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Italic Lesson 4
Before we press on with letters using the pen, here’s some important stuff.
MAKING THE LETTERS THE RIGHT WIDTH
We started using a box that is twice as high as it is wide – this was perfect when we were using a skinny pencil line, but now we’re using a pen you’ll perhaps have noticed that the letter spills out of the sides of the box. So the box the letters will fit in now we’re using a pen will be one and a half times as high as it is wide (e.g. 1.5 cm high by 1cm wide).
GETTING THE PEN ANGLE JUST RIGHT
We’re also going to adjust the pen angle just a little – we’ve been working at 45 degrees, but from here on we’re going to reduce it to 40 degrees – shouldn’t feel dramatically different to you.
RULING UP TIP
For basic italic, the height of your letters is always going to be 5 times the width of the pen you’re using. So if you change pens during your practice, you’ll need to rule new lines.
MAKING THE LETTERS THE RIGHT WIDTH
We started using a box that is twice as high as it is wide – this was perfect when we were using a skinny pencil line, but now we’re using a pen you’ll perhaps have noticed that the letter spills out of the sides of the box. So the box the letters will fit in now we’re using a pen will be one and a half times as high as it is wide (e.g. 1.5 cm high by 1cm wide).
GETTING THE PEN ANGLE JUST RIGHT
We’re also going to adjust the pen angle just a little – we’ve been working at 45 degrees, but from here on we’re going to reduce it to 40 degrees – shouldn’t feel dramatically different to you.
RULING UP TIP
For basic italic, the height of your letters is always going to be 5 times the width of the pen you’re using. So if you change pens during your practice, you’ll need to rule new lines.
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An easier way to measure 5 nib widths is to use the pen to draw a set of steps, where each step is 1 nib width wide.
Turn your pen to 90 degrees and pull it across the paper. Now make a second mark, ensuring that the bottom of the second mark is exactly in line with the top of the first mark. Make 3 more marks (5 in total) and you have created a set of steps that are 5 nib widths from the bottom of the 1st step to the top of the 5th step. I do this on a scrap of paper that I can then use to mark up my practice paper (or final piece) with the distance apart that my lines need to be. |
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While we’re thinking about ruling up, I suggest leaving twice this space (i.e. 10 nib widths) between the pairs of writing lines. This means that even if a descender and an ascender end up above one another, there won’t be a clash of strokes.
If you're not seen it, have a look at the topic on Ruling lines in the Topics For All Learners section.
Now... .back to letters!
If you're not seen it, have a look at the topic on Ruling lines in the Topics For All Learners section.
Now... .back to letters!
For this lesson you will need:
Calligraphy pen
Paper (make sure your pen does not bleed on the paper you've chosen)
Ruler
Protractor
Once again we’re going to look at the letters in families, starting with the O family.
The great news is that the letter strokes that you used for the pencil letters are exactly the same as the ones you’re going to use with your pen.
Be careful to hide the joins between strokes – although you know the O strokes start and end at 11 o’clock and 5 o’clock, you don’t want your audience to know that.
For the E, remember that the bowl is small and fits in the top half of the space.
For L and T, they look too exaggerated if the ends of the letters come all the way up to the halfway line – try stopping a third of the way up the space.
Be careful to hide the joins between strokes – although you know the O strokes start and end at 11 o’clock and 5 o’clock, you don’t want your audience to know that.
For the E, remember that the bowl is small and fits in the top half of the space.
For L and T, they look too exaggerated if the ends of the letters come all the way up to the halfway line – try stopping a third of the way up the space.
Want to see me write them? You're going to notice at least 2 things here :
1. I'm left handed
2. I'm not great at making video!
Each of us will have our own idiosyncrasies that mean that our lettering is unique to us. This is a good thing - we want our letters to have the qualities of italic, but we also know that we're not going to exactly recreate the letters anyone else has made.
So watch as often as you need to, understand how the pen moves and copy what I do, but you're not aiming for slavish copying of how I write.
1. I'm left handed
2. I'm not great at making video!
Each of us will have our own idiosyncrasies that mean that our lettering is unique to us. This is a good thing - we want our letters to have the qualities of italic, but we also know that we're not going to exactly recreate the letters anyone else has made.
So watch as often as you need to, understand how the pen moves and copy what I do, but you're not aiming for slavish copying of how I write.
