qe A New Ayproach to an Ancient Art 2 Bill Hildebrandtware eo Ee Flourishing “Flourishing” covers the subject from A to Z. After d i ie —— 4 detailed discussion of the dynamics of moving the 7 ORC ee eer per CY GE brush) it proceeds to develop an alphabet of strokes CH isl iV pee tiene er eee ee Wer Ours mn er ee ee ee Cc ishes is followed by the application of the ff at an ® Soon Deak rp A New Approach calligraphic scripts. Special attention is paid to Italic to an and Gothic scripts, with the material on. Fraktur ae rireaeeey eri tes ty fs Ancient Art etre a een conclude the volume, This book is « “must” for beginners and intermediate students, and will also serve asa excellent reference book for the professional. Ee ae a ee ee en ee oe ee ibaa Se ey eee pale Pr yoann) Bill Hildebrandt Pa ard earner ey sak anne ra Perey arn Airgas ie prea i 7 Fone Tre ce era Ue ge rere er error aering nearer peepee ir NOT ce Pees ere Fy. New Hapa PoratTiss” A New Approach toan Ancient Art 2 Bill Hildebrandt DAVID R. GODINE, PUBLISHER BOSTONFast yl in 195 by DAVID R. GODINE, PUBLISHER, INC. Pos Ofc Box ase _Safry, New Hampshire 452 worwgodine com, Coyyrighe © 1995 by Bi Hildebrandt “Allg sow yr ofthis bak may be sel or roel any wer whatsoever ites eso, ect th cs of brig quatons embod in rit acs review. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGINGN-PUBLICATION DATA Hilddronde, Bil, gape Calligaphic floss: etosk onthe a hry, racic of flowishng/ by Bil Hlddrande ae ee san ts67pre2 1.Callgnhy. 1. Tile HBOS 1995 5-6 1977—dexo 94° 24547 cP Sesond Printing, 2962 Princ inthe Used Sates of America Ta Goodie Phys, who has hye me flwishing trough the yearsPreface Thebes come, the llr sat all '- (fel ond flies, ond hy He an” Auth eg ang eg cuith ples to Lewis Carl Many studs, afer having had fo lessons in align, bain to see dhe Sondafully wide specmuon tha cllgnphic at embraces and thn decide they want ts lam and ype all asyects at once: clasical scripts, modem scripts, decmtion, gilding, yon making, layout and design, and of couse, flowishing! This is a nabl aspiration, but a rather futile one, considering that ‘Westom calligraphic art alone camyrises some 2000 ras of devine of cyt, materials, tedniques and yi- losophy. The saudn's problem i moe fk oe dan eo in iets, ‘Today's stun ss the ene history ofthe ar with he bst examples produced in endless books and at cfr and nctings. The matieval sce, om the other hand, was geod taught, narra vt one cto he yr lay ‘out, writing text, decoration, gil bin |» tc. So, it is usual to py to sar ot rer fA we ti least yp to Gal fms pie anu nat atten to spond ors forts to thin. Flourishes are usualy used to ornament or anslsh text, and so yu should be able co write out some text to cmbellish. Bru it certainly isn’t necessary to wait until yon have mast eval exits before Loring the snp ant of flowishing. 1h ft he tnqus nace for rs lowishing ar alo those quired or good calignhy, and studying bot will result in befits for both, Harily any “how 10” books on calligraphy (and very fw ofthe many calligraphy trackers of today) stressor even mention the dynanics and kinesthis of moving the yen, which arwi Def pec ier per de pees This book will atternpt to fill this 4p a8 wel as provide a new and ‘Ths book gow out two suis: irs Wr awh ing dase Sane er Bee flowin with Rall Bogle 1 ooh is one ofthe few ieee Apnaics of on motion). Te other began on Day in 1978 when J notice a similarity bwin some decorative work age hak fou ile. Dover Reprint, 1958) and a simple doodle 3 had been play pg on since the early 1960s, which led me into a dis ny ns af a wth ind usta ishing workshops since that sme. J a indebted to ‘Raphael for his one wack workshap which opened ry eys to the seu of lise, and othe late Stephen “Harvard for hs yemsont yr duce adel examples from hs book, “Omamental Jritals.” J sould Lilet hank Raph Boguslay and ho Niel for wading the mare and offing thir comonents and . Thaks ais to Alexander Weipa us fom his book, “The History and Technique f Letring’”, and to Jean Locher, Michal Sull, Clos Stinchour, Fran Strom “Sloan, and Raphael Boga fr llowing me to rroduceexanples of thir work. "A wo of eyraation must goto Nancy Gr of Design ‘Books and to David Golf gins gen eg Of sooo Kon Wong fois Considente and cal proofading, and als t0 julth Abram, PT. for her bp in ewig the rascles used in moving the pn. Finally, a thank you to the ray thes and ots who, rough posonal contactor trough their work or writing, have inspired in. the word sty of aligrayhy, Bill Hildebrand “West Simsbury, Connecticut Contents Introduction. 1 ‘Beginnings et pe ata Chapter2 ‘The Dynamics of Flowishing Mavi th yon Fora wing ~ Advanages- Adina ips - Exes ‘Poin or uring Chaytrs Ae Apa of Tog er pet: Sugoi is Soon Spink Spey Spl xis Sale Rees dns - Nepean cans Muli sk ais un feel fet Ghayror ‘What Makes « Good Flowish? “Whi spec“ cl Cool Coto of enki - Sv ‘forsmectcs- Maina vil eens ~‘Hamoia- Seuby god molds Design angers Alay cia ~ Ain ed Chaytrs Applications of Flowisking Gena Berks ptes Hand tals pantry - Fer of syronesy- An omental cpl uci - Obl pattons & isla Cortouchs end frames ~ text The Sac mirasade- The Selim "Beit yen sis ~The Gots ike ses - Feuishing lets 6 ‘The Flourish, a Tonots - Flourishes and vinework 7 6 50x Contents Chater 7 ‘The Cadel Htowish 59 lacion- "Udon cts A dfotion- Digan exci - Cle ails Adding op, cc. A combi ei - Some simple sppitons So eer ‘A wid te wis A“ Cadelogu” « A Festival of Powishes * 9 Ped yn cris allel exemplar ond cosmo, hoa ye, as Nees onthe Examgles Bibliognayhy m nde 45 OP od oof a forms Introduction a this ise! This bak wil ince gna to cheat oflishing and wall Pepe nlaplog tial cheafetae ‘The imathods developed can be apledto the broad ced