Calligraphy printable Russian alphabet. Old copybooks, Soviet textbooks, arithmetic: download culture for free. And here is one of my latest works

Eugene

Collective of teachers - activists public organization"Parental All-Russian Resistance" (RVS) - at the request of parents who are dissatisfied with the existing methods of teaching in elementary school, adapted to modern realities and republished in 2016 the textbook "Arithmetic" for grade 1 by authors A.S. Pchelko and G.B. Pole.

Why Pcholko's textbook? Read the feedback that we, the Vladimir branch of the RVS, received from a highly qualified teacher primary school- Raykova Larisa Nikolaevna, and which, with her kind permission, we are publishing today, and it will immediately become clear to you why. "Arithmetic" for grade 1 authors A.S. Pchelko and G.B. Pole. I leaf through the pages and feel: it breathes with something dear, kind and very familiar. I catch myself thinking that this is the smell of childhood, and vivid pictures of the wonderful school life of a Soviet first-grader emerge in my memory. I don’t remember what mathematics textbooks we used in the 1st grade in 1976, but for some reason the pictures from “Arithmetic” create the feeling that I saw it once upon a time ... + As a teacher with 29 years of teaching experience in elementary school I can say that the textbook "Arithmetic" by A.S. Pchelko (hereinafter referred to as the TEXTBOOK) is designed in the best traditions of the Soviet classical school and is aimed at ensuring that children form a solid arithmetic base, which would further contribute to the formation of a successful mathematics education child. The secret of the textbook is not in simplicity, but in the availability, gradual presentation of the material. Someone will say that for modern children this tutorial is primitive. I can object to this: who said that our children demand the difficulties that we plunge them into from the first days of school life, pronouncing abstruse words and introducing the child into an incomprehensible world of abstract terminology for him? We, adults, for some reason decided for the children that the more a new child learns in a lesson, the smarter he will become? But is it so?…+ It is no secret that sometimes, in order to achieve high results, elementary means and techniques are required, and not something “over and above”. So this TEXTBOOK is able to help children achieve significant success in the study of mathematical sciences, because training in it is based on the experience of children and in accordance with the mental and physiological development of children. It is also very literate that the authors skillfully use the visual-figurative thinking of first-graders and focus not only on the clarity of the textbook, but also on objects and phenomena that surround the child in Everyday life. And tasks like: “Show as many sticks as there are bags”, “Put as many circles as there are cucumbers”, “Draw as many as ...”, “Make such a figure out of sticks ...” not only diversify the lesson, but make it active and activity, increase the motivational aspect of learning, reduce the fatigue threshold of younger students. + THE TEXTBOOK is quite full of tasks that become more complicated from lesson to lesson from simple to complex, which makes it possible to put into practice the principle of accessibility “from simple to complex”. All task texts are based on the child's life experience and contain great potential for the implementation of the educational side in lesson activities, for example: "My brother helped my sister make counting sticks ..." - mutual assistance, helping a friend, cooperation, friendship, etc., or “4 birches grew in the clearing, in the fall they planted the same number ...” - ecology, diligence, gardening, respect for nature, etc. Students gradually learn to solve problems, reason, prove the correctness of the solution, draw up inverse problems, abstract and express themselves when help of mathematical terms. A TEXTBOOK is really a good tool and in the hands of an experienced teacher it can make a serious breakthrough in shaping the mathematical education of junior schoolchildren and become a worthy competitor for other mathematics textbooks, but ... there is one point that may disturb some: how will the geometric base of junior schoolchildren be formed, after all, all kinds of control, independent and verification work include and geometric material? For myself, I would certainly find the answer, because it is possible to form the geometric component of mathematical education not only in the lesson, but also in extracurricular activities, which is an integral part of the implementation of the Federal State Educational Standard of the IEO, therefore, I would be happy to offer the children an elective "Visual geometry" T.V. Zhiltsova and A.A. Obukhova.+ In conclusion, I want to say:+ “Dear Arithmetika! Welcome to modern school!" L.N. Raikova, teacher of the highest qualification category, MBOU "Secondary School No. hero Soviet Union Kamanina N.P.” Melenki, Vladimir Region+ Listen also to what those who worked on the revival of Arithmetic, with the goal of reviving classical education in our country, told about this textbook at a presentation seminar held on 10/20/2016 in Dubna. The video can be viewed at this link.

And to read the speech of one of the project participants - on this one. + Of course, RVS enthusiasts who dream of returning classical Russian education to the Russian school are not going to stop at one textbook. Hard work is now underway to prepare for the publication of the entire range of textbooks for elementary school. Its results can be found on the RVS website. As V.V. Mayakovsky, "the work of hell will be done and is already being done." If you are passionate about the education of our children, join us. The work is going on a voluntary basis. + Galina Solovieva, RVS

If so, then you have just stumbled upon the perfect article to do just that.

Learning calligraphy is not an easy process, but with the right teaching materials, it can take less time than you think.

What is calligraphy?

This term is borrowed from ancient Greek and means the art of beautiful writing.

It is supposed that instead of just writing beautiful letters, calligraphers must follow a number of rules and traditions, including those that govern the arrangement and placement of letters in text.

How to master calligraphy? More importantly, does it really make sense to do this?

For example, if you are a designer, modern calligraphy is a great skill to add to your resume and the fastest way to attract clients with elegant logos, signs, cards, invitations, etc.

Our article on calligraphy for beginners will help you become familiar with all these things and help you learn calligraphy and give your work a recognizable and individual style.

Here is our compact guide to calligraphy:

Learning calligraphy - where to start

How to learn calligraphy? The first step along the way is to get the right equipment, including the best calligraphy pens. Calligraphy with a pointed pen will require you to learn how to use a fountain pen. Including one that is made of a metal tip - a pen, and attached with a special holder.
All such calligraphy basics guides recommend these pens as they have no ink inside and can't do any damage - instead you dip them into a special container while you write and benefit from their flexibility to experiment with different line options. This way, your pen will never corrode or clog, despite the vast amount of different ink you have to use to complete your project.

How to use calligraphy pens? Here are the tools you will need:

• Feathers
• Pen holders
• Paper suitable for fountain pens
• Ink

Feather

For beginners who are learning how to use a calligraphy pen, we recommend the Nikko G-Nib pen. It is relatively rigid and draws nice lines with the desired level of flexibility.

pen holder

There are two types of pen holders: straight and oblique (oblique). The former is best suited for vertical calligraphy styles, while the slanted holders make it easier to combine several different styles.

A high-quality, affordable alternative is the slanted Speedball Oblique Pen Nib Holder, as well as the Tachikawa Comic Pen Nib Holder for Various Pen Nib - Model 25 (a great choice for upright styles as it holds tighter than other similar holders).

There are designers who use the same holder for all calligraphy pens, but we encourage beginners to try a few different options before choosing one holder.

Paper

The roughness of regular paper will prevent you from using it for calligraphy. Among other problems, you will encounter situations where your pen gets caught on paper and leaves annoying ink blobs.

Also, regular printed paper has more fibers and therefore absorbs ink and allows it to spread within the sheet, which is likely to be an obstacle to the smooth and clean lines that calligraphers strive for.

To make calligraphy more effective and enjoyable, buy paper that is suitable for nibs and fountain pens. For example, the popular brand Rhodia, whose paper is very smooth and resistant to ink. Several types of paper are available: blank sheets, in-line or dotted grids.

Ink

There are several types of ink suitable for fountain pens, but beginners should always choose quality black samples. Our choice is Speedball Super Black India as this ink is very dark, water resistant and also reasonably priced.

As with any creative process, calligraphy is best practiced in a pleasant work environment.

A comfortable and well-organized desk where you can place all your supplies and feel positive and relaxed is the best place to practice your calligraphy skills.

Choosing the best place to work

To get the most out of your calligraphy practice, choose a comfortable and relaxing place where you can place your feet comfortably. Organize your supplies well and keep the place uncluttered to provide enough room for your arms to move.

Writing paper should be placed on a special writing board or at least 5-6 sheets. This way you will have a soft surface that will allow you to write more naturally than on a table, and the surface will not allow your paper to fidget.

Instrument preparation

Make sure you have a non-fluffy towel and a cup of water nearby so you can clean your pen. Paper towels are also fine, but be aware that their fibers can catch on the tip and cause annoying blotches.

Your ink should be placed in a wide-mouthed bottle or jar so that you don't touch the sides of it with your pen. And put the bottle where you can't tip it over easily. Basically, your work tools should be within reach, but still at a safe distance. For example, we put them in a roll of tape or even close them to avoid risk.

As mentioned earlier, you must place the pen inside the holder. The easiest way to do this is to take the pen somewhere near its base and then insert the pen inside the holder using its outer ring.

Make sure you don't hold the nib by the nib as this can bend it and deform it. To get it right, find the guide on YouTube and follow the instructions.

Main strokes calligraphy

The structural elements of calligraphy are thick downward strokes and thin upward strokes. Thin upward strokes are easy to draw as you effortlessly hold the pen and move it up.

Thick strokes, on the other hand, require more pressure as the pen moves down. Of course, you must balance and combine both movements to get the best line change.

Before you begin, dip the pen deep into the ink bottle, making sure the breathing hole on the back of the pen is completely closed. Wipe off any excess ink on the side and you can start writing.

Here are the rules you should follow:

Downstrokes come first. Do not press too hard - this will help you observe the change in line thickness. This way you will also protect your pen.

Experiment with different loops and combine thinner upstrokes and thicker downstrokes. Loops of continuous lines will help you connect them and come up with the perfect combination.

Continue with thick downward strokes and slowly release the pen as you move towards the bottom.

Reorder. Draw downward strokes so that it looks like they are pouring down.

Continue with ovals. Apply strong pressure on the left side and lighter pressure on the right side.

It often happens that a new pen draws two parallel lines instead of one, or "railroads" as experienced calligraphers call them. The reason is that you either applied too much pressure to the pen or there is not enough ink left.

Equipment and stroke tips for professionals

For those of you who are confident that you are starting to write professionally, we have prepared some embellishments to add to your beautiful lettering.

Variable letters

An easy way to give your writing an experienced look is to change the slope. You can easily change the width of the strokes and the length of their connections. Start by changing letter spacing and give the baseline a slanted, stepped, or curved look.

Changes like this will help change the feel of your letter, as well as the message it conveys. Is it formal, dynamic or eccentric? Think about it!

You can also change the way the letters are formed, make them a little thinner, rounder, or even connect them differently. Do this a few times and you will surely come up with a completely new design.

Curls and decoration

You are studying calligraphy so you need to make some squiggles. Squiggles can be added to your text like swirls and loops to make it more beautiful and eye-catching. For example, you can cross heavy lines with lighter ones to show that you care about the visual balance of the text.

Another option is to embellish the calligraphy with special designs to match your words, or use banners to highlight important lines. The more complex your design, the smarter it will be to start drawing in pencil and testing it.

Traditional calligraphy

Spencerian and Copperplate are excellent examples of traditional calligraphic handwriting. There aren't many font options based on them right now, but their classic elegance is undeniable. Special projects may require you to become familiar with them, and this is also useful as a practice.

Perfect Feathers

Your ideal pen should be sharp, flexible and responsive. In this way, you can draw thinner lines and enrich them with an effective and elegant finish. For sensitive projects, we recommend three excellent pens in particular:

• Speedball no. 101
• Brause 361 Steno Blue Pumpkin
• Brause 66 Extra Fine Arrow

None of these pens will be easy to use, but the effort is worth it.

Useful Tricks

You've just started monetizing your calligraphy skills, but something still looks completely wrong. You may be having trouble using the pen, in which case you may find following tips useful:

If you have problems with strokes:

• Instead of doing it like everyone else, try faux calligraphy and see how the strokes look and feel. Write neatly and fill in the gaps. This way you will simulate perfect lines and see what you actually have to do.
• Practice on the printable sheets until you can make the letters perfectly shaped. It's not hard to find samples of basic strokes and uppercase letters online.
• Start with lighter pencil drawings and trace them slowly with the pen. Once the ink is dry, erase any traces of the pencil.
• Large letters make it easier to see critical errors.

If your letters have a casual slope:

• Use the incline guidelines while exercising. Draw one of your own using a protractor, or even use plain paper. Put the sample page under the sheet - this will facilitate the process.
• Rotate the paper to create the correct slant. You will immediately see which position is best for you.
• To avoid paper rotation, replace the current pen holder with a tilted one.

If your hand is unsteady or tired:

• Use workout strokes to warm up
• Hold your pen loose and shake your hand
• As you write, move your whole arm, not just your wrist.
• Spend more time exercising. Get more exercise even when you're just using your phone. This will help make hand movements smooth and natural.

If the ink just won't stay on the pen

• Some of the new nibs have a very thin oil layer that may not match your ink. To prevent a serious problem, wipe it down with alcohol (or a soft toothbrush and paste) or simply run it through a flame.
• The problem could also be that the pen has dried ink that is interrupting its flow. In this case, take a pen cleaner and clean it.
• Keep in mind that a regularly used pen requires periodic cleaning and maintenance. To properly clean it, take it out of its holder, brush it gently and let it dry before using it again.

If your work may require some updating:

• Change feathers and try some new ones.
• Change ink. You will be able to find many types of ink suitable for calligraphy, but fountain pens can usually handle any liquid that can leave marks when applied to paper. Some designers even prefer to use non-traditional methods and make their drawings with watercolors, coffee or berry juice.

Choose a style

Unlike calligraphers of the past, designers today can choose any style they like, or even master multiple styles professionally to complete a variety of projects. As discussed earlier, knowing several styles of calligraphy is useful for showcasing a writer's personality, conveying an important message, or simply complementing a formal occasion. Here are some popular ideas to inspire you:

Combining Styles

Just because the tone is classic and vintage doesn't mean the font won't look modern. Combining these styles will impress everyone who sees your work, from your friends to the Queen of England!

Elegant calligraphy

Writing can be fun and challenging at the same time, and elegant calligraphy is proof of that. Mixing classic lettering with energetic swirls is the best choice you should use in wedding invitation design and other special occasions.

romantic and artistic

Has it ever happened to you that a particular thin font reminds you of romance?

These lace letterings have beautiful swirls with a steep slope that are suitable for exquisite caps and invitations that will grab the attention of your guests.

eccentric

Whimsical lettering seems light and relaxed, and usually inspires us to think about fairy tales and escapism. It's because of their fluid baseline and dynamic angles that this font style sets our mood like a well-written poem makes us dream of adventure.

fun font

No matter your age, you are always drawn to pretty invitations, a trick that designers often use. The perfect font for invitations like this is a cheerful one done with playful baselines and rounded letters to set a good tone for the times.

Important data O calligraphy

• Calligraphy is not mastered overnight. You should practice as often as possible and often.
• It will take no more than two hours and several attempts to understand whether you can really practice calligraphy.
• If you're not 100% focused, it won't work. And that's the end of the story.
• Calligraphy is not only about how you write, but also about what you write. That's why you should always write "real" words and convey a meaningful message.
• You must study continuously. By doing this, you will discover a vast world that will captivate you and keep you looking for more. This entertaining process is simply unparalleled.
• The difference is in quality, so make sure you buy high quality materials and accessories.
• Calligraphers are generally friendly people and great conversationalists. As such, they are your best source of information and inspiration, and you should start looking for a mentor immediately.

Top five calligraphy options

Next, we will outline the most important basic principles of calligraphy, divided into five different approaches, line sets and letterforms. This section will also help you learn about the various tools and techniques that can be used for your projects, and we encourage you to try them all.

Twin pencils

Dual pencils are simple and very useful for those who draw calligraphic letters. They can also be used to create large and attractive lettering for posters, banners and similar promotional materials.

You need a pair of well-sharpened pencils and two rubber bands. First, scrape off part of the side of the pencils so that they fit snugly together.

Leave them together in a vertical, downward position and make sure their tips are at the same level when they touch the paper. For this purpose, you can secure them with tape or rubber bands at both ends.

Then take a double pencil and hold it in the normal drawing position. Ideally, it should be directed at an angle of about 45 degrees.

While both pencils are being placed on the paper, press lightly on them and move them forward and to the left. The distance between their points is what forms the so-called "invisible feather".

When you move your hand, you will be drawing a double line, and if you choose to make circles pointing in the same direction, your double pencil will create unique thin and thick ribbons with unparalleled accuracy.

If you don't feel comfortable with pen angles, think carefully about all movements and directions.

This process will require three different skills: working with the angle of the pen; direction of movement of the hand; and proper pressure on the paper.

Markers

These pens are more than comfortable, very bright and, most importantly, much cheaper than all similar tools.

There are downsides, of course, and the ink on these pens tends to fade over time, or maybe they look too heavy and can be easily damaged with the slightest amount of pressure. That's why these pens are a great training tool, but not the best alternative for important projects.

To choose a marker for yourself, take a pen and a piece of paper. To get started, take two markers: 3-5 mm and 1.5-2 mm. Start with a wider

You don't have to worry about paper either: markers work well on printer paper, parchment (not the best option for beginners), or similar materials.

The pressure should be light and even, as many calligraphers in training make the mistake of pressing too hard. This will not improve the performance of the marker, but will only spoil it. On the other hand, keeping in contact with the paper will bring much better results.

Only touch the paper with one corner of the nib, then try the other to see how your writing will look.

Place the full-width nib on the page, and then slowly rock it: do you feel that one of the corners is not touching the paper, while the other is still on it? It's almost like magic!

This time, fit the full width of the tip onto the page, making sure both corners touch it appropriately. Remember that this is the ideal contact for writing, and if you push harder, any corner of the tip will come off the paper.

Pen angle and pressure are two different points, and the pen should point to the left and forward by about 5 degrees. While doing this, the hand should be moved to draw weak and beautiful ribbons.

For sharper lines, consider buying a better quality marker, but you should only consider this once you feel confident about practicing calligraphy professionally.

The best set at the best price that we recommend is the Sharpie Calligraphic, which contains 12 nibs in different colors and sizes; and Staedtler Duo - a set of 2 high-quality markers. An excellent set that doesn't smudge or bleed is called the Calligraphy Pen Set and comes with four lightfast inks in primary colors.

As discussed earlier, there is no point in buying special calligraphy paper while you are studying, since printer paper is cheaper and suitable for our purposes.

However, if permanent ink stains annoy you, you can consider buying Ampad office notebooks or heavy drawing paper, such as those used in the UK, but be aware that this will cost a little more.

Calligraphy with refillable and cartridge pens

You will need: pen, separate ink supply (refill bottle or included cartridge).

