Author Topic: My Compendium of Lettering Styles  (Read 62475 times)

Offline Simone Lettering

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #30 on: July 18, 2017, 03:44:39 AM »
This gives such a great over iew  :D

Thank you very, very much for making this overview @Ken Fraser !!

Offline JanisTX

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #31 on: July 18, 2017, 07:40:27 AM »
@Ken Fraser :  Brilliant, as always!  THANK YOU!!

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Offline Elisabeth_M

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #32 on: July 18, 2017, 08:44:17 AM »
ITAIAN HAND 18th century

This is one that I have tried out a little bit but I'm not so fond of the filled in circles on the ends of some of the capitals.  But, when I try leaving them off, the letter looks unfinished somehow, like that end is just sort of dangling in space.  I haven't figured out a satisfactory solution to that, so I have put this script far down on my list of ones to master in my lifetime (it's a long list, I'm not sure I'll ever finish it).
Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.  --Carl Sagan

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Offline AndyT

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #33 on: July 18, 2017, 02:52:19 PM »
Splendid, Ken.  I think there are still some to come - court hand, for instance?

Offline LAscripted

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #34 on: July 18, 2017, 04:27:54 PM »
This is so amazing Ken, thank you for sharing this!

What great inspiration. I am new to the calligraphy world and it is amazing to see such beautiful examples of so many hands.

Lauri

Offline Ken Fraser

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #35 on: July 18, 2017, 04:34:59 PM »
ENGLISH COURT HAND 17th Century

"English Court-Hand writing was used by the official courts of the sovereign, but later became used by professionals such as lawyers and clerks. By the middle of the 17th century the writing had become so stylized that it was primarily being used for formal documentation." - Plymouth City Council.

This style of writing dating from 1585-95, is beautiful to look at, but virtually useless in a practical sense as it is almost indecipherable to modern eyes. The first line of this example is my name. I've then written out the complete alphabet, both minuscules and majuscules. It's worth noting that there are 10 letters with identical upper and lower case forms. It is relatively simple to write with its strong Blackletter influence but there are a couple of tapered downstrokes which require a bit of nib manipulation. The edged nib is turned gradually anti-clockwise narrowing to a point.


« Last Edit: July 18, 2017, 04:39:40 PM by Ken Fraser »

Offline Ken Fraser

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #36 on: July 18, 2017, 04:39:05 PM »
Splendid, Ken.  I think there are still some to come - court hand, for instance?
Thanks for the reminder - I'd forgotten that one!

Offline cejohnson

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #37 on: July 19, 2017, 11:23:53 AM »
Ken - thank you so much for all your hard work and sharing your wealth of knowledge. I never tire of looking at your inspirational works.

With respect,
Catherine
"The expert at anything was once a beginner." - Helen Hayes

Offline Elisabeth_M

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #38 on: July 19, 2017, 01:28:25 PM »
ENGLISH COURT HAND 17th Century
"English Court-Hand writing was used by the official courts of the sovereign, but later became used by professionals such as lawyers and clerks. By the middle of the 17th century the writing had become so stylized that it was primarily being used for formal documentation." - Plymouth City Council.

I love court hand.  It's like someone decided to take a standard alphabet and make it as funky and stylized as possible.  Or they decided it would be infinitely better if the alphabet looked kinda like runes.
Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.  --Carl Sagan

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Offline Ken Fraser

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #39 on: July 20, 2017, 07:09:10 AM »
RUSTIC CAPITALS

« Last Edit: July 20, 2017, 07:59:15 AM by Ken Fraser »

Offline Elisabeth_M

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #40 on: July 20, 2017, 10:52:40 AM »
RUSTIC CAPITALS

Since Rustic Capitals are originally and ancient Latin script, the letters J, K, and U wouldn't have original sources, right?  So, for this exemplar, are those letters your interpretations of what they would look like or did you reference another exemplar?  Also, my understanding is that, in cases such as these, the non-canonical letters would have been created using strokes seen in the other letters and it does look like that was the case here.  It seemed like a fun exercise to see if I could figure out how the letters were created, so I spent some time looking at them.

After studying the script, I would say that the non-canonical letters were created in the following way:

1.  J:  The downstroke and top cross bar appear to be what you would get if you took the downstrokes of E, F, and T, plus the bottom cross bar and turned them upside down.  The bottom curve looks the same as the bottom curve on S, B, and D, which makes sense if you compare S, B, D, and J look in a standard printed font.

2.  K:  The left half (the downstroke) is identical to I, while the right half looks like what you would get if you took the X and cut it in half down the center vertical axis.

3.  U:  This is a tricky one.  It looks a lot like a miniscule italic v to me (but done large).  The left side looks just like the V, but I'm having trouble with the inspiration for the right side.  It might be the same as part of the right side of the O but I would need to print it out and lay them over each other on a light box to know for sure.  Mostly, it looks like a softened version of V, which I suppose U is. 

So, @Ken Fraser am I correct in my interpretation (if you used a reference for those letters, then you wouldn't be able to say for sure of course, but you could say if you agreed with me or not)?
Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.  --Carl Sagan

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Offline AndyT

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #41 on: July 20, 2017, 11:31:00 AM »
K (the Greeks' kappa) predates the Romans and was used in their early inscriptions until they'd figured out a way to phase it out.  Can't say I've ever seen a rustic example from the classical period, however.  Incidentally, this pdf might be of interest.

Offline Ken Fraser

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #42 on: July 20, 2017, 05:14:45 PM »
So, @Ken Fraser am I correct in my interpretation (if you used a reference for those letters, then you wouldn't be able to say for sure of course, but you could say if you agreed with me or not)?

Your analysis of how this was written is pretty accurate. There is nothing here that is original. I took my examples from early historic versions with the exception of the letters which didn't exist then. These are taken from various examples (including the u) which I've seen over the years. I gradually built up an alphabet from these sources and there is nothing here which is my own creation.
This alphabet is slow to write with constant nib manipulation with changes of angle. The occasional downstroke which tapers from narrow to wide can be written in one stroke whilst twisting the nib edge but this is difficult and I generally  take the easier way out and overlay a second short stroke at the foot.

Offline Ken Fraser

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #43 on: July 20, 2017, 05:56:35 PM »
Thanks for your interest, Andy  -   appreciated.  :D

Offline Ken Fraser

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Re: Compendium of Lettering Styles
« Reply #44 on: July 21, 2017, 05:17:22 PM »
SPENCERIAN & COPPERPLATE

The combination of Spencerian majuscules and Copperplate minuscules works very well IMO.
Combining the free-flowing flexibility of the Spencerian capitals with the austere elegance of the Copperplate minuscules creates an attractive alternative style, combining elements of both.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2017, 07:17:21 AM by Ken Fraser »