I Hate My Handwriting.

[Pierce]

Always hated it, still hate it.

 

I'll put up a sample of the same txt written by several pens.

 

http://pierce.tv/uploads/writing.jpg

 

I don't know. I learned in school like most. But my handwriting fell to pieces in university. I am trying to put it back together now.

 

Amy advice welcome.

 

Pierce

[yachtsilverswan]

Evening Pierce -

 

Your handwriting isn't bad; it just (as you said) lacks character - it lacks visual interest.

 

First, the angle of your letters must always be consistent, and it's not. Look at the capital T and the small case h in "This." The T has a much more vertical angle than does the h.

 

I think your handwriting would look better with slightly less slant - a more vertical angle - something between your current angle and 90 degrees. Turning the paper as you write may help easily accomplish this without retraining your hand.

 

You should also consider a broader nib with a cursive italic grind - that alone would make your handwriting more masculine - more bold. You have plenty of room in your loops before you have to worry about a too broad nib filling in the loops.

 

And the cursive italic grind would add visual interest without any extra training. The cursive italic nib is a horizontal ovoid - so it leaves a wider vertical stroke and a narrower horizontal stroke - all without any extra effort. A nibmeister can regrind a broad nibbed pen you currently have, or can sell you a new nib or a new pen with the cursive italic grind.

[Joe in Seattle]

Brother, I've seen lots worse by people selling expensive pens here.

 

I second the suggestion you try a broad nib.

 

Any other attention you pay to it will be helpful, too.

 

You have begun the journey to better handwriting.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Joe in Seattle

[beak]

Though I'm no expert, several things occur immediately:

 

The writing looks hurried - I think you need to slow down while you work on it, and let speed return naturally once you have.

 

It's a little cramped - just take a little more space just as you have done between the words 'has no' in the second sample.

 

The writing reads better in the sample written in the darker ink - maybe avoid the paler colours for a while.

 

To me, the nib size seems fine for the script - maybe a broad would help, but maybe not. Perhaps it's better to improve what you have than throw in another variable such as a new nib?

 

Perhaps there are too many extraneous strokes that do not form part of the actual letters; the 'it's' in the green sample has a stroke crossing out the s. and I think you need to close the 'a' properly, because it often looks like a 'u'.

 

Generally, I think your hand is at least clear enough to read, and that all you lack is consistency and space.

[fncll]

Your handwriting isn't that bad! I tend to be one that finds some of the handwriting others find "beautiful" to be much like a Kinkade painting: cloying and too much like all the other handwriting in the same mode. Slow down a little, go with a bit less tilt, and come up with some shapes that are personal to you.

 

My handwriting is, by many standards, terrible. It's not something I would want to use on handwritten invitations or table place cards representing the Queen of England, but it is readable and unique, which go a long way in my book!

[terminal]

You handwriting is orders of magnitude better than mine. I feel like I don't deserve to use fancy pens at all now. THANKS A LOT

[andybiotic]

One problem with fast cursive handwriting for many people is the "r" and "n" look very similar (For example. the word "real" in the last sentence of the first paragraph initially occurred to me as the word "need" (just my opinion)) and the fact that it feels unnatural (like a sudden pause of the flow) when writing the cursive "r". I have completely discarded it from my handwriting and gone back to the print "r" and linking it to the next letter.

 

Another suggestion would be to pay a bit more attention to the letter "s", try to close it up and make it thinner. Again, the word "sample" on your first paragraph looked like "rample" with an print "r". Remember that most people nowadays are not used to seeing cursive letters, you have to make it clear and obvious for them if you intended it for others to read.

 

Below is an example of my cursive/print "r" and my "s". See if you like it. Having said that I am also not too happy with the "s" in my sample... something I have to work on as well!

 

To end on a good note, I like your "f" (because it looks like MY "f" :roflmho:) and the fact that your writing is not "crowded" and that leaves you quite a bit of "space" for your evolving style, if you choose to change it.

 

Edited April 8, 2012 by andybiotic

[Pierce]

http://pierce.tv/uploads/writing2.jpg

[Randal6393]

Hi, Pierce,

 

Amazing what a bit of work will do. One tip: your writing looks crowded because it is closely spaced. I would try writing on every other line and opening up the space. Might also try reducing the size of my writing and practicing writing letters smaller than what you currently write. A finer nib would work better for the smaller writing, perhaps.

 

Best of luck to you,

[caliken]

I tend to be one that finds some of the handwriting others find "beautiful" to be much like a Kinkade painting: cloying and too much like all the other handwriting in the same mode.

 

In my view, it's not necessarily desirable for handwriting to be individual and different from every other.

 

If I could write Italic just like Bennardino Cataneo: Gothic Blackletter like Friedrich Neugebauer: Copperplate like Willington Clark and Spencerian like Louis Madarasz, I'd consider all the hours of study, time well spent!

Edited April 9, 2012 by caliken

[CatBookMom]

You've had some good suggestions, and your second example looks better already. It takes a lot of practice to improve handwriting, because you're changing so many things. Slowing down helps a great deal, and you may want to slow down even farther than you might think you need. Print out some practice paper from this site - find one you like - and go back to the basics, practicing one letter (closing the top of your 'a') or combination of letters ('rs' is a common word ending) over and over. Write Now from Getty and Dubay will teach you a very good, clear italic sort of cursive. The link to the Amazon source for this book isn't the only one, just the first that came up; it's difficult to find used.

