My Italic Handwriting Development -- JDShaffer

[JDShaffer]

Hello, everyone. I thought I'd start a thread where I (and others) can monitor my progress in Practical Italic Handwriting. So, I will try to present a short backlog of changes in my writing style up through the present, making brief comments on what I was doing at the time.

 

Please feel free to comment or make suggestions, but do not feel ablidged to do so.

 

Thank you!

 

Jeffrey

 

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http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/jds/misc/progress-2004-01-07.jpg

 

This picture is my first attempt at improving my bad handwriting. As I didn't know what to do,

I simply tried to copy the "nicest looking" font on my computer, something called Zapfino.

 

It lasted for about 3 weeks until I had a written final exam and after two pages, I realized I couldn't write it fast enough and gave up. (I wrote about 19 pages for that exam!)

 

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http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/jds/misc/progress-2004-11-10.jpg

 

This is my normal handwriting, and you can tell by the date that it's fairly recent.

 

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http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/jds/misc/progress-2004-11-12.jpg

 

Here is a quick improvement of my writing. I decided to write better and came across a couple sample pages of "Italic Handwriting" by Dubay and Getty. So I did the sample exercises. Wow!

 

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http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/jds/misc/progress-2004-11-18.jpg

 

This is after reading many of Mr. Pickering's webpages and examplars! (This is also the 2nd example to be written in a Pilot V-pen, a disposable fountain pen --- the other example is of the Zapfino above.)

 

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http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/jds/misc/progress-2004-12-03.jpg

 

This is today. It's not my best example to date, but it's my best example trying to "write from the shoulder" as Mr. Pickering suggests. I think it's going to work out faster than I thought, though it's definitely more difficult (for me) than writing from the wrist or fingers!

 

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Well, that's everything for now... I hope to have some "improved" shots to show in a day or two...

 

Cheers,

Jeffrey

[James Pickering]

Hello, everyone. I thought I'd start a thread where I (and others) can monitor my progress in Practical Italic Handwriting. So, I will try to present a short backlog of changes in my writing style up through the present, making brief comments on what I was doing at the time.

Great idea, Jeffrey! It will become an invaluable log and reference.

 

James

[JDShaffer]

Thank you, Mr. Pickering. I, too, hope this become a nice reference.

I know you are a very busy man, so please do not feel like you need to reply to the posts I make here. However, don't let me stop you from fixing my mistakes and errors!

 

Today will be busy, so perhaps very little time for writing practice.

 

Jeffrey

[Kate Gladstone]

Thanks to Jeffrey Shaffer for a thorough "growth chart" of his scribal progress so far!

 

Like others here, I hope he'll post further as he continues to improve.

 

Some comments:

 

/1/ Providing a sample of his handwriting before any attempts at improvement

might make the chart even more persuasive and interesting, because it would show us what Jeffrey began with: the (presumably) bad handwriting that drove him to study Italic.

 

/2/ Given the excellence that Jeffrey has so far attained with isolated (joinless) letters, I would like to see him experiment with incorporating into his handwriting just a few of the more practical joins: those few that do not degrade the legibility of the writing.

 

With my students, when they come as far as Jeffrey has I generally ask them to experiment with extending the cross-bars of "t" and "f" very slightly rightward wherever this extension can legibly join them to the top of the next letter (e.g., in such words as "to" and "fry") so that with a very short horizontal motion they can eliminate a pen-lift here without loss of their new-found legibility.

Some experiment will show where one can and cannot legibly leave the pen on the paper when exiting a "t" or an "f." Doing it for "ti" or "fu" usually works very well - for "ta" it may work, but this will depend on the individual. For "tz" it doesn't work - nor for "te" unless, as I do, one writes the Renaissance two-stroke Italic "e" instead of the one-stroke "e" of more recent handwriting-styles. So try "t" (and "f") before each alphabet-letter ("ta" through "tz" - "fa" through "fz") to see just where such a shortcut will or won't work for you.