Back to you to practice! When these letters are feeling OK, try writing
tell cool ocelot
tell cool ocelot
Next we’re looking at the U family and the n family
When Italic was developed, it was designed to be written quickly and legibly (replacing the overly decorative and tricky to read Gothic lettering). As such, we want to have only a small number of pen lifts.
If we think about the letter U, in our handwriting we construct it with a single stroke, and indeed we can do that with italic lettering too.
For now though, we’re going to learn it as 2 strokes. This applies to many other letters too.
The first stroke of the U is the butter knife shape. Once you’ve turned the corner at the bottom of the letter, you’re pushing the pen up the page in an arc, which is not nearly as comfortable as pulling the pen towards you. You’ll need to have almost no pressure on the pen nib at all, to let it glide over the page.
I know that’s a lot to think about for one letter, but all these checks are relevant for many of the letters – particularly in the U and N families.
When you write A, G and Q, the top right corner needs to be a distinct corner – not rounded off. Take the nib right into the corner, stop (don’t lift the pen off the page) then set off in the new direction, vertically down the page.
I would say 9 out of 10 people learning italic forget this and round their a, g and q - please try and be the 1 out of 10!!
When you write Y and G you may be able to complete the tail in one movement. If not, that’s fine – use a third stroke, going left to right, to put the base of the tail on, joining the second stroke in a smooth join (like the one at 5 o’clock on the O).
When you write the D, the first stroke is the one on the left of the bowl. Like the letter U, you’re aiming to finish this stroke above half way, with the end of the stroke being covered up by the rest of the letter.
I like to do the ascender as the next stroke, then the third stroke completes the top of the bowl. These can be done the other way round if you find that better.
This is a lot of detail to take in – it’ll make much more sense if you’re working through it with calligraphy pen in hand, rather than just reading it.
And of course if anything still doesn’t make sense – ask!
Here's my writing of these letters.
If we think about the letter U, in our handwriting we construct it with a single stroke, and indeed we can do that with italic lettering too.
For now though, we’re going to learn it as 2 strokes. This applies to many other letters too.
The first stroke of the U is the butter knife shape. Once you’ve turned the corner at the bottom of the letter, you’re pushing the pen up the page in an arc, which is not nearly as comfortable as pulling the pen towards you. You’ll need to have almost no pressure on the pen nib at all, to let it glide over the page.
- Aim to get past the half way point before you stop.
- Don’t worry if the last bits of the stroke are a little ragged, because what should happen is that the second stroke will cover up, giving you a smooth and beautiful letter.
- Check its width – should be one and a half times as high as it is wide.
- Check the two downstrokes – they should be parallel to each other and straight.
- Check the white space inside the letter – does it look like the example letter?
- Check the white triangle made between stroke 1, stroke 2 and the baseline: it should come about one third of the way up the space between your writing lines.
I know that’s a lot to think about for one letter, but all these checks are relevant for many of the letters – particularly in the U and N families.
When you write A, G and Q, the top right corner needs to be a distinct corner – not rounded off. Take the nib right into the corner, stop (don’t lift the pen off the page) then set off in the new direction, vertically down the page.
I would say 9 out of 10 people learning italic forget this and round their a, g and q - please try and be the 1 out of 10!!
When you write Y and G you may be able to complete the tail in one movement. If not, that’s fine – use a third stroke, going left to right, to put the base of the tail on, joining the second stroke in a smooth join (like the one at 5 o’clock on the O).
When you write the D, the first stroke is the one on the left of the bowl. Like the letter U, you’re aiming to finish this stroke above half way, with the end of the stroke being covered up by the rest of the letter.
I like to do the ascender as the next stroke, then the third stroke completes the top of the bowl. These can be done the other way round if you find that better.
This is a lot of detail to take in – it’ll make much more sense if you’re working through it with calligraphy pen in hand, rather than just reading it.
And of course if anything still doesn’t make sense – ask!
Here's my writing of these letters.
Off you go and practice – have a go at try writing
gaudy quad daddy
and see what words you can come up with that use the letters you've learnt so far.
gaudy quad daddy
and see what words you can come up with that use the letters you've learnt so far.
Did you have a break yet? If not - please do! We've 2 more sets of letters to learn before you have the whole italic alphabet at your fingertips.
Now for the N family.
The N is constructed, as you already know, of 2 strokes. The first stroke is the easier downstroke with the serif at the top.
The second stroke appears to start about one third of the way down the space. In fact what I want you to do is start TWO thirds of the way down, and put your pen (at 40 degrees) in the wet ink of the previous stroke. Start pushing upwards, and let the second stroke emerge from the first stroke, before turning the corner and completing the letter.