yn, the pointed yen and to Im lip. is ingrianththe lger ot ly mary alsa rad Hough desu, a isin fey in he igus de sce in Caer 2, “he Dyas of 2” Na only this aust” for good flsshing, bail gly inprove the alga of many sibs who have neve lee wt propery. ‘Tis bok. may be wed in ever fet ways. You may rad tool epg by _yoge and doth examples as thy ae suggested nthe et. Or yo can just Lk tthe cxamples and ny your band at exzcting some ofthe flowishes you like Te fist way is undouledly the way to drive che most beni fom the book. Te accom pd liga uals fn te inde wl cllow de orion peicexampls or mathods when wsary. A ood de of th mati in tis bok novel addi, eel Hh ne “phasis on pn Aman, the methods of nals and evltionof lish, and te ‘nal on cal Canfa ly wil ge sud now ed feng eproah toan ld abject. “The sections om tool, mata and story ntl not be ready hose familiar wid these subjects. Indeed, thse are os rudimentary as possible soos to give mainaan space to the main sje. Im any case, reign er ded donot siy i ger oan offing Guillem dando1 Beginnings Sea atta mtinnem WHAT IS A FLOURISH? Tire Reader's Digest Grat Eneyapatic Dictionary dns the word flowish in pote lle” s: “sto move with swaping motions; to be dslayed or waved ‘about. Te write with sweeping or omanental sles to embulish, as with oma- mental ins, guns, ac. na carved or decorated stolen pnnsaship. Trom the atin lone to Hao.” Considering the resol of graf fost vine ox lower tn, he Latin ot (intend) ofthe wort Ecos ebvios. Another worl fra flowish which i ws in he ypogrphi fidis “sash,” and ally the sword “paraph’” is applied to «lurch sed to potc sgn from forge Later nw dal show how flowishing rates to vinoworkbuninaion, Celtic lntwork, cad an knot in geal DIFFERENT KINDS OF FLOURISHES Flowishes may be classified na manor f ion ways. They cy beset nbs text or they may be used alone os artamens. As tect embellishments, flowishes may tle the form of exteuel sles or sf, ade soos, visble srkesquecs, or ingests. Sone ofthese forms may be thought of mare 4s doation or omamentation thas lowing, Du the cont ove in many ans, We may algo clasfy flowrishs at» syle, viz. cwvilner or angular, the Lair Bring own as cad.” Using te Ltr, thes agree istrate in Fig, 1. Flourishes may alo be classified by he tehnigque sel in dering the, £3, draw and filled, fly wniten, ee. This bok will pam diel 12 Flourishing as stand alone omamunts and as text embilichnens fist. idee and other a _roacus willbe discussed in Chapt 6 and 7. RRR eR- RIB ? ‘FaFs- raj sok 6. rtd sok. Eda ole wih cal lai 8. Exdl seg. Doble ok laid seis 1. All sols. Vie se que, Sad lela 3, Slap 4- Bode deme. TOOLS AND MATERIALS Since flourishes ae generally add to-writtonltes the tols and rnatevials used ae the same as those for regular calligraphy. That's the end ofthe section on tools! All vight,« rw words on the subject, but usta few any ofthe many fine books on see pager rec eg carpal more: on tool ordinary rt b 1 scripts (and flowishes, too) are executed with pull strokes only, the so-called offand or fire flourishes ar done with no yen lis, and require the pen to be pushed as well as ‘pulled, Thus, the tool must be capable of ring pushed without: or catching tse ype Tsim paler tee oe bch or de fh ee Tools e” Materials 3 thatthe callignphar must se to it eat the brush isnot pushed against the hair or Irises une a spatter or rough effects desi. ‘For metal broad edged yns, pushing can be smth ules the ib edge smooth aa fre of uns an shay ees ad comers. Ths usually des not rece shary thin sroles but the nibs mus be pearl canfully. Qu, sed and bawboo yen ae genealy smoother in ys stsls becuse of ther sfer matel. or the bginting lwishr, «good ua fibre ip eed ye is diab to start with. Tse will Both sh sath and allow the sade Lam the dynamics without bing hin- end by sty ma ibs. Another posible choice for flowishing isthe ounsin jpn, although as manufac thse mary not give the thinnest thin sols. Tey can be nshaped and a good compromise can be had betwem smeth pushing and thin hats if hens re canfully shaped. ‘Pointed yens are another subj eltogeur. The pointed wib end has two rather shary gongs which contac he wting suf, and te sights eves fre dving ‘yuh stoke will cause nagging. Lightness of tou, whi is equied for mos flow ishing, is esential here, and wil be date with subsequent. However, the die of nib is important, since he pointed nib, if excessively scratchy, is difficult to repair, and thee are no fibre equivalents. So it is important that the obtain well smamfacrr nibs, an fortuna se oe had tof thse days, The bs nes come from older stock and are woth searching fo. ( See Suppliers, page 10.) rks must be free flowing; any water based ink or paint will suffice, but pigr sted inks or paints say hae tobe hielo flow rey. Papers can be ough or smth deyendng onthe eft desired. A smth paper is advisable for bynes, butconce he proertouck is acquire rougher suafices can be tid. One must not ovetock the humble yeas flowishing tool: a yeni can be used 4a Layout or imrovising tal to workout new flows and the “double yess” tool is exellent aso layout tol for larger bad pen flourishes. The equivalent for4 Flourishing lange pointed yen flowishs iste "Whayyerlate® yen (Fig. 2). The computer as «gop dsg tol can be used to dasign and xc lowiss Haugh any ofthe Ahawingyrograns avilable with eter a mouse 0 drawing tablet. Je can also save an ating tol to dean wy hand swritn flishes which have been scanned. Dn any case, the material in this beok is atively indpendoe of the tol sed and can be edayted to many diferme amaerils, ols ond approaches. HISTORY ‘We humans have an innate desire to decorate. After we have invented or made something that satisfies us functionally, we then want to make it