Penmanship with Lyric

 Today's regular post is right below.

Lyric sent me a practice page from the penmanship tips I posted a few days ago. Anyone who is working on penmanship is welcome to send me a practice page and I will respond with more tips.

Lyric said it was challenging to hit the guide lines and also to leave out the loops on the ascenders. But she did a good job and I am very happy with how she has opened up her letters and there is space within the letters and also space between the letters. That is a huge accomplishment.

The detail that needs the most attention is the slant on the second part on a few letters.

It is most obvious on the h, but also apparent on the n and m.

Here is her practice page. 

The dotted line on the first h below shows the slant that we want to correct. 

Notice the parallel strokes as well as the little triangles of space that are created.

I try to avoid giving more than three items to work on.

So, number one is to work on getting all of the down strokes parallel while creating some triangle spaces on the upstrokes.

Number two: maintain a consistent space between words. This sounds like an unimportant detail, but it will actually help you with the rhythm and creating a beautiful texture to the page. Most people leave too much space between words. You only need an imaginary letter i between two words. Lyric has the correct spacing in some places - and too much in others - so, being mindful of that spacing from the beginning will pay off later. 

Number three: another seemingly minor detail - but early practice will be helpful - be consistent with the t. Not too tall and tidy little cross-bars - all the same length.

At this point, this might seem super picky - but, these are the little things that give you a foundation for consistency and finesse. 

*****

Look at how you are holding the pen. If your fingers are really close to the tip, try holding the pen further back. When your fingers are too close to the tip, you end up with a lot of finger motion which you want to ease away from. Down the road, you want to have a gentle grip on the pen and more wrist motion. Whole arm movement is ideal, but that will take a while - if you are only using finger motion.

Beware the death grip.

I'll look through past posts and find all the warnings about holding your pen too tight. 

Try to relax.

*****

One more thing about working on your consistent slant...you might need guidelines for the slant lines.

There are some guideline generators online -- I'll try to find a link. (I'm out of town until the 20th of Oct) If you do not find one - remind me to find one after the 20th.