Refillable fountain pens and cartridge fountain pens work like this: each pen has a large reservoir filled with more fluid ink, and that ink will flow through body baffles controlled by an internal mechanism. This way, the ink will go right into the pen block and be easily applied to the page.

With a pen like this, you also get several different sizes of nibs and a wide range of cartridges to use with the main body of the pen.

The biggest advantage of using refillable and cartridge pens is that they are easy to work on horizontal surfaces due to their advanced mechanical ink flow control mechanism.

Unlike fountain pens, which need to be dipped in ink, these pens won't run out of ink in the middle of a word and are definitely a much safer option for clumsy beginners.

Cartridge inks are thinner so they don't dry out and clog the insides of your pen. It also gives them a lovely subtle look when applied to paper.

The nib itself is also quite stiff, given that its mechanisms must be screwed into the body. This means cartridge ink, combined with a flexible and responsive nib, can truly transform your entire calligraphy experience.

Just like fountain pens, cartridge refill pens leak spectacularly.

This does not change the fact that ink left inside a pen over time can dry out and clog, making it necessary to maintain it properly. You will need to wash the pen thoroughly, but you will never be able to remove all the ink stuck in its reservoir.

Refillable and cartridge pens are considered the most convenient by calligraphers and are also featured on many popular websites. For this reason, beginners are strongly encouraged to use them.

Fountain pens and goose pens

There are many different types pens, but there are a few basic principles that apply to all fountain pens. For example, all fountain pens consist of the following elements:

1. Pen holders- The holder is the area the writer will be squeezing while working, and as such, it should be comfortable and soft to the hand. More often than not, holders have internal metal fittings at both ends of the nib so that you can safely move them around.
2. Feathers are the metal ends of the handle that have two separate parts and an elongated "tongue" that holds them together. Their nib is square cut to make full contact with the paper and is usually flexible enough to allow the ink to spread smoothly and evenly over the surface.
3. tanks are sometimes found inside the structure of your pen and look like little sloping bowls on the side used to supply ink to the slit. Some of them look like separate metal cups that you have to attach to the pen before you can use them, including those located on the top and bottom of the pen. The main function of the reservoirs is to collect some ink and keep it at the top of the slot so you can write at least a few words before refilling it with ink again.

The reservoirs will not always be inside the pen, which allows you to buy each of the three elements separately, namely to mix and match them together. The options are endless and cannot be combined in one guide, but the experience of popular calligraphers can help you make the right decision.

As a beginner, you may also want to save time and effort, and therefore consider purchasing a pre-assembled calligraphy kit. In most cases, you will be given 4-6 different nibs with holders and reservoirs, and they will cost less than if you bought them separately. Once again we recommend the Speedball Calligraphy Kit, where you will find a holder and even 6 different nibs.

The ink may not be included in your kit, so start looking for the right ink.

The Best Types of Ink for Fountain Pens

The best results are achieved with matte and thick inks such as Chinese, India, or even gouache paints that you have thinned to achieve the desired consistency.

For faint strokes, you may want to consider the watery ink typical of fountain pens.

Instead, you can take a medium-sized brush suitable for watercolors and then refill the reservoir at the top of the pen slot.

Calligraphy on inclined surfaces

With a fountain pen, it will be easier for you to write on sloping surfaces than on a regular desk. Including on easels and a board located on your lap and supported by the edges of the table. Calligraphy takes a lot of time, so make sure you're comfortable.

• First of all, choose a stable writing surface that won't slip.
• Adjust your seating position and make sure you are comfortable and relaxed.
• If possible, fix the surface of the paper on a sloping surface (you can use office clay (Blu Tack) and electrical tape).

If you are using a quill or fountain pen:

• Keep the ink/paint open and place it next to the hand you are not writing.
• Choose a good "parking spot" to safely dip your pen and avoid splashing ink on other surfaces. You can take a small saucer that will hold your tools while you have a break or if you have a phone call.

Please note: Dipping a pen into an open ink bottle will cause ink to get on the holder and end up getting your fingers dirty as you work.

How to refill the pen:

• Take the pen in your hand and hold it in a horizontal position
• Lower the refill pipette or brush so that you can only take a few drops.
• Keep the pen horizontal when drawing ink into the reservoir.
• Replace the saucer and place the pipette/brush on the saucer and leave the pen in a horizontal position. Otherwise, you may have to scrape ink stains from your knees.
• Take a sheet of recycled paper and check how the ink flows on each side of the slanted board. Only then will you be able to perform basic tasks.

Your choice of ink, nibs, and writing surface will determine how often you need to refill your tank. At best, you'll do this after a few words rather than a few letters, but that can also depend on the speed at which you're working.

The same rules apply when you use a quill pen. Unlike steel nibs, quills are more flexible and wear out faster, especially when you use them on cheap, stiff paper.

A non-professional can tear paper with a quill pen and a fountain pen.

If you're not sure you know what you're doing, we encourage you to look for similar calligraphy techniques that require less effort to learn.

Calligraphy with sponges and flat brushes

Here comes the dirtiest (cause you're more likely to get your hands dirty) approach to calligraphy that we prepared in this guide:

The thinner the sides of the brush, the better results you will achieve. Recommended width is 6 to 20mm, preferably with a stiffer texture (like sable and nylon instead of bristles). Flat brushes come in long and short, the latter are considered the best option, which retains control of the line due to the fact that they are short and stiff.

You can take an ordinary cleaning sponge and cut it into cubes and then turn it into the most amazing calligraphy tool. When using, remember to protect your hands from ink with rubber gloves.

There are several important differences between writing calligraphy with a pen and a flat brush.

The brush, for example, is very flexible and soft, and will respond to more pressure to create thicker lines, which is not what traditional nibs actually do. Another feature of brushes is that they tend to run out of ink fairly quickly and occasionally create a modern texture and a unique, rough look.

The best way to use brushes is on an inclined surface (about 30 degrees). However, horizontal surfaces also work well.

However, you must control the pressure you apply, as any change can affect the clarity of your lines and cause the ink to bleed down the page. But of course you can do it on purpose (looks absolutely amazing!).

Another interesting effect of sponges is that when working with ink, they create mottled (non-uniform) effects similar to brush lines and create interesting contrasts and fading lines that look very attractive.

Ideally you should use a thick and matte ink like India, very watery poster paint, or diluted gouache paints for your sponges and brushes. Liquid and watery ink will not stay on the sponge for long, and thus your letters will look sloppy and uneven.

The biggest benefit of using sponges and large brushes is that they leave enough space and wet ink on the line of the letter so you can add additional colors, mix them in interesting ways, or just let them drip.

When mixing several colors in one letter, take a small amount - any bright color (white is also fine) and draw the base of the letter's shape. Then place it on a horizontal surface and pour in a few drops of darker and more contrasting colors. Do not move it until it is completely dry, unless you originally intended to mix paints and achieve a unique color.

Mastering faux calligraphy

Faux calligraphy is essentially modern calligraphy created with a standard pen (gel, ballpoint, etc.). For many designers, standard pens help to become fully familiar with calligraphy, and there are two important reasons for this:

The point is that standard pens do not intimidate the beginner and are often more flexible and more accessible than fountain pens. After all, these are the tools you've been using for as long as you can remember, and you already have enough muscle memory to work with and create beautiful calligraphy.

However, faux calligraphy is not just for beginners. Regardless of your skill level, you may find it useful for your important projects.

Building your own set of calligraphy fountain pens

Here's what you'll need:

• Pair of nibs by Nikko G - At the beginning of this post, you had the opportunity to learn more about the quality of these nibs, often referred to as the best option for beginners.
• Straight handle. A good choice is the Manuscript pen as it has a versatile pen insert. We also recommend General cork holders for their flexibility and ease of use.
• 32# Laser jet paper - Or just take printer paper. This is an economical solution that still prevents ink bleed.
• Screw cap bottles and Sumi ink (India ink also works well). Both brands of ink are matte and will provide the desired viscosity.
• Water - To clean your pen from time to time, you will need a cup of water.
• Non fibrous towels and fabrics. You can also use paper towels, but you have to be careful not to let the quill get caught in the fibers.

Rather than buying expensive, overpriced calligraphy kits for beginners, we recommend that you build your own and only choose tools that are beginner-friendly, affordable, and actually useful to you.

Feather cleaning

When buying, all feathers come in factory oil, as this oil helps them maintain their presentation and prevents them from spoiling. At the same time, it is almost impossible to have oil and ink on the pen at the same time, so clean the pen thoroughly before you start using it.

After you're done, you'll see the ink flow down the pen smoothly and not leave a blotch on the paper, as it would with oil on it.

Fountain pen assembly

Most beginners choose plastic Speedball pens because of their Nikko G nibs, but there's nothing wrong with using universal pen holders.

These holders have a rim and 5 metal petals, which allows you to use many nibs of different sizes and types.

How to hold a pen

Holding a fountain pen is no different than holding a standard pen. This means you still have to use your thumb and forefinger to grip the holder and place your middle finger behind the handle for extra support. As you draw, use your ring finger and little finger to draw faint lines.

Dipping a pen in an inkwell

It doesn't matter which pen you use - the quality of your writing will still depend on how deep you dip it.

In technical terms, this means that you dip the pen just above the vent (center) so as not to put too much ink on the pen and let it drip while you write.

You should also shake the pen vigorously over a cup of water to make sure that any excess ink has fallen off.

You are ready to go!

The main difference between regular ballpoint pens and fountain pens is the angle of inclination: modern calligraphers must take care to maintain the angle of the nib in relation to the paper.

You should never hold your pen vertically, but write at a 45 degree angle between pen and paper.

Also, don't hold it too vertical, as the nib can catch on the fibers of the paper and affect how the ink flows.

FULL TEXT OF THE BOOK
(no special characters)

A bit of history 8
Tools and materials 77
Calligraphy practice, wide nib 122
Modern handwritten book 197
Calligraphy in everyday life 224
Notes 242
Index of names of European, American calligraphers 245

This book is about the art of writing beautifully. People competed in it for many centuries. And not only professional scribes. Many famous poets, scientists, statesmen succeeded here, dispelling the myth that great people have bad handwriting. Michelangelo, Schiller, Goethe, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Pasternak...
"Calligraphy for All" is an attempt to captivate a wide range of people with the art of beautiful writing, to help master the culture of type, to master the initial skills and more complex working methods, to acquaint the reader with a brief history of calligraphy. The author hopes that the unique works of famous artists from many countries (most of them are published in the USSR for the first time) will attract the attention of not only beginners, but also professional font masters.
The history of calligraphy is inextricably linked with writing tools. Nowadays, tools of distant antiquity coexist with a ballpoint pen, a felt-tip pen, a synthetic brush, but feathers continue to occupy one of the leading places.
A wide-nib nib, even in inexperienced hands, ensures the correct ratio of stroke widths in letters, and beginners quickly learn the basics of handwriting. Writing with a broad-nib instrument is the preferred style in this edition.
Calligraphy can be learned at any age. English educator Byron Macdonald recommended this activity to anyone who can hold a pen, from six to sixty years old. The famous master of the East (15th century) became famous already in childhood. “One of the graces of God is that I am nine years old, and I write that way,” he was proud. Natural ability, "limitless and innumerable exercises" led him to such early success.
A variety of writing tools, a bewitchingly untouched surface of a sheet of paper, an incomparable feeling of an easily and obediently running instrument - all this brings many minutes of true pleasure.
I thank the foreign and Soviet artists who sent their works for publication. For their help and constant attention, I express my special gratitude to Paul Luhtein and Will Toots from Tallinn, Vadim Vladimirovich Lazursky from Moscow, John Bigs from Brighton, Paul Shaw from New York, Gunylaugur Braim from Reykjavik and Konstantin Eremeevich Turkov from Krasnodar.