Phew – what a lot to check! All of these tiny points lead towards beautiful italic and are all worth the trouble!
For I and J, the dots can be made as little diamonds, but I prefer them as tiny downstrokes that then look like they belong with the letter.
For F, notice that you’re starting the letter on a curved bit (it’s like the start of the letter O, just further up the page).
The second stroke appears to start about one third of the way down the space. In fact what I want you to do is start TWO thirds of the way down, and put your pen (at 40 degrees) in the wet ink of the previous stroke. Start pushing upwards, and let the second stroke emerge from the first stroke, before turning the corner and completing the letter.
- Check : does the second stroke emerge smoothly and elegantly?
- Check: are the two downstrokes straight and parallel?
- Check : is the letter one and a half times as high as it is wide?
- Check : does the internal white space look like the example?
- Check : remember the white triangle from the letter U? It should appear, same shape and size, at the top of the U between the first and second strokes and the top line. Check it matches the one on your U.
Phew – what a lot to check! All of these tiny points lead towards beautiful italic and are all worth the trouble!
For I and J, the dots can be made as little diamonds, but I prefer them as tiny downstrokes that then look like they belong with the letter.
For F, notice that you’re starting the letter on a curved bit (it’s like the start of the letter O, just further up the page).
Plenty to practice here! As before, write any words that occur to you, that use the letters you know. For example, have a try at
film jamjar pinking humbug
Now..... the last of the letters!
film jamjar pinking humbug
Now..... the last of the letters!
These letters are constructed just as you did with the pencil – the trick is to fit them into the same size boxes as the other letters.
It is a useful exercise to write
nmnnnn
On one line, then to write
vwxyzs
On the line below. It helps guide you to make the letters the right width.
You may find getting neat corners on V and W tricky – have a try and we’ll look at how you’ve got on.
Also you may find that the Z looks a little light weight compared to its fellow letters – this is because at a 40 degree pen angle the middle stroke is quite thin. For this one stroke only try turning your pen to 0 degrees – this will give a stronger stroke.
It's worth a practice of some words that use these letters before bringing it all together.
e.g. whizz waxy kick vows
Here's a video of those letters - hopefully helps!
It is a useful exercise to write
nmnnnn
On one line, then to write
vwxyzs
On the line below. It helps guide you to make the letters the right width.
You may find getting neat corners on V and W tricky – have a try and we’ll look at how you’ve got on.
Also you may find that the Z looks a little light weight compared to its fellow letters – this is because at a 40 degree pen angle the middle stroke is quite thin. For this one stroke only try turning your pen to 0 degrees – this will give a stronger stroke.
It's worth a practice of some words that use these letters before bringing it all together.
e.g. whizz waxy kick vows
Here's a video of those letters - hopefully helps!
That’s it – you know all your italic lower case letters!
Your next challenge is to write using all the letters. As well as thinking about the letter shapes, think about the spacing between the letters, the words and the lines.
Letter spacing : as far as possible we’re aiming for the downstrokes of the letters to be visually equally spaced.
With a word like MINIMUM this is easy to see.
For other letters which don’t have such obvious downstrokes, we use our judgement to give a visually even pattern of lettering.
Your next challenge is to write using all the letters. As well as thinking about the letter shapes, think about the spacing between the letters, the words and the lines.
Letter spacing : as far as possible we’re aiming for the downstrokes of the letters to be visually equally spaced.
With a word like MINIMUM this is easy to see.
For other letters which don’t have such obvious downstrokes, we use our judgement to give a visually even pattern of lettering.
Word spacing : it’s tempting to leave big gaps between words, but it isn’t needed, and disrupts the texture of the writing. Experiment yourself with leaving the smallest gap that still makes the text easy to read.
ASSIGNMENT
Have a go at writing out the following, and send it in!
forsaking monastic tradition, twelve jovial friars gave up their vocation for a questionable existence on the flying trapeze
Do please tell me how you're finding it - maybe there's a letter or two that are proving particularly tricky? Then tell me about it - send me an example - and I'll hopefully be able to help!
ASSIGNMENT
Have a go at writing out the following, and send it in!
forsaking monastic tradition, twelve jovial friars gave up their vocation for a questionable existence on the flying trapeze
Do please tell me how you're finding it - maybe there's a letter or two that are proving particularly tricky? Then tell me about it - send me an example - and I'll hopefully be able to help!
