Messages

31

Coffee & Nib-bles / Re: Can anyone help

« on: July 23, 2018, 05:36:56 AM »

Hi Diane,

https://www.jacksonsart.com/ is awesome art supplier and has very cheap shipping around the whole Europe.

I was also looking into watercolors, and the only brush I heard being constantly recommended are kolinsky sable brushes. I got an impression it doesn't matter that much which manufacturer is behind it. I guess it depends on the level, but from my experience in various craft hobbies, if you are beginner anything of decent quality will work. My googling skills led me to multiple recommendations for https://www.jacksonsart.com/winsor-newton-series-7-kolinsky-sable-brushes. I decided to save some money and went with https://www.jacksonsart.com/jacksons-kolinsky-sable-brushes-920-921. I really doubt I am capable of telling the difference between those and ones from W&N or Da Vinci.

Anyway, mostly writing to recommend Jackson's Art as a UK based supplier and hopefully someone more experienced will help with brushes.

32

Copperplate Tutorial by SMK / Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4

« on: July 03, 2018, 11:16:17 AM »

@Salman Khattak thank you so much for helping me get there, I would never be able to do this on my own!

I somehow missed that crossbar on 't'. If something like that happens to me on a better quality paper I carefully scrape it off with a scalpel and do a proper one

I have many ideas for finished pieces and want to learn even more about both, Copperplate and Engrosser's. Will definitely post in the general feedback thread.

Thank you!

Katja

33

Copperplate Tutorial by SMK / Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4

« on: July 02, 2018, 10:53:11 AM »

Hi @Salman Khattak,

Thinking about strokes instead of letters did indeed help. However, I still find it impossible to write this sentence without mistakes. I am attaching my favourite attempt. I think it looks okay as a piece if you don't stare at every letter individually

Looking forward to your feedback!

Katja

34

Tools & Supplies / Re: Best nibs for bad paper

« on: June 28, 2018, 07:28:19 AM »

Could you post a picture of your attempt and go into more details? Bad paper can mean a lots of things. If it bleeds, I suggest you buy another one because you won't be able to properly critique your work and it will influence your progress. Good paper doesn't have to be expensive, I suggest you check favourite practice paper thread: http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=209.0

If you are in Europe, Clairefontaine smart print paper 60 gsm is really cheap (~10$ for 1000 sheets) and works well with pointed pen and broad edge nibs, with sumi, walnut ink and gouache.

If your only problem is scratchy paper, it can be paper, nib, wrongly adjusted oblique holder or your technique. Using more flexible nib usually makes it even worse because those tend to be even more scratchy and often snap on upstrokes if paper is not really smooth.

35

Tools & Supplies / Re: Sumi Ink

« on: June 21, 2018, 04:54:49 AM »

If you buy from calligraphy supply stores such as scribblers, John Neal or Paper and ink arts, sumi is traditional sumi ink and india ink is waterproof thing containing shellac. India ink they sell is usually W&N india ink and is waterproof (and horrible to use for pointed pen calligraphy). I got some sumi on ebay from random seller, it had japanese text on it and it is very similar to the sumi I got from scribblers.

All in all, I don't think it is possible to answer your question. It will greatly depend on where you buy and from whom. But if you stick to reputable sellers, Sumi will be sooth, water and binder and india ink will be shellac.

As to functional difference, someone else will have to answer that. The only thing I can think of is that it is not acidic which makes it archival. It is cheap and easy to use which makes it more beginner friendly than grinding your own from ink stick.

36

Tools & Supplies / Re: Sumi Ink

« on: June 20, 2018, 04:07:18 AM »

I don't think it is same as india since india ink usually contains shellac and is waterproof while sumi isn't (own couple of bottles of each). However, I am unsure about the details of production. In theory, sumi should be liquid japanese ink stick and if you grind your own ink it should be approximately the same. But I don't know if it is really like that.

37

Copperplate Tutorial by SMK / Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4

« on: May 23, 2018, 01:04:22 PM »

@Salman Khattak

Thank you Salman!

It didn’t feel like it is more challenging but I do find it hard to keep it consistent. With words it is easier because I do a few attempts and it is usually enough for me to understand how it should be spaced. With sentence it didn’t work that way because even if I work on a single word and can do it properly it isn’t reflected when writing it out in a sentence because there is so much going on before and after it. For example, “only” was my biggest issue here and even though I could write it as a word it rarely comes out good in a sentence. If that one is good, something else ends up wrong.

I agree with your remarks, this is something I tried to work on multiple times but I feel like one imperfect stroke is enough to throw everything of the balance. To be honest, I got frustrated with it many times in the past when trying to do finished pieces as gifts for friends and family.