pleasing in appear- welts ert ny ed Tinted to ‘Westem calligraphy, and we can lok forthe roots of flewishing in the si tment ae wile sian Cleeediae anus (a red brush) on papynss, pardonent or rigid swfaces lke pottery or walls. ‘Basially, floss are estsons of tr strokes beyond whats necssary for reud- ability, and ths cam be cent sen in the ‘Roman cwsive (Fig. 3). This was prob- ably not done as an stem a omaentaion but mos likly brcause it file good. Je is easier and more satisfying to allow the yon or stylus to follow through” on a stroke than it is to stop it dead in its tracks. dwvefearvncechommbules Figure 5 Reman Gus he. fom Ta History nl Tei of reing” by Alwar Ni, Dove PBL) History 5 Soon examples of Roman Rustic capitals that have come down to us do show ids whic wy have ben mare conscious atoms at decoration than just fle Toe through (Fig. 4)- Mast formal book manuscripts, howe, do not exibi TELICESOPERVM: avINTAMAY Fig Roan Rasch fm “Th His keg of tring" y Alsnke Nai Dev Pa.) what we would call flourished decoration until arouad the e3th cennuyr, when some ofthe flgne decorated apts hago to shove wha igh be lll fly flourished Stokes. On the other hand, the sevigs continu to develop the stoke extrsion of th Roman crsive. Royal chara scary asthe 7c. wel flowish soles for omamentton, ttn against forgery, and to male ida for the uninitiated to read. This trend in the tary hands continued right through to the Renaissance, when suck formal hands as ancllanscacsiva wee amply dco- rate with flishs Ding this pid thease of operat engravings in printing ee ade he Coppplte gee and tothe flowishes sed wth the German kt scripts. At this te lo wes the cael lush aypving in manascigts and designed int intial Lets in. erty inted books. hd cde frig on tele of and rite bls, tation al book sags fll nt disse, but commerial and dacanentary sags ncived new vigor from the expanding word tad and economy Tee ofthe writing muster and teacher had begun and ie flowing floishes were used as pre omuamentation, as protectin again orgy ands dang yi of showmanship, whe birds ani- mas and yopl wor “drew” with lowish strokes. Fig. gs jis taste of che6 Flowing Why Hlowish? 1 tremendous variety of flush sles that cam be found in soviving manuscripts from diferent oiods. Fora soious aay oft cranes, he muds oe the Bibliography for sacs of ryrodution, Sisson sh ater 5 oth twp rash emay: ses. rehome ert-rhentys theory sith ong oly sh (Clap ahs dnb ar 2 fo Bihan Ural Pn” Dro Pals 56 feos Gute Wht, Faring, "al ifm “CC Cane len,” are Bloer.) WHY FLOURISH? Flourishing sf gves th calligrapher the apport to ess notions, 10 sakes er nd fa pl ff ry otaku ape So vides a word source of decorative material for calligaphic works, and a-way to ad infnite wey to your lens and words. Flowishes cn be used with any a- phabet, end standing alone dey con onate headpiece and tales, catauces, Borders, frames, logos and background pate. Fawr can aso be sed as prt of eyes’ signa a gua acs fg wi this oy they own “parapls.” And as foralignphic hoapy, thes nothing eter than Laing he proper teniqusofflowishing to irove your yn or bsk handling. And besides, it’s fun! A. WARNING ‘Ta fine British cllgayhrand tar, Petr Thorton, has sid, “you can’t flsh, done try to yove it.” Poo ates and yor layouts ant bal enough without adding an ungrcgl atten at flourishing to a picce. And wiany an-excel- lee eallignplic work has aoe nly a poor lish. The ede’ ey wil be drawn to it and the readers subconscious mind will keep asking, “How could the calligypharhave dane ttt such a ic piace of work?” So, wnt you con flourish rally, cic nthe privacy of your stun, Devote some ine othe xecs an ideas in this book; ty 19 andestand the plsophy Wind the methods de- seb, and grate even more. Ana then, when you can flows, do go out ino the world and prove it!2 The Dynamics of Flourishing “edn eons thing fous’ eta sing.” =drving Mills Tre "Danc ofthe Pen” is oil pls sires to align. Te dy its of body motion in ance ce closely akin tthe Ayan of qa yn motion in calligraphy. ‘The ‘Victorian writing masters wore insistent on proper dynamics in writing technique, and itis unfortunate that few contemporary teachers call attention to these mods or evm know the masons for then. ‘The requirements of flourishing, as well as writing calligraphic scripts, axe such that without proper dynamic telnique the sudet will nay produce smaoth and scl rss. Jn this sion, we wll net the pointe yo a5 used in Coppeate and ‘Spncrian srs, basse this ues «hi more fine dha the broaden. However, the matoial pois dey to broad pen work and bush wok eo. MOVING THE PEN ‘There are basically three methods of moving the pen to form letters: finger writing, ee ee thir Utes by wing the hand and fortron the writing sufice and fle (ending an sonightenng) the fst Evo fingos and than, which also Kld the spn. See Figs. 6 7.) “Uns the student isinstructed fren this will eam ‘to be the easiest way to achieve the control needed to duplicate the model letters. And unless show the problems that this “finger writing” can cause, most students will continue toler sits in this way and wil vey achieve the graceful and fre flow ing resus they sek. 8 Moving the Pen 9 "Te ave several sons for this. Fist, the fingers ae called on to perfor the diferent musadar ass: 1) to grip the en; 2) to ld the pn against the paper, and formas intl om srg ovary the fre of the ib agains the paper to form the ia aa dh and thins; and 5) tote thecontows fhe ero itsel. Altgh the ngs can do el se jobs th sults are never qe a snot ed, and con a ery hing ad ok Sond sng the ges limits the lngth of sake which convallis eres show ip som. sks rate ef fourm ae tated. Td, fingering tds cash nl ft pou ef tow weet tothe plane of th paper (se ig. 8) and