Copperplate Minuscules - Group 3

[Salman Khattak]

@baodingball - this is well done. Your confidence in drawing the strokes is showing.

The few issues I can see can be attributed to the inconsistencies in your slant - something that was present in the previous work you uploaded as well. Have you tried turning the page so the slit in your nib is more in line with the slant lines. Also, move your paper every couple of words so you are always writing in the 'sweet spot'.

- look at the 'w' in 'town' on the last line as an example of slant issues. The last stroke goes too far to the right at an increased slant causing the letter to become unbalanced.

- the loops of the 'g' and the 'q' should be similar. In this example, the 'g' loops are going a bit too much to the left.

You have a pretty good handle on the shape of the letters. Better slant control will take care of the few spacing issues and other minor inconsistencies. Lets give this another try.

- Salman

[baodingball]

Appreciate the feedback. I will keep on working on that sweet spot and the slant alignment. I often lost focus on those things and sometimes i just could not control the way my hand moves.

[sarthina]

OK. First of all
Merry Christmas to all the forum members.

Next comes my work which is not my best but it is the latest. So here it goes.

[AngieD]

Hi!  It's been awhile since I could get some practice in with the holidays and everything.  I hope I am not too rusty.  I am so glad that you saw significant improvement with my last submission of the group 2 words.  I am excited to be working on group 3.  Thank you!!

Angie

[Salman Khattak]

@sarthina - what a lovely practice sheet. Thank you so much for the Christmas wishes.

I think I have mentioned it before but I just love the flow of your writing. The only (minor) comment I have for this worksheet is that your rounded letters (o, c, a)  tend to be shorter than the ones with a straight stroke (n, i, u etc.) causing an uneven x-height in some words. This is sometimes caused by going back to square the tops of the straight strokes.

Please move on to the next group of letters. I will be looking forward to seeing your work there.

- Salman

[Salman Khattak]

@AngieD - good to see you back at it Angie.

The good news is that you have maintained good slant for the 'q' and the 'g'. This is something most people struggle with so you are off to a good start with this group.

Some of the basics have gone a bit rusty though. The entry hairline should join a shaded stroke at about 1/2 x-height. Yours are joining in too low causing a sharp join.

The rounded letters are a bit too round. The curve of the letters comes from the outside of the shaded stroke, the inside is almost straight along the slant and has a rather sharp curve at the baseline where the right side of the letter starts. The width of the round part of the 'a' in 'talon' is a good example.

Also, make the whole 'o' part of the 'a' before adding the 'i' - in 'guage' you continue the upstroke into the 'i' before closing the 'o' for the 'g's and the 'a'. You literally need to write and 'o' followed by an 'i' (without the dot) to make an 'a'.

Relax while you are writing. I can sense a bit or tension in your writing.

- Salman

[baodingball]

@baodingball - this is well done. Your confidence in drawing the strokes is showing.

The few issues I can see can be attributed to the inconsistencies in your slant - something that was present in the previous work you uploaded as well. Have you tried turning the page so the slit in your nib is more in line with the slant lines. Also, move your paper every couple of words so you are always writing in the 'sweet spot'.

- look at the 'w' in 'town' on the last line as an example of slant issues. The last stroke goes too far to the right at an increased slant causing the letter to become unbalanced.

- the loops of the 'g' and the 'q' should be similar. In this example, the 'g' loops are going a bit too much to the left.

You have a pretty good handle on the shape of the letters. Better slant control will take care of the few spacing issues and other minor inconsistencies. Lets give this another try.

- Salman

Sorry it took me a while to reply, but here is my second attempt at exercise 3:

[Salman Khattak]

@baodingball

Good to see your work again :-) Here are the things I see:

- The round shapes 'o', 'c', 'e' are inconsistent and leaning too much to the right. Look at the 'o' part of the 'a' and compare it with the 'i' part - do you see that the 'o' leans to the right more than the 'i'?

- The lower loop of the 'q' comes too far to the left. Taper the shaded stroke from the right but don't come so far to the left at the end - the taper should be a wedge shape. I see a similar tendency in the ''g as the stroke moves to the right as the taper ends. A little bit of it looks good and adds lift to the letter but it is easy to overdo it. Just a hint is enough.

- Spacing is inconsistent over the group e.g. the 'quench' on the last line is wiser spaced than 'talon' and 'town' on the same line.

Concentrate on the 'o' shape for a bit and it will take away most of the issues with this group.

- Salman

[Chetwyn Clarke]

@SMK   I've been practicing the 'o' and 'c' during the week, but today was the first try at the 'e'.  Working on trying to find the right consistency for the ink; I thinned it some, but it seems to be going through the paper now, so maybe I thinned it a bit too much?  Let me know your thoughts.

[Salman Khattak]

@Chetwyn Clarke

Very nicely done Chet. You have mastered the 'o' shape beautifully.

My only comment on this is to lay off the shade on the closing stroke of the 'e'. This is a very light shade, more a hint than a shade really, and should be much nearer the start of the stroke but you can ignore it for now.

I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the letters.

- Salman

[Chetwyn Clarke]

@SMK   Wasn't able to get pen to paper over the past two days, but today, yes!  Working on the consistency, e.g. the eye in "e".  I like the "e" in "gauge" most (which I just happened to spell incorrectly ), so that is what I will be aiming for.  I've got to keep working at the "q", that's quite a tricky one!

[Salman Khattak]

@Chetwyn Clarke - nice work.

I like the second 'q' - just get the join back to the shaded stroke exactly at the base line and you are all set.

I like the last 3 'e's in your group of 5. The eye of the 'e' in 'guage' is a tad too small. It would be quite acceptable in written work but for practice we aim for a bit more precision.

Good work so far.

- Salman

[Chetwyn Clarke]

@SMK   Thanks so much for the feedback thus far!  Worked a little more on the 'q', and on a few words.  Still working on getting my ink consistency correct!

- Chet

[Salman Khattak]

@Chetwyn Clarke

Your script is just lovely Chet - very nicely done.

In the 5 q's the first, third and fourth are within acceptable range. Three out of five is a good average :-)

From the looks of it, I think it is the paper that is letting you down now.

- Salman

[Chetwyn Clarke]

@SMK  I was out for a few days, and now getting back to the desk.  In this set I put a little more spacing in between letters than the last contribution.  I don't know if that is OK or not.  Some of the spacing was a bit off, e.g. the 'g' to 'l' in 'angle', the 'n' to 'o' versus the 'o' to 't' in 'not', and the 'n' to 't' in diligent.  And, of course, I spelt gauge wrong, again.