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Friday, November 6, 2015

lettering lesson for bridget

bridget was interested in some tips on improving her block lettering. i recommend working on graph paper and filling each space with a letter. *i* will give you trouble, but you can skimp on the letter right before and right after, and just put it on the line between the two squares.

it is heresy to good lettering to cram every letter into the same size box. so, i may be in big trouble. however, if you try this method, after you get some consistency going, then, when you switch to regular lines (not graph) paper, your brain will adjust and make the wider letters a smidge wider and the narrower letters a smidge narrower.

i recommend using that tipped oval shape rather than a circle because it is easier and more forgiving than a circle. if you have a lot of patience and time, you can always work on precise circles. but, my *lazy* style can be rather stylish. it can look like architects writing, from back in the day when they actually wrote. nudge-nudge to someone i know who is a budding envelope artist with a degree in architectural design (ivy leaguer, too)

now....i'm not sure this will be easy if you are left handed. i have to find a lefty who will try it and give me some feedback.

onward...

4 comments:

  1. bridget's comment says that her letters *go off on their own* - implying that they are autonomous. i hear that a lot from students. technically, the pen can't move itself and you really do have 100% control. most of the time, the problem is speed. SLOW DOWN. also, you must focus your thoughts on where you are starting and where you want to go. if you place the pen at the top guide line and then say to yourself, straight down, and then you proceed straight down and stop on the bottom guide line, you will make a nice straight vertical stroke. then proceed with the following strokes and talk to the tip of the pen and tell it where you want it to go and proceed at a slow enough pace that you are guiding it along on the path you want it to be on. if your thoughts are *i always mess up on my curves* then yes- you will mess up on that curve. you have to send a positive message to your hand which has 100% of the control of the pen. poor penmanship is a result of knowing the shapes so well that you can scrawl very fast without even thinking. slowing down and thinking about each stroke is a challenge, but, if you do, i predict you will see results. don't make it into work. enjoy the new way of making lines and curves. it is like learning a new dance - on a very tiny scale. learn the steps, slowly and then speed up as they start to imprint on your brain.

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  2. check this out
    it is a very fun way to write between wavy lines
    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/386676317982600148/

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  3. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/386676317982600148/
    18 digits
    can someone tell me if that is a google or more

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  4. I love it...thank you so much, I will now go out and invest in a graph book, havent used one since i was in school and only for maths, I hated maths LOL...now its coming back to haunt me in a nice way. I have no idea what your questions is about google....let someone else answer that. However I found this cool wavy line one too https://www.pinterest.com/pin/386676317983464404/

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