can eth foe of the nib against the paper to vary, waking it dif eval ck end bins. hs canals case thn to ig in and ech on the wy soos, Fouth, the moving syste in finger writing (i.e. the ports that move ‘writing, that is, the yon and parts he to fingers nd Hon) hs vy Ue ! ais (oka) ond atl bngel® Flowishing Forearm Whiting 1 way fom a smooth ine by nib and payer sufice oughnes. Fonsnn swting linvates these roens sw be shovin in the nest ston. FOREARM WRITING Foard is forewarned! The bisic ide of fren wnting isto sepa th jobs of holding the pen, pressing it against he payer, and tracing the eter shape, 0 that cack ofthese nctions can be poforned with a difient sof muscles. Fit, te fin- gers ane sed to grip the om and hat ial they do. They donot lx while bang he eter contour (exept nthe socalled cmine iu, whee «vr sal amount of finger and wrist flexing arallowed: just enough to cause afew mon of nib mation. Once the student haste fel of fortarm motion withthe wrist leced, «smal amount finger ands flexing may beaded. Whit fleing should be inte to soles of about 5 mom and finger mation to strokes of one to two mom.) Next the forearm rel are sc tops he yon guns the paper, ad to wry he fret form thics ond thins when using the pointed yen (Asan expriment, place your fez and hand onthe writing ufc n your iting position, hal the yen with your fin es, and without changing te fore of your ip om they, show you con life he ‘pen ofthe yer ad Hh press it ow without flexing your fingers.) ‘Fully, th yen israel around the contour ofthe eo by moving the fore crm and hand without fling the fingers. Ts motion is controll by the muscles in the back, Known as the shoulder girdle. Aes this motion that students seen to fear most; Hy think they wil ot we che conte cesar to ae smal lates. Se rmny take the average finger writer a litle practice to acquire the necessary skill and confidence, be the swale ater can be wade with he highs precision in this way. ‘The sco par ofthe wluiqu involves the sting or fence points. Thats it coves ht sf eb tt. pe gc iy the pon-bodp combination. Trae dae schools of though on this. Te fst allows the omar to touch the paper at y (se ig.) and the tips ofthe ring finger and inky touch a2. Te fad oe nator ee gti le the payer a, For soles uy tabu 25 sate fh ofthe fran sting onthe ge flces and for Lge stokes, i slide the paper. The nd apis hove pos or ‘ sible vss forthe hand andthe ann. For ZX y small soles up to about tee or four snam, the hand vests on the paper atx, (sce pe Almat at tino ting ig §) ek fest le gee ile se yr he er en, For larger strokes, pt abou 25 mot the hand slides at x andthe forcann flesh resting on the payer at flexes. or lange sooks, both x andy slide on the paper and what is kiowm as whol ann mation ours. Finally the te offhand flush is done with only the yon nib itself touching the paper. 4 is interesting to note that wt tle yc ome canbe iting small tes with fle conta at bath x and oand without staypingo lifing the yen, one can go into a flouish with wale enn motion, and then come back tothe small stroke mode quite smsthly. With dhe nas (inet of the a eknd hey, the sols will be smoot and graf. ADVANTAGES: ‘With these techniques, the pen shaft never changes its angle with respect: to the fo etl wsafleaksorbeyoeeakn ‘ se of uses, the nib can sate onthe payor withthe ight fre to ive exquisite thin strokes. Since the tracing of the letter shapes is contwolled indepen- Jenly Tye shoulder: wi era deed of hide Se Shades) canbe controlled without afecing the ler sae. Finally, with the masszi Hasishng of th had anda combine bind they, the soles at edt ave sooth and with n hits orjekinss. Incidentally, to insure achieving «feather tuck an the paper forthe thin stokes using the pone pn, five or sx shats of newsprint shouldbe used unde the wing she as. eshion. Te newsprint doesnot compact its sllly and actually provides an “ir cushion” om which the ib con vide. Tis is halal for bad pen work lo. Fast writing is equally ad for the broad yen seis, ev though the force variation ned for shades wih the pointed yen isnot necsary. Using the cm will nsul in smoother and more graceful road yn lters and flowishes, and sone nbs ah es rsd ais wl bn fom Bendre mel group control. ADDITIONAL GRIPS ‘The sje ofomansral flowishing os practiced dung the "Vioian with its wondeful binds and anirnals made sh strokes, will not be attempted in. this book: Te pon ip and motion wil be desorbed Rowever, ar hose desiring to rove on to that are will find an excellent manual in “Ornamental ‘Pictorial Calli- raphy” by €.-A. Lapfr, Dover ‘Publications, 12. The smamertl lusishing grip is showm in Fig. 10, and stokes are made entirely with foreann: motion, Fig Sn yar atin Figen in Adina Gigs ts ‘moving the yen (for right handers) away from the body at an. angle of about si Teen Secu Taye liane ta al df ‘Te index finger just suyyorts the yen staffs shown. ‘This grip and motion allow very long controlled strokes to be made with smoothness. For flat brush work, sis square e¢ teem altogthr), the bch handle i hd bast vertical to the plane of the paper to ge the fll bmafit of the chisel edge in the thin strokes and to allow push as well as pull strokes without causing the brush hair to Inuckle (Fig. 12). Otherwise the flat brush car be used jus lke the broad edge pn. The pointed brush saad Tigh tol can beheld in muh he same way as the Iroad yen but should wot be pus ore cheb will Dude. “However th pointed bah can beheld worially 79 T#lwh Ue dhe flac brush nd can be pus nel led with no robles. Te av so many jointed sh atrng tdniqus that they can not be coved hae. Seal ood Tools are aailabl on this subject. EXERCISES “The execs shown hee are not new by any maa; though they may ssem Like think grade