A LITTLE HISTORY
At the dawn of their existence, people learned to communicate with each other with gestures. The interlocutors frantically gesticulated, grimaced, winked, shrugged their shoulders, but did not always understand each other correctly. Several tens of thousands of years have passed. The man spoke. There was a more reliable opportunity to share knowledge and life skills. Speech served for direct communication between people, and they did not begin to transmit their thoughts and feelings with the help of conventional signs, to fix them in time.
Writing was improved for a long time and with difficulty by many peoples, but it was formed in Egypt and almost simultaneously in Sumer by the 4th millennium BC. At first, the letter was pictorial. The image of fish, animals, birds, plants is a troublesome business! It took a lot of skill and a lot of time. Gradually, the drawing was simplified, became more and more conditional, schematic.
Sumerian writing is called cuneiform. Badges were applied by pressing a wedge-shaped stick into damp, pliable clay (ill. I). Certain techniques, including the use of wedge faces, made it possible to achieve a variety of impressions. In Sumer, the first
Sumerian tablets with cuneiform writing. 3 thousand before and. e.
Hieroglyphic writing originated in Egypt. Ancient stones are so dotted with intricate patterns of signs that a doubt arose in the soul of one, not too meticulous researcher: is this the work of human hands? “The gray stones are eaten away by special snails,” the “scientist” decided. Cursive forms of writing developed in Egypt: hieratic * writing, and then a more simplified, demotic ** (ill. 2, 3, 4)
* From grsch. hieratikos priestly.
** From Greek. demotikos - folk.
Albert Capre suggests that in Sumer, Egypt and other ancient states that paved the way for the creation of writing, there already existed something similar to calligraphy contests *.
Why, then, have people long sought not only to express something in writing, but to do it beautifully? The world around ancient man, was full of secrets, riddles, and signs, with the help of which it became possible to transmit vital content over long distances, as well as from generation to generation, were perceived as the greatest miracle given from above. The extreme clarity of writing made it possible to unambiguously understand its meaning, and the decorative flair of the ancients turns the text into a truly artistic work.
Sailors and merchants, the Phoenicians knew about the writing of the Egyptians. The honor of its further improvement and invention of the alphabet belongs to them.
An amazing innovation became the property of the ancient Greeks. They supplemented the alphabet with signs for vowel sounds, geometrized it and simplified it. The Phoenician letters, open to the left (H), were turned to face to the right (P) Greek capital writing * reached graphic perfection by the 4th century BC (ill. 5) The Greeks, like the Phoenicians, first wrote from right to left, and then came to the method boustro-phedon**, or "furrow". This method was spied on by farmers.
* The modern term comes from Latin word capiialis chief. Capital letter is a letter in capital letters.
** From Greek. bustrophedon I turn the bull.
They reasoned something like this: the plowman, having passed the first furrow, does not return the bulls empty to the beginning of the field, but turns around and plows in the opposite direction. So they wrote: each subsequent line began at the end of the previous one (note: those who are not burdened with rules sometimes act like the ancient Greeks and our preschool children) There was perhaps a rational grain here. The modern reader spends a lot of time moving the “ox team” 40-50 times on each page and looking for the beginning of the next “furrow” of the line. In the 4th century BC, the Greeks move to writing from left to right.
Latin goes back to the Greek alphabet. In the 1st century, the formation of Roman capital letters was completed. A classic example of it on the famous Trajan's Column (2nd century) was first carefully drawn with a flat brush, and then cut into stone. Analyzing the text, scientists noticed: the slope of the axes in the letters "O" is different, a small error confirming the original handwriting of the font. Perhaps the great calligrapher deliberately made an inaccuracy, trying to give the strict inscription inner dynamics and strength. The creation of an unknown author was widely recognized. Exact copies of the signs of this masterpiece were found on the monuments of those times in Verona. The Italian publisher and typographer Giovanni Mardersteig suggested that in Ancient Rome era of Trajan, there was a national font standard for official inscriptions. Graphic perfection and readability, an organic connection with architecture provided the typeface of the Trajan's Column with a triumphal procession through the centuries and gave rise to many imitations. Our contemporaries also turn to the creation of the past (ill. 6)
Already in the inscriptions on the stone, there were two varieties of Roman capital letters: square (ill. 7) and rustic * (ill. 8). Many capitals of the first type are close in proportion to the square. This is a slow, solemn and very beautiful letter. Rusticism is characterized by thin long stems**, bold horizontal strokes and conciseness. Both options entered the life of the code.
For documents and everyday purposes, the Romans in the 1st-3rd centuries
used majuscule *** italics **** (capital characters) Gradually, because of the desire to save time, they wrote faster, more sweepingly, more smoothly. The main elements, as a rule, were drawn from top to bottom, and the pen, picking up speed, sometimes skipped the bottom line of the line. Over time, they probably noticed: the protruding parts of the letters serve as a kind of hook for the eye and make it easier to read. The descenders have evolved. Upper extensions were invented later, perhaps to balance the lower ones and to emphasize the rhythm of the line.
* From lat. rusticus rusticus.
** Stamp - a vertical stroke of a letter.
*** From lat. majusculus is somewhat larger.
**** From lat. cursivus running.
These elements are characteristic of the minuscule* italics (lowercase characters) formed by the 3rd century (ill. 9, 10)
The square and rustic style in the codex is gradually being replaced by the uncial that developed in the 3rd century ** This letter contains portable elements, but they are few and inexpressive.
Uncial 3-6 centuries sans-serif*** (ill. 11) Rounded corners. The pen was held at an angle of 30° to the line. Subtle serifs and zero writing angle**** - characteristics uncial 6-8 centuries (ill. 12)
In the half-uncial (another type of writing from Roman antiquity), there are more extension elements, they noticeably lengthened and gained graphic expressiveness (Fig. 13) “Half-uncial” does not mean at all that it is equal to half the height of the uncial. The name reflects the qualitative changes.
5th century The great Roman Empire fell. On the basis of Roman cursive, regional types of writing develop: Irish and Anglo-Saxon, Merovingian, Visigothic, Old Italic.
In the empire of Charlemagne in the 9th century, a new font was introduced, beautiful, readable and fast enough minuscule. Later it was called Carolingian (ill. 14). Initially, the same minuscules, but increased in size, appeared as capital letters in the Carolingian minuscule. In the 11th century they were replaced by the Lombard font (Lombard versailles), which developed from the letters of the Roman capital and uncial letters (ill. 15)
Slavic writing developed along a different path. We know two ancient Slavic alphabets: Cyrillic and Glagolitic (ill. 16, 17). The creation of one of them is associated with the names of Cyril (826/27-869) and his older brother Methodius (805/815-885), who were born in the family of a Byzantine commander in the port city of Thessaloniki. Methodius chose a military career and at one time even ruled one of the Greek-Slavic regions, but then left the service and took up science. Constantine (in monasticism Cyril) received a good education in the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, having mastered many sciences and showing extraordinary abilities for languages.
The Moravians asked the Byzantine emperor to send teachers to interpret the books they had in Greek and Latin and to preach in an understandable language. Michael did not refuse, called on the learned men Cyril and Methodius and blessed them for a good deed. Missionaries began to develop the Slavic alphabet in 862.
* From lat. minusculus very small, tiny.
** Possibly from lat. uncus hook.
*** Serif stroke, the final stem.
**** The writing angle is the angle of the pen in relation to the horizontal line of the line.
At the end of the 9th century, Chernorizets Brave told about its creation in the legend “On Writings”: “Before, the Slavs did not have books, but they read and guessed with the help of features and cuts, being pagans. When they were baptized, it was difficult for them to write in the Slavic language in Roman and Greek letters without adaptation ... and so it was for many years ... Then the philanthropic God sent them St. Constantine the Philosopher, called Cyril, a righteous and faithful man, and he created for them thirty letters and eight, and some according to the model of Greek letters, others in accordance with the [needs] of the Slavic language "2
Now most researchers believe that the Glagolitic alphabet arose before the Cyrillic alphabet and that Kirill was its author.
The Glagolitic alphabet is distinguished by the complexity and originality of graphic forms.
The basis of the alphabet, later called Cyrillic, was the Greek statutory letter. The transmission of special sounds of Slavic speech was achieved by newly invented letters, the use of ligatures and those borrowed from the Hebrew alphabet Ts, Sh.
Cyril died on February 14, 869 in Rome. Methodius lived a long life full of vicissitudes of fate. He received the rank of bishop, was kidnapped by the Latin clergy and spent three years in prison, then again continued his educational activities.
In Rus', they used the Cyrillic alphabet, its two types: from the 11th century, the charter (example: the famous Ostromir Evangelie, 1056-1057, executed by the hands of talented masters) and from the 14th century, the semi-charter.
In the charter, in full capital letters, the letters are perpendicular to the line of the line; it has no abbreviations. A semi-charter is smaller than a charter; top and bottom callouts appear; different styles of the same letters are allowed. This letter is quite fast, with big amount abbreviations.
In the Latin world of the 12th century, Gothic * writing is spreading (probably originated in the north of France around the middle of the 11th century, that is, 100 years before the corresponding style in architecture)
* Gothic from it. gotico (Gothic) This term was introduced by Italian humanists in the 15th century, trying to connect the barbaric, in their opinion, art of the Middle Ages with the German tribe of the Goths.
The letter, densely and evenly covering the pages of a book, was called a texture *
Gothic cursive appeared at the end of the 12th century, and in the 13th-14th centuries New Year's became the favorite handwriting of the offices of many Western European countries. Gothic writing, both bookish and cursive, had many variations throughout its finite nibs.
The rotunda** (ill. 20), which appeared in Italy in the 13th century, is distinguished by a pleasant roundness, the absence of breaks in the lower part of the lines, readability and speed of writing.
In the 14th century, with the interaction of book writing and clerical italics, a bastard *** (ill. 19, 21) arose, which spread to many European countries.
During the late Gothic period, many types of writing were formed in Germany. Swabian writing resembled a spacious rotunda. Chancellery **** was born and nurtured in court offices, where beauty
* From lat. texture fabric.
** From it. rotunda is round.
*** From fr. batard side, mixed.
**** From him. Kanzlei office.
handwriting was of paramount importance (ill. 23) In the 17th and 18th centuries, fractura* (ill. 22) was especially famous. She has not lost
attractiveness for the artists of our time. "I hope that even now the last word the fracture has not yet been said,” Jan Tschichold noted.
Having lost its position only towards the end of the Second World War, the Gothic type is gaining popularity again. In our country, many Baltic calligraphers willingly use it in design work.
Renaissance. Time of rapid flowering of science and art. Advanced thinkers called themselves humanists** The titans of the Renaissance Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Petrarch, Cervantes, Shakespeare sang the beauty and greatness of man. That glorious time is characterized by an increased interest in antiquity.
* From him. Fraktur break, break. The term "fracture" is used as a general
the name of the Gothic script, and sometimes to designate a variety of Gothic book type.
** From lat. humanus human, human.
Calligraphers selflessly copied manuscripts filled with the Carolingian minuscule, mistakenly taking them for the originals of the culture of Greco-Roman antiquity. However, in the process of copying, they made a number of changes to the letter. The new typeface was named antiqua*
In the business circles of Italy, a fluent "trade" letter was used, humanistic cursive, which is also based on the Carolingian minuscule. Most of his letters were done with a single movement of the pen.
Lodovico Arrighi, Giovanni Antonio Taliente, Giambattista Palatino in Italy, Juan de Isiar, Francisco Lucas in Spain, Gerard de Mercator in the Netherlands and others along with architects, sculptors, painters glorified their time with outstanding calligraphic works and treatises on the art of writing.
The first handwritten textbooks of calligraphy appeared in Europe by the middle of the 14th century. They contained instructions and advice on various matters of craftsmanship, so necessary for a person who ventured to comprehend the secrets of the art of writing. There were also recipes with numerous variants of calligraphic styles without explanatory text. Here the student had to rely on his own ingenuity or use the teacher's advice.
In the East, statements about the art of writing beautifully have been known since the 1st century BC (China, Japan) Since the 7th century AD, handwritten textbooks have appeared (for example, Sun Guoting's "Guide to Calligraphy")
A rare master will dare to adapt the graphic features of the Chinese, Japanese or Arabic writing systems, for example, to the Latin or Russian alphabet. And yet the advice of the scribes of the East is instructive for any artist.
Yakut Mustasimi** taught: "The perfection of writing lies in the correct pedagogical education, repeated exercise and purity of the soul" 4
The famous calligrapher of the late 15th - early 16th century was Sultan-Ali Mashkhedi*** The master left us the famous Discourse on Writing and the Laws of Education (Mashhad, 1514), rich in interesting observations and recommendations. Sultan-Ali considered it possible to rewrite the manuscript when the graphics of signs, the ways of their connection and other features were carefully studied. To the comprehension of mastery, the author believed, leads to constant examination and copying of handwriting
* From lat. antiquus ancient.
** A native of Abyssinia, Yaqut Mustasimi lived for more than a hundred years, died in Baghdad in 1296.
*** Sultan-Ali Mashhadi was born and died in Mashhad.
Later, at the end of the 16th century, Mir-Imad Qazvini proposed another method of teaching fantasy. It develops creativity
Copying the original work properly is not easy. Ibn-Bavwab* tried for many years to master the handwriting of the famous Ibn-Mukla**, but felt powerless in this occupation. It is not easy to adopt the writing style of a famous master, but it is much more difficult to come to your own handwriting. Some ancient scribes, having learned to “exactly” imitate great teachers, became famous. They were praised. But constant copying did not refresh the ancient art. Genuine masters understood this and created, "inventing and finding."
A kind of parting word for the calligrapher is the reflection of Mir-Ali Khoravi *** from the capital city of Iran, Herat. “There are five virtues; if they are not in writing, being a master in writing according to reason is a hopeless business: accuracy, knowledge in writing, quality of the hand, patience in enduring labor and perfection of writing equipment. If there is a deficiency in one of these five, there will be no benefit, even if you try for a hundred years” 6 All five “virtues” are indispensable companions of success and a modern calligrapher.
* Ibn Bawwab died in 1022 in Baghdad.
** Ibi-Mukla was born and lived in Baghdad (886-939/40)
*** Mir-Ali Khoravi died in 1558 in Bukhara.
Oriental authors gave great importance learning. You can learn calligraphy on your own, using textbooks, but manuals cannot completely replace an experienced master teacher. A visual demonstration of a variety of techniques speeds up the learning process. It is better to see once than hear ten times. Fair proverb. “... Teaching handwriting ... cannot be given behind the eyes ... the science of writing is secret, - Sultan-Ali Mashkhedi confidentially reported. - Until your teacher speaks in language, you will not be able to write it easily ... "
Teachers of writing were distrustful of textbooks, they knew: for greater effectiveness, authors sometimes use illegal tricks and tricks. This is confusing for newbies.
And yet history knows the names of self-taught geniuses who studied only from books. Among our contemporaries, this is primarily Edward Johnston, who rediscovered calligraphy at the beginning of the 20th century. Herman Zapf, Villu Toots, Gunnlaugur Braim and others mastered the heights of type culture on their own, using books, albums and ancient codes.
In Western Europe, during the Renaissance, printed publications devoted to calligraphy were widely distributed.
1522. Rome. The scribe of the papal office, the former bookseller of Arrighi, published the treatise "La operina" (The Little Book), a source of inspiration for many generations of masters of beautiful type (ill. 25) Arrighi explains the reasons for writing "La operina": "Begged, even forced by many friends ... I , my dear reader, would like to give some examples of writing letters of the correct design (which are now called clerical), their characteristic features and features"
The calligrapher addresses the book to anyone who wants to learn how to write beautifully. Arrighi is benevolently delicate in advice. Offering to observe a distance between words equal to the width of the letter "l", he will stipulate: "Maybe you find it impossible to keep this rule, then try to ask advice from your eye and satisfy it, thus you will achieve the best composition"9 Or: "The distance from line to line in clerical letters should be neither too large nor too small, but average"
The treatise ends with examples for the exercise of the hand. Here is the text of one of them: “Everything will be completely done on time, if the time is distributed correctly and if every day we give the exact hours to the letters, without being distracted by other things.” It is useful for every calligrapher to remember this.
"La operana" is a masterpiece of cursive writing. temptation to do the best book led to curiosities. Palatino not found better way to outdo a great compatriot, how to write your book of samples "Libro nuovo" ( A new book. Rome, 1561) backwards. Maybe the hurt pride of the artist tried to call for help "otherworldly forces"? In those days, they believed it was worth, for example, to read a prayer starting from the end and you enlisted the support of the unclean ...
The author of several German printed collections of typefaces (ill. 26) Johann Neudörfer the Elder was born in Nuremberg. He refused to become, like his father, a furrier and devoted himself to the art of writing. At the age of twenty-two, the energetic Johann published the book "Fundament" (Fundament. Nuremberg, 1519), where eleven type samples were printed. Later came his "Anweisung einer gemeinen Hands-chrift" (Guide to ordinary writing. Nuremberg, 1538) and a work on the sharpening of a bird's feather.
Wolfgang Fugger, a student of Neudörfer the Elder, became famous by writing "Ein nutzlich und wohlgegrundt Formular mancherlei schoner Schriften" (A useful and well-founded formula for various beautiful types. Nuremberg, 1553)
Famous calligraphers of the 16th century were the Spaniards Juan de Iciar and Francisco Lucas. Juan de Isiar was known as a fanatical virtuoso engraver and contributed to the popularization of the work of Italian and German masters. The skill of the engraver led him to such a passion for decorative elements that he sometimes forgot about the letters themselves.
The work of the Spaniard Pedro Diaz Moranto is typical of the 17th century. He liked to weave intricately ornamental images of birds, sea monsters, and sometimes entire mythological scenes into letters (ill. 28). As an outstanding talent, Moranto was talked about in the early 1590s. The young calligrapher masterfully wielded a pen and wrote at a speed that struck the imagination of his contemporaries. “The devil himself leads him by hand,” envious people used to say. If not among the admirers of the artist himself King Philip II, who gave him his son to train, such glory could cost dearly. At that time, they did not hesitate for long, sending another victim to the fire. Around 1616, Moranto published in Madrid the first part of the book "Nueva arte de escrevir" (The New Art of Writing). The last, fourth part appeared 15 years later. Almost all tables (100) were engraved by the master himself and his son. Unbridled fantasy, artistry, compositional perfection, characteristic of the works of Moranto, delight the modern viewer.
