Bounce Scripts- Help!

[Elizgadus59]

Hi, I have a question. I've been a calligrapher for over 30 years .... Now there are styles ( fonts ) that look one point above scribble, What's up with this... ok Creativity... whatever.... ANYWHO, Im wondering if there is a good resource or persons who can help me through my dilemma of learning this new form of , gag, choke, .... calligraphy. It is a very popular text among the young brides of today.

The thing I think is my problem is that Ive been writing in historical styles for so long, I can't loosen up....  Sending along a couple of examples of my Bounce font ( or interpretation there of...) Would really love to embrace the style...

thanks in advance,
Creatively, Elizabeth

[karielizabethdesign]

Elizabeth,

I'm not sure if you have ever heard of The Postman's Knock, but that is a GREAT website (which I learned calligraphy from) that have a lot of resources for "modern" calligraphy.  Lindsey, the creator of the blog, provides a lot of great tips for anyone from beginners to more advanced calligraphers.  Definitely check it out!  Hope that helps

[Elizgadus59]

Thanks for the tip I will definitely check it out!
Eliz.

[AndyT]

Im wondering if there is a good resource or persons who can help me through my dilemma of learning this new form of , gag, choke, .... calligraphy.

Wonderful!   

Anyway ... as usual @schin can probably help, with the video below.  What's good about this is that she's discussing approaches to adding "bounce" rather than offering up something to copy.  You've obviously put in the groundwork with (ahem) proper calligraphy - to my way of thinking that gives you every right to fold, spindle and mutilate it as you see fit, but you could probably do with some encouragement.

Well, have fun, and please do let us see the results.

[Erica McPhee]

Bouncing takes a bit of practice (like everything else we do). But once you develop a rhythm, it gets easier. While I don't explain in detail how to bounce, you may find some tips in these tutorials.

Contemporary/Modern Calligraphy How To

Modern Calligraphy Exemplar

[JanisTX]

I know that "modern calligraphy" is hot, hot, hot.  However, it looks like silly, teenage girl handwriting to me.  (Apologies to teenage girls!)  I just can't stand it!  I know that young brides like it, but when asked to do it, I just pass.  I guess that I'm just old school!  I like formal, traditional scripts & have no interest in learning or executing "modern calligraphy".  If I'm going to make something up, I'd rather make something up that is unique & not based upon a computer font!

Just my opinion!  And, with respect to those of you who like "modern calligraphy"!

Janis

[Erica McPhee]

Hi Janis,
I understand what you are saying. I am actually tiring of seeing the "modern" scripts all over the place. Much of it does not even look like calligraphy to me anymore. However, it's a bit backwards - the computer fonts are based on handwritten scripts, not the other way around (in the majority of cases). All of the new modern calligraphy fonts are made from people's own hand writing. And there are gobs of them.

But this is a different topic altogether from what the OP asked so if you would like to continue the discussion, please start a new topic. Thanks! 

[tiffany.c.a]

I took a modern calligraphy class with Kathy Milici (her Modern Storybook class). She teaches that letters can bounce, but that some part of each letter needs to touch the "midline" so that it looks fun but stays grounded. (Imagine: the space between the baseline and waistline is divided by a midline.)
Maybe you can take a class with her one day, if you haven't, or with some other knowledgeable calligrapher.
There is also the book Modern Calligraphy by Molly Suber Thorpe.

[JERRY TRESSER]

What you may want to consider is rather than concentrate on a bounce, slightly enlarge a letter or two in the word, but doing it discreetly.   The letter E as well as the W, and depending on how you write the A or an S  can be made a bit larger, certainly enough to show the difference in size next to its partner letter. Sorry i dont have any examples right now, but if you email me i can create some examples.  Just as a point of  information. I do not do any pointed pen work, but i have an unusual nice Italic and it is there that i take liberties.  What you dont want to do is make it so obvious that it becomes unsightly when writing. Letters need not be in a roller coaster format.

Kindly get back to me if you can. JERRY

[Elisabeth_M]

@Elizgadus59 I once had someone ask me if I could write out a few place cards.  She showed me a photo of something that she liked, a modern pointed pen calligraphy style.  Not having done such a script before, and not sure if I could pull it off, I asked her what she liked about the example, was it the bounce was it the shape of the letters, the flourishing?  It turned out that what she really liked were the long, trailing flourishes on things like the cross-bar for the t or at the end of the word.  In fact, she wasn't all that interested in the bounciness of it.

With that in mind, and assuming you haven't just spent months perfecting a bouncing script, perhaps you could ask some of the brides what they like about the modern calligraphy styles and take one or two elements that you don't mind too much and adding them to your more traditional styles?  I know that, in business, you sometimes have to cater to the client's wishes even if it strongly goes against your personal tastes.  However, if brides are really all over the modern calligraphy and are going to want it a lot, I hate to think of you spending a lot of your time addressing envelopes and writing place cards in a style you really hate. 

I also wonder if the appeal for modern calligraphy is that it tends to look more casual and therefore more like real handwriting.  I wonder if the reason that traditional calligraphy is less appealing is because there are so many font styles out there that reproduce traditional calligraphic styles and brides specifically want something that looks hand done and not printed?

[Scarlet Blue]

@Erica McPhee

And there are gobs of them. I am going to steal this phrase and make it my own..... 

I also believe that if I don't love a script then it's best left alone....

[Elizgadus59]

i kind of like the Bouncy Scripts but I think I have developed one that I can use now. But, If I find a font that I know is well liked and I simply cant put a pen to it , it becomes a challenge. Im not suggesting writing it on every envelope I do , but I think the challenge , helps me to grow as an Artist and a calligrapher..... that' being said.... that doesn't mean that Im good at it....lol.

[JanisTX]

@Elizagadus59 :I forgot to mention that I took a class with Kathy Millici & she teaches what she calls, "Modern Storybook Script".  I went to the weekend workshop because she was also teaching a class on monograms, which I wanted to learn about.  I don't care for the lettering style of the "Modern Storybook Script", but it's exactly what you want to learn!  She's on Facebook & she puts her teaching schedule on there, so you might be able to catch a workshop if you're in the US!

Janis