wok fom a Vicorion domentary ches thy ar extra important in dein te rope acs fflesing ond liga. Any ting ro may be used, even a cor ball point yen, but a 1 nae smth writing fountain pn or fle calligraphy yon is pfere. Ifyou ae a yonted yn poson, us your fa vorite nib, All exercises may Te tars bad asec pied yo4 Flowrshing Eeariss 5 ‘Ta get the fed ofthe friar motion, the fist stokes shouldbe across che full wide ofthe paper (Fig, 3) and then down the fl high of the pape (Fig 4). Each of thse strokes should take about two to tie seconds. Kay then pall and under contol. On sha of cach wll show you what the an can do. Jf tha ar any question about moving the yen, read and study Che scton on fortron writing. Stroke width is exaggerated. ieee ‘Nex cometh tne honored ol an push pul eeites (Fig 5). Taso fie warp exis tous before stating your align sion evn ofr you area. “expe.” The sudnt shoul do eds and pus lls (and mast other exes) GO008000 MH ‘Tigris Onsen spl. Th or cll wane xn frl aligapy wok, shythoially a about 10 sks pr minute (slightly less tan t90 per sco). “Seat slowly, however to get the flo ont Reel, no finger ting! The 5Fingsonky ld the pes shoulder maces move the ye. “For thas who have never wel hr ans in his way, a god way to stares to sna the ovals ard sh yl abt to inchs high. When dha fel comforable, go tone inch and then eon smal. You wil develo connel 0 you can do thes a one and two milter ight without fading you have t flex you fing. “Another exalt warneup excise i shown in Fig 6. This sole should be anasto in all eight ovations as shown. ‘Begin with 1 which isthe eases for Fegins Oviewations #5 tHusugh 8 ne mor dice ut hey ar irnyortant since they involve using the pn at he start of he sole. Rapa ac one seve tas uni they con be done gaily with prayer arn motion. Te stokes shouldbe dne voto tines pase lsag { \ — a echoed 0 searing wick ae “Figee 6. Anh wag es Swing ig egret fr pics. POINTED PEN FLOURISHING ‘Ths exes a all ilastatd with the bod ge en but canbe done as f= tively wih the pointed pny those working wit Coppa or Spm sis. Sone notes anda seis of exes and examples for the pone en can found in Chay 9 stating on page ot. tis adsl to gta good fein for broad pm flowisking before yroceing to He pointed yn,3 An Alphabet of Flourishing EE ig WHY AN ALPHABET? Any alg fel that wishing can’ taught beast a0 many Sof flowrshing with so many diffe ders of omypleity and vations of sm. But al wishes (aswel as all ltaforms) can be Inn down into basic as. And to wide the analyse and execution ofboth snl and comple fou s easier, well give names to the diferent hinds of skis. Learning any art or is a lot casier if we can tall: and think about the various things we leam by ¢.AsSoon as we ramea thing, i becomes less mysterious and won fiend. STRAIGHTS AND CURVES he simples flowish sro is the stight soak (Fig. 17). Tse shouldbe pace in sevenl ways. One i to place the nib on the paper, edge in, crate stoke, «ge out and if the pn. Tis gives athe etc bu wil stroke. A ave Curves 7 THE SIMPLE CURVE fs the stenight stroke is the simuplest, it is sort of unnatas, mos things in nate bring curved to some ete. So the aus are next (Fig 8). help in understanding complex flowish designs ltr on, we lec ind fv ols cise (ow) and counterclockwise (cow). ‘Practice these as well asthe othr stokes in dive ovens and directions, ew, cow, top to bottom, bottom to top, left to right, ee ae ca ee re and proportions. They can be gentle or sharp, or div sans ea ss Tees THE S-CURVE ‘We can now form ow fst compound ste: the scare, (Rig. 19) which can star with a ow cove and end with cow ase, with yhaps «sought prion in the middle. (Or it can start with a cow curve and end with a ew curve.) The serve isa very nat stoke an shouldbe practiced in oll inctins and sis. Again no tice the dfn varies the src can assume, nie stroke is obtained by drawing the sy ging owt and lfing the yen without . ying the pen mation, sot of Like an airplane 1g offA third way iso be like an ainlane | ing, and have the nib hit the paper at the | of the stroke while de ar is moving; this Figo So. <4 smoother begining to the stroke. Finally, you can have the nib it the paper lermoving, and lift off at the end of the stroke while still moving. 16 PE (SSS ee oi) ea “Tip g TS iv dn Aft iol ap Tybee gol pei rape8 Flourishing SPIRALS Spirals are essentially cusves that keep going around (Fig. 20). The most useful and esthetially pleasing spiral s known asthe Spiral of Archimedes. Ths spiralis one where the wide of th white pace bere the tus is wore or ls cnstant. Te reasons forthe uniform white space will be discussed later. (Trust me!) Spirals can be circular or oval, ew or cow, and can be decreasing or incrasing in se. Generally spirals in flowishes have no mow than two or thee tus, otherwise they can bwcome ipo Sel ca ae ln wo gal, LOOPS Looys ae curves which hey om curving, but unk spirals, Lops cos theses fir one complete tur as in Fg. 21. Although they are essentially the same, we will eal Lops on the inside of «flourish desig “inside Lgps” and those outside, OBO ‘Figs ip ng lifer lags. Ne ny ce ee ier sep forgo Spiral Exits 19 “ouside loos.” Again study the diffe shapes an proporions Loops cn tal. Note expally tha logs canbe shay tha actly no white side. A po sen sto leno whte gue niet low component and is called a cusp. See Fig. 24, example 9. ‘SPIRAL EXITS A comple flowish is made up of the basic laments joined togcher in some eyes eo have to end ins che spin. The path can continue vi a “spl exit.” This can oe curinowo ways. A nomevesing ex is made whan the path inside the pil roses itso form ap nd thn process the terns of esi whi coe tiring to rotten the same “sense” (iw or cw) as the spnl. See Fig. 22.A reversing exit