I agree it tends to get a little boring, but i feel practising single alphabets have made me more disciplined.
Words are more fun and you find a nice rhythm and variation while you practice.
Been into advertising and from an art school. Im very much aware of the white space / negative spacing fundamentals as i apply them daily during my work. Its more to do with ad layouts which includes fonts, spacing, kerning etc. But as you rightly mentioned applying this to while you are doing it is a different ball game and needs lots of practice. Im definitely working towards it.
Thanks again jean and i appreciate you taking time while on a holiday.
Regards,
Ashok
i'm not the person who said it was boring to do one letter at a time. it's not about boring. if it is what you choose to do - maybe it will work for you. my opinion that groups of letters are a better use of your time is based on many years of teaching and observing the results. others forum members have said the same thing.
the white space i am talking about is exactly what you expressed - applied to the smallest details. once students apply the principle to the smallest details - they seem to get over the hump of making many pages of single letters. by looking at the exact triangle that is formed when an oval is curved between the horizontal and vertical (and slanted) guidelines, it becomes much easier to make the exact shape you see in the exemplar.
IMHO it is not a good idea to write a full page of the letter o and hope that a couple of them are exactly what you want. if you are looking at the shape inside the oval as well as the 4 triangular shapes on the outside - each o will be the same. it's probably helpful to point out that you should not start with an o - or an a (learning the letters in alphabetical order is IMHO a terrible way to proceed - and yet, i have seen people who insist on doing that way) i prefer working on the letter i first - so that you have fewer triangles to look at. with the i, you only have the straight line and two triangles. but this is exactly where you will master the process if you connect them. it's like riding a bike. if you imbed that stroke and the two curves in your mind - it is not going to disappear. but you have to slow down and be vigilant about the consistency. then move on to the next basic stroke - and gradually you have all the letters. there are other posts that recommend the sequence of letters.
again - i know there are plenty of people who have used different methods and become master penmen. i only offer these suggestions because i have had plenty of satisfied students.
i am not on holiday - i am out of town watching grandchildren - so i have time during naps to post - just no computer with a large enough screen to see details in examples.
i hope your enthusiasm is contagious and that others will post their work too. it will be very interesting to watch your progress and get your opinion on which of the suggestions end up being the most helpful. down the road, your perspective will be valuable to others.
