Transcript THE PROCESS - Utah Calligraphic Artists

From Concept
To Finished Piece
By Liz Margetts
BEGIN WITH A QUOTATION
•The UCA website is a good
place to start.
•Don’t spend a lot of time
finding a quote. It doesn’t
have to be perfect, just
something you like.
•I looked over the
Shakespeare quotes and
chose three I liked.
•I then selected one,
primarily for the length, but I
do like the quote.
CHOOSE PAPER & TOOLS
•You will need some paper.
Layout bond is good. To the
horror of some of my
teachers, I choose paper
from my graph pad—even
for Italic.
•I also like to use my slant
board, but many prefer to
write on a flat surface.
•Whatever your
preference, always write
on a padded surface—
several sheets of paper is all
you need for padding. My
slant board is always
padded.
TOOLS: Choose your writing fluid––what works best for you. Also, you will need
several nibs in assorted sizes, water container, pencil, ruler, paper towels, etc.
LINE YOUR PAPER
•I like graph paper (eight 1/8
squares to the inch) because
my horizontal lines are already
there. I select a nib that gives
me the size lettering I want. In
this instance, I chose a #2
Mitchell nib. A Speedball #2
nib would have worked, also.
•Using a ruler and red pencil, I
marked 3 squares up from
every dark blue 1” line on my
graph paper. This is the height
of my lowercase letters, or Xheight.
•I am using Italic, so it is important to draw in the slant lines. I use an adjustable triangle to set
my slant (about 7 degrees), but a protractor also works. I make the slant lines 1” apart, drawn
in red, also.
LETTERING THE QUOTATION
•I now start writing the quotation—at
least twice, but I find three times is
usually better.
•As I write, I think about a word I may
want to emphasize. Since “greatness” is
mentioned three times, I think that is the
word to use.
•As I write “greatness” I am using all
caps with various sized nibs. This will
give me several choices.
CUTTING OUT THE WORDS
•Now I look
through all the
words I have
written and choose
the ones that look
the best.
•I cut the words
out using an x-acto
knife or a snap
blade knife—
scissors work, also.
•This quote has 18 words in it. Very short quotes or very long
quotations are more difficult to lay out and design. I believe
that a quotation of 15-25 words is a good length to begin with.
•I make sure I
don’t cut too close.
I want a little of
the blue guidelines
to show.
TRYING DIFFERENT LAYOUTS
•After much experimentation,
I can see that this layout has
potential. I like to try
something other than
centered. That can
sometimes be a little boring.
But when a calligrapher is
new at this, it is probably the
“safest” layout to use.
•Remember, these cut out
words are still just sitting
loosely on the paper. It’s now
time to stick them down.
PASTING UP
•Today, I am using Scotch Restickable Glue Stick to paste down my words.
You can get it at an office supply store, scrapbook store or art supply store.
•Don’t leave too much space between the
words. Squint often to block out the cut lines
of the words. Space between words should be
the width of the lowercase “n.”
Match the blue lines
•Match the blue base line to the blue line on
the graph paper, as you glue the words down.
Remember this glue is repositionable. You can
move and re-stick.
Just enough space
between words.
I use an X-acto knife to slide the words in place and line up the blue lines.
When it looks right, carefully press the words down. I use my bonefolder.
ADDING THE ATRIBUTION
CHECKING FOR BALANCE
Always remember to add who wrote the piece. Write out the attribution just as you did the quote,
cut it out and decide where to put it. I usually write it out smaller than the text itself.
MAKE COPIES OF YOUR WORK
•Using my scanner
I copied my work
and printed out
two copies.
•If you do not
have a scanner,
take your pasteup to a copy shop
with good
machines and
have several
copies made.
Don’t get fancy—
bond paper is
what you want.
CHOOSE GOOD PAPER
Paper has two sides. One side of Canson is smoother than the
other. I wrote on each side and decided I liked the smooth side
best. It was wonderful. Why haven’t I used this more often?
It is now time to
choose the paper for
your finished piece.
I usually use Arches
Text wove, but it is
not readily available
here, so I chose
Canson Mi-Teintes.
This paper comes in
a wide variety of
colors and can be
found locally at
Michaels, Hobby
Lobby and Utrecht.
I know Carole Taylor
uses Canson a lot,
and her work is
gorgeous. I can only
hope!
MARK THE PAPER
•With the good paper
resting on a flat
surface, carefully
center your grid paper
paste-up. I make sure
the “good” paper is 23 inches larger than
the graph paper, all
around. This will be
matted and framed,
and I don’t want to
crowd the mat. It can
be cut down later.
•Follow the writing
lines to the edge of
the grid and put a
pencil mark down on
the good paper.
LINING YOUR GOOD PAPER
With the paper taped down securely, use a T-square to draw the lines. Use a fairly hard
pencil (2 or 3 H) and press lightly. Be sure you can see the lines, and don’t indent the
paper and don’t make the lines too dark. After drawing the horizontal lines, draw the
slant lines as you did on your graph paper, but not with a red pencil. You are almost
ready to begin your finished piece. Lining 2-3 papers is a good idea. It can really reduce
the stress of thinking you only have this one piece of paper.
GET READY, SET, GO!
This is where a wrapped slant board comes in handy, but this method can be adapted to
writing flat. Fold the top of one of your quote copies over and place it around your
wrapper, as shown above. Center it under the first guideline you have drawn. Take out
your pen, fill it with writing fluid and begin to write.
LETTERING TO THE END
When you finish the first line, remove the copy, make another fold, attach it and write
another line on your good paper. It won’t be long until you have finished writing the
quotation. If you make a mistake and can’t correct it discretely, you will probably have
to use one of those extra lined sheets you made. Start again. Count it as practice and
your skill level will definitely improve.
FINISHED WITH THE LETTERS
•The lettering is
complete, and this
is what the folded
copy looks like.
•Almost through,
but not quite. The
guide lines need to
be erased, but NOT
YET!
•If possible, wait a
day before you
start erasing.
Many lovely pieces
have been ruined
by a rush to erase.
NOW IS THE TIME TO ERASE
These are the tools I use. Over time, everyone chooses the tools they like best, these
are my favorites for erasing—a Magic Rub eraser and a soft bristle bamboo sheep hair
brush I found at Utrecht and also at Hobby Lobby. I’m sure they have them other
places. I cut a small sharp eraser triangle for tight places.
ERASING THE LINES
Carefully and gently erase the guidelines. Too vigorous erasing can damage the paper.
Use the little triangle eraser to get between the words and letters. I have found it best
to rub over the lettering as little as possible. This could change the look of the ink, and
it can rub off some of the color when lettering with gouache or watercolor. Now, brush
away the eraser “crumbs.”
ADDING COLOR WITH COLORED PENCILS
I printed the
quote onto a
piece of
Arches Text
Laid paper.
Then I added
the color. I can
now decide if I
want to add
the color to my
finished piece.
I could actually
mat and frame
both pieces.