osu when the exit stoke fors an scare as ivi. Ths reversing exit an be sent be combination of spina, «oop and an sure. Seis conve in, wert tat as abasic demanin nayzingflowishs. The Lining case of anomrevesng sia ext iss simple lop. Te Lining cases ofthe spinal exits ane shown in Fig. 22. EDS OS Cre 2, Exits, Ta exit a spiel, he ee crosses itself to for & Loop aad then eros the ether trams inthe Pa dagn ates sent aim beaiecrirrae20 Powishing SCALE ‘When we ama callgnphic ph, we generally find tat «noninal yn scale isrcommerded: ego, anseheight of many on wilt, Flowishs have no x- eight do pnd to yon wid hang sho in Fig 25. Forage Si Ue vay now youl mae the Lgp gyyar monotonic (i, wry il shih or thin Yh yl pn wil aww ne ey. "The havior lights of fli is ths controled by the yon width and is ho sen, gery, to harmonise with he des ofthe tex xing embellished, SKK KKK igen Sl Ts vst Be epee afl geiko wie A review of the basic flowish elements is shown in Fig. 24 for easy reference. Ee of ths shoul be prac in ll he fit yvations, shapes, veto, scales and senses with smooth ann motion. Jes bs to start larg: Lays ond syns atleast one inc in diameter. Cea frm slowly sed follows after suc is ab- sorbed mintally so that « shay can be executed without following a model shee. ao No COGS Ss s S ; Fig Ti fcth dos iia Benga Be ie 5 Be Fn byes. heigl 8.2 ring pl exits. cas (Ling cc of heey). REPEAT CHAINS ‘The next stey is to practice the basic ements by covnbining then into simple chains, for exaanyle by repeating the loop clement as in Fig. 25. Notice that this ‘Repeat Chains a exes canbe varied by changing the Lay proportions hat the Lops can be ep vate, nding oro. Repal each the aller aay sta, good ar contol and cordinaion. Osher good chains comprise atom up anu down loops and leat Ufa ight laps (Fig 26). COLCLLE CON CW. Tiger a. Rap ins wing os hing Heep spre, ding 2d een MASSES ‘Figo Ra cin ing cena od wrongs eal ie ‘Reyeat chains of spirals squire spiral exits and are good exerises to develop hand- eqe-bmin coordination. See if you can analyze the chains in Fig. 27 ‘in words before Tiger. Rat dies sng sis; wrt tthe werd desation f eh in fo, rating it.2 Flowishing Hennptng Chains 8 you try then. Then ceck your vabatdesoiytions ee swith those given at the right: 1 cpt Another good chain exercise is to repeat Loops [3stmatore ow ysl whneneg x Jeu vry the ovenation ofthe loops fom one to the next (ig, 28), Repeat dans hae practical apisatons in the dsgnofbordes text eats and ine fills. APS “Figur 8 Ra hie wiley of fe etn varying si. NONREPEATING CHAINS Ao a ean a sy S)) rosie, design, ll onl ange | ‘omplec flowsh combi. A ner fecal wl low show easy CS ing Now the Basie cements soy be 2 5 combined to form grt savy of ishes. A good way to start is to = ee and o what can be S don and dering Se eS ate urand-down loop vas oe of thse, Bu thse cements wre both loys. Jn Fig. 29, we stat wth lp ida pl, he se what and develop a seis of flushes bse on ts. Ten we ry the minor images ofthis series adfedy combine one with its mirror ee to achieve a syumetrical oma- mont All of thse fons should be yractcel util hey can be done grcully and without refering to the models. ‘The stent should ot hs point ry making wp sone flowiels bsed on noepeat chains. One-way to-proceed is to pick outa combination of flourish elements and then ny to actualy construct the floosh with dine ements, desis, ec. Seif seca come up with wl alacel rca designs foreach combinaton. A "me chanical” mathod of generating two, thrse (or more) clement combinations isto sea table such as the one below. ‘Here each ofthe non-trivial flourish elensents is assigned cia 4 number. New, for @ thre deme: : combination, jut choose three digits 1. S-Cure s5-cSpiloasie nny. nowev. it lia alee 2 Fel op 6 Sink een he pee Te err eae Ee Spa een For example, pick 57475: An cutsde Leg to cusp t «aia, outside entry, nomevesing exit. Fist jst draw the thie dements as « chain. Then ty to arange the elements into interesting come postions by varying the spacing, ovientation and overlays (Fig. 50). XA QD KEE SME Tapp wich two loys ada sy, Dig. Nya ir Figo rie ow waaay gest ik Ne hates ge rt flute lear AL4 FRowishing MULTIPLE STROKE FLOURISHES “Up to this point we have made our flourishes with. one continuous stroke ( when. we juxtaposed two misror images). Now we consider using two or more me or spre flowishes in «single flowish “composition.” Repeated cure sols ean orn the basis fs frames end repeated scurves can form the bass of many in- tenstng designs. Supposing on uri on another with proper tention to spar ing can give intresting els (Fig. 31). Gap & Figen. Some capes ffl miley fv a lis xpos ‘The student is encouraged to experiment wit the ideas of Figs. 20,30 and 31 to imyrovse some original combinations, using bork single and aliple sole ay- ‘proaches. The design or improvisation of flourishes to ita given space or composition an rocedlong sy analytics (deciding om sequence of bs forms and sats and then executing them) or can come from. crative “deoling” whee the subonssows “ight bain fet play its own tune, oto speak. With any form of erative, this ques fancy onthe patof the cmstor. Fluency comes fom hav ing ead as any basic and complex forms a possible and having them at your Classification of Tednique 35 fingoiys, taal. The more flowiskng you hav done, the mor flunt and cative your eforts will be..A similar crawnstance occurs in musical improvisation or com position. One does mee up a smusical instmanent and improvise (compose) any thing worthwhile without « great many excises and a lat of practice on existing scales, anpeggios, melodies, etc. After the formal training the freedom can be invoked and you will have a mc larger repertoire or which to