Developing handwriting or lettering (for academia or design)

January 27, 2021 1:48 PM

How have you improved your handwriting, aside calligraphy? Are you familiar with worksheets for architectural handwriting or script, online or in hardcopy?

That's it! Would love referrals to resources or materials. Pretty simple, but handwriting varies so much and can be quite amazing to see, would love varying opinions.

Points if you're an instructor or otherwise have noticed or improved your handwriting in interesting ways.

posted by firstdaffodils to Education (12 answers total)

As part of rehabilitation for ADHD, I spent some time relearning to write. My handwriting had been very wandery (and quite frequently would stop mid-letter as something far more interesting happened by) and I needed to fix that.

The style I mostly picked up was that recommended in Getty & Dubay's Write Now. I'd also recommend Sassoon & Briem's “Improve Your Handwriting”: I didn't particularly like Briem's very severe italic, but Rosemary Sassoon's teaching (based on decades of remedial handwriting consultation) was very helpful for me.
posted by scruss at 2:06 PM on January 27, 2021 [7 favorites]

My husband writes like it’s 1800s penmanship showdown, elimination round.
I write like a doctor whose running out of time. But I’ve gotten better.

#1 is slow down and take your time (his tip)
#2 was watching letter printing lessons for my sons kindergarten. Going back to the basics. Helped a ton.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:11 PM on January 27, 2021 [3 favorites]

Old timey people were of course obsessed with this kind of thing, like a twenty-first-century person customizing their phone or social media profile as a vector for personal expression; you might look in sources of old public domain works like HathiTrust (“calligraphy”, “handwriting”) or the Internet Archive, which includes more modern freely-licensed or borrow-able texts and videos and audio as well (“calligraphy”, “handwriting”) and there are many other sources for our ancestors' legacy of free books, preserved by the librarians and bibliophiles of the world.

I find that the drawings in patents are a fascinating source for styled handwriting too; they're like snowflakes. Here's a Google Patents search for everything before 1940—the earlier you go, the fancier and less standardized the handwriting gets, among the ones I've looked at.
posted by XMLicious at 2:20 PM on January 27, 2021 [4 favorites]

If you’re American I would also add that the type of pen you use really affects this. I think it is MUCH easier to write print letters with a ball point pen but actually difficult to do so with a fountain pen in part because of the (lack of) resistance of the pen and paper. On the flip side, I find writing cursive to be much easier with a ball point pen.

When I was teaching I was also shocked by how tired my arm would get writing on a chalkboard. I know these things are changing but I think it’s useful to practice writing on a chalk or dry erase board if that’s what you’re going to be using.

(On reread i now think you mean a penmanship instructor, but the idea holds true)

Also consider that different places and cultures prioritize different types of handwriting (in France they teach cursive differently than in the USA and students couldn’t read my American print handwriting but this also applies to the bubbly letters often found used by middle school girls or the block print hand writing of RISD students. You just have to find a good handwriting for you, not the prettiest handwriting out there)
posted by raccoon409 at 2:55 PM on January 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

You say not calligraphy, but my experience is that learning to write italic with a proper italic-nibbed fountain pen improves one's handwriting in other styles and with other kinds of pens as well. The chisel point of the italic nib really trains your hand and your eye. I used a fun little book by Tom Gourdie that's out of print for instruction. Something like this book should do the trick.
posted by bertran at 4:38 PM on January 27, 2021 [3 favorites]

I switched my pencil grip to this (from an awkward quadrupod grasp my teachers tried to train me out of for years) and my handwriting instantly, significantly improved with no more hand stress or cramping.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:44 PM on January 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

Another vote for italic handwriting. I used Sassoon's book.

For architectural writing, they keyword you're looking for is architectural / drafting / technical lettering. Lots of resources for that on the web.
posted by BrashTech at 7:10 PM on January 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: UPDATE: Please give references for architectural or technical lettering! Textbooks or online resources, contin.

I understand there is a plethora of materials online: I am seeking tried materials, esp. from academic or personal profession/experience.
posted by firstdaffodils at 7:47 PM on January 27, 2021

When I started studying again (in 1997) I had terrible handwriting; I'd write something and even weeks later couldn't read it - I simply had to get better. We also had good advice from the Uni on getting organized and (I think) there was emphasis on the real learning value of handwriting.

I consciously started analysing my writing to see why it was so illegible and the weakness was a mix of never having been taught to join letters properly, and forming some letters very poorly especially s f. My first thing was to stop trying to join at all and invent a way of writing an s that I found easy and legible. After six months or so I started joining letters again

To speed things up for writing lecture notes (where I'd be the only one reading them later) I also started using ° for degree, and so on, as well as inventing my own ampersand, as well as thumbnail sketches. I have found Pilot pens, especially the 0.3mm ones ideal for writing/sketching.

When I switched to landscape study this intensified, especially as on some courses the lecturer wanted all our scraps and thinking notes (and had a good idea for work done after the fact - the latter earned a D).

We did a lot of classes just on lettering (using everything from chalk, Sharpies, ever wider fibre tips, brushes, pencils and pens), just like going back to primary school, using light parallel lines and forming the letters, and trying, trying to slope them all the same way.

Just occasionally I'll be on the road and have to draw a quick sketch and label it and know it'll be understandable once I've snapped it with my phone.
posted by unearthed at 12:19 AM on January 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I'm working my way through Write Now by Getty and Dubay. It gives context for handwriting, and helps you develop a clear italic style of writing.
posted by freshwater at 7:28 AM on January 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Here is a complete course for you. My only comment is that the architectural lettering style shown here is a very mild form, very legible, with just a few of the "architectural" flourishes that I was taught in the early 1980s. It would be a good place to start, and you can find out your own architectural letterform style. Even among architects, I've found considerable difference as each person has their own recognizable hand. Also, here is a tip from an old pen-and-paper trained draftsman-- Google "TOM Q VAXY". In short it is a handy mnemonic that reminds you which of the letters need to be drawn just a little bit wider. I hope that helps you!
posted by seasparrow at 6:45 PM on February 11, 2021 [1 favorite]

Hey here is another useful video for you. Check description for a downloadable worksheet to get started with following along. Again, this is an introductory 10 minute course, and the letterforms are very universal and legible. I think it would be perfect for your needs.
posted by seasparrow at 1:08 AM on October 17, 2021