Calligraphy and Continuous Writing in English
Calligraphy Letters ~
When you have your poem or text ready to order there are many styles of calligraphy to choose from. In calligraphy, styles of writing are known as "Hands". On computer the kind of typeface is known as a "font". Mistakenly, people refer to styles of calligraphy as "fonts". But now you know the difference.
My favorite hand to use is Italic. There are many variations that can be either tailored or very flourished as you see above in the name of Sarah Elizabeth Birchmore.
If you have a historical quote it's an opportunity to use a hand from that era!
Written in Gothicized Italic style of calligraphy
Most people have computers now and are aware of the many choices of fonts you can use to write text. It's fun (at least for me) to pick different fonts to write letters or emails. Just don't get carried away and combine too many in any one document you're writing!
Letter Shapes
When you look at the letters you can see that they are based on different shapes. Italic is based on an oval shape that generally leans to the right.
Round Hand, or Foundational Hand is based on a round shape. It's generally straight up and down with no slant. Because it's round it takes up more width to write a line in Round Hand.
Celtic also known as Uncial is also based on the round shape (see below).
Serifs or Sans Serif
When choosing a calligraphy style or computer font you've probably seen a choice of picking a style with a "serif" or "sans serif". That refers to the beginning and ending of the letters. It's the way old scribes used to get their ink to flow so they could start writing a letter! For example this blog post is written in a style that would be considered "sans serif". Helvetica is a common style of lettering without serifs.
Why Serifs?
Quills didn't have a constant flow of ink, so you had to start the pen by using a serif. It became a common "flourish" in writing. Look at the beginning of the "i" and the ending of all letters. There's a flowing beginning to the letter that is not a spikey straight line. That's one way to tell if you are working with a professional calligrapher. Most of the serifs have an "organic look" - not like stick was stuck into the letter!
Medieval Calligraphy fonts - Hands
When people think ancient looking writing often they think of "medieval calligraphy". You can picture a monk sitting at a desk with lighting from the church windows. They were known as "scribes". Maybe I was a scribe in a past life?
"Old English"
Very often people ask me if I can write "Old English". But this too, is a misnomer. It's actually not "english" at all!
"Old English" style is actually know to calligraphers as "Black Letter".
Probably the most well-known lettering style of The New York Times is thought of as "Old English". The capital letters are very fancy with thin "hairlines" running through the letters and all sorts of decorations.
Before paper was invented you had to write on something! The obvious choice was something that would last and could accept ink or paint. Animals skin was used. That's actually what parchment is!
Because getting parchment ready for writing was so time consuming and there was limited skin available you couldn't waste it with a lot of blank space. So a lot of words had to be compressed onto one animal skin. The result is a page that looks very black because the letters were squished together.
Very often the paint was scraped off the animal skin and reused! Modern scientists now use Xray and other methods to see the very faint lines of older writing beneath the new lettering on the parchment!
Using Leading Letters
Even when I don't write an entire text with Black Letter style (Old English) I like to use a leading letter written written in the style. It will be a larger letter, and often it's decorated or boxed with gold behind it. The use of gold in a leading letter is called "illumination" because it makes the letter "light up"! That makes it stand out and look beautiful.
But if the style of the calligraphy is more contemporary I like to use a modern looking leading letter with color that's in the piece. Personally, I don't like to repeat the old style but adapt a letter with a contemporary look. But of course, I can do any kind of letter you prefer!
Italic Style of Writing
Italic is the calligraphy hand I use most often. The term "italic" has been adopted in computer language to mean leaning to the right. But it actually comes from the first known writer of this style, Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi, who lived in Italy during the Renaissance.
I use this style all the time because it is so adaptable. And most important it is very legible and beautiful at the same time. It can be made to look very "tailored" or very "flourished" according to your taste.
Italic writing has also evolved. One of my favorite styles is called "Gothicized Italic". The reason for that name is that the curve at the top of the lower case letters looks like church windows from the Gothic design era!
Isn't it gorgeous? And there are many texts which just look so much better using this style of calligraphy- especially when they are religious texts or ancient ones.
Written in Gothicized Italic style of calligraphy
The capital letters are VERY ornate!
(I'm not 100% sure, but I think these are John Steven's letters- credit where credit is due!
I am a great admirer of John Stevens!)
Celtic or Uncial Style of Lettering
This style comes from the Book of Kells in Ireland. Since there were many scribes who wrote, there were variations in the look of the lettering. But most of it did not have "capital" or "lower case" letters. The letters were all the same size. That also helped with spacing between the lines. The Book of Kells was highly decorated and its origin was religious text.
The lettering below is the Celtic hand. It actually has a contemporary look to it, although it is really very ancient!
dark faded blue-green sheet with spots and marks, swirls border and burnt frame
Copperplate Calligraphy
This style of calligraphy known as "copperplate" is really different from the other styles. It is made with a different type of pen nib. The thick and thin parts of the letters are created by putting pressure on the nib which causes it to open slightly. That makes the ink flow out thicker than when the pen nib is pushed upwards creating "hairlines".
Copperplate calligraphy takes a LOT of patience and can be hard on the hand and wrist. It's known as the style of the Declaration of Independence. There are many
Master Penmen who practice this style and do very ornate decorations with it. I am not one of those!
Legend Calligraphy Style
This is one of my favorite hands, but it takes a long to write out. It has an Arabic look to it.
"Modern" Calligraphy
OK, I'm going to admit being a snob. But many people are taking one online class in "calligraphy" and claiming that they are professional calligraphers. It's called "modern calligraphy". Very few people can actually do this well. If you read this post you'll know what to look for in quality modern calligraphy. Don't get stuck with something that you can't read!
Your Favorite Style of Calligraphy
When you order calligraphy I ask you many questions. You may not realize what style you prefer. I have a way to help you figure out what style will work best for you. I'll ask you questions about your decoration in your home, what type of clothes you like to wear, what kind of art you like? Then I'm more able to make suggestions and show you examples. In fact, the best way is to look at examples on my site and save the different examples so we can collaborate together and come up with a design and style that you will really love!
Source: https://beautifulcalligraphy.com/styles-of-calligraphy/
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