ianprovise and crete. (CLASSIFICATION OF TECHNIQUE ‘Thee are the basic ways of exeating flush: 4) ‘Dravm and renders 2) Foal, callgnyhic: ands) Fre, ellignaphic. ‘Drawn and nde flourishes are just that. Tey ae drawn wth nil and cane lly ned (filled in) with yen or mush and ink or gouache. Many graphic ass ‘se this mathod whe designing for ngrodusion. Det of this wathod will nt be covered in this book, bua good exposition ofthe technique can be fund in Tomy ‘Thompson's “ Seript Lettering for Astists.”” However the methods in this book will give you thesis forthe desig of ruc lowishs that can thn be drawn a en- dered in this rnanner, ‘Formal calligraphic flourishes ae done with pull strokes only, ond as a result hey genoa rq yn ifs. They re sed wher a porticalary tight design it be ex- cea, whe a design may have been originated os a fe form. continuous sole ‘flswish, but must be corel into «yesonbel sce. Thc formal ayroac is also necsary somtimes when the louish i very Lng, or the tol does nat yer being Jed Orde nel yaa Sl wth he oma pron order to achieve the grace and spontancity of a free continuous stroke. Finally, the fe calligaphic fish, which s done in one continuous stoke with no pn ifs, is the one coven deal in his bok, Je forthe design basis for dhe ther two approaches.26 Alourishing SPEED OF EXECUTION Good floishes, goles of whather hey redrawn and render, done with ll jpll strokes, or executed in ne continuous stroke, should hove dhe appearance of grace ‘and spontancty. As a result ty may give the impresion of gpa es though were done very apy, bu this is not necessarily ue. ust. as iti possible and ‘ten necessary, to change fom.a hand est mode toa whale arm mode and back agen daring the sae continuous stroke, 50 seed in flowishing can vary from one pat of the flourish to another. The spel ofthe en at any yin dyed onthe contol need ad for acartestroe placement. Many flowishes that lok like they wee done at sry high speed wer in fact executed quite slowly. Jf the ann is propery used, even Seager fpced Mek" Uomrde word “dash” was us extansivly by dhe pointed yen masters of omamental yen- snanship of the late roth and early 2oth coturies to man spontanity, liveliness, snap, ec.) ‘When leoming the art of flourishing, the student should use proper pen Apacs and flourish slowly; conta ofthe pen és mare important than spec. Tere ae times whan apd strokis or desinabl, an he ability to exceute therm will natu rally follow when contral ofthe penis mast. SIZE Exams in ask hl pid tat i it hom Any male han this wll nt tan the hand-an-eye system propery. Don't ovelo working evn lager say with «on inc flor postr vb or bh (or ‘Whopper a for pointe pon work) and doing floss 8 to 2 nes or mae hgh Use the classed section of your newspaper for at hasan even gay tone and the slugs male a fine Lne guide. ‘Werking this lage inves the arm and body in vox hat is bth exiting nd fil for yuralligayhic cig, ie ‘What Makes A Good Flourish? senile fen fl nae if ee fw ecpesae in loarishes exists in the mind whic tes ae Spiyen Doe Aeooutd have bs wc had his chapter come at the beginning ofthe book, bu it as suid ofter you have an idan of what lowish sand know how to do some. ‘Te following topics should Irae asthe basis ofa srs oflsons andthe sue dent should practice the exarples show and try ts male up others to illstate He ides dicusd. A good flowish emphasis and endalishes the tet without over _powaing it or diving atti fom it. .Aguod neta flow is "Us i mare” ‘Aon! wea complex flats when a simple on wil do.) WHITE SPACE CONTROL A flowish whav the white spaces av ofthe sane or der of ican aypear to the ey as a homogeneous whale, with no part of it attracting the eye more than any other (Fig. 32). Any ccronuly tight amas with small we spaces tend to ata the ee and can dist the viewer. A. grt dal of what causes « poson to like or not like a piece of calligraphy occurs in the subconscious wind. The untied ebsover way not: low exact why do or don’t like « piece, but have 32. Tope poor whitespace con- Deter accueil wd po spss wed ur sibs winds pick @ Mt of Sass 77 78 Prowishing information we may not be aware of consciously, and uns we a “it ae” with the subconscious, ll we are aware of re vgue eins of likes and isis. Sle flourishes invalsing oly one or to elements usally yrs no white sac rb Tons, bu compos fois, which an ayyear es complet digs in those, ca sully le fom awk space cig. Uniform white spc disnibation in ernest as hee ff its sma and ayer HOT SPOT CONTROL ‘Theis more o es conllay of wt space contol /When. thee ae to many lines crossing in slave, othe flourish is denser in one ra, a hot spot ocas whic distracts the viewer fom th est ofthe flush or text. Genrally more tan te Lins ersing ot « pone (ovina small area), or thik sing hid, wil ase hot tas wll concerti of nal white sas An example of tis is shown in Fig.33.,Since the ae xeon to all rus, st be nate hr thatthe tay bets whew at pti ie to act a trtrtion gear, and many gral flies have ben wk wh nk ctaings and Tis onscng WAS. pee ‘Bet thse a xia ond in gral sold be aly Cc br So soe ules youluoa god nsonforthan, Swit CONTROL OF SCALE Flows, ster as spate dcotive denen rs tet allshnats, sould anno with thr demons th poe. Ts is bes coms by sing the sae ib i fr hls fr tht, lho somes luisa fi ihe off or bitin ll, with finn. Fig 4 htop lah sto Contra of Ambiguity 29 thn ford ssc Laeing, wha th seand one harmonies | Fri ricly. But in the tied example very tin urs on heavy ler works Incaus ofthe const and the placement of the flow ith, any case, aflowish gral should not overpower te text . swiless there ave definite reasons, Fn 1S CONTROL OF AMBIGUITY ‘The ove fit of pte of lla om the viewers best when the ice appears s a unified whale, with