 

Just be patient with yourself; you may hit a point at which nothing seems to be improving, but keep practicing and you will have a good hand. For most pen-ink combinations, plain 24lb printer paper will be good enough for your practice.

[Pierce]

I find that particular rhodia paper is feathering the ink. So I'll have to try some other rhodia paper I left in the office.

 

I hate black inks, that lamy black lasted an hour before I got rid of it.

 

Can't live happily with that r. I make it look too much like a P, does anybody have any samples of how to correctly write it?

 

I suppose I'll just have to put in another 40 hours of practice.

[MicheleB]

I second the Getty book and practice. Overall your handwriting is legible and good.

[grout]

I second the comment above - your handwriting is not as bad as you seem to think! I think if you practice as suggested by other folks, your handwriting will get a lot better. I think it's just a matter of working on making your letters look consistent each time you write it and slowing down a little bit. Good luck!

[fncll]

I tend to be one that finds some of the handwriting others find "beautiful" to be much like a Kinkade painting: cloying and too much like all the other handwriting in the same mode.

 

In my view, it's not necessarily desirable for handwriting to be individual and different from every other.

 

If I could write Italic just like Bennardino Cataneo: Gothic Blackletter like Friedrich Neugebauer: Copperplate like Willington Clark and Spencerian like Louis Madarasz, I'd consider all the hours of study, time well spent!

 

Ken

 

I certainly don't look down on those who choose handwriting that imitates great penmen! It's an art. It's just not for me...it looks artificial to me. But I think appreciation of handwriting is like that of any other artistic product: we each have our druthers and much of the time it's inexplicable...it just *is*.

 

I just wanted to let the OP know that it's not necessarily an outlandish position to want better handwriting but not define better as closer to a model script...

[caliken]

I suppose I'll just have to put in another 40 hours of practice.

 

You make it sound like a chore!

 

It's what I've done for fun for the past 55 years!

Edited April 9, 2012 by caliken

[caliken]

I just wanted to let the OP know that it's not necessarily an outlandish position to want better handwriting but not define better as closer to a model script...

 

Whilst I agree in principle, it's unfortunately also a convenient "get-out" for those who aren't prepapared to put in the necessary practice time.

 

It reminds me of the "free-form" jazz musicians of the 1970s who didn't need to learn how to play their instruments properly, as it 'came from the heart' and that was all that mattered.

Edited April 9, 2012 by caliken

[caliken]

Can't live happily with that r. I make it look too much like a P, does anybody have any samples of how to correctly write it?

 

Your entry stroke is straight and not curved and your second shaded stroke is joined onto the downstroke which gives the effect of looking a bit like a 'p'.

 

In fact, with this form of 'r', a hairline, emerging from about 2/3 up the downstroke, continues up to the waistline and ends with a little shaded 'hook'.

 

In this one-stroke letter, the curve at the top of the first hairline, is level with the top of the hook shape, on the waistline.

 

Ken

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/caliken_2007/pppp600.jpg

[fncll]

I just wanted to let the OP know that it's not necessarily an outlandish position to want better handwriting but not define better as closer to a model script...

 

Whilst I agree in principle, it's unfortunately also a convenient "get-out" for those who aren't prepapared to put in the necessary practice time.

 

It reminds me of the "free-form" jazz musicians of the 1970s who didn't need to learn how to play their instruments properly, as it 'came from the heart' and that was all that mattered.

 

Wow, you are full of assumptions. You might be surprised to know that many free-form jazz musicians are VERY good on their instruments, which makes sense given that most of them started playing straight-ahead jazz and got bored with it. And there is clearly an audience for it, even today. Similarly goes the myth that abstract artists can't draw or paint figuratively when, again, many are quite good at that but have decided to do something different. Just because it isn't to your taste doesn't make their work--or them--lesser. I'm not a fan of free form jazz, personally, but I do like a number of abstract artists. Your desire to put forth your own taste as some kind of objective reality is a problematic aesthetic position as far as I'm concerned.

 

To my eyes, most formal script looks cheesy and kitschy. It's like a Rockwell or a Kinkade...or painting by numbers. Even worse because a robot could learn to do it as it's so predictable. If anything is unoriginal, it is slavish dedication to practicing how to do something *just like everyone else does*. But, as I noted, that's my taste. It need not be yours...I'm not a big fan of legislating my tastes (or making impressive presumptions about others).

[caliken]

You might be surprised to know that many free-form jazz musicians are VERY good on their instruments, which makes sense given that most of them started playing straight-ahead jazz and got bored with it.

 

I'm sorry to have gone off-topic, but it was just a simple analogy to make a point.

 

Suffice to say that I was a professional pianist in another life, and over the years, I had the good fortune to play with many British and American world-famous jazz musicians in clubs, concert halls and national broadcasts...so I know something about the subject.

 

I didn't say that all free-form musicians can't play their instruments properly, but there are too many 'imposters' who aren't prepared to take the time to learn the basics of music, and the same principle applies to all art forms, including writing.

 

Whether as a Calligrapher or a Handwriter, the study and appreciation of the

formal structure of scripts is a pre-requisite of any form of hand lettering.

 

IMO poorly contructed handwriting is an insult to those who have to attempt to decipher it.

 

Ken

Edited April 9, 2012 by caliken