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Italic Writing With Round-Tip?


ivan_ddt

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Does anyone here write in Italic with both italic- and round-tip nibs? I have been learning Italic handwriting using an Italic nib but it seems that it does not translate as well to a rounded tip. It is somehow more difficult to keep the strokes regular with flow and even spacing. I am using Fred Eager's method, but are there other methods specifically for round-tips? I want to be able to translate my Italic handwriting into a daily hand which often means it will be with a regular round-tipped pen.

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My normal handwriting may not be italic anymore in a strict sense, but it certainly started from there: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/316922-qotw-2017/page-15?do=findComment&comment=3832074 And yes, I use stubs as well as round-tipped fountain pens and other writing implements (e.g. lots of felt tips at work).

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(inspired by a German haiku by Tony Böhle)

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Gunnlaugur S.E. Briem and Rosemary Sassoon teach mono-line italic-based handwriting.

Teach yourself: Better Handwriting was the first book on handwriting improvement I've read. The style is a little different than Fred Eager's.

Eager uses branching in the middle of minuscule, Briem's clockwise curves branch from baseline and counterclockwise curves merge near x-height.

 

On the other hand, cursive italic, as taught by Eager looks good when rendered with stub nib.

Edited by ksm
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Think about italic for the letter form, and strokes, NOT the pen.

My printing is quite similar to italic, but with anything I feel like writing with, from a pencil to a Sharpie.

 

All I can say is to practice. The more you practice, and pay attention to your writing, the better it gets. Note how it feels when it looks good to you, then try to duplicate that writing feel. What are you doing different to get that good writing? The more you can isolate the reasons for writing good, the more you can apply them. And the more you practice, the more it becomes natural to do.

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As ac12 said. Contrast in stroke width is the most obvious aspect of italic. As you've said you're a beginner, this may be what you miss when you use a different nib. Italic flourishes with an italic nib, but what makes italic is the structure and rhythm of the letters.

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Tom Gourdie's Simple Modern Hand is for round tipped pens. I like the style and it's the basis for my handwriting.

 

Write Now is also for round tipped pens. In fact I would guess that any modern handwriting book will barely, if at all, use italic nibs.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Tom Gourdie's Simple Modern Hand is for round tipped pens. I like the style and it's the basis for my handwriting.

 

 

 

Does it not seem that 40 pounds and up, up, up is an absurd price level for that book? I happen to have found Tom Gourdie's Ladybird book for kiddies, which teaches more or less the same simple modern hand, at a far lower price.

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Does it not seem that 40 pounds and up, up, up is an absurd price level for that book? I happen to have found Tom Gourdie's Ladybird book for kiddies, which teaches more or less the same simple modern hand, at a far lower price.

 

Yes, that price is somewhat excessive, but that may also be due to the pricing algorithms used by online booksellers rather than reflecting the value or rarity of the book itself. This is another debate in itself.

 

In any case, the Ladybird and Puffin books by Gourdie are an excellent and cheap introduction to his method. There's also the book "Italic Handwriting" (Cassell), which covers much the same ground as "Handwriting for Today" although it's not as comprehensive, but it does include many sample letters, which is nice.

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This is a very quickly thrown together sample - though my hand is rubbish in all styles anyway, so bear that in mind. The first two are a Pilot Falcon nib (flexible, round point), and a vintage Aurora fine nib (round). The last is a cursive italic nib from Jowo.

 

fpn_1497614517__italics.jpg

 

As you can see, my writing is nothing like formal italic style, and there is not a significant difference between using the round and sharp edged nibs.

 

Hope that helps a little.

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Does it not seem that 40 pounds and up, up, up is an absurd price level for that book? I happen to have found Tom Gourdie's Ladybird book for kiddies, which teaches more or less the same simple modern hand, at a far lower price.

Oh, when I linked to it originally Abe Books had it much cheaper. I got mine 2nd hand from Amazon for about £10.

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Here's an idea of how I use an Italic for cursive.

Once you get comfortable using an italic nib, it comes as second nature.

The pen is a "Parson's Essential" with a medium Italic nib, from www.mrpen.co.uk

 

post-32175-0-34475000-1497973783_thumb.jpg

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My handwriting is loosely based on italic letter forms and I use both italic and round nibs (and the occasional flex nib). It's not 'proper' italic though, but when I use an italic nib it shapes up a bit better (mainly because the wider the nib, that more you need to follow the correct stroke order).

 

35299662991_7d18746898_c.jpg

 

35042270090_2c6753b7c9_c.jpg

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Here's some examples from Eleanor Winters' "Italic and Copperplate Calligraphy; The Basics and Beyond" which are much better than mine...

 

35390022196_da2ff8cb44_c.jpg

Edited by LizB
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I've always loved your handwriting, Liz, and it's one reason that inspired me to get the Tom Gourdie book. And I'm so glad I did. I've never figured out what handwriting system I learned at school (if any), but I do remember my dad getting me a handwriting book from the library. The Gourdie looks very familiar so it could well have been that, and I think Simple Modern Hand is probably the root of my current hand.

 

Certainly when I compare official italic to my handwriting there are more similarities than with cursive (which I've tried and don't like), and it was with relief that I discovered that some of my "mistakes" are valid choices e.g. joining t to other letters via the cross bar not the tail.

 

As you find, I enjoy the fact that italic is legible and works with multiple nib styles.

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