Author Topic: At what speed do you write?  (Read 4873 times)

Offline Estefa

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Re: At what speed do you write?
« Reply #15 on: November 16, 2015, 10:30:11 AM »
I wrote the sentence also in a bit more than a minute (in Spencerian – it would take much longer in Copperplate!). I guess I am more on the slow end. I write quite fast in my normal handwriting, and I have no reason to 'retrain' it, as it works for me and  like it. But when I try a specific hand like Spencerian to write faster, my normal handwriting just takes over.

I used to write a lot by hand (with a fountain pen and pencil mostly), even before I started calligraphy.
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Offline AAAndrew

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Re: At what speed do you write?
« Reply #16 on: November 16, 2015, 11:34:19 AM »
Ok, so I decided to try this out in several different ways. Since I'm not a calligrapher, but instead use pointed dip pens for writing (mainly) letters, I am probably faster than those trying to make it look nice. I wanted to see what difference it actually makes when I write faster, and with different pens.

- The first line is my normal writing speed when writing a letter. 32 seconds
- The second was trying to be more careful. Doesn't seem like a huge improvement considering it's nearly double the time. (more limitations in my skill than anything)
- Third fourth and fifth lines were trying to push myself to write faster. The quality does go down a bit, but not a huge amount. The type of "A" does make a difference.
- Lines six and seven (15 and 13 seconds) were written with a stub nib (#314 Relief) instead of a pointed nib. Since you're not taking any time to flex, it does go faster. They're also smoother, especially on this more textured and absorbent paper.
- Line 8 and 9 (in blue) are written with an extra-fine fountain pen. Line 8 is how I used to write all the time until just over a year ago when I started to re-learn cursive. And Line 9, the last line, is my poor cursive when writing as quickly as I can.

This all can vary a great degree as well if I am warmed up, and if my hand is tired. By the 5th page or so of a letter my writing really starts to deteriorate. I usually try to pace myself and write in shifts. If I'm writing a long letter and don't really care that much about how it looks, I'll use a stub nib, like an Esterbrook #442 Jackson Stub or #14 Relief, but only on certain paper. They really do make it easier, but it doesn't look quite as nice as a pointed nib.

This was a fun experiment. Now, if I actually wanted it to look good, ... maybe 2 years?
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Offline Scarlet Blue

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Re: At what speed do you write?
« Reply #17 on: November 16, 2015, 12:13:28 PM »
I think you should always aim for anything between 18 and 25 Andrew  :)

Offline Scarlet Blue

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Re: At what speed do you write?
« Reply #18 on: November 16, 2015, 12:23:08 PM »
I just timed myself.... with my normal handwriting - 10 seconds.... and with a sloppy copperplate, 2 minutes!!! Good heavens...!! It didn't feel that long, maybe because I was enjoying myself.

Offline garyn

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Re: At what speed do you write?
« Reply #19 on: November 18, 2015, 06:22:11 PM »
I found that depending on what I write, and the letters, I need to keep a certain minimum speed to the stroke, or it ceases to be stoke and becomes a drawing.  And when it becomes a drawing, I wobble.  For me, not all letters are the same, and most letters are written with different stroke speeds for different parts of the letter.

My current speed compared to Andrew's fountain pen speed is about 16-20 seconds.
Gary

Offline SunnyMoni

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Re: At what speed do you write?
« Reply #20 on: November 19, 2015, 10:44:56 PM »
I just used this as a bit of practice. I printed out some guidelines and went filled the page. I wrote out the sentence at my regular speed a couple times and then attempted to go faster and faster. The last line I went back to focusing on the actual letters. There definitely is a difference based on speed.

For fun I went on to write the sentence in my fastest normal handwriting (note-taking handwriting), my quick cursive, my neat printing, and all caps (I use this in product design). Those times ranged from 8 seconds for my note-taking handwriting to 14s for my call caps.

What I find really interesting is that when I started the exercise I felt like my regular speed was at a fairly good speed, not fast but maybe comparable to my neat printing speed. Yet my all caps writing felt incredibly slow compared to the copperplate. Funny how the pen and method of writing can change that. Maybe it has to do with the pace and balance of writing. I feel that when I write anything in copperplate there is a nice pace to it but when I write in all caps it's very disjointed.
Monica