I decided to start with this blog, in addition to another one I created in Spanish. As this is not my mother tongue, I want to apologize from the begining if I do some writing mistakes. Hope you will enjoy it.
Since
time ago I was doing some researches so I could do a short introduction to
calligraphy in general and at the end, I had to decide myself and just select one type due to the big amount of information you could find. The name of this calligraphy is ‘Copperplate’.
Copperplate script was prevalent in the
19th century, but was used as early as the 16th century in Europe.
As a result, the term "copperplate" is mostly used to refer to any
old-fashioned, tidy handwriting. [Wikipedia]
When you are going to practice any kind of
calligraphy, everything is important; a right body position, the way you put the
hand, the kind and number of papers and even your
breathing must be taken into consideration. To all this, you have to add a lot of
hours of practice and voilá, you will
get an impecable handwriting that you could use in invitations or any other thing you could imagine.
Lets start with the materials:
- Extra Fine or Elbow Nib
- Normal or Elbow pen holder
- Special Ink for fountain pen
- Guide sheet
 |
| Extra fine nib and elbow nib |
 |
| Elbow and Normal pen holders |
The idea of matching a normal pen holder with an elbow nib is to give a
natural inclination grade that will allow us to do nicer movements. The grade of inclination of the nib in
relation with the sheet must be about 30 º, as it’s easier to understand it with practice examples, I added a video at the picture bellow and also at the link section.
To start practicing you will need a guide
sheet and this sheet has some lines, which number and
separation between them will change depending on the kind of calligraphy you would like to do. In our examples we will use a guide with 6 lines, the middle space will define the body
of the letter, 2 more at the top part and another 2 ones at the bottom part, will define the characteristics.
 |
| This example has 5 lines. |
To
help you in this point I also added some guide sheets at the end. All what you
need is added at end of this post and if you feel brave enough you can even add any
practice you try.
To download an example sheet do click here.
Videos showing how to proceed
Complete document
Useful webpage
Recommended book
Note for NEW nibs:
Before starting to use a new nib get a dry Q-Tip with a small dab of ordinary toothpaste. Gently scrub the new nib in ONE direction starting from the end opposite the point and stroking towards the point. Use a light touch and be sure to treat both top (convex side) and underside (concaveside) of the nib. Modern dental abrasives will not harm the nib but will effectively remove the nib’s protective coating.
Once the nib is thoroughly washed and dried place it into the oblique holder using a tissue being careful not to touch the nib with your fingers since finger oil will repel the ink. [Dr. Joseph M. Vitolo]
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