Glad you asked!

It looks like there’s still a lot more to learn, actually.

Many of you know that I started my lettering journey with hand-lettering and calligraphy with a broad-edge marker and brush pens (also called crayligraphy and brush pen calligraphy). I still do both. But, I added pointed pen after I got an Ink Me This engraver for Valentine’s Day earlier this year…and ever since, I’ve been trying to bend the instrument to my will.

Remember this? 👇🏾

Yeah. 😬

Pointed pen is enjoyable…But, it is a challenge.

For one, it’s not the most convenient way to practice calligraphy, especially when on-the-go. Your nibs will need protecting and live ink can be troublesome if you are accident-prone.

Two, it’s not always easy to note improvement when you are just starting out. Getting better at it can take a long time, honestly. But, there are real rewards to keeping your hands warm with a daily practice.

Take a look at six months difference below.

Granted, this is digital calligraphy-with an exceptional digital brush, I might add. But, the overall level of understanding has improved, in my opinion.

When I first started with hand-lettering, I would collect info all over the web if I felt it could be useful, including YouTube University. While I was more interested in hand-lettering than calligraphy, The Happy Ever Crafter was and continues to be a popular Youtube channel where Becca Courtice, primarily a calligrapher, shares her own tips and interviews other artists on their practices, courses, etc.

One thing Becca would say that always stayed with me, regardless of the fact that I was not practicing calligraphy regularly at the time, was that she learned calligraphy fast by constantly practicing the basic strokes over and over again. It’s the only cheat code I’ve heard yet.

Every letter in the Copperplate script is built from a combination of the seven basic strokes (there are a number of basic strokes for Spencerian script too). The idea is, if you can properly execute the strokes, you’ll produce some great-looking script.

It’s no wonder then, that every time I sit down to practice, I go through these strokes along with some nib pressure exercises before I start trying to create letters from them.

When I practice, I use guides that I illuminate through my paper with an Artograph Lightpad I bought years ago from my local art supply store. I elevate the lightpad slightly with some risers they call Pad Puks that came packaged with it.

Most often, the guides I use are by Logos Calligraphy. They have embedded ovals that are really helpful for trying to form the letters of Copperplate script.

Now, after using the guides with embedded ovals for a few months, I can quite literally say that, for myself, trying to execute its perfect ovals is futile. My hand has its own natural way of wanting to work-even with increased muscle memory. I now just work on trying to get my ovals to connect without being too narrow (my natural inclination). But, I still feel like the embedded ovals are a complete game-changer. Even when I try modern calligraphy (see the photo below), I feel like my letters are much more consistent than they were.

These days, I go through the basic strokes and the lowercase alphabet for about 15-30 minutes before I am ready to move on to forming words and paragraphs, if I can get to it in a session. And, sometimes, I just spend the time after the basic strokes on one or two letters.

Above is some morning duty practice at work (in blue) using a Tombow Fudenosuke Colors pen. The brown is afternoon practice in walnut ink (my favorite practice ink 🥰), with a pointed pen.

As I practice, I can see that, I’m developing my own personal preferences…For instance, although I consider myself naturally heavier handed, I’m attracted to a lighter hand in my traditional calligraphy. Keeping my strokes light is much less strain on my wrist and it also helps me to see the thicks and thins better.

I also realize most calligraphers teach beginners that, in calligraphy, downstrokes are thick and upstrokes are thin. But, after looking at the work of so many veteran calligraphers even on IG, I could see that that was only partially true. To me, many of the calligraphers letters that I followed looked like they had muscles on them!

What I’ve learned since is that many strokes in pointed pen calligraphy are modulated. That is, the pressure of the stroke transitions at certain parts during the completion of the letter such that it’s not as black and white as down thick/up thin.

For example, take a look at an ‘o’ in Copperplate by a veteran calligrapher, and many times, it looks like it’s mostly hairline until the line ‘burps’ around the center on the left hand side of the letter. Same with ‘l’’s. Not beginning the downstroke with an abrupt thick stroke and rather slowly increasing pressure and then decreasing again for a hairline at the baseline is what I see in more experienced work.

It’s subtle. But it’s there.

Now, I learned all that…but mastering it is an ongoing pursuit.

I’m still learning so much as I go. For instance, did you know that instead of adjusting your grip, you should adjust your pen to how you write?

Yeah, I was almost today years old when I found out how deep that concept goes…

Although I’m certain it’s in any one of the calligraphy classes I’m enrolled in, I saw a video about adjusting my flange (the flange is the bit that fits the nib in an oblique holder) about three days ago and a few things clicked into place for me.

Each pen maker has their own way of aligning the flange to the shaft.
The angle at which I hold my hand while holding a pen would be more difficult to change than to just adjust the flange by bending it up or down or using some nib pliers.
I can tighten the opening of the flange for the nib I’m using, especially if I want that nib holder dedicated to a certain nib size.

Needless to say, I’ve been bending and contorting nearly all the nib holders I have ever since.

Well, what’s the point of all this?

Again, I started this for calligraphy engraving…and, coincidentally, it’s time to gear up for another calligraphy engraving event for Veteran’s Day. ☺️