"Exemplaires des plusieurs sortes des lettres" (Examples of many types of letters. Paris, 1569) by Jacques Delarue is one of the first printed treatises on calligraphy in France.
Collection of copybooks "Le tresor d'ecriture..." (Treasure of writing...)
published in Lyon in 1580 by Jean Boschin. He gives font samples for headings, titles, examples of cursive italics.
The textbook "La technographie" (Technography) was published in Paris in 1599 by Guillaume Leganeur. Its letters are close in proportion to a square and have rounded shapes.
In 1608, a collection of Luc Matro's copybooks "Les oeuvres" (Works) was published in Avignon. Contemporaries admired the creations of the Avignonian: "The hand of a mortal cannot draw these lines so accurately" (ill. 27) Unknown poet: "They say that perfection is alienated from extremes, but these rare beauties prove the contrary to me. Aren't these beautiful, inimitable strokes filled with extreme extreme, marvelous perfection? 12 Luke Matro's strokes, light, impetuous, rich in musical plasticity, sang with inspiration the beauty of the amazing creation of the human mind - the letter, the alphabet.
The talented French calligrapher of the 16th century is a member of the corporation of teachers of writing, Louis Barbedor. He was one of the authors of the reference samples for the offices and considered them better not only than any previous letter, but also any other that may appear in the future. Addressing the inscriptions to experienced scribes who have undergone certain training, the French calligrapher gives examples of the execution of various types of documents in the appropriate handwriting.
A famous master in the 16th century in the Netherlands was Gerard Mercator, and in the 17th century Jan van de Velde, author of the treatise "Spieghel der Schrijfkonste" (Mirror of the art of type. Rotterdam, 1605)
The first-born of this kind of literature in England belongs to J. Boschen and D. Baildon. This is “A book containing divers sortes of hands” (A book containing different types of handwriting. London, 1571)
In England, from the last quarter of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th century, about fifty albums and books devoted to calligraphy were published. The reason is the growing importance of English trading enterprises and the increased demand for clerks who knew how to keep the office.
In 1733, George Bickham decided to publish the book "Universal penman" (Universal Master of Letters. London, 1743). The master engraved more than 1000 samples of handwriting used in business correspondence. Jewelry work progressed slowly. Ten years passed before this edition finally fell into the hands of happy connoisseurs.
In Rus', until the beginning of the 18th century, handwritten books of writing samples were created. Since the 13th century, the so-called ABCs have been used. They were not accompanied by any information about calligraphy.
The parchment copy “The alphabet of the Slavic language and writing in cursive writing...” (1652/53) by the calligrapher Ileika (ill. 29) is magnificent. , and the daring recklessness of the Russian character. The “sinful Ileyka” was a great master! A masterpiece of world calligraphy, more than an eight-meter scroll of "Letters of the Slavic language" (17th century) is an inexhaustible treasury of inspiration for a calligrapher. Jewelery refinement, a wealth of writing techniques are combined here with lush ornamentation (ill. 30)
In the 18th century, the owner of a private Moscow printing house, A.G. Reshetnikov, created the manual "The New Russian Alphabet for Teaching Children to Read" (Moscow, 1795).
Typography, and later the typewriter, crowded out calligraphy. The fastest hand could not keep up with the machine-gun speed of an experienced typist. It took years to comprehend all the subtleties of beautiful writing. A typewriter can be mastered in a few months. Inspired and spurred on by the achievements of civilization, people did not immediately understand WHAT they had lost. Art of great artistic value fell into decay and died out. Fortunately, there were enthusiasts who managed to look back in the stream of the feverishly rapid run of time, carefully shake off the dust of oblivion that covered the masterpieces of the great masters of the past, and rediscover their unfading beauty to people.
England was destined to be the birthplace of modern calligraphy. William Morris (1834-1896) stood at its origins. Nature did not stint generously endow this man. Publisher, writer, artist, art theorist and prominent figure in the labor movement all happily combined in one person. While still a student, he began to study medieval manuscripts and incunabula and subsequently completed several richly ornamented handwritten books. In 1893, Morris published the most important theoretical work "The ideal book" (Ideal book. London), which had a beneficial effect on calligraphers and typographers around the world. Success has always accompanied the artist, and since the beginning of the 90s his name has been known throughout the continent.
Edward Johnston. Fascinated by the beauty and perfection of the manuscripts, the impressionable young man left the medical profession and devoted his life to calligraphy.
Morris's former secretary, Sidney Cockerell, drew the young Johnston's attention to the best codices of the British Museum (London). The “father of modern calligraphy” (as Johnston was later called) especially liked the old uncial and semi-uncial fonts. Enchanted by the power of handwritten masterpieces, the artist worked hard and selflessly.
By that time, the theory and practice of cursive type had almost been forgotten. Many thought: in medieval manuscripts, the contours of the letters are drawn with a thin steel pen and filled with paint. A careful study of manuscripts helped Johnston rediscover the basic principles of calligraphy: the shape and character of the letters largely depend on the pen, the width of the stroke is determined by the angle at which the tool is located to the line, the oblique cut of the pen allows you to make not only wide, but also the thinnest strokes. A tireless researcher, Johnston restored how to properly prepare bird and reed feathers for writing, gave recipes for making light-resistant ink, and conducted experiments on processing leather for writing. Many forgotten techniques and facts have again become the property of calligraphers.
In 1889, Johnston gave lessons in beautiful writing at the London Central School of Arts and Crafts. Seven to eight students attend classes. The popularity of the lessons is growing. In 1901, everyone could hardly fit into the auditorium of the Royal College of Art. "Look into the realm of good writing" came from Germany and Anna Simons, later a famous calligrapher and teacher. It was unthinkable to give attention to each student, and Johnston decided to teach various techniques right on the board. “His letters and initials, freely written in chalk,” recalled Simons, “always bore the stamp of originality and naturalness, and at the International Congress on Drawing and Drawing in Dresden in 1912 they made a sensation and aroused boundless admiration”
And much later Johnston, when his health permitted, lectured at King's College. These rare days were a holiday for students. The demonstration lessons were indeed a very bright sight. The well-known English graphic artist, calligrapher, author of several books on the art of type John Bigs: “When I was a student at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, he gave several demonstration lectures in the 30s. The light and smooth writing with white chalk on a blackboard was astonishing.” Johnston, as a true artist, experimented with many historical styles of writing until he fully mastered the sum of the techniques. He first taught students the uncial and semi-uncial, but soon added the Carolingian minuscule, which later became his "main font" in practice and teaching.
1906 London. Johnston summarized the experience of a practitioner and lecturer in the textbook "Writing and illuminating and lettering" (Scripture, illumination and letter embossing). The book won him numerous followers and admirers.
Johnston's creative credo can be considered the words from the author's preface: “The evolution of letters was a completely natural process during which individual and characteristic types (letters) developed, and knowing how this happened will help us understand their anatomy and distinguish good forms from bad ones. » 15 The conclusions of the artist and the scientist are also characteristic of contemporary calligraphy. V. V. Lazursky: “Johnston’s work showed the path along which a modern type artist can achieve a lot if he has talent and diligence” 16
1921 In London, the Society of Scribes and Illuminators (SIS) is organized "The production of books and documents entirely made by hand" is the main task of the association. Edward Johnston is elected as the first honorary member. The activities of the Society had a beneficial effect on the practice of type in many countries, and above all, of course, England itself, the recognized leader in the art of beautiful writing.
In 1956, 50 years have passed since the publication of the book "Writing and illuminating and lettering" of the "calligraphic bible", as it is still called. The society organized a number of exhibitions in Europe and America. In honor of the anniversary, former Honorary Treasurer of the Society K. M. Lamb published The calligraphers handbook (The calligrapher's handbook. London, 1956), a collection of essays by members of the OPI, devoted to various issues of calligraphy and the handwritten book.
The centenary of Johnston's birth was celebrated with an exhibition of his work at the Royal College of Art and lectures at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London).
Today, the OPI brings together highly professional scribes. Many of them learned the craft from Johnston himself or from his students. But in last years in England and especially abroad, artists do not tend to follow the manner of the pioneer of modern calligraphy. This is natural. Johnston himself believed that the rules were only a step towards improving the craft.
This position is also taken by Soviet masters. Villu Toots: “We cannot say that classical calligraphy with a wide pen has outlived its purpose, but by no means does it reign anymore. In the hands of numerous performers, the academic foundation has changed, [became] sometimes barely noticeable, acquired a modern color. ” It is important, however, to remember Johnston’s warning: before you break any rules, you need to be sure that you understand them correctly.
The desire to invent their own font without fail leads the inexperienced to eccentricities: there are unjustified disproportions in the ratio of thin and thick strokes, gross distortions of alphabetic graphemes and other "innovations". Villu Toots aptly remarked: “Extreme is far from being progressive, although sometimes it makes such an impression.” But it is difficult to imagine the future of our font without constant research. Only a bold, enterprising, creative risk-taking artist can bring a twist to a time-honored craft. An indispensable condition for a healthy creative undertaking: it must be based on a serious classical foundation. “Only a tireless scientific study of the perfect monuments of the past can lead forward,” taught Jan Tschichold.
Interest in ancient manuscripts swept not only England. Rudolf von Larisch (Austria) and Rudolf Koch (Germany) devoted a lot of effort and talent to calligraphy
Rudolf von Larisch markedly influenced the art of type with his work, especially in German-speaking countries. Johnston was concerned above all with the revival of historical styles of writing. A feature of Rudolf von Larisch's teaching is a constant desire to raise the spirit of experimentation, develop ingenuity and artistic taste, and awaken the creative abilities of students. He sought to instill in students the understanding that the nature of the letters depends on the tools and materials used. Students worked not only with pens, but also with stylus, pens, and brushes. Letters were carved and painted on clay, plaster, wood, minted on metal, engraved on glass and cut out of paper. The artist himself successfully worked on the invention of new feathers. Rudolf von Larisch sought the coherence of a calligraphic work as a whole: the nature of the letters and lines, the overall compositional solution, everything should create an emotional unity.
Complementing each other, the methods of Edward Johnston and Rudolf von Larisch opened the prospects for a multifaceted approach to the problems of type graphics.
Anna Simons (Germany), one of Johnston's first students, was a talented teacher of calligraphy in Europe. In 1910, she translated Johnston's book "Writing and illuminating and lettering" into German. The textbook became widely known in Germany and provided invaluable assistance in the design of typographic fonts to Rudolf Koch, Walter Tiemann, Emil Weiss and others.
Anna Simons owned a rich collection of calligraphy masterpieces. The entire collection, unfortunately, perished in the second world war from a direct bomb hit.
German master Rudolf Koch is recognized as one of the best calligraphers. Koch was born in Nuremberg in 1876. The young man wanted to become an artist, but the financial situation of the family did not even allow him to dream of higher education. After three semesters of art school, a long and unsuccessful search for a job in her specialty began. If something suitable turned up, the customers sought to quickly part with the newcomer. More than modest success young man shocked employers.
Fritz Kredel* recalls Rudolf Koch's attempt to make a poster for a bicycle company: “The sketch was placed on a chair. After a while, a chubby man came in with a gold watch chain across his waistcoat. He cast one cursory glance at the composition and burst into uncontrollable laughter.”20 The disgraced poster artist gave vent to tears.
* A student and colleague of R. Koch.
After painful disappointments and failures, Koch managed to get a job in a bookbinding workshop. Here he first tried to write with a wide pen. The results seemed encouraging. A little time passed, and, to the happy surprise of the novice calligrapher, his efforts were noticed by the publishers.
From 1906, Koch lived in Offenbach, working as a graphic artist in a type foundry (later known as the Klingspor type foundry). Having successfully developed several typographic fonts, Koch corrected his material affairs and, having opened a small type workshop, became a freelance artist. Here, among the students devoted to the common cause, many future celebrities worked: Fritz Kredel, Berthold Wolpe, Herbert Post and others. Teaching activity especially impressed Koch “I am none other than an educator. And, of course, I want to educate not just calligraphers, but people.”
In 1908, the art school in Offenbach offered him a class in type and calligraphy. Expanding the scope of beautiful letters, Koch transferred calligraphy to embroidery and weaving. The wallpaper was a success.
In 1934, the publishing house Insel (Leipzig) published his "Das ABC Btichlein". The illustrations were made by Rudolf Koch and Berthold Wolpe. His son Paul later hand-printed 100 copies of the book. One of them was used in the reissue of "Das ABC Buchlein" in 1976 (USA), which marked the 100th anniversary of the remarkable artist's birth. The album again made a sensation and captivates the new generation of calligraphers with freshness of feelings and ideas.
Hermann Zapf was born in 1918 in Nuremberg. A seventeen-year-old young man who dreamed of becoming an electrical engineer unexpectedly became interested in the art of writing. Zapf quickly achieved success. At the age of twenty, he became the artistic director of a printing house and taught calligraphy at the Offenbach School of Industrial Art, replacing Rudolf Koch himself in this post. Zapf is not only a world-famous calligrapher, but also an outstanding creator of typographic fonts, a book designer, and an outstanding wordsmith. He is the author of the famous book "Uber Alphabete" (On Alphabets. Frankfurt am Main, 1960)
Zapf is a great self-taught. Copying samples from the books of Edward Johnston, Rudolf Koch, direct acquaintance with the originals of ancient Roman inscriptions, a thorough study of ancient manuscripts in the libraries of Florence and Rome, natural talent and infallibly good taste led the German master to outstanding results.
An amazing fact: calligraphy, the artist's devotion to which is well known, saved his life. At the end of World War II, Zapf, who worked as a topographer, fell ill and ended up in the hospital. Without leaving calligraphic exercises and making friends here with an Arab, he immediately set to work on an unfamiliar script and, by the way, memorized one phrase from the Koran. Something like: it's not good when one person kills another. Soon the hospital was occupied by the British and French. The Allies let Zapf go home. On the way to Nuremberg, he was taken prisoner by two French soldiers of Arab origin. He was threatened with death. A few moments before his inevitable death, Zapf found himself and quoted the memorable lines. It sounded like a bolt from the blue. The stunned "servants of Allah" let the artist leave in peace. Many years later, a new Arabic typeface came out from under the hands of the famous calligrapher.
1950 Hermann Zapf published the book "Feder und Stichel" (Pen and chisel. Frankfurt am Main, 1950) of unsurpassed beauty. All tables are engraved on lead boards by August Rosenberg.
1955 Dresden. Albert Capra's first book "Deutsche Schriftkunst" (German Type Art) was published here, which became the beginning of a whole series of his fundamental works in this field of art. Among them are "ABC - Fundament zum rechten Schreiben" (ABC basics of correct writing. Leipzig, 1958), "Schriftkunst" (The art of type. Dresden, 1971, 1976), "Schriftkunst und Buchkunst" (Type and art of the book. Leipzig, 1982)
Albert Kapr was born in 1918 in Stuttgart, where he studied the art of beautiful writing with Ernst Schneidler at the Academy of Fine Arts. Since 1951, Capr has been living and working in Leipzig, where until 1976 he directed a special type class at the Higher School of Book Art and Graphics. Subsequently, the artist becomes its rector, founds the Institute for Book Design at the Higher School and manages it.
In all the works of Capra one can feel the subtle handwriting
the beginning, for, in his own words, “only those branches on the tree of fonts that are saturated with the living juice of handwritten forms are able to bear fruit”
The art of calligraphy is extremely popular to this day in England. “A good typewriter always has a lot of work,” informed John Shivers, a member of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators, “they constantly order texts that require more of an artist’s hand than a typewriter”
Back in 1950, the British decided to supplement the school curriculum with the subject of type art, and the Society of Scribes and Illuminators developed courses for summer and Sunday classes. They also teach foreign students. In big cities, the training of beginner calligraphers is led by institutes of advanced training. Many, fulfilling a long-held dream, turn to art already at retirement age in order, according to John Shivers, “to create something with their own hands, and often their choice falls on the type. Type art is not just popular, it is super popular” 24
Albert Capr: "Calligraphy in England has become one of the most beloved graphic forms, and the best calligraphy comes to us from England" 25
In 1976, the classic work of the English scientist and artist Heather Child "Calligraphy today" was published. d.Calligraphy today) Collaborating with many scribes of the world, Child managed to give a capacious and vivid overview of the state of calligraphy in Europe and America. The book pleases with an abundance of illustrations: pages of manuscripts, certificates, congratulatory addresses, bookplates, headings and inscriptions, invitation cards, menus, announcements, posters are reproduced here. There are examples of alphabets, study tables, samples of experimental and abstract calligraphy. All this undoubtedly stimulated the creativity of both mature masters and novice scribes, ignited the enthusiasm of people who had not even thought about the calligrapher's craft before.
In 1984, the Society of Scribes and Illuminators organized the Calligraphy-84 exhibition. It was attended by members of the OPI from Belgium, Iceland, France, Yugoslavia and, of course, England. After England, the exposition was watched in the USA. Calligraphy-84 included everything shown in 1981, when the 60th anniversary of the OPI was celebrated, plus best work over the next five years. In addition to the traditional school, they were attracted by the variety of modern trends, calligraphy in ceramics, glass, inscriptions carved on stone and wood.
Over the past two or three decades, interest in manuscript art has increased dramatically in the United States of America (primarily under the influence of England)