 

For "ff" (as in "Jeffrey Shaffer"), "tt" (as in "fitting"), and "tf/ft" (as in "outfit/drifting"), many of my students (and I myself) find it most practical to have these two letters share a single cross-bar. E.g., for "ff" in "puff," write the bodies of both "f"s before crossing them with a single (slightly lengthened) cross-bar. (Note that, if you have "puffing" or whatever, the cross-bar as it exits the second "f" can reach far enough right to begin the letter "i.")

The same horizontal join will (for many Italic writers) also work for coming out of the letter "o" - rather than lift the pen in moving rightward when one writes (say) "oil," keep the pen on the paper during the move out of the "o." Don't do this, of course, until and unless you have come to feel comfortable doing something similar out of "t" and "f" as detailed above. (And, as with "t" and "f," try it with various letter-pairs to see where it will and will not work for you: "oa ob oc od," etc., Note that "ob/tb/fb" and some similar pairs will change the horizontal to a diagonal as the pen moves to the top of the second letter's ascender. If you don't like the diagonal here, simply do not join within these combinations.)

 

Whenever you feel comfortable with some judicious joining out of "o" (but not before!), I then recommend applying the same notion also to letters that end on the base-line of the writing (such as "a" and "h"). In these cases, of course, leaving the pen on the paper as one exits these letters will create a straight short diagonal (rather than a straight short horizontal as in most "t/f/o" cases). Practice these, too, in various combinations to see which combinations do and don't lend themselves to joining for you as you write Italic. (Expect to find fewer workable diagonal combinations than workable horizontal ones. For instance, most people who can join "ta oa fa" have vast difficulty joining "aa" legibly and rapidly, and should therefore not join diagonally into "a" or a similarly curvaceously-topped letter. Most of my students, and myself, therefore do not join from a baseline into such letters as "a/c/d/g/q" even though we freely join horizontally into the same letters.)

 

Please try this for a while, and let me know how you fare.

[JDShaffer]

Thank you, Ms. Gladstone, for your comments and suggestions. I believe that when I become more comfortable writing in this Italic hand, then I will, indeed, undertake practicing your suggestions.

 

I have only recently changed my penhold and my "writing motion" to one from the shoulder / elbow and now the wrist & fingers. This has set my writing back to some degree and without a high-level of concentration I forget and begin using my wrist and fingers once again.

 

Today's entry was written very slowly and deliberately using my elbow (with a slight moment of wrist in the middle.) I am also trying to incorporate some changes to my descenters per Mr. Pickering's earlier suggestion (in another thread.)

 

So, if I don't keep you posted about my "joining up" for a little while, please do not be concerned... I'm simply not up to that level yet (but I will get there, and when I do, I will try!)

 

Most sincerely,

 

Jeffrey D. Shaffer

 

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http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/jds/misc/progress-2004-12-06.jpg

[James Pickering]

As I have posted elsewhere:

 

I function here in the manner of the Chancery writing masters of the Italian Renaissance with their copybooks. I illustrate primarily Chancery (Italic) letter forms and their construction, but also supplemental Roman Majuscule lettering, humanistic writing hands and very basic illumination. I include rudimentary information relating to techniques, equipment and materials. My emphasis and focus is on the Chancery cursive writing hands of the Italian renaissance and their adaptation for practical everyday handwriting.

 

The exemplars of my writing that I post here are offered for study and emulation. My calligraphic teaching methodology is based on that of Edward Johnston (as passed down through Graily Hewitt and my own teacher, Wilfred Barton, who was a contemporary and student of them) -- hands-on instruction starting with Roman lettering and progressing through the hierarchy of scripts.

 

Unfortunately, I simply do not have time to critique the handwriting of others and suggest corrective remedies nor am I very proficient at doing that. This is rightfully the province of Kate Gladstone who is skilled in this area.

 

James

[JDShaffer]

Mr. Pickering,

 

I do hope that I have not done anything to offend you or to make you think you must reply to all or any of my posts.

 

In my heart, I simply want to write using a better hand, and when I found your webpages I was so happy and have been trying hard every day to write like that found in your wonderful examplars.

 

I am honored that you have encouraged me and made some suggestions to my writing, it has only made me want to try harder!