Always ready for the next try

It may take me a bit longer, I’ll try not to hurry and address all inconsistencies.

Katja

38

Copperplate Tutorial by SMK / Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4

« on: May 23, 2018, 06:29:49 AM »

Hi @Salman Khattak,

Here is my attempt. I did it as a finished piece of sorts on Canson Montval paper with W&N sky blue gouache. Then I browsed trough the thread and noticed other people posted attempts on the guidelines so I did one more attempt this morning. I am uploading both.

Looking forward to your feedback!

Katja

39

Copperplate Tutorial by SMK / Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 4

« on: May 11, 2018, 11:18:54 AM »

Hi @Salman Khattak,

I got caught up with some things so it took a while for this update to happen. I was working on your suggestions and revisiting some basics.

Looking forward to your feedback!

40

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Thank you

« on: May 11, 2018, 11:10:54 AM »

Thank you for everything Erica, I often think of this forum as the nicest place on the internet. It wouldn't be like this without your hard work!

41

Tools & Supplies / Re: Where do you buy your vandyke crystals?

« on: May 05, 2018, 04:03:35 AM »

I bought mine on ebay, also shipped from UK and shipping was 2-3 GBP. I remember amazon and similar sites do have higher shipping costs, so I went with ebay.

EDIT: I live in Croatia so shipping to Germany should be less or the same.

42

Coffee & Nib-bles / Re: To anyone who uses the internet...

« on: March 28, 2018, 05:14:29 AM »

@bleair - I realize very well. I have been working in IT security for years and I know what can be collected about me (and is). However, I know how much data they have which makes it impossible to some random individual to get hold of specifically my data. For that, I need to be a person of interest to someone really important. If that happens, not having facebook account won't help me much, nor most of the other easy to implement privacy measures. But most of us will never be that important.

All of the advertising is just algorithms crunching provided data. And I don't care what some algorithm knows about me. Also, I buy only things I want to have and only when I really need them. So they can put on my timeline whatever they want, no matter how shiny it is I won't look at it twice.

To be clear, I am not defending Facebook nor any other company which sells consumer data. But the thing is, laws are lacking behind technology right now and big companies can make it go away (e.g. equifax). So what is there to do for us? My personal choice is to put on internet only the things I don't mind the whole world knowing. That's why my facebook is almost empty and I am not really active on social media. The thing is, people won't stop using internet. Nor social media. If Facebook goes away something else will replace it. Until laws catch up, there isn't much you can do. Either you delete yourself from the internet, or you just become aware that your data is around and it is being used for targeted ads so you learn how to ignore them.

43

Copperplate, Engrosser's Script, Roundhand Calligraphy / Re: New to calligraphy

« on: March 17, 2018, 09:44:03 AM »

The best resource for traditional copperplate is The Universal Penman by George Bickham. There is a printed book which can be bought on Amazon and in the most calligraphy stores which carry books. It can also be found online on web archive: https://archive.org/download/AncientHistory-WorksInPublicDomainPublishedBefore1923PartThree

There are three versions, but pdfs aren’t as good as printed book (which also doesn’t have the best resolution). However, it is good enough to see which letterforms are traditional copperplate and which deviate from the traditional form.

Another awesome resource is Zanerian Manual which was published online not so long ago: https://masgrimes.com/archive/zanerian-manual

File is huge due to high resolution scan but it is the best reference for Engrosser’s script.

As to not historical resources, Dr. Vitolo’s book is awesome as well as Eleanor Winters Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy. Just be aware that these resources teach different calligraphy styles. Copperplate and Engrosser’s are similar but still different scripts. IIRC, there are few threads on this forum which go into details, I try to link them later, am on mobile right now and find it a bit tricky to do search.

EDIT: Links to the thread that may be useful. Unfortunately photos are missing :/

http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=1452.msg19289#msg19289
http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=4978.0
http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=5768.msg70935#msg70935

44

Copperplate Tutorial by SMK / Re: Copperplate Minuscules - Group 1

« on: March 14, 2018, 05:09:04 AM »

@paperandflair - are you printing your guidelines as a greyscale draft? You can save a lot of ink that way and it really doesn't matter when printing guidelines. Another thing I started to do is to not write on the guidelines when I am just playing around. So that way you can write on the guidelines when focusing on letter forms, and put them under the paper when trying out new nibs/inks or just experimenting in some way.

45

Kind Critique / Re: Need help with Engrosser's Majuscules

« on: March 14, 2018, 04:59:12 AM »

Thank you!

To be honest, I think I never did enough drills. I tend to focus more on studying the forms and figuring out execution. The attached drills look really practical for getting consistent ovals, I'll incorporate them into my practice.

I did use dr. Vitolo's workbook before, but completely forgot about it since Zanerian Manual was published online.