An outstanding event in calligraphic life was the exhibition of Latin writing samples "2000 Years of Calligraphy" (USA, 1965). The grand exposition covered the period from the 1st century AD to 1965. The suppliers of exhibits were not only museums and libraries of different countries, but also numerous owners of private collections. The exhibition turned out to be fabulously rich. And here, as usual in many fairy tales, there was a queen. Elizabeth II presented two old manuscripts for display.
A beautifully illustrated catalog with detailed information about each work was released for the opening.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS
Chilled reed or reed stick (kalam*) is one of the most ancient writing instruments. The tongue ** was split for greater plasticity shortly before our era. Nobody knows how it happened. Perhaps, for the sake of curiosity, an unknown master tested an accidentally split reed blank and realized what benefits an unexpected discovery promises ... Later, at the end of the split, they began to burn a thin hole so that the reed would not prick further.
The great calligrapher of the East of the 13th century, Yakut Mustasimi, lengthened the tip of the reed pen and cut it obliquely so that a “voice” could be heard, like the voice of the Mashriqi blade. Sultan-Ali Mashkhedi: “And this Mash-riki, they say, was a man who worked blades of extraordinary good quality and elegance; whoever tested his blade, on whatever he struck, cut it in two, but if he set the blade in motion, he hesitated, and a voice of extreme subtlety was heard. So, it is better that the end of the kalem be long and fleshy, and when you put it on a leaf, it would move and a voice would be heard.
* In the countries of the East, kalem or kalam.
** Sometimes this part of the kalam is called "legs".
The reed is plastic. In the working position, with light pressure, the tongues of the kalam diverge, and a characteristic creaking is heard.
In ancient times, kalam was moistened with saliva before starting work. The saliva helped hold more ink. A thin mesh was placed in the inkwell, the ink was touched through it with the instrument, and writing was done. The case moved slowly.
Then they invented, - it would seem, what could be simpler - an ink holder. This little record saves a lot of time; one refill is enough for several letters. The ink holder is filled with a special stick or brush. Don't forget to wet the inside of the tool's tongue. This will prevent drying ink from clogging the cleft of the pen, and it flows to the paper constantly and evenly. If you write by dipping the pen directly into the ink, then some letters are bold, others, when the optimal amount of ink in the ink holder is set, become thinner. Some modern masters achieve certain graphic effects by this: they find an expressive rhythm in the alternation of bold and thin letters. You can keep the pen full all the time. Then the beginning and end of the strokes, the transition from the main stroke to the connecting stroke are distinguished by softness and roundness.
Many craftsmen (Zhovik Velievich, David Green, Evgeny Dobrovinsky, Corina Meister, Charles Pierce, Paul Shaw, Jean Evans, etc.) prefer homemade reed nibs to the best branded instruments. Thankful material! A sharp knife and a little patience are all it takes to make a good feather. The reed is not durable, but it is rich in possibilities and is always at hand to create, invent, try ...
You can, for example, separate the tongue of the kalam, you get a double stroke (Fig. 82)
A pen with an asymmetrical split gives a kind of serif, left-handed or right-handed. Two splits enhance the plasticity, softness of the pen, which, according to Giambattista Palatino, is especially useful for a beginner * and the ink flows freely, and there is no need to press the tool. With pressure, a slow and heavy handwriting could have been obtained.
Since ancient times, tools have been made from the feathers of birds: goose, eagle, swan, bustard, hawk, raven, wild duck. Feathers are collected during the molting of birds. Five in each wing, especially the second and third, with large and round barrels, are considered the best. Without preliminary preparation, due to the greasy stem and soft core, the bird's pen is unsuitable for writing: the paint does not drain from the pen, and the tongues sluggishly disperse even from light pressure. Take the feather of the left wing (it is more convenient for the hand), cut off the end and remove the beard so that it does not interfere with work. Wetting the barrel with water, vigorously rub the trunk with a piece of skin and, having scraped off the top layer, put it in boiling water with alum for 10-15 minutes (a teaspoon of alum in a glass of water) Now you need to place it in sand heated to 60 ° or gently roll it with an iron of the same temperature . The trunk, softened under the action of heat, can be immediately repaired, but the split is done after hardening, otherwise it will turn out to be uneven. The bird's feather, even sharply cut, glides freely in any direction without disturbing the paper.
The writing brethren always vigilantly monitored the serviceability of their supplies. With a razor-sharp knife, the master sharpened the tool with its inherent individuality. The beloved pen was jealously guarded by the scribe. Tired of copying the text, Russian calligraphers wrote on the margins of the manuscript: “Psalm is with a paw pen” or “The death of this feather.”
In 1548, Johann Neudörfer the Elder from Nuremberg used a metal pen. Quite quickly it won the sympathy of calligraphers, but it was expensive. In Russia, by the middle of the 17th century, 27 rubles were paid for a hundred pieces. The price was outrageous at the time. That kind of money could buy a bull and a ram.
An experienced calligrapher sometimes uses the most unexpected tool. Pointed nibs are now almost out of use, but calligraphers still use them, and sometimes in a completely original way. When S. B. Telingater was in Leipzig, the students high school graphics and art of the book asked him how one of the most interesting works of the artist was made. Without wasting words, Solomon Benediktovich took a sharp pen and, firmly pressing the non-working side edge against the paper, wrote several letters (ill. 95)
Yakut Mustasimi, hiding from the Mongol troops plundering Baghdad, found himself without tools and materials. This did not bother the master. Tormented by enforced idleness, he dipped his index finger into the ink and wrote on the towel in such a way that everyone was amazed.
The Nizam of Bukhara worked with his finger with "such thoroughness and subtlety that the pen is powerless to describe it"
Donald Jackson, a scribe in the office of Queen Elizabeth II and the House of Lords, wishing to provoke American colleagues, dipped a spoon into a cup of coffee during a friendly conversation and wrote on the tablecloth in impeccable italics: "It is impossible to form a calligraphic group in New York." Paul Freeman, one of the future organizers of such a group, then took the tablecloth home, vowing that he would make Jackson take back his words.
I could not understand how one of the best sheets of Villu Toots was made (ill. 96). I turned to the author for clarification, Villu Karlovich showed me something completely unsuitable from the point of view of classical calligraphy - an old, long-made and broken bird feather.
For a beginner, such experiments will only bring harm. In clumsy hands, an experiment can become empty magic. In the future, when the basics of calligraphy are firmly mastered, an inquisitive scribe looks for new tools and materials, achieves their most favorable combination and interaction, thereby expanding his technical capabilities in an attempt to comprehend the essence of beautiful writing. Great calligraphers of all times and peoples have been striving for this all their lives.
Modern craftsmen have a wide choice of wide-ended branded instruments: Speedball, Mitchel, Ato nibs from Blanckerts (in Frankfurt am Main) and others. The English pen "Osmiroid" (for ink) has several interchangeable nibs with great nibs. The German pen "Graphos" is filled with ink; after work, the channels of the writing rod and the reservoir should be thoroughly rinsed. Both tools are convenient in that the nibs are easy to replace during operation.
A complete set of wide nibs can be made from a set of Radish drawing nibs by cutting the writing discs in half with a sharp chisel. To make the pen thinner, remove a part of the metal along the entire length of the tongue with a thin file (needle file) and enlarge the hole in the body for its greater plasticity. It remains to grind the working surface on a soft touchstone, and then with GOI paste * The writing end must be absolutely accurate.
* The paste developed by the State Optical Institute (GOI) is used for lapping and finishing work.
When the pen disk is evenly pressed against the paper, this is the correct position of the tool. If you hold the pen “incorrectly” (the disk is at an angle to the plane of the sheet) and put a soft lining under the paper, such as felt, interesting nuances can be achieved in the design of the strokes.
Poster pens are good for large letters. I know well-known type designers who, having a full arsenal of calligraphic tools, prefer a poster pen. Preparing it for work is not much of a hassle. Having placed a hacksaw blade between the tongues, you need to grab them with pliers and carefully squeeze them to the thickness of the insert. Do the same again, replacing the blade with a razor blade. It remains to sharpen the pen on the touchstone, and the tool is ready.
For small letters, a regular fountain pen is suitable. The bulge at the end of the feather is chopped off or bitten off with side cutters and polished. John Howard Benson came up with such a wide-nib pen when he copied it on English language"La operana" by Arrighi.
The tool must be protected, washed often in water, and wiped dry after work. Byron MacDonald: "Remember, good work can only be done with clean tools"
From beginners you often hear: “The pen does not write” or: “It writes badly.” A few words about the possible “whims” of the instrument: 1) the reeds are at an angle to each other (try to straighten them by grabbing them alternately with pliers), 2) the reeds are thin, sharp, cut or tear the paper (carefully round the corners of the pen) Sometimes the pen is working properly, but writes bad: 1) the ink holder is raised too high, and the ink is slowly coming to the paper (lower the ink holder), 2) the paper is greasy (wipe it with an eraser or a wet sponge), the ink or paint is too thick (dilute them with boiled water), 3) the paint dries up and clogs the split (when filling the ink holder, do not forget to moisten the inside of the split, wash the pen in water often), 4) the pen is covered with a greasy film (hold it over a match flame for a fraction of a second or wipe it with a piece of gauze soaked in saliva)
I'm not in vain meticulous in the details. A lot of time is wasted until you comprehend them yourself. Sometimes such problems discourage the impatient student for a long time.
A wide-ended felt-tip pen with a hard porous core is convenient in work. Remove the writing knot from a regular pointed felt-tip pen. After pulling out the rod, clean it with a spatula and install all parts in their original places. Such a tool goes nicely on paper, gives a clear stroke, allows you to perform a complex stroke in one continuous movement.
Sometimes two felt-tip pens are connected: wide and thin, black and green, brown and red, etc. They also resort to this technique: they write with dual tools, and then paint over the background with a brush. Fasten the vertically cut halves of the pencils. A simple trick, but sometimes it brings benefits - you can write small letters.
Peculiar handwritten fonts are created with brushes: flat, blunt, pointed, round. The brushes, especially the last three, are extremely mobile. It is difficult for them to write graphically the same letters, and it is not always necessary to strive for this. Picturesqueness, especially inherent in rapid writing, is as pleasing to the eye as clear, carefully executed letters. Clearly, a polished, readable font is necessary, for example, in the text of a handwritten book, and a catchy inscription is more appropriate on a magazine advertising cover. Everything has its place.
A blunt or round-tipped brush can be easily made from a pointed one. In the first case, its end is cut off with a sharp knife, in the second, it is carefully trimmed with small scissors or treated with a lit cigarette. They hold the brush like a type pen or in the Chinese way, that is, strictly vertically. When the Japanese or Chinese write small characters, clarify the details, their right hand rests on the back of the left hand.
wash brushes warm water with soap, carefully “driving” the hair with the end into the palm. Hot water is contraindicated; rosin in the tube that binds the hairs will dissolve and they will fall out.
Chinese artists use a wide variety of materials to make brushes. Sheep, goat, bear and even mouse wool is popular. The famous Chinese calligrapher and painter Qi Baishi preferred a brush made of rat whiskers wrapped in sheep hair, but it takes many years to comprehend such subtleties.
The thickness of the instrument is a matter of taste. Tall, of a heroic build, Willa Yarmouth prefers a thin bird feather. To Rein Mägar, even a clerical pen seems frail: “This is not for a man's hand,” and wraps it with several layers of insulating tape. Yet most artists and educators consider a 7-10mm pen to be the best. A beginner should work with such a tool. For a thin bird feather, if necessary, it is easy to make a special reed or bamboo holder of the desired thickness.
When it comes to drawing tools, calligraphers and many type designers rarely use them. "Do you use compasses?" once asked I. F. Rerberg. “I have it, but I don’t know where it lies,” the master answered *
Good, flowing, even color black ink can be prepared on the basis of an ancient recipe from special growths of light green color on oak leaves. They need to be placed in a two-layer gauze, squeeze the juice into a glass, add a little iron sulfate for greater saturation and stand in the light for 7-10 days. Such ink is suitable for bird and reed pens. Metal deteriorate from the action of vitriol.
In Rus', black ink had a brown tint. They were made from rusty iron (especially old nails were used) and gum. In Siberia (Krasnoyarsk Territory, 1930s) they wrote with soot. They got it from the chimney of a Russian stove, diluted it with boiled water, added a little sugar and it turned out well!
The American calligrapher Teresa Fischer, in order to prepare the so-called Indian ink, recommends putting several lighted wicks in oil and “collecting” the smoke by placing a convex dish over the “fire”. The soot is carefully swept away with a bird's feather and mixed with liquid gum 34
Modern "Rainbow" ink is fluid, does not clog the pen, but is poorly waterproof. This excludes editing the text with whitewash. You need to work for sure. In antiquity it was different. If the scribe was mistaken, it does not matter: with a wet sponge, the letters were easily washed off the papyrus. Sometimes this was done in a more extravagant way. In ancient Rome, mediocre poets were forced to lick their poems with their tongues.
In addition to black ink* and ink, calligraphers write with gouache, watercolors, oils and other paints.
Get the hang of preparing paint for writing the desired thickness. Let it easily escape from the pen, but reliably cover the surface of the paper, then it will almost not be necessary to refine the letters with a brush. Before writing with gouache, it is thoroughly mixed so that the glue is evenly distributed (it collects in the top layer), otherwise the letters are transparent and sticky. Thickly ground paints must be filtered through nylon or gauze folded in two or three layers, then small grains will not clog the pen. In the process, the paint in the bowl is periodically stirred so that it is the same in density.
In ancient times, from about the 3rd millennium BC, papyrus was the writing material. The swampy banks of the Nile are the birthplace of the amazing
* Black ink can be mixed with watercolor, such as brown or ultramarine, and get the desired warm or cold shade.
plants. Shuttles were made from its stems, baskets and mats were woven, excellent fabrics were produced. Even the bark did not go to the sandals, and the rhizomes of plants were a favorite dish of the Egyptians and a delicacy for hippos.
To prepare papyrus for writing, the soft core of the cane was cut into thin strips, tightly laid in two perpendicular layers, beaten with a wooden mallet, moistened with Nile water, beaten again, pressed, dried, glued, polished the front side with ivory or shell. The finished sheets were glued and rolled into rolls, sometimes up to 100 meters long. They wrote on one side of the sheet, where the reed strips were oriented horizontally and did not interfere with the movement of the pen.
Today, papyrus has become a rarity. All the more surprising is the report that flashed in the press about a small plantation cultivated in Egypt by just one person. And this is no idle entertainment. Resurrected papyrus is used to make paper! She goes to documents for the most solemn occasions and like hot cakes from artists.
Parchment was probably invented in the 1st century BC in the Kingdom of Pergamon. Animal skins were placed in lime, cleaned of hair and meat, stretched on a special frame, the remains of hair and meat were scraped off with a scraper, dried, polished, bleached... This durable, elastic material was universally recognized already in the 3rd century. They wrote on parchment on both sides.
In special cases, parchment is still used today. This material, rare in our time, is manufactured, for example, by the Konrad company in Altenburg (GDR)
Paper appeared in the 2nd century in China. Over time, it penetrates the West. In ancient times, paper quality did not differ. Writing on it was one torment: the pen got stuck, the ink blurred. In Europe, new writing material begins to replace parchment from the 14th century. It was then made from cotton rags by hand. Washed and crushed rags were soaked in a solution of slaked lime for bleaching, squeezed, soaked in water and washed. The gelatinous mass was scooped up with a special metal sieve. Part of the water left through the sieve holes, the remaining paper mass was shaken out, pressed and dried, glued with gelatin.
In Rus', until the 14th century, birch bark and parchment were used. To increase softness, birch bark was boiled in water and dried. The letters were squeezed out with bone or metal writing. Almost no ink was used.
A modern calligrapher has many types of paper at his disposal: whatman, laid, coated, torchon...
It is difficult to write on rough, grainy paper (for example, torchon). The textured surface is characterized by discontinuity, picturesque stroke. Quite a clear letter is also possible, if, using a hard pen, carefully “climb” each hillock and also slowly fall down.
Smooth, coated paper is good because small errors in writing on it can be easily eliminated by scraping. In general, they try to avoid corrections.
Calligraphers of the East corrected letters in exceptional cases, and only with a pen. Erasure with a knife was considered blasphemy: "Calligraphers are not surgeons!" A badly formed letter can no longer be corrected, it looks fake.
Once, having made a mistake in the text, the Dutch master Herrit Nordziy, without further ado, simply crossed out the unnecessary, and did it so elegantly, exquisitely that the correction adorned the manuscript (ill. 118)
Do not try to immediately get expensive paper Many modern calligraphers, even very famous ones, did not shun the simplest materials. Qi Baishi sometimes wrote on wrapping paper, Herman Zapf on reverse side cheap wall papers.
The text looks attractive on a colored surface. True, the pen strives to break the colorful layer, mixing the background color with the letters, but this can be avoided by correctly toning the paper. Liquidly dilute the gouache in a plate. Test a control smear for glue (dried paint should not be smeared with a dry finger) If necessary, add finely grated dextrin or polyvinyl acetate emulsion (PVA) Be careful: re-glued gouache sticks and shines. Paint over the paper with a flat brush or cotton wool soaked in paint, changing the direction of movement from horizontal to vertical and vice versa. Beware of completing this operation prematurely, puddles that are invisible at first glance will dry out in spots or stripes. If you don’t stop in time, the brush tears off particles of drying paint from one place and transfers it to another.
They also use colored paper. It should first be wiped with an eraser, sprinkled with talcum powder or added to the gouache with which you will write, a little ox bile * Eating the fatty film characteristic of printing ink, bile provides an even coating of each letter. For certain graphic effects, a bold surface is also used. Then the stroke loses its clarity and the paint falls in an intricate pattern.
The imagination and fantasy of the calligrapher are largely determined by the material in which he works Goethe: "Only those artists are worthy of our respect who do not want to do anything beyond what the material allows them, but that is why they do so much"
* A preparation made from bovine or porcine bile, manufactured by the medical industry, is used. as well as a special wetting agent for watercolor, produced by art paint factories.