a meaningful § structure or composition. The same may be said for a flourish. recep reinettahy iret rian tion, oran expression ofthe mood ofthe caligraher, it should not Sinn a. comet f overpower the text, or unduly call attention to itself. A complex: sale. Se tat ato. flowish will work best Fie fs am integral part of the composition and appears in its asa complete design whee no part atocts the eye move than any other part. Avoiding “het spots” halys here, bt there must als be no question (tothe tive mushanism ofthe subconscious mind) as tothe path or soructure of de flowish, ‘Visual ambiguities tnd to subconsciously disturb the viewer, Low angle crossings can give vise to this kind of problem Jn Fig. 35 8 we are not sure whether the two strokes are actually crossing, or are marily tangent. The Low ‘Tag g5 0 Dv enc soo yey Sige a ere Ls os igh leo gel yg bSshs lap orpsta ck stud one saat ho 0 eid enbigy. Fig 36 be The awd sok? Taseambiniti cna afk. csing al ais th yb of Fig sb30 Fowrishing eof cssing in Fig. b can give the loop the appearance ofan val that was Eee ewile a ding mice bind i cut these ambiguities, and dhe pe tends to be atouctd to thom as “hotspots.” “Making the angle bower sing trkes lange ( Fig. 36) ais these difclis. tn en ging ofl an inesing nd fen pode rit Tok hand andy to ss exiting Lins in the flourish at nary right angles. The caampl in Fig. 37 shows how his works. SAGE GH, 5-8 -H A Visual Jnterest 3 means when it encounters gap ina stoke, the follow-through is gral, the “eye” actually “ills in” o infos the continu of he sake. Gaps suck as these are usualy nt itched since they ad lifts the floish, Although abrge anges in die tion ave usually to be avoided, there are 5 cases where cusps can 04d visual interest ast rs to aflowish, asin Fig. 39, and abrupt changes actully form the basis : _for cadels, which will be treated in de- tail in Chater. pi dee hal MAINTAIN VISUAL INTEREST ‘Ty to wary the Fig 5. An exert de eying cs th and Be eigen STRIVE FOR SMOOTHNESS _ Strive For smooth, graceful, dynamic curves and avoid jerkiness, awkwardness and ual, hg ction chang (i. 8). Th of the rn fling will usually guaraitee gral canes. Ev ih and fils to leave an baci artof the lsc the arm's flow-daoug wil fish he ole gf. ‘Tas gays are variously lw a phantom trols, flying whitespace, or nil conta. Te last tm actully desc what happens tothe Bunn pcative “Figo fj ona wish Cnr orl rl Rimi tiny fing wit. celenents and combi- an even color (is. 1» or darkness) Lifes, sole. (QO) Ree Be complexity witha ambiguity. Convenely, avoid the visual boredom. of excessive repetition of elements unless Si ee Te bork or pet signi des. For example, moe ‘im: one than foo re tas in spiral wil usually resin visual boredom, as will repeating the same type of element in the same size. Avoid sinless, wngrcful, wandering lines with no ayparmt puayose and which do nat form a cohrnt dig. See Figs 40 and 41. Use tansparntoveays to chuck on “placement and propriate bore ding finished work.z Flowishing HARMONIZE “Fowishes should harmonize with he style and cle or (density) of the text bing embllishel. ‘For exam ple the talc nus is based on the oval, an his siggsts thatthe flourish lops shuld be mare ove than circular. “Hurmanist scripts, (Romans) based on « circular “o” could have flowishes with rounder Loops, and Gothics would be at home with pointed or angular styles (Fig. 42). And, os mention fore, using the some ib sit as wed fr the tex wl Ie amy eco tion harmonize with the page. Sometimes it is fim to Trek theres and ste what hans hen a flowish Albay ashes wid the syle of the txt (Fig. 43)- Italic r oman STUDY GOOD MODELS A to con Hh basic flowish coments, eo ulate nok jo lh next ist pact the rnc and study good ex cole ee Fe eal lors onal examples fom dif yle prods, ary of which can te Fade vasonable rcs as rerins from pubis suchas Dover-Pblicton (se the Bibliography). At ths point the stdene soul review the points sad in his chapter, vd devs expe tills the principe involved wht pe connal, het pt contol, convl fale, contol of ambiguity, sive for smooth harmonize ness, mnaintain visual interest, Fiero Hono Roman. ic Figares Bring “nds” Design Suggestions 3 ‘Renner that He nove luntly you can exete the basic elements and combina- tions inal scales and orientations, the eset will b for you to come up with just the ight flowrish. when you ne. one. As itis with all ules, the will be exceyions to the suggestions in his chapter. Rules are made tobe bralen. But the ideas dis- cased here will give begins «good basis by whic eo eluate their work, and at the same time, «pont of departure formore ative endeavors. DESIGN SUGGESTIONS ‘Thebes ppaion forcing an oct flwih sto have done many lowe vishes. Cnstive,yocaptve and otc cic i invaluable, Jeane ‘Weng once said, "Ts bsone a llgner, you must write mary pags.” Tis is just as ue {ferflwishng. omy Groat’ approach wa callinapic prj, Play, Plan, Prac i fa Pas equally applicable othe dig of flowishes, and will on Play: Start by playing withthe floss try some dent ids, combination, amangonats. Enjoy the procs; ec yur mind and your yen wander, oli, doodle and discver! Ie ab fatal to bcometo serous to sao. While playing you may jst ton the idea o vvation you ve ben Looking fr. ‘Plan: This is he time todo serous evaluation of your ies, pick out the most suitable ones end plan how dey might i into the ice you've dang. “Use acing ‘per and oveays to check on placement ands, nd route che env ofc, ting to the Play phase if esary. ‘Practice: Lear the flowish pov dace on, and yc it. “Use the ols and ae at pon arp is in good meastere ‘on spontaneity, is will come | practice - dence in your ols nd material. aft: Mov, yi (it, mike faueless) the flowish. Get it pot, fen,