibs and nibs I bought alright.  At one point I have 150-160 gross of Esterbrook Art and Drafting nibs plus Spencerian 1 and Gillotts and what not.  Later I sold pretty much all save few boxes just in case I come back to it again.  I put the pens away and did not come back to them until now (7 years later).  Last Christmas I got interested in calligraphy and came across one of your thread and this particular page and practice sheet actually nudged me to do concentrated practice. 

I have the above page bookmarked.

Thank you.
Tanvir

[Erica McPhee]

Absolutely beautiful Tanvir. I have no constructive feedback as you clearly have established a good method of practice. Very, very nice! 

[NikkiB]

Gah, 3 months!!  Amazing progress! Well done Tanvir

[Nickkih]

Holy WOW that's amazing progress!!!! Bravo...

[handmadeletters]

Wow, Tanvir, applause for you! Very fine work thus far.

I agree with others here that you do a good job with self-critique. I never used to do that myself until I took a Spencerian course and we were taught to critique our homework in the last 2 sessions. It's a very useful skill to have, especially when learning on your own.

I have a similar issue of controlling shades on downstrokes, but that will come with time. You're aware of it, and will work towards improvement. Overall, you seem to have very consistent control on your shades. Some of the letters seem crowded, so working on rhythm drills might help there.

A fun thing to do would be to date this sheet. Carry on with your progress, and then check back in 3-6 months, and write the same words. It'll help you see where you still need improvement and where you've resolved issues.

Hope that helps! I think you're definitely ready for the FF exchanges.
Janice

[Elisabeth_M]

I'm not a pointed pen person, so I don't have much to say in the way of critique but if I were getting married, I'd definitely be willing to hire you to write my place cards.  Also, kudos on including brownian motion in your practice list. 

[Tanvir Ahmed]

I'm not a pointed pen person, so I don't have much to say in the way of critique but if I were getting married, I'd definitely be willing to hire you to write my place cards.

Thank you for kind comments.  My wife like to entertain and in return we get invited quite a bit.  My goal is to be able to write decent looking thank you notes to the people who invite us.

Also, kudos on including brownian motion in your practice list. 

That is what I sometimes feel that point of my pen is doing  .  The desire does not quite translate to the movement of the nib.

Thank you.
Tanvir

[evjo]

I had to look up brownian motion.  I think that describes the type of brain I have - thoughts pin-balling all around without seeming to have any order.  haha.

I take lots of random walks . . .