Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1

[Vipul]

Yes, I can see what you mean about the wide stroke. However, not able to manage it smoothly. Having read a few tutorials, the information has got all jumbled up....
Trying to sort it out, hence just sticking to i. Will progress to other letters once I'm comfortable with what I make. Will practice and put up once am a little more confident about my work.

[Salman Khattak]

Stick with it. You will love the feeling when you get it. It is not that far - you are almost there.

BTW - which pen are you using for your practice?

- Salman

[Vipul]

ASA Athlete with a modified Kanwrite nib.

[prasad]

Hi @Vipul ,

The Kanwrite modified nib will not duplicate the dip nib.  Do you have the extra flex EEF nib from Sandeep?
Ask him for that in a Desire pen and that works a little better. You can also ask him for that in an untipped option.  Bit scratchier but works well. 

You are better off to get a dip nib and holder if you are serious about copperplate and this script.  The Kanwrite option is ok for modern calligraphy.

Send me a private message and I will work out holder, nibs and ink options for you.
happy writing
Prasad

[Vipul]

Hi @prasad
Thanks for the kind offer. I am using a Kanwrite nib, by Sandeep from Bangalore. I sent him the Athlete since I did not like the Desire plasticy feel.
I'm in Air Force and posted to Bagdogra, and getting stuff is difficult, to say the least. Even Amazon balks at delivery.
I do have a dip nib as well as an elbow nib, but somehow, the ink holding capacity of these are totally unlike the nibs I see on YouTube. I've also ordered an EEF modified nib, directly from Kanwrite, (Me Sanjay) which I should get in a few days. Let's see....
I'm using this pen + nib as of now, basically to train myself on the basics. Hopefully, as and when I'm able to produce consistent strokes, I'll graduate to dip pen.
Would like to know what paper and ink to use, to avoid feathering and blotting.
Thanks
Vipul.

[Sally Ellington]

I think I'm making progress.

[Salman Khattak]

@Sally Ellington

Nice work Sally. You have gotten the hang of it.

I think you are ready to move on to the next lesson but would like to see one more attempt containing all the letters in this group.

A couple of things to note while you are practicing for that:

1. Your turns at the base lines are fine as they are. However, if you bring the shaded stroke just a hair more to the right at the point it touches the base line it will balance the letters just beautifully. In the first 'i' stroke in the 'u' of 'just' you started your hairline a little to the right of where the shaded stroke ended - it would have been just perfect if the shaded stroke curved a bit to meet the hairline where you started it. I hope this makes sense - please feel free to let me know if I need to clarify.

2. The loop of the 'j' is a little unbalanced. The part of the loop on the right side below the first descender should be curved a bit more so the 'pointy' part moves a bit to the left. This will make the loop appear more balanced. At present it is more curved on the left (hairline) side.

Both of these are refinements but your script is at a hight enough level that I think these are well within your capability. I am sure these will pose no problem for you to execute.

I will be looking forward to your next practice sheet.

- Salman

[Sally Ellington]

Thank you for your feedback, Salman. When I put on my stronger reading glasses, I can see what you are talking about with the hairline in the "u". 
I will work on the j loop, also.
I am still struggling a bit with finding the right slant to keep my paper to make consistent strokes. I'm sure that will come with more practice to find what is most comfortable for me. I am making headway and am so appreciative of your time and attention.

[Vipul]

This is my first practice with an oblique pen. Many thanks to Prasad, for the wonderful gift of nibs and the holder...
The 303 is such a dream nib.... Guess it's going to take a long time to learn how to write properly with it.....
But here is my first trial, for all it's worth.

[Sally Ellington]

Not perfect, but I think I have included all the letters for lesson 1.

[Vipul]

Discovered the correct way to hold an oblique pen.... Thanks to YouTube.
This is far from perfect, but still much better than my first attempt, 1 post back

[Salman Khattak]

@Sally Ellington

Nice work Sally. With the exception of some minor adjustments, you have mastered the first group of letters. The rest of the groups will go much quicker now. Please move on to the next group.

A couple of things to keep in mind while you practice:

- The last stroke of the 'w' and the 'b' should curve back slightly after it goes above 1/2 x-height. This will let you draw the 'blob' inside the curve and bring it down to about 1/3 from the waist line. Your blobs are too small and therefore cause the connecting hairline to go almost horizontal.

- The dots of the 'i' and the 'j' (called tittles) should be the same width as the shaded stroke - so just a little bigger.

I will be looking forward to your work on the next group. Please do keep practicing the first group from time to time so you don't lose the touch.

- Salman

[Salman Khattak]

@Vipul

Your letter shapes are pretty good so you are off to a solid start.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

- Your letters are not consistently touching the baseline. I suspect this is because you are not drawing your stroke to the base line and then lifting for a beat before moving on with the exit hairline. I insist on this stop-start method to develop a habit of consistently hitting the baseline. You can go back to drawing them in one go once you are done with these lessons and you will notice the difference.

- After you draw a shaded stroke, go back and 'square the top' i.e. draw a tiny '7' at the top of the stroke and fill in any gap so the top part is horizontal and 'square'.

- The little 'blob' on the 'w' and the 'b' should be filled in. Yours have a gap in there. Also, it should be a bit smaller - about 1/3rd of the x-height from the waist line.

- The loop of the 'j' is too rounded at the bottom. The widest part of the lopp is at around the 1st descender line. The right side should start curving to the left as it reaches the 1st descender line.

I noticed that you are writing at different x-heights even on the same sheet - this can get confusing. I have provided pdf's of guidelines to be used for these lessons. They are drawn for 1/4 inch x-height. It will be easier for you to follow my instructions as they are written for the guidelines I provide.

- Salman

[Vipul]

Thanks for the feedback. This was after an Eureka moment of learning how to correctly hold an Oblique pen, so kindly gifted by Prasad. Just the second attempt with an oblique pen.

The sizes are different, because I'm having issues with asmaller letters size. Tried to make it smaller, but then the curve goes for a toss.

I had delibrately left the blob on w and b unfilled. Next time, will fill them up. My bad. Thought they were supposed to be unfilled, and that's the reason they extended till about half way. Was aware that they should be one third from top, but was finding it difficult to do so...

Guess I'll do another page today... This time with walnut ink.

[Vipul]

May I have the link to the guidelines again. I know I had found them earlier, but can't seem to locate them now. Thanks