 

So, for the time being, I will keep my practice to myself and restrain any correspondence with you and others to either private e-mail or hand-written letters.

 

 

Most sincerely,

 

Jeffrey D. Shaffer

 

 

PS -- Even if I post less to FPN, I will still read posts every day.

[James Pickering]

Mr. Pickering,

I do hope that I have not done anything to offend you or to make you think you must reply to all or any of my posts.

Oh no, Jeffrey, not at all. I hope I did not come across as too brusque or cold, for that was not my intention. I was attempting to explain that I am primarily a calligraphic teacher via the blackboard, developing writing & illuminating and lettering skills in a slow, methodical manner ala Edward Johnston. I am not very good at critiquing and correcting regular handwriting. As I mentioned, Jeffrey, I also offer my exemplars as teaching devices. I really am handicapped by not having enough time at my disposal to answer all the questions I would like to.

 

I am honored that you have encouraged me and made some suggestions to my writing, it has only made me want to try harder!

I am so pleased to hear that, Jeffrey.

 

So, for the time being, I will keep my practice to myself and restrain any correspondence with you and others to either private e-mail or hand-written letters.

No, please do not do that, Jeffrey -- just carry on the way you are doing -- I will keep on posting my exemplars.

 

James

[JDShaffer]

Well, I certainly am happy to hear I have not offended you in any way. That is a relief!

However, I do think I'm going to be a bit more careful about what I post. I would like to make sure it contributes positively to the "conversation" and constructive in nature.

 

In the meantime, I am still practicing writing "from the shoulder", though I'm not sure I'm doing it correctly. I will re-read your notes on the subject and keep trying.

 

Sincerely,

Jeffrey D. Shaffer

[Leslie J.]

Yes Jeffrey, I encourage you to continue posting your examplars too. It is wonderful to watch the progression, and is quite inspiring.

[JDShaffer]

Hmm. Somedays (with my handwriting), I feel like I'm moving backwards at the speed of light. <_<

 

But, still, I press on. I'll MASTER this "from the shoulder" thing if it's the last thing I DO! :blink:

 

Jeffrey

 

http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/jds/misc/progress-2004-12-08.jpg

[James Pickering]

But, still, I press on. I'll MASTER this "from the shoulder" thing if it's the last thing I DO!

Reread old posts, Jeffrey -- it is more "using the forearm" to construct the letter forms than it is "writing from the shoulder"

 

James

[JDShaffer]

I suppose I should have been a bit more careful with my wording! Luckily, I did understand the earlier posts and have been practicing from the elbow, but for some reason the words "from the shoulder" stuck as it's description.

 

I often forget, in the middle of writing, to use my elbow and catch myself using my wrist again, though I do believe it's getting easier to NOT slip like this. However my writing seems quite varied from hour to hour. I suppose only practice can help that, and perhaps a little more experimentation with "arm holds" and penholds.

 

 

Thank you, Mr. Pickering, for making sure I'm doing it at least semi-right!

 

Cheers,

Jeffrey

[JDShaffer]

I just tried another writing sample (too sad to be shown!), but right at the end, I discovered that if I rest a little more on my palm, yet still move from the forearm, my writing improves. It returns some of the stability and control I have been lacking lately.

 

I think I'm going to print out one of Mr. Pickering's examplars and try recreating it in my "best" practical italic handwriting (iridium-tipped fountain pen, as usual. Once I master (or at least semi-master) this thing, then I'll move on to italic-nibbed pens with more earnest.

 

A slightly encouraged,

 

Jeffrey

[Titivillus]

But, still, I press on. I'll MASTER this "from the shoulder" thing if it's the last thing I DO!

Reread old posts, Jeffrey -- it is more "using the forearm" to construct the letter forms than it is "writing from the shoulder"

 

James

Bill Hildebrandt in his book on 'Calligraphic flourishing...' also recommends forearm writing. To seperate the holding of the pen from the motion of the pen. The examples he has are incredible and the entire book is in a italic font based on his hand.

 

 

 

Kurt H