PRACTICE OF CALLIGRAPHY, WORKING WITH A BROAD PEN

The old masters argued: whoever does not learn to sit and hold the instrument correctly can give up on himself, he will never write well.
The first lesson in calligraphy: heads bowed in excessive zeal, bent backs, a tool convulsively clutched in the hand - all this nullifies the efforts of beginners.
Control yourself constantly: the back is straight, the left hand forms a fulcrum, taking part of the weight of the body, and at the same time holds the paper. The wrong position of the left hand often spoils the whole thing. Lower it, say, down the body will find support in the right hand and the freedom of movement of the writer will be violated. The right hand should barely touch the table! An experienced master can afford to work against the rules, for example, putting paper on his knee and sitting comfortably in an armchair. This is how the handwritten book of the contemporary Scottish artist Tom Gourdy "Handwriting Today" was made. It is clear that such a practice would only bring harm to a beginner.
The working posture of calligraphers from different countries and peoples may be different. The Egyptians "sacred" by sitting on the floor, putting
papyrus on a special stand resting on the knee of the right leg. The modern Japanese calligrapher prefers to kneel with the paper in front of him on a mat.
It is not recommended to work while standing, bending over the table - it is tiring, and there is nothing to count on success. Our ancestors acted wisely when they wrote at a music stand or desk.
It is desirable for a type designer to have a special music stand, at least a sheet of plywood or thick cardboard, one edge of which should rest on a small stand. The tilt of the music stand controls the speed at which ink flows from the pen. Do not forget to put a sheet of paper under your arm, otherwise the original will be greasy - all the work will go down the drain.
The pen is held like this: the thumb presses it against the middle nail, and the slightly bent index finger holds the middle finger closer to the pen, followed by the index and thumb. Hold the writing instrument lightly, freely. Tension usually comes from pressing unoccupied fingers to the palm. It is worth unclenching them, and the index finger will relax. There is no need to firmly squeeze the handle with three fingers if it is easily held in two: between the thumb and middle or thumb and forefinger (as, for example, they wrote in Italy in the 16th century) Check yourself: having suddenly stopped working, try to pull the tool with your left hand by the upper end it should slide freely. Look: is there a mark (dent) from the writing instrument on the middle finger? So you haven't learned how to hold a pen correctly!
For a beginner, it is best to take a pen with a width of at least 5 mm. Draw on paper, observing a constant writing angle of 30 °, a wide variety of lines that fantasy tells. Do it freely and naturally. Have fun; draw the sun, a human figure, a house. In a similar way, it is easier to feel the logic of a wide-nib tool: changing the thickness and shape of the stroke depending on the direction of the pen movement. Repeat the exercise, keeping the writing angle at 45° and then at 0° (the working plane of the pen coincides with the horizontal direction of the line). It is important to immediately learn how to vary the writing angle. This will help in the future to master the techniques of manipulating a wide-ended instrument.
One of the first difficulties is to be able to draw strictly vertical strokes. Don't try to automatically execute them parallel to each other * a small mistake and all the text "falls" to the side. That is why each subsequent stroke must be written, "forgetting" about the previous one, trying again to orient correctly in the plane of the sheet. Don't focus on the pen. Look at the end point of the movement. Do the strokes not come out perpendicular to the line of the line? Try to correct this shortcoming by changing the slope of the paper. Its most successful position is developed individually, in the process of practice.
Performing a downward stroke, move the entire arm with the elbow down, fixing the brush in one position. “Drag” the pen straight towards you, slightly leaning back with your whole body. Often draw long lines that exclude the possibility of a stationary position of the elbow. Watch your breath. "Exhale" strokes. Do not strain, allow yourself a little carelessness. Serfdom is the enemy of the calligrapher.
After the first exercises, try to increase the speed of work in order to finally get rid of the stiffness of movements. Back in the 16th century, Jean Lemoine advised those who want to learn the art of calligraphy to write letters decisively. Heather Child: “A certain speed gives the work rhythm and liveliness. Tortured writing will lack these qualities, no matter how carefully each letter is deduced.
And here are other opinions. Alfred Furbank: “The letters and words that the calligrapher writes, giving style, shape and grace to the inscription, are done at a slow pace to enable accuracy in design, since the appearance of the letter is more important than the speed of execution. A calligrapher, when he writes an official type*, will naturally strive to move forward at a satisfactory speed, but still will not move faster than what is necessary to carefully complete the strokes.
* In an official letter, every letter is assembled from several strokes and a strict sequence. In semi-formal, some letters are drawn with one continuous movement of the pen. The letter loses its clarity a little, but it gains speed and is more individual. In everyday handwriting, sometimes whole elephants scribble without lifting the instrument from the paper. These are unofficial (free) and most individual models.
“The exercises should be done carefully and methodically, despite the fact that the stroke is still uneven due to the slow movement of the pen. Speed, if it is appropriate to talk about it when executing a font, comes later, as if by itself, along with the stability of the hand.
Old textbooks of calligraphy advised to avoid both fast and very slow movements at the beginning. Both were considered harmful.
Special attention should be paid to overly hasty students: at first they act with some success, but without a strong foundation they quickly “run out of steam”.
If you are slow, try to work lightly and freely, without worrying about the results. This does not threaten you with constant negligence in the font, but it will help you to be liberated
So, the appearance of the stroke is more important than the speed of execution. Beautiful writing, however, requires decisiveness and a certain speed of pen movement from the performer, but these qualities are not an end in themselves. They are the result of persistent training and come with the stability of the hand.
It is best to start learning calligraphy with a simplified version of the Trajan's Column font (ill. 130). It is perfectly proportioned, relatively simple in execution, and perfectly adapted to a wide-ended instrument. It is also possible to give preference to the Latin alphabet for the following reasons: the student, quickly believing that the graphic features of the letters have already been mastered, writes two or three words, without looking at the sample; therefore, it is useful to start with a text in a foreign language: willy-nilly, you have to copy each letter sequentially.
The letter "O" is the most difficult and important letter in the alphabet.
An insufficiently clear understanding of the anatomy of "O" and its constructive similarity with "B", "3", "C" and other signs is the main reason for the distortion of letters, the graphics of which are completely or partially built on the basis of a circle (ill. 128, 129)
Describe "O" around the rectangle b c e d, clearly aware of all the components of the movement of the hand when performing the left part of the circle (arc from a to b, from b to c, from c to d) and, accordingly, the right (from a to e, etc.). e.) This exercise will help to avoid a typical and difficult to correct mistake: beginners draw the stroke of the letter “O” immediately down or strongly take it to the side, and it must be directed to the side and down at the same time. Write the left and right semicircles smoothly, sending the pen to the paper and lifting it off the paper gradually, as if planning, like an airplane taking off and landing.
Enter "O" in the square ABCD, trying to bring its outer contour closer to the ideal circle. Having coped with this task, write the letter without a corrective square, mentally tracing all the points on which its left and right strokes are built. The centerline will help control the identity of the semicircles. Finally, write "O" without a center line. Do not get used to the letter "O" of the same size. Change the line height and pen width.
Usually, letters are learned to write by subdividing signs with similar elements into groups (N, T, P, G, for example), but it is better to combine them into families based on width, proportions are more quickly comprehended and, as practice shows, beginners write different letters with great desire and success. stroke types.
On ill. 130, 131 tables invented by the modern English teacher Ralph Douglas. The alphabet is placed in nested columns, each containing letters of the same width. Note: in this font, the width of the cut of the pen fits 8 times in the height of uppercase letters, 5 in lowercase (excluding extensions) * The writing angle is constant 30 °, but in uppercase "M" (first stroke), "N" (first and third strokes) it increases to 60°
When mastering the nature of the font, it is useful to trace the sample. John Bigs: “To be of any use, tracing must be careful, careful, critical. You need to follow the contours, and you will discover a refined delicacy of forms that would almost certainly be hidden from you with just one look ... ”k9 This study work is done with a thin pen, ink or a hard, sharply sharpened pencil.
Having mastered the configuration of letters well, you can begin to write uppercase and then lowercase characters in alphabetical order with a wide-ended instrument, adhering to the parameters of the sample. Periodically check the proportions with a reference on tracing paper, combining the contours of the letters and analyzing the errors. Ink in this case is easy to smear,
* In practice, the ratio between pen width and line height varies freely.
it is convenient to use a pencil or felt-tip pen sharpened with a spatula.
Complete the Douglas table with Russian letters. An attempt to solve the Latin and Russian alphabets in one graphic way develops constructive and logical thinking. Please note: the horizontal strokes at "E", "Yu", "E", "B", "H", etc., are just above the optical middle; "R" - a mirror image of "I"; the writing angle remains constant, and only in “F”, “Z”, achieving the desired thickness of the strokes, they change it if desired (the pen is turned when writing left-sided diagonal strokes)
Serifs ennoble the Latin and Russian fonts. Serifs were used by the ancient Romans when they cut stone. The scribes also liked the innovation: it facilitates the flow of ink at the beginning of the stroke and serves as a good decoration.
Try writing uppercase and lowercase letters at 45° and 0° writing angles, observing the change in the proportions of thick and thin strokes and the shape of the letters themselves.
Now you can start copying the text, respecting the dimensions of the original. This is how Sultan-Ali Mashkhedi taught40. Many contemporary specialists are of the same opinion. Jacqueline Svaren: “It's very helpful to have samples the same size as your own work. Letters turn out much slower if you use a different pen size than that used in the model. 41 When the original and copy are identical, the pen width serves as a kind of module. And it is easy to check the proportions of letters with a standard on tracing paper. After completing the text in Latin letters, write any passage in Russian. Leave the font settings as they are.
Another type of writing that should be mastered is cursive. Cursiveness in calligraphy is determined primarily by the continuity of movement, the "running of the pen", and its fundamental characteristic is precisely that the letters (oblique or straight, uppercase or lowercase) are connected together or suggest the possibility of connection. Italics flourished in 16th-century Italy with Arrighi's treatise La operina.
The art of the great Italian has become truly accessible since 1951, when Benson rewrote Arrighi's book in English, achieving complete similarity with appearance original (ill. 132) Out of modesty, Benson asked to look "through the fingers" at the shortcomings of the English pages, and to study and imitate only the Arrigi type. But it is the English pages that should be copied. The original source is printed from wooden boards. This introduced certain violations in the ratio of thick and thin strokes. Arrighi: "I ask you to forgive me, as the press cannot completely replace a live arm."
Benson's work makes it possible to take advantage of the great master's advice to a wide range of readers. It is important. Due to the lack of specialized literature, beginners often focus on "trendy" italic fonts, which sometimes hide a misunderstanding of the basics of beautiful writing or deliberate neglect of them.
The shapes of the various letters in Arrighi have much in common: "l" and "y" begin almost the same, "a", "c", "d", "g" are obtained from "o" and form an oblong, elongated parallelogram. Arrighi: "... cursive, or clerical, letters should have something from the long, and not from the round" 43.
Masters have always been concerned about ways to rationally connect letters when writing. Arrighi does not bypass this question: (...) The master does not advise to attach the rest of the characters of the alphabet to the next letter, although he does not give a final solution to the issue: “But I leave it up to you to connect or not to connect” n. When studying the cursive of "La operina", it is useful to study the shape of the letters using the tracing method and write them with a wide-nib pen. Writing angle 45°
It is necessary to carefully and repeatedly copy at least one of the pages of the book (English version) Sometimes it seems to a self-confident student that he writes letters, if not better, then at least no worse than in the sample being studied. Copies must be kept. The time will come to get them and correct the mistakes. “Do not approve of self-satisfaction! Sultan-Ali Mashkhedi warned. “Strive not to become careless in your transfer letter, whether you do a lot or a little. The transfer must be made with full diligence.”
Qi Baishi saw the purpose of copying not in slavish imitation of the original, but in the ability to capture the essence of handwriting and remain oneself. You can be sure this advice is not for a beginner. The student should copy in the most diligent way and go to his own solutions gradually. A beginner, according to Heather Child, must first follow the teacher completely, especially when manual dexterity is required. Until you have sufficient skill, you cannot freely experiment.
“He who does not want to be a student is unlikely to achieve mastery,” 46 warned Jan Tschichold.
Ideally, you need to know each type in such a way that you use it with unconscious ease.
One of the pages of "La operana" in Russian reads as follows: "Then understand that not only the five above-mentioned letters "a", "c", "d" y "#", "q", but almost all others are formed in this way. but an elongated parallelogram, and not a perfect square, since, in my opinion, cursive, or clerical, letters should have something from the long, and not from the round; the roundness will come from a square, not from an elongated parallelogram.” Rewrite this text, retaining the composition and calligraphic features of the English version. The task is not easy, but exciting and useful.
Our type tutorials recommend only strokes from top to bottom and left to right, which is true at the beginning of learning, but in the future you need to get acquainted with other techniques. Arrighi, for example, drew a horizontal stroke not only from left to right, but also from right to left. Of course, it is somewhat difficult for the pen to be retarded by the paper and springy. But if, having barely started to the right, then draw a stroke along the same line in the opposite direction along a fresh ink trail, the pen gets a run-up and slides more freely.
A well-prepared instrument, controlled by the sensitive hand of a trained artist, easily, like an experienced skater on ice, glides in any direction. The execution of individual letters in a continuous movement and a reasonable reduction in the separation of the pen from the paper increases the speed of the calligrapher, giving the letter liveliness and originality.
I intercepted a leaflet with a composition of letters by Villu Toots “Test of the pen” (ill. 141) “on the way”: a table, a wastebasket. Villu Karlovic works fast. I failed to notice how many times the tool came off the paper. Six or seven, I think, no more.
Small letters are easier to learn in one go. In large size, it is much more difficult to write them out. With some experience, this is possible.
About capitals, Arrighi says: “Note, dear reader, when I said that all letters should be slanted forward, you must understand that this applies to lowercase, and I wanted your capitals to always be drawn straight, and strokes should be firm and without hesitation, otherwise, it seems to me, they will not have beauty "
Sometimes the "fluctuation" of the stroke decorates the calligraphy. When the Estonian master Paul Luhtein was working on the handwritten text of the book “The Liberation Struggle of the Estonians on St. take up a pen, he went to the barn to chop wood. "The hand gets tired, - the artist smiles, - then he began to write (Fig. 226) A little noticeable trembling did not interfere - the letters became more alive. "I saw the pages executed by Professor Lukhtein at the age of 75. The precision of the eye and the firmness of the hand are admirable.
One of the most popular typefaces, which flourished in the early 20th century, is sans serif, or grotesque. In our country, it received its most vivid expression in the works of the constructivists Alexander Rodchenko and El Lissitzky. Courageously rude letters challenged the pretentious typefaces of the past, vividly reflecting the revolutionary pathos of the 20s. “We did not lick the faces of the overfed bourgeoisie with our brushes,” Rodchenko was proud. The sans-serif "captured" exhibitions, building facades, filled book covers, penetrated into newspapers and magazines.
Today, sans-serif (especially one of its varieties, the narrow grotesque) is often the only one in the arsenal of an amateur graphic designer. The reason for this one-sidedness is primarily in the well-known ease of implementation. Basic pen manipulation skills make it fairly easy to move on to chopped shapes. In addition, it is generally accepted that the grotesque, if not organically, then, in any case, painlessly interacts with any type of image, whether it be an application or a linear drawing, one has only to appropriately adjust the letters in boldness, height, etc. a more original drawing expands the creative possibilities of the designer, but requires more tact, taste, and the ability to freely use a pen and brush. This, perhaps, partly explains the reason for the abuse of the "font of the century" *
The font is designed to create an emotional background even before the words are read, and, in any case, not to contradict the theme of the material being designed. The sophistication of Italian italics, appropriate for a story about the elegance of jewelry, is ridiculous for advertising a boxing match, and hardly anyone will come up with the grotesque to decorate the poems of A. S. Pushkin, E. Poe or S. A. Yesenin.
The more fonts in the designer's arsenal, the richer his possibilities. Considerable possibilities lie in the degree of finishing of letters. In one case, the artist, not content with the clarity of the strokes, corrects them with white, in the other he uses a rough brush.
Each calligrapher has a personal relationship with a certain font in general and with the graphic image of each letter individually. In the famous font of S. M. Pozharsky (ill. 168) "C" - good
* This is sometimes called a chopped font.
dear old man, resting in an armchair, "3" a beautiful woman, "M" an elegant, somewhat self-confident young man ...
Let us recall from Pablo Neruda: “The numbers are anchor-like, the fonts of Aldina are fine, like the sailor’s bearing of Venice ... like a tilted sail, italic sails, tilting the alphabet to the right ...” 51 The letter “V” belongs to the poet’s most glorious of words “Victoria”, E" a step to climb into the sky. "Z" - the face is similar to lightning.
N.V. Gogol described the work of a clerk-clerk as follows: “There, in this rewriting, he saw some kind of his own diverse and pleasant world. Pleasure was expressed on his face; some letters he had favorites, to which, if he got to, he was not himself: he laughed, and winked, and helped with his lips, so that in his face, it seemed, one could read every letter that his pen drew ”52
Bright as fire at night, the letters of one of the sheets of Villa Toots resurrect the spectacle that struck me in childhood, the puffs of flame blown by the wind, the thatched and reed roofs of the huts burning hot.
Jacqueline Svaren has amazing powers of observation. Of the lowercase "a", Swaren writes: "Imagine a small penguin with a straight back... and a tail moving to the right and upwards." You, of course, may have other, perhaps more accurate, associations.
A novice artist is sometimes eager to show all the studied fonts in almost every work, but it is difficult to bring them to a stylistic unity, to assemble them into a coherent composition.
The main thing in our business is compositional flair, ingenuity, the ability to avoid clichés and “successful” solutions. The inertia of thinking deprives the artist of creativity, turns him into a craftsman, “... leads,” Telingater said, “to the desire to use ready-made, previously established solutions or straightforward analogies (May Day invitation card - a blossoming tree branch, a red flag, the number one; invitation a ticket to a literary evening book image) Of course, the use of such analogies cannot be considered shameful, but in each such case a creative invention that would rethink these elements in a new way is much more desirable” 54. That is why a good artist, according to the German calligrapher X. Korger , immediately rushes in search of the original.
To an inexperienced designer, all parts of the text that he writes (for example, an ad, a poster) may seem equally important. Often he tries by all means to achieve an enhanced sound of each line, but the result is a boring, inexpressive work. In such announcements, “nothing strikes, nothing attracts attention” 55 It is as difficult to perceive such a text as listening to a bad speaker, even interesting content does not save a lecture. Here it is appropriate to recall the character of Mark Twain: a priest who read a sermon so monotonously and boringly that “soon, many were already pecking their noses, despite the fact that it was about eternal fire and boiling sulfur ...” 56
A competent composition is like a well-oiled choir. Everyone strives to perform their part in the best way, but obey the leading melody. What if everyone tried to sing louder than the others? So in type work, unjustified competing centers distract attention from the main thing and can distort the meaning of information. One day I was shocked by the packaging of cookies: next to the captivatingly simple-hearted name “Hello”, it shone just as actively: “From premium flour.”
It is important to learn to single out the main thing, to be able to understand the subordination of the parts of the secondary material (both among themselves and in relation to the main thing). Achieve the correct accents in the text, using the font of the same parameters, only by varying the amount of interline spaces. If the option fails, cut it into separate lines, recompose the words all over again, gluing them on a piece of paper, and rewrite them clean. Again, return to the advertisement, type poster, solving the same problems, but in a different way, changing the font in terms of lightness * and density **, and let the line spacing remain the same. Write the text again, using both methods already.
* The lightness of the font is determined by the ratio of the width of the main stroke of the letter to its intra-letter clearance.
** The ratio of the letter's width to its height.
Even before our era, the Romans placed the so-called albums in strictly defined places. Often one could see a warning: “It is forbidden to write here. Woe to the one whose name is mentioned here. May he have no luck." In our time, information posters are also not hung out to anyone where they like, so it’s easy to do without the word “announcement”. Vladimir Mayakovsky was indignant: “What bureaucracy informs, informs, announces! And who will go to these calls? 57 Let's abolish some pretexts, let's give up the hackneyed "it will take place" and "the agenda". If possible, let's bring our text closer to the stingy-business tone of the telegram: “December 20, 16.00. Assembly Hall. Trade Union meeting”, etc. Familiar words, stereotyped expressions reduce the effectiveness of information. Laconically, if necessary, the originally composed text is perceived faster, saves the time of others.
When executing the text, sometimes you have to hyphenate in words. A grammatically correct transfer may be unacceptable to the artist. Word breaks in slogans look bad, it is impossible (especially in the main lines) when transferring, for example, MOSCOW into MOS and KVA, LOMONOSOV into LOMO and NOSOV, etc. But it happens that the artist deliberately breaks all the rules. Qi writes, and RK transfers, turns any letter upside down and puts it in an unusual place for the reader in the circus, everything is possible!
Knowledge of the basic techniques of compositional construction helps to work faster, more efficiently and find your own creative solutions.
1. Symmetrical composition: the centers of the horizontal lines are strung on one vertical axis, on both sides of which the letters are equal in size, configuration, color, and have the same “weight”.
2. In an asymmetric composition, several axes are possible. Row groups are anchored to them by the left, right, or middle. In complex constructions, lines sometimes do not adjoin the axes at all, and integrity, completeness are achieved by the ability to find a kind of center of gravity, balanced by the complex interaction of various fonts. In the "flag" composition, all lines adjoin one common vertical and end arbitrarily. This ingenuous technique was loved in antiquity. And now it is producing good results. It is difficult to anchor all rows to the axis with the right edge (reverse "flag" composition) This is achieved by various methods:
1) preliminary markup of the text (the width of the letters and the distances between them are marked with a pencil) - this method is most suitable for simple fonts (for example, a narrow grotesque); 2) you can sketch out the words on a separate sheet and, placing them above the top line of the line, focus on the draft; 3) the use of decorative inserts at the beginning, at the end of a line or between words, the use of strokes that help, if necessary, stretch the line to the desired length; 4) by entering external elements of letters from one line to another; 5) right-hand writing (write from right to left, starting each letter from the last main stroke)
In practice, several methods are often used at once.
You should not artificially stretch or compress the letters, trying to align the right edge of the text in one line - the naturalness of the layout is lost. If necessary, however, even experienced masters still write more freely or more neatly, but the distortions are very skillfully not hurting the eyes.
Interesting effects are achieved by a peculiar arrangement of lines. In ordinary business text, the lines are usually arranged horizontally. Sometimes the text is arranged both vertically and diagonally, in a circle and a spiral, portraits, figures of people are filled with letters, and everything should carry a certain semantic load. » A knowledgeable artist will file differently, since the Chinese switched to writing horizontally - from left to right.
It happens that the original composition drastically reduces readability. However, this is also acceptable. Not regretting the time spent, we enjoy tracing the lace pattern of the lines invented by Irina Guseva, admiring the artist's technical skill and emotional flair (ill. 151) This is a kind of illustration for a poem, an independent work of art.
Letter gaps, line spacing and the size of the margins are in a certain relationship with respect to each other. Condensed writing (convergence of letters and lines) involves a reduction in external elements, a reduction in the spaces between words. In this case, the margins are perceived as wider. When increasing the inter-lines, the extension elements are often lengthened, and large margins are required here. Changing the size, shape of a remote element or stroke, sometimes entails the need to rework the entire work or its individual parts.
In the art of composition, there are no ready-made recipes that can be completely and completely relied upon. Artists work differently. Some carefully think over the structure of the text, work it out in pencil and, strictly adhering to the solution found, use the pen. Others write on the fly, with a minimum of compositional calculations or without them at all, bravely rushing into the wilds of compositional surprises, improvising, inventing and finding. Japanese and Chinese masters never resort to marking: this could slow down the natural movement of the brush. They sometimes rewrite the simplest thing ten fifteen times, and choose only one option. It is distinguished by magical lightness, ease of execution, which cannot be achieved by circling pre-prepared lines. E. A. Gannushkin believes that in type “everything happens subconsciously, when the artist moves his hand over the paper, in accordance with thoughts that run far ahead” 58 Improvisation has always been a good helper for many artists, scientists, and poets. Pushkin, while working on "Eugene Onegin", wrote to a friend with surprise * "Imagine what a joke Tatyana played with me when she married the prince." Marietta Shaginyan did not even know approximately how the fate of the heroes of the novel "Mess Mend" would turn out. Every morning she hurried to get down to the manuscript as soon as possible, tormented by greedy curiosity: what will happen next?
Improvisation sharpens the compositional flair, develops and liberates the imagination. The world of spontaneously arranged letters sometimes gives unexpected results and stimulates new creative solutions.
Significant effects in calligraphy are achieved by using color. A novice type designer, when he wants to make a bright, festive thing, sometimes uses all the colors that are at hand. The expected elegance is not in sight. It is better to limit yourself to two or three colors, but pick them up perfectly.
A prerequisite for a multi-color composition is the presence of a dominant color, associatively emphasizing the theme of the work.
Effectively, as it was said, the font looks on a tinted surface. A type designer needs to know the table of optimal color combinations, where the clarity of perception of letters on a colored background is given in descending order: black on yellow, green on white, blue on white, white on blue, black on white, yellow on black, white on red, white on black , red on yellow, green on red, red on green.
Calligraphers also use the initial, ornament and stroke to highlight the text and enhance its emotional sound.
The initial * (or initial letter) appeared in manuscripts before our era as an ornament to draw attention to the initial parts of the text.
Modern calligraphers begin headings, paragraphs, and sentences with an initial. It is “drowned” in the text, displayed in the upper or side field, placed in the center of the composition, sometimes as a kind of illustration, distinguished by its original configuration, size, color, frame, stroke, etc. Proper use of the initial requires knowledge of the history of type art, emotional sense. The Old Russian initial letter is unjustified in the text of modern content, and the font of S. Pozharsky, in harmony with the lyrics of S. Yesenin, is inconsistent with the work of V. Mayakovsky.
Ornament * originated a long time ago. Even primitive people, performing various rituals, were painted with earthen paint and plant sap, indicating belonging to a particular tribe. Tattooing started from childhood. The ornament, covering a person from head to toe, was a primitive story about the main events of the past.
An ornament in type work (a poster, an honorary address, a handwritten book, etc.) is not only an ornament, but also a means of creating an artistic image. It should not contradict the theme of the material being drawn up. The ornament is decorated with a letter, a frame, it is placed inside the text, between words and letters, it is framed with pagination, etc.
The stroke in calligraphy has a special place. The desire to write beautifully dormant in any person, even in such as a certain Lazar Norman (a character in A. Green's novel "The Golden Chain"), spoiled
* From lat. ogpage decorate.
who wrote the book in twenty-four murals “with ponytails and all-embracing strokes” 59 This, like any other means of expression in calligraphy, has many requirements. “The stroke,” says X. Korger, “must not only look beautiful and spectacular, but must also be filled with movement, vitality, thought and sharpness that are invested in this work” fi0
A good stroke lives on paper reverently. This is not a curve drawn by the indifferent hand of a draftsman, but the mood, the soul of an artist, “creating,” as Yu. Ya. Gerchuk accurately said, “capricious and fragile beauty at the tip of his pen”
This decoration has a remarkable and pronounced ability to interact with the space around it, because they often ended a chapter in old handwritten books if it ended at the beginning of the next page.
A good stroke is sometimes overly frisky, but generally an obedient child of a letter. The nature of the lines, connections should have an organic connection with the font design. This is often neglected by beginners, forgetting that any decoration without proper relationship with the surrounding elements will only spoil the work.
193.
J. Pillsbury. Initial. Paper, gouache, wide nib, polished gold
Prince Myshkin (a character in F. M. Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot) that you can fall in love with him" 62
Many modern masters have moved away from classical calligraphy in search of new graphic effects. The new graphics of the letters also require their own stroke. A wonderful example of such a correspondence is the sheets of the "Old Estonian Calendar" written by Villu Yarmut (ill. 206)
Do not abuse decorative elements. Place them in exactly the right place. The basis of a good typeface is, above all, in the right form. A poorly written letter with foam of calligraphic excesses “cannot be sugared”. However, for example, Celtic scribes and decorators, flooding manuscripts with decorations, reached perfection. “But not a single scientist can tell exactly how to turn the surplus into great art,” 63 noted the American scientist and calligrapher Donald Anderson in this regard.
The stroke is usually made the same thickness as the letter, or thinner, in order to avoid rivalry between them. A knowledgeable artist usually avoids crossing wide elements (otherwise dark spots are formed), controls rounding, transitions of a thin line into a thick one and vice versa.
The stroke consists of the following parts: the stem (a qualitatively new continuation of the body of the letter or its external element) and branches (decorations emanating from the stem of the stroke) An additional stroke is an independent decoration. It is not a direct attribute of the letter, but enhances its decorative qualities. The components of the stroke are performed in a certain sequence or without tearing off the pen. Combine both methods of work.
It is very convenient to practice with a pencil sharpened in the manner of a wide-ended instrument. Many good examples must be studied and reworked until the fine arts submit to the writer. Experience is gradually accumulating, the stock of independently found solutions is growing. A trained artist with good intuition is able to find the right play of lines on the go. Quite often, this option turns out to be the most successful. But let the reader not get the impression that everything is always easy and simple for a professional.
...Far after midnight. A calligrapher sits behind a music stand by the light of a table lamp. A bird's pen glides swiftly across the paper. More and more new sheets fall on the table, on the floor, so they filled the whole room ... The master carefully reviews everything that has been done. Most of it is mercilessly destroyed. Armed with scissors, he carefully cuts out individual letters, lines and glues them again... Thus, one of the most brilliant calligraphic sketches of Villu Toots, sparkling with ease and freedom, was born. Such a work is performed often and in one breath, without corrections, but the price of magical lightness is years of constant, selfless work.
Once, an unknown art connoisseur approached Claude Monet, who quickly painted a landscape from nature, and asked to sell the sketch. The artist called a significant amount "But you only worked for half an hour!" exclaimed the astonished gentleman. “Plus 37 years of daily exercise,” Monet was not taken aback.
When the basics of calligraphy are mastered, it is imperative to get acquainted with the special techniques of manipulating the instrument (ill. 198). They expand the creative possibilities of the type artist.

I. Simultaneity of translational and rotational movement of the tool.
1 Pen rotation from acute angle letters to zero (flat) a) the imaginary axis of the stroke passes through its middle (starting the rotation of the pen from point A, we get a two-sided serif), b) one of the sides of the stroke is oriented vertically
2. Smooth increase in stroke width.
3. Pen rotation from zero writing angle to sharp and further.
4. Smooth transition of the pen from zero writing angle to sharp in the middle of the stroke and back to zero at the end.
5. Repeating the manipulations of the previous paragraph, but in reverse order (from an acute angle to zero and again to an acute one)
When manipulating, the pen is held almost perpendicular to the plane of the sheet, rotating it with the index and thumb or index, middle and thumb.

II. The use of "ink wedge". I call an ink wedge the triangle of liquid paint formed between the paper and the working paper.
surface of the pen when its corner is raised. By raising or lowering the edge of the pen, that is, reducing or increasing the ink wedge, you can change the thickness and angle of completion of the stroke (if the required amount of ink is maintained in the ink holder and it is sufficiently fluid)
feather pen
1. Moving the stroke from the sharp corner of the letter to zero Starting from point A, lift the left corner of the pen, while continuing to move down until the right corner reaches the bottom line of the line. Try to lay the paint so that the stroke is completed strictly horizontally.
2. Transition of the stroke from the zero angle of the letter to the sharp Starting from point A, “turn on” the ink wedge by lifting the right corner of the pen.
3. Translation of the stroke from the zero angle of the letter to the obtuse one. Starting at point A, lift the left corner of the pen until the right corner reaches the line of the line.
In all the examples considered, the speed of translational and rotational movements, starting from the moment the ink wedge is turned on, is approximately the same.
4. Connecting strokes. Interesting nuances in the transition of the main stroke to the connecting stroke are obtained by moving the pen, smoothly (a) or sharply (b), to the left or right corner.
5. Performing a stroke with a gradual thinning or thickening. The movement starts at the same time as the ink wedge is turned on. The translational speed of the pen is much higher than its rotational speed.
Here are shown the most characteristic and, for greater clarity, exaggerated types of strokes. Virtuosos control the pen more sophisticated and finer. Having mastered the “rules of the game” well and having filled your hand, you will find your combinations of techniques and move on to creative solutions.
What are the basic principles of beautiful writing? The “father of modern calligraphy” Edward Johnston formulated them most clearly and succinctly: “Clarity, beauty, specificity. Simplicity, originality, proportion. Unity, refinement, freedom” 64 “The problem facing us is extremely simple,” the master believed, “to make good letters and arrange them well” 65 “Be true to the clarity, beauty of writing and the author” 66
Describing the work of the outstanding German master Hermann Zapf, he convincingly defines one of higher levels calligraphy
V. V. Lazursky: “Zapf achieves in his calligraphic sheets a virtuosity that makes one recall the works of calligraphers of the Renaissance, when this art was at its zenith... The letters are sung under Zapf’s pen, many of his calligraphic sheets give the impression of musical to the ear, but to the eye. But never ... the beauty of the stroke does not turn into an end in itself for Zapf, does not obscure the thoughts and images that he wants to convey to people "67
The gradations in the assessment of calligraphy among the Chinese are peculiar and instructive. A good font is called “bony” (each letter has a strong skeleton and is well-built anatomically; the artist managed to “give strength to his strokes”) “Muscular” writing is most valued (strong skeleton, no “extra meat”) Letter “with a weak skeleton” ( few "bones" and an abundance of "meat") is considered "pig-like".
Note: even very tall and thin, but structurally weak letters cannot be called "bony". They are "pigs": shapeless, lethargic, anemic. Conversely, the boldest letters are "bones", if anatomically constructed flawlessly.
Any font, depending on the perfection of execution, is capable of performing in any of these qualities and in inept hands easily degrades into a “pig”.
The disadvantages include excessive smoothness of writing, softness of the line, tension in the movement of the brush, excessive pressure on the paper by the tool, carelessness and randomness of movements.
Appreciated by connoisseurs of work, where there is a delicate correspondence between the skill in the design of each stroke of the letter and, as it were, unintentional inaccuracies and "errors". Agree, a different sketch evokes more feelings than a scrupulously written work. Such a thing, if masterfully done, shows both a subtle understanding of form and the taste of a calligrapher. A beautiful surprise in art always pleases the eye.
Individuality is perhaps the most valuable quality of an artist.
A true artist does not look for beaten paths. Sergei Yesenin: “A canary from someone else’s voice is a pathetic, funny trinket. The world needs a song word to sing in its own way, even like a frog.
Much can be gleaned from the study of outstanding examples of writing, but the goal is one to master the skill and come to your own handwriting.

MODERN HANDWRITTEN BOOK
The first "books" written on clay tablets appeared in Mesopotamia and were kept in large, well-organized libraries. The repository of writing monuments, discovered in 1852 on the banks of the Tigris, contained 27 thousand tablets from the collection of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (7th century BC)
Originally "replicated" the works of famous authors in Ancient Greece and Rome. Several dozen scribes were comfortably seated in the bright hall. One person, sitting on a dais, slowly and distinctly dictated the text, the rest wrote.
The work of a scribe has always been respected. Found time to improve in this art and the powers that be. Byzantine emperor Theodosius II (5th century), resting from state cares, copied Greek and Latin manuscripts at night.
The medieval scriptorium was a large bright room. In deep silence, copyist monks worked for many hours in a row. It was not allowed to talk. Making books was sometimes like fighting the devil, only with pen and ink. And if he made a mistake or was at odds with punctuation, it means that he pleased the evil one, be kind enough to atone for sin.
Many books were fabulously expensive. And no wonder. The pages were decorated with miniatures and ornaments, and the bindings with embossing, carvings, and sometimes precious stones, enamels, gold or silver. Clasps, often made of precious metals, were attached to the binding. They cherished luxurious manuscripts like the apple of their eye, and, in order not to tempt their neighbors, they chained them to the shelf of the library cabinet.
After the invention of printing, the ancient art ceased to be a vital necessity, and people hurried to turn away from it.
In our time, the handwritten book (primarily printed) is slowly, very slowly, but returning to life, and the calligrapher has many opportunities here.
Let me remind you that the design of the poem "The Sea" by F. Tuglas (calligrapher Villu Toots, illustrator Evald Okas) won the highest award at the All-Union Book Art Competition in 1966 - Ivan Fedorov's diploma. Isn't it significant: the diploma of the first printer - for achievements in handwritten work.
K. Mister. Opening of a handwritten book. Paper, gouache, broad nibs
"O" of different widths in the same text. “Why this is caused by the spelling norms or the peculiarities of the handwritten original has not yet been sufficiently studied,” noted A. G. Shitsgal69 “O” is the most common letter of the Russian language, “the most popular,” according to the writer Boris Zhitkov. It is known that most of the typos and errors fall precisely on frequently repeated and graphically inexpressive characters. It seems that Russian calligraphers understood this, “diluting” in a certain rhythmic sequence a string of narrow “Os” with letters “Os” of a wide style*
Accelerate the reading process used in ancient manuscripts
* It is also possible that in this way the most ingenious scribes lengthened or shortened lines, achieving an even margin on the right on the page.
ligature book. N. I. Piskarev dreamed of using them even in typographic fonts.
They are attracted by the mobility and liveliness of handwritten forms, which make it possible to vary the graphics of letters and at the same time achieve a single ornamental rhythm of each line and the text as a whole; individuality, eye-refreshing novelty of a handwritten book (remember that the path from a typographic type project to typesetting cash desks takes us years, sometimes decades) And finally, I am far from advising to rewrite the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Modern calligraphers turn to short stories, fairy tales, collections of proverbs and sayings.
An excerpt from “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by A. S. Pushkin was rewritten by I. A. Guseva with a wide-nib pen (ill. 210) Compare it with any typesetting page of the poem. Is there any doubt what choice the reader will make?
Readability in our time is not always the only and main function of calligraphy. Sometimes it is relegated to secondary roles, if figurative interpretation of the text is in the foreground. Then we are talking about written graphics, type illustrations. This, it seems to me, can be seen on the example of the sheets for the works of E. Poe "Sleeping" (ill. 212) and "The Raven" (ill. 213) Repetitive, as if in a dream sounding, repetition of the same words, so characteristic of the poet's lyrics , is an attempt at a kind of emotional accompaniment to poems.
In many countries, a direction that is absolutely surprising for our time is gradually gaining momentum: a calligrapher creates a completely hand-made work (up to self-making paper), without even thinking about replication. Such exquisite things are made by order of lovers of rare books, given to friends or kept in one's library to please both guests and oneself, or for an exhibition.
The handwritten book is impressive even in non-professional execution. In the 1920s, it happened that writers and poets stood behind the counter, offering books of their poems, rewritten with their own hands.
A handwritten book is a great practice for a calligrapher. After the choice has been made literary work, you need to think about the format of the book. Here are poems about high-rise buildings, about a new building, and this, say, about a hippopotamus. Of the two options: vertically elongated and horizontally elongated - the latter is clearly preferable for a story about a clumsy animal.
The most pleasant and simple page proportions: 1 2; 2 3; 3 4; 5:8; 5 9.
One of the main elements of the book is title page. The name of the author, the title of the book, the place and year of publication are placed on it. The title occupies one page (single-page) or two adjacent pages (double-page). In the swing version, all material is placed on two pages so that the right side serves as a continuation of the left.
Avantitul (sheet before the title) most often duplicates the title of the work in small print, is occupied by decorative elements, a slogan or dedication, and is almost always desirable. A book without a title is like an apartment without a hallway: from the corridor you get straight into the bedroom or kitchen, bypassing the hall.
The first page, on which the text begins, is highlighted with a capital letter, headband, or drawn down. To determine the margins, the larger side of the page is divided into 16 parts. Two parts are left on top, three on the right, one and a half on the left and four on the bottom. On the spread of the book, the margins of two adjacent pages are three units. If you need to increase the area for the text, the same page is already divided into 20 parts.
Jan Tschichold spoke about the harmonious relationship between page and text sizes in a handwritten book in the study “Free from arbitrariness ratios of book page and typesetting page”
Correctly found fields decorate the book. If they are small, the text is “stuffy”, cramped in the sheet; large - the text drowns in them.
When the last page of a book is not completely filled with text, it is good to finish it with a decorative element or a picture. In the old days, they did it even simpler: they wrote “the end” or lined up some kind of joke-joke like: “And I was there, drinking honey-beer ...” This was how the semantic and graphic completeness of the narrative was achieved.
It is convenient to fold a homemade book with an accordion. It's simple and beautiful. Cover the block with thicker and more appropriately colored paper, and the cover is ready. If your book is folded like a notebook, it's good to dress it in super or make a double cover due to special valves (bent ends). Do not fasten the sheets with wire brackets, a needle and thread will make this a much better job. special
effects are achieved by special preparation of the cut. Tear off the format of each individual sheet of the block, pressing it to the table with a metal ruler. Such a technique, of course, does not give the paper the illusion of hand-made work, but emphasizes needlework, the uniqueness of the work. A smooth cut can be painted over on three or two sides with a suitable color or rubbed with “golden” powder.
Effectively beat the paper cover with an imitation of embossing * The monogram of the author's initials is appropriate here, for example. Write the letters with a wide-tip tool on thick cardboard. Cut them out with a sharp knife and, placing them under the cover, carefully draw out the paper in the shape of the relief with some metal, well-polished tool of a suitable size. If you first soften the edges of the template with a knife, the embossing will turn out to be rounded.
Modeling is usually started with preparatory sketches. Once you've found the bulk of text, single lines, headings, illustrations, drop caps, go through everything thoroughly in a miniature layout. When the work as a whole “adds up”, they develop the composition of each page in detail, estimate the font in terms of boldness, contrast, height, etc. It is useful to cut the text into separate lines, words, find the best layout option and paste the layout in full size.
Before you line the sheets, prepare a ruler from a strip of paper, where the distance to the first line and all subsequent page layout are indicated. The lines are drawn with a pen (for example, a blunt awl) or a medium-hard pencil. At first, lowercase letters will require four lines showing the height of the body and the boundaries of the extensions (upper and lower). Experienced scribes sometimes completely neglect the markup or get by with one line.
An ornament lives comfortably in a handwritten book. The wide-nib nib provides a harmonious balance of thick and thin lines. Artists have long shown a lot of invention and ingenuity in graphic decorations, achieving a holistic artistic appearance of the book.
It is tempting to illustrate the book yourself, but you can use the services of a graphic artist.
Hide your workpiece for a few days. If after a week or two there is no desire to make adjustments to the layout: change the amount of line spacing, the layout of the initials, decorative elements, revise the font settings, etc., start writing clean.
* Relief embossing, invented by the English engineer William Congreve.

CALLIGRAPHY IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Calligraphy, according to Hermann Zapf, is the most intimate, personal, spontaneous form of expression. Like a fingerprint or voice, it is unique to each person.
The sparkling stroke of A. S. Pushkin, the painfully refined handwriting of F. M. Dostoevsky, the swift, full of internal energy and strength of the manuscript of V. I. Lenin will tell us about the personality of the writer and about the state of mind at the time of the creative process.
Letters exchanged between representatives of science and creativity during the Renaissance are now perceived as genuine works of art. An example of this is the autographs of Michelangelo, Petrarch ...
Handwriting, personal font, a kind of diagram, a graphic formula of each person, "the geometry of the soul", as Plato said.
Beautiful, clear and legible writing is an essential sign of a culture of communication. Even during a normal conversation, we try to speak, if not beautifully, then at least understandably, moderately quickly, without whispering, without swallowing words and sounds. A saying of Alfred Furbank is often quoted, and it is so good that I refer to it again: “People want to speak not only clearly, but also with refinement and
euphonious grace. In the same way, you need to write: the letter must be beautiful. In other words, writing should be treated as an art.
Unfortunately, many suffer from graphic tongue-tiedness. Albert Kapr believes that many letters remain unwritten because we are embarrassed by our handwriting. In this sad confession (perhaps subconsciously) there are also major notes. Being shy is good. It is much worse when, with obvious pleasure, they give out such dashing scribbles.
The author of the famous "Alice in Wonderland", the writer and mathematician Lewis Carroll, in a small masterpiece "Eight or Nine Tips on How to Write Letters" stated: "Most of everything that is illegible around the world is simply written too hastily. Of course, you will answer: "I'm in a hurry to save time." The goal, to be sure, is very worthy, but do you have the right to achieve it at the expense of your friend? Isn't his time as valuable as yours? 73
Once, in a conversation with V. V. Lazursky, I expressed admiration for his handwriting. “I paint rather slowly, I'm not in a hurry,” the artist explained simply.
Other letters or business papers are completely unthinkable to read. They are trying to decipher them collectively, passing from hand to hand, trying to make out each letter, guess word by word, by meaning. But Sultan-Ali Mashkhedi taught: “Handwriting, which is known as clear, is an indication of good handwriting. Writing exists for the sake of being read, not for being helpless in reading it.
Owners of good handwriting usually observe the speed of work that is optimal for themselves. Having crossed the threshold of the speed limit, anyone runs the risk of turning letters into scribbles. It is believed that a reasonable writing speed to strive for is about ninety characters per minute.
I'll tell you the case. A well-known foreign calligrapher spoke at the international symposium. The translator began translating the report from the manuscript, but she began to make mistakes, stammer, and warned: "Don't expect an exact translation, the text is written in anti-calligraphy." The hall revived. The speaker, apparently deciding that he had let off some kind of good joke, also smiled ... Later I was convinced that his handwriting was excellent, and the misunderstanding that had occurred was precisely the result of the prohibitive speed of writing.
Many masters and teachers see the root of evil in a sharp pen. Even John Howard Benson strongly advocated the use of a wide-nib instrument, because with a sharp pen we "... write quickly, can be legible, but almost exactly, without enjoying the perfection of writing" 75 A pointed pen, Benson believed, is largely responsible for the state of writing .
Opened in 1952 under the chairmanship of Alfred Ferbank, the Cursive Writing Society tried to introduce the use of a wide-nib pen in the school.
John Shivers, Fellow of the Society of Type and Illuminators of England: "The public believes, and I share this opinion, that learning Italian cursive from childhood can limit the deterioration of handwriting that is observed in our day, and instill respect for the art of type" 76
But time goes by. The inkwell and its inseparable companion, the pen, have fallen into oblivion, are perceived almost as eccentricity. Decisively displaced by the ballpoint pen, they found shelter in the post offices. Of course, the possibilities of a wide and even sharp pen are not available to a ballpoint pen. There is no need to strive for this. "Ball" is not a hindrance to beautiful handwriting. It all depends not on the tool, but on whose hands it is in! The graphics of the letters must correspond to the features of the tool used.
Now calligraphers have split into two camps: some are in favor of a wide pen in everyday life, others (the majority of them) are in favor of a “disgraced ball”. And there's nothing you can do about it. Just as a balloon cannot replace a modern airliner for us, so a wide or sharp pen cannot compete in everyday life with a ballpoint pen. Representatives of each of these areas have examples of both excellent and very mediocre examples of writing. How to be? There is no unequivocal solution to the issue here. As often happens, there is a golden mean in two seemingly mutually exclusive positions.
The formation of handwriting begins at school, and it would be important to start with calligraphy, or rather, with correct spelling: to study letter forms and the patterns of their formation with a ballpoint pen. Calligraphy in schools was canceled "ball" does not stain, ink stains and blotters have sunk into oblivion
And the blots were so picturesque! Note: sometimes the pen vibrates - only splashes fly, and the calligrapher of the old leaven is in no hurry to scold the instrument. Not only that, it will aim well and a spot or two will also plant it on purpose. One thing distinguishes such a master from a student of my school years: he knows in what place, where and when and under what circumstances an inkblot would be appropriate. This small digression is successfully illustrated by the sketch of the diploma for the graduates of the Tallinn type school, designed by Villu Yarmut (ill. 245)
It is advisable to introduce the subject of font science into the school curriculum, to acquaint students with the main types of font, to give the first skills of writing in the technique of a wide-ended instrument.
The famous artist and teacher Herrit Nordzey taught calligraphy to children aged eight to ten. Nordsay noticed with what pleasure beginners write with a stick of white chalk (in the manner of a wide pen) on a black board, and this became one of the teaching methods. In the end, everything that is done willingly brings good results.
It so happened that there were two or three left-handers in the group, and this is a difficulty for a calligrapher. The Dutch teacher, a great enthusiast of his craft, learned to write with his left hand, and only then, having won the trust of the children, allowed himself to convince the left-hander of the success of training.
In the exercises, the attention of the children was concentrated on the problems, and not on calligraphy. They didn’t demand impeccably clear strokes from the guys, but controlled the angle and inclination of the letter; allowed blots, but strictly followed the proportions of the letters, achieved an understanding of the logic of a wide-ended instrument. This is the method of John Biggs from England. During an apprenticeship, he believes, “the method of work, the process of thinking, is more important than the finished work.”77
“We don’t know,” says Herrit Nordsay frankly, “whether our children will write well when they grow up, but we are sure they will never forget that calligraphy contains very attractive features.”
The practice of a wide pen will facilitate the transition to calligraphic writing in design work in the future (how many schoolchildren can write an announcement graphically and compositionally competently? And students? And people with higher education?)
In the GDR, England and some other countries, beautiful writing competitions are already held for schoolchildren. An example worthy of emulation.
Beautiful handwriting in everyday life is not the lot of every master of writing: you can perfectly master official or semi-official calligraphy and remain quite helpless when you need to clearly and quickly fix the necessary information. And this is understandable: if the scribe for some reason did not have sufficient practice, such as taking notes, and did not develop fine coordination of small finger movements, where does good handwriting come from? And it also happens like this: handwriting is a feast for the eyes, but a person will take up a poster pen and show stunning bad taste
In any case, you should strive to follow the following tips:
1. Hold the pen correctly. Much depends on this, as in official calligraphy. In a small manual from the middle of our century, it is said that the pen should not be held tightly, but confidently and freely, like a living bird, which they are afraid to release and do not want to hurt. Effectively said, but the word “afraid” is alarming. It indicates tenacity. The master holds the "bird" easily and confidently, without timidity, as if he was born with it in his hand.
2. Everyday handwriting involves the linking of letters in words, but this does not mean that all characters must be connected. Tearing the tool away from the paper makes it easier to move the hand horizontally, reduces fatigue, and contributes to the readability of the letter.
3. One of the conditions for a clear and legible handwriting is the preservation of the optimal writing speed.
Working handwriting is individual creativity, and any experiments are legitimate here. Most type innovations, it has long been known, were born under the pen of ordinary clerks. The official calligraphy is conservative, following the exact form, rules and techniques of each letter. This is a rather slow and laborious craft. In ordinary handwriting, however, speed has always been a desirable quality, and random finds (let's take portable elements, for example) have become the property of not only handwritten, but also typographic font.
Passion for letter-creation exists even now. They write, for example, instead of "I" or "3" something resembling Latin "S", "V" instead of "F", etc.
After the reform of 1918, in the Russian alphabet, of the three characters corresponding to the sound “and” (“…”, “m”, “*y”), “and” remained as the most frequently used according to the old spelling standards. Russian and Bulgarian, the only alphabets built on Greek and Latin graphic bases, have lost the letter "...". Perhaps we did not act in the best way, abandoning the original "indivisible brick", which is part of the overwhelming number of letters of the alphabet.
Albrecht Dürer: “I will take the “i” as the first letter for the reason that almost all letters can be made from it ...”.
The use of “...” instead of “n” could have a beneficial effect on the readability of our everyday writing, where peculiar “palisades” are formed from “i”, “t”, “p” and elements of other letters, complicating the recognition of individual characters and making it difficult to read. This forces one to resort to special identification marks (superscript or subscript lines). They help to distinguish "t" from "silt".
The problem of “and decimal” (“...”) is not new, and it is tempting to return it to the “state” of the Russian alphabet. Writer Lev Uspensky is still, by his own admission, tempted to sign through "...". Such is the power of habit to a good letter. True, the appearance of a single single-bolt letter is irregular. A legalized “…” would drag along at least one more single standard, for example “…” (however, typographic fonts have already appeared, where the lowercase “t” resembles the Latin “…” (r)
Promises to improve readability and speed up writing another replacement (“l” to “...”) This technique is often found in the manuscripts of V. Ts. Lenin.
For the purposes of the experiment, I tried to use “…”, “…” and “…” in everyday handwriting. I do not consider this a bad example, but it turned out to be contagious. Students, especially in lectures, began to do the same. Attempts to read such records by the most diverse public, including schoolchildren, were successful. There were no difficulties or they dissipated after the first clarification.
Most professional scribes pay enough attention to everyday handwriting, seeing in it not only a way to fix speech, but also an excellent tool for training the hand and eye. Many people collect and analyze samples, transferring the most interesting finds into their work. Some type sheets by Herman Zapf, Villu Toots, Gunnlaugur Braim, Herrit Nordzey and others are nothing more than everyday calligraphy, sometimes enlarged.
Household handwriting, with the proper attitude, can turn into the most massive form of graphic art.

NOTES
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INDEX OF NAMES OF EUROPEAN, AMERICAN CALLIGRAPHERS
Alexander I (Canada) 147 (ill.), 152 (ill.)
Alexander R (Canada) 99 (ill.), 186 (ill.)
Anderson D (USA) 243
Ankere K. (Sweden) 58 (ill.), 146 (ill.), 228 (ill.)
Arrighi J1 (Italy) 23, 24 (ill.), 26, 89, 129-132, 243
Barbedore L (France) 29
Becker A. (USA) 193 (ill.)
Benson J. X (USA) 89, 129, 130 (illus.), 131, 225, 227, 243, 244 Berry K. (USA) 53 (illus.)
Bigs J. (England) 7, 33, 58 (ill.), 63, 128, 233, 242-244
Bickham J. (England) 29
Blazhey B. (Czechoslovakia), 155 (ill.)
Bogdesko I (USSR) 66 (ill.), 67, 105 (ill.), 136 (ill.), 206 (ill.), 209 (ill.)
Bosenko G. (USSR) 196 (ill.)
Bowdene D (Belgium) 59 (ill.), 63, 134 (ill.), 135 (ill.), 153 (ill.)
Bowdene P (Belgium) 53 (ill.), 117 (ill.), 240 (ill.)
Boschin J. (France) 29
Brime G (Iceland) 7, 26, 48, 63, 119 (ill.), 177 (ill.), 185 (ill.), 198 (ill.), 241
Brand K. (Netherlands) 59 (ill.), 63, 72 (ill.), 133 (ill.), 163 (ill.), 178 (ill.)
Breeze K. (England) 47 (ill.), 119 (ill.)
Baildon D. (England) 29
Vagin V. (USSR) 67, 207 (ill.), 208 (ill.)
Weiss E (Germany) 35
Velde J. van de (Netherlands)
Veljevic J. (Yugoslavia)
Wolpe B. (Germany) 36 Wolf A. (USA) 94-95 (ill.)
Wood D (Australia) 63, 167 (ill.), 168 (ill.), 172 (ill.)
Woodcock J. (England) 48, 105 (ill.), 107 (ill.), 136 (ill.), 154 (ill.), 157 (ill.) Gannushkin E. (USSR)*01, 175, 243
Girvin T (USA) 170-171 (ill.), 181 (ill.), 195 (ill.)
Gray M (Canada) 220 (ill.)
Green D (USA) 78, 80, 176 (ill.), 211 (ill.), 236 (ill.)
Gulak V. (USSR) 67
Gurdy T (Scotland) 122 Gurskas A. (USSR) 67
Guseva I (USSR) 67, 145 (ill.), 175, 199 (ill.), 217, 222 (ill.)
Day S. (England) 48, 151 (ill.), 179 (ill.), 235 (ill.)
Delarue J. (France) 28
Deteric K. (Peru) 63, 144 (ill.), 150 (ill.)
Jackson D (England) 48, 63, 83, 230 (ill.)
Jackson M (Canada) 57 (ill.), 102 (ill.), 234 (ill.)
Johnston E (England) 26, 31, 32 (ill.), 32-36, 189, 242, 243 Dobrovinsky E 64-65 (ill.), 67, 78, 120 (ill.) (USSR)
Douglas R (USA) 126 (ill.), 127 (ill.), 128, 129
Duke E van (Netherlands) (ill.), 87 (ill.)
Isiar X de (Spain) 23, 28
Jonsson T (Iceland) 114 (ill.), 115 (ill.)
Kaasik A. (USSR) 67
Capr A. (Germany) 12, 39, 40 (ill.), 40, 44 (ill.), 73 (ill.), 139 (ill.), 225, 242,244
Kennedy P. (USA) 134 (ill.)
Kersna X. (USSR) 67
Kivihal X (USSR) 67
Kogan E. (USSR) 67
Korger X (Germany) 154, 182, 243
Koch R (Germany) 34-36, 37 (ill.), 68 (ill.), 242
Kratky L (Czechoslovakia) (ill.), 180 (ill.), 185 (ill.)
CredelF. (Germany) 35, 36
Kusik R (USA) 50 (illus.), 51 (illus.), 203 (illus.), 204-205 (illus.), 231 (illus.)
Lazursky V. (USSR) 7, 33, 71, 74 (ill.), 75, 189, 225, 242, 243
Larish R (Austria) 34, 35 (ill.), 35
Larcher J. (France) 10 (ill.), 63, 138 (ill.), 140 (ill.), 172, 173 (ill.), 219 (ill.)
Laurenti L. (Sweden) 166 (ill.)
Lausmae E (USSR) 16-17 (ill.), 62 (ill.), 67
Leganer G. (France) 29
Lemoine J. (France) 124
Liiberg S. (USSR) 67
Lindegren E. (Switzerland) 63, 242, 243
Lucas F. (Spain) 23, 28
Lukhtein P (USSR) 7, 61 (ill.), 67, 132, 137, 208 (ill.), 212 (ill.),
214-215 (ill.), 242
Mavrina T. (USSR) 86 (ill.), 97 (ill.), 110-111 (ill.)
McDonald B. (Eng- 7, 89, 243 li)
Maltin V. (USSR) 218 ​​(ill.)
Mantoa R (USSR) 67
Mardersteig J. 14, 71, 75 (ill.) (Italy)
Matro J1 (France) 27 (ill.), 29
Meister K. (Austria) 78, 82 (ill.), 191 (ill.), 200 (ill.)
Mengart O. (Czechoslovakia) (ill.), 71, 76
Mercator Gde (Netherlands - 23, 29)
Missant F. (Belgium) 100 (ill.)
Moranto P D 27 (ill.), 28 (Spain)
Morris W (England) 31, 61
Myagar R. (USSR) 67, 96 (ill.), 101, 108 (ill.)
Neugebauer F. 48, 52 (ill.), 63, 135 (ill.), 158 (ill.), 221 (ill.) (Austria)
Yoidörfer I Senior 25 (ill.), 28, 80 (Germany)
Nordzey X (Netherlands), 112 (ill.), IZ, 226 (ill.), 233, 241, 244
Palatino J. 23, 26, 79(Italy)
Palmiste E (USSR) 67
Pao D. (Hong Kong) 96 (ill.), 190 (ill.)
Pertsov V. (USSR) 67, 213 (ill.)
Pillsbury J. 43 (ill.), 183 (ill.) (England)
Pierce C. (England) 48, 59 (ill.), 63, 78, 234 (ill.)
Pozharsky S. (USSR) 137, 162 (ill.), 178
Pronenko L (USSR) 83 (ill.), 88 (ill.), 117 (ill.), 118 (ill.), 141 (ill.), 201 (ill.), 202 (ill.), 216 (ill.), .), 243
Purik V. (USSR) 67
Reeveer P (USSR) 67
Rhys I (England) 48
Salnikova I (USSR) 67, 90 (ill.), 116 (ill.)
Saltz I (USA) 112 (ill.), 179 (ill.)
Svaren J. (USA) 129, 147, 243
Semchenko P. (USSR) 67, 164 (ill.), 182 (ill.), 184 (ill.), 185, 239 (ill.) Simons A. (Germany) 32, 35, 242 Smirnov S. (USSR) 71, 98 (ill.), 242
Stevens J. (USA) 152 (illus.), 156 (illus.), 166 (illus.), 191 (illus.), 193 (illus.) Stutman N (USA) 44 (illus.), 47 (illus.) )
Taliente J. A. 23, 71(Italy)
Telingater S. (USSR) 67, 80, 91 (ill.), 147, 243 Timan V. (Germany) 35, 67
Toots V. (USSR) 7, 20 (ill.), 22 (ill.), 26, 34, 48, 60 (ill.), 63, 83, 92 (ill.), 124, 132, 138 (ill. ), 143 (illus.), 146, 161 (illus.), 174 (illus.), 187, 192 (illus.), 200, 210 (illus.), 241-243
Toast R (Germany) 63, 160 (ill.), 169 (ill.)
Waters W (USA) 41 (ill.), 44 (ill.), 46 (ill.), 61
Waters Y. (USA) 56 (ill.), 86 (ill.)
Fatekhov V. (USSR) 67, 178 (ill.)
Furbank A. (England) 92, 93 (ill.), 124, 224, 227
Fisher T (USA) 101, 243
Fleus G (England) 192 (ill.)
Folsom R. (USA) 51 (ill.), 238 (ill.)
Forsberg K.-E 68, 69 (ill.), 71, 76 (Sweden)
Francesco da Bologna 71 (Francesco Griffo) (Italy)
Freeman P. (USA) 83 Fugger W. (Germany) 28 Hechl E (England) 45 (ill.)
Holiday P (England) 153 (ill.), 172, 173 (ill.)
Horlbeck-Köppler I 54-55 (ill.), 63 (Germany)
Hofer K. (Germany) 48, 71, 73 (ill.), 76, 94-95 (ill.), 106 (ill.), 229 (ill.) Zapf G. (Germany) 26, 36, 38 (ill. .), 39, 48, 72 (ill.), 76, 113, 148-149 (ill.),
189, 224, 241-244 Child H. (England) 40, 42 (ill.), 124, 131, 243 Chobitko P. (USSR) 67 Shivers J. (England) 39, 40, 227, 242, 244 Schindler V .(Czechoslovakia)
Schneider W. (Germany) 48, 102, 103 (ill.), 104 (ill.), 142 (ill.)
Schneidler E (Germany) 39, 70 (ill.), 71, 76
Show P (USA) 7, 50 (ill.), 53 (ill.), 63, 78, 139 (ill.), 181 (ill.), 216 (ill.), 232 (ill.)
Schumann G (Germany) 63, 84 (ill.), 109 (ill.)
Evans J. (USA) 48-49 (illus.), 78, 81 (illus.), 86 (illus.)
Yager N J. (USA) 242 Yakovlev Al-dr (USSR) 144 (ill.)
Yakovlev Anat. (USSR) 66 (ill.), 67
Yarmut V. (USSR) 67, 99 (ill.), 101, 183, 194 (ill.), 227, 238 (ill.)

Today, handwriting can determine the character of a person. As this or that letter will be displayed, each special curl will tell about what the temperament and attitude to life are. But still, it is possible to change handwriting in adulthood, to make it more beautiful. There are many methods: calligraphy courses, auto-training, self-study and even neuro-linguistic personality programming. Let's focus on self-study.

The process of mastering writing in childhood is one of the most difficult. You have to train a lot, apply all the skills acquired early (classes fine motor skills, coloring books, recipes for kids). But that was so long ago, and over the long adult years it is not easy to remember how this or that letter was derived. It is a proven fact that handwriting deteriorates with age. And you should not ignore these changes. They can say a lot. for example, psycho-neurological problems. A bad, incomprehensible and awkward text to the employer can tell about the disorganization and imbalance of the individual. Of course, this is not a definitive problem. But after all, it will not be so easy for an outsider to understand the scribbles, squiggles and circles at the same job. And then you won’t be able to go on vacation, only if you print an application.

Calligