Critique My Cursive

[pepsiplease69]

Hi All,

I've been practicing my cursive and wanted to provide a sample for your review.

 

I know it might not be the purest form of cursive, maybe a bit too squashed vertically and too spread out horizontally.

 

I'm going for the most legibility and then accuracy and consistency with speed, so I took what I learned from Michael Sull's class last year on American Cursive and sort of adapted it.

 

Any aesthetics pointers here would be appreciated. Also anything that is executed irregularly everytime and thus needing practice would be good for me to focus on.

 

Thanks all.

 

 

Implements:

 

Paper - Ampad Gold Fiber Writing Pad

Ink - Chesterfield Archival Vault

Pen - Pilot Prera with M nib

 

Credit:

Copied from BBC article Sleep 'prioritises memories we care about'

 

[FOUR X FOUR]

Looks good to me

[akustyk]

Your cursive looks excellent! It's legible, has excellent letter forms, and flows quite well, too! To my eye, it's a very, very good match to Mr. Sull's model.

[NinthSphere]

I agree, it looks good overall. Minor quibble, letters sometimes dance above the bottom line, but that's something I've seen from time to time in just about everyone's writing. Otherwise, it's perfectly legible & looks generally consistent.

[pepsiplease69]

Your cursive looks excellent! It's legible, has excellent letter forms, and flows quite well, too! To my eye, it's a very, very good match to Mr. Sull's model.

 

Thanks for that, I'm trying, making an effort. I need more muscle memory and speed.

 

Currently I'm trying to use a napkin to allow my forearm and heel of my palm to glide on the table top as I render the words, but it's an ongoing effort and practice everyday and an ever evolving item.

 

 

I agree, it looks good overall. Minor quibble, letters sometimes dance above the bottom line, but that's something I've seen from time to time in just about everyone's writing. Otherwise, it's perfectly legible & looks generally consistent.

 

 

Thank you for that, I agree, I need to become more consistent on the words sticking with the base-line and not floating above. I think I'll pay more attention to that. Also the height of them seems inconsistent as well.

 

Very good point and I appreciate the constructive feedback.

[Monbla]

With a softer,more flexible nib, you'd have some really beautiful Cursive with some nice thick/thin strokes. Nicely done

Edited September 21, 2016 by Monbla

[knarflj]

I agree that it's very legible, and reasonably attractive. The one thing that jumps out at me for improvement you've already mentioned yourself: the height of your minuscules is highly variable. It looks as though your 'a' is pretty consistently shorter than other letters, for instance, while your 'r' tends to be taller. This is particularly noticeable in a few words like "care" and "memories".

 

Every once in a while the angle of either a downstroke or a join is inconsistent with the other downstrokes or joins. And I think you might benefit from putting just a wee bit more space between letters; I think it would lend more forward movement and elegance to your hand.

 

But those are basically quibbles, which I notice because my own writing suffers in most of the same ways, only more so.

 

Jenny

[pepsiplease69]

@knarflj. Thanks Jenny for your inputs.

 

With the lower case 'r' it's always a toss up since it has a multiple personality. There's the conventional 'r' (as in 'were' ) and what Mr Sull calls a fast 'r' (as in 'or' ).

 

Even for the conventional type I'm always debating whether to rise and give a square top and back down, or rise and make a tiny loop before completing the rest of the 'r'.

 

I guess I should go back to the french ruled paper which helps me keep my letters to a consistent height. I'm not quite ready yet to take the training wheels off.

 

The other thing I struggle with is the ascenders like 'l' or 'k' or 'b'. I can't seem to execute the ascending loop in a consistent manner. I suppose I should continue practicing.

 

Good point about the horizontal spacing as well. Maybe I can put more forearm movement to get better spacing but I will tackle that after addressing the inconsistent height and drifting away from the baseline problem.

 

Thanks again for the feedback.

[Sasha Royale]

I find your handwriting entirely legible. My personal preferences, regarding aesthetics, are irrelevant. If you don't think it is pretty enough, change it anyway that pleases you, and practice it. Most importantly, enjoy it. Play some music when you write.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Sasha Royale

[pepsiplease69]

Play some music when you write.

 

I think that's the most sensible advice I've heard all day

[ac12]

Get a pencil and ruler and draw in a x-height line.

When I write letters on blank paper, I use a guidesheet with a x-height line, to help me keep my lower case letters consistent in height, which I cannot do consistently without a x-height line.

An alternative is to write LARGER, so the x-height is the existing line spacing, then you have the x-height line.

Then pay attention to making the lower case fit and fill the space between the base line and the x-height line.

Edited September 23, 2016 by ac12

[ac12]

 

Thanks for that, I'm trying, making an effort. I need more muscle memory and speed.

 

Muscle memory comes from practice, a LOT of practice. But practice of the correct drills and letter form.

For some lucky people, it can be weeks. For others, like me, it can be MONTHS or YEARS to feel comfortable with a hand. Then there is the refinement period which is forever ongoing.

 

Speed comes with muscle memory, so don't push it. And each person has their own max speed.

I have a saying "speed kills." The faster I go, the worse my handwriting, to the point that it becomes illegible. And taking FAST notes in college is what destroyed my handwriting.

Actually at a certain point, I switch from cursive to a FAST printing, because I can still read my printing when I am not able to read my cursive.

Edited September 23, 2016 by ac12

[ac12]

 

The other thing I struggle with is the ascenders like 'l' or 'k' or 'b'. I can't seem to execute the ascending loop in a consistent manner. I suppose I should continue practicing.

Drills.

You need to be able to move your arm for the ascenders, and even more so for the ascender + decender of the "f".

If you have trouble moving your arm, write BIG, so you are forced to move your arm.

If the pen is not moving smoothly on the paper (scratchy), you can't do the upstroke well.

 

Tip

Writing is a series of strokes, not a continuous non-stop movement.

Example, M:

- short upstroke

- pause

- downstroke

- pause

- hump

- pause

- hump

- end stroke

 

A stroke has to have a certain minimum speed that you do it in. Any slower and you are not writing, you are drawing, and it gets wobbly.

Each person has their own minimum speed, so I can't tell you how slow or fast to do you strokes. You will find it when you stroke too slow and the line is wobbly.

 

It can be tricky to stay above this minimum speed, and below the speed at which you loose control.

[ac12]

 

Currently I'm trying to use a napkin to allow my forearm and heel of my palm to glide on the table top as I render the words, but it's an ongoing effort and practice everyday and an ever evolving item.

 

Hold your hand off the writing surface. The heel of your hand should be floating above, or barely touching the writing surface.

If the heel of your hand is touching to any extent beyond that, it is creating drag and getting in the way of your arm movement.

 

You are where I've been.

Let's talk the next time you come to Pen Posse.

It is easier to show you in person, than to try to describe in words, which I always have trouble doing.

Edited September 23, 2016 by ac12

[pepsiplease69]

Thanks Gary for your input.

 

I don't know when I'll be attending one of the pen posses but I'll msg you when I will plan to attend an upcoming posse.

 

There's PPPC in Berkeley tomorrow which I wasn't planning on going to, but I've called Castle in the Air and had them put a bottle of Noodlers Gruene Cactus on hold for me, so that's one more reason pulling me out to Berkeley.

 

I'll probably pass still.

[a m a r g o]

Very legible indeed... Which is the main factor to be able to transmit you thoughts in a written message.

 

The aesthetic part of it needs improvement, according to my taste, but if it's your most recent or first practice it's nice enough...

 

Maybe you can develop two styles of cursive writing, one that you like and enables you to write fast and another one to communicate with others!

 

I use those "two" styles, which really is one overall, the second it's only a more thoughtful, conscious or aware style knowing that someone else is going to read your notes...

[Rednaxela]

That looks very nice indeed pepsiplease69!

 

Perhaps see if you can get your 'c' and 's' closer to the ideal as taught in American Cursive.

 

Overall very well done though.

[akustyk]

 

Thanks for that, I'm trying, making an effort. I need more muscle memory and speed.

 

Currently I'm trying to use a napkin to allow my forearm and heel of my palm to glide on the table top as I render the words, but it's an ongoing effort and practice everyday and an ever evolving item.

 

 

As far as I understand the Sull method, there is no need for a napkin or gliding for the majority of letters, except for flourishes. My recommendation is that you follow the method precisely as described by Mr. Sull. A lot of people have developed amazing handwriting following the method. You, in my opinion, are almost there. Awesome work!

[Joe in Seattle]

B+

[ac12]

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Thanks Gary for your input.

I don't know when I'll be attending one of the pen posses but I'll msg you when I will plan to attend an upcoming posse.

There's PPPC in Berkeley tomorrow which I wasn't planning on going to, but I've called Castle in the Air and had them put a bottle of Noodlers Gruene Cactus on hold for me, so that's one more reason pulling me out to Berkeley.

I'll probably pass still.

 

I don't plan on going to PPPC on Sat.