Pencil Warm-up

I have work to be done. Lettering for a couple of people & projects for myself... stuff to list on etsy (i've a stash of handmade paper cut, packed & photographed ready to go)... but i keep putting it off. Adamant that 'today was the day' (that was on tuesday) I dug out my calligraphy gear & set things up. But... no black gouache, which meant another root around. So, with the excuse that I needed to warm-up (after all i've done no real lettering for a few months... doesn't normally bother me, but...) I rummaged through my pencils...

I just picked one up & started to write the first thing that came to mind... i'd just posted about 'grey days' at spirit whispers, and the silhouettes of branches reminded me of pencil lettering. So I just continued the theme... picking up one pencil or the other with varying hardness... 2B, charcoal, 6B, 2H etc... more an exercise in procrastination to get my hand in than anything else...

I soon realised that my application of pressure was a bit haphazard and really could have done with my glasses on and the pencils really, really needed sharpening.... but i was enjoying the movement of pencil over paper, the forming of words, the build up of texture... just 'doing'.

Hmmm... what did I say to my students when i was teaching? "Always warm up, even if only for a few minutes, before you start writing". And so I did... next!

The idea of the "pressure & release" technique is to apply more pressure to the ends of straight strokes & the sides of curves. That's the simple explanation 'cos there are exceptions & variations etc etc. And it's supposed to be a gradual transition between hard & light pressure. It really does add another dimension to lettering.

One of the best ways to practice is to begin with lines(no pressure to get the right letterforms to begin with).... vertical... horizontal... diagonal... then curves... then move on to words when you're relaxed and more consistent. Also, a tip is to gradually increase the length of lines or size of letters.... going back to 'normal' size then seems much easier! (the last couple of words shown were a couple of inches or so).

So.... now, in theory at least, I am ready to get started.... just gotta go & find that box with my paint in!

Crafty Individuals Blog

Yaaay... Jean at Crafty Individuals has started a blog

http://craftyindividualsblog.blogspot.com/

I'm long overdue to get some more calligraphy to her for rubber stamp designs, but it has been on my mind to get started. We've moved with work several times since autumn & I just haven't done any calligraphy or arty stuff at all. I always tend to work best when I have something on the go rather than starting from scratch and my gear was packed away for moving.... and stayed there. Honestly, it doesn't take long to unpack, but it's been a case of out of sight out of mind. Tut-tut suz.

She's not the only one a-waiting either... i started preparing calligraphy reversed ready to use for transfer techniques, and was really enthused til we started moving about... think the time has come to get re-motivated. I know once I start I won't want to stop.... mmmm, the time has come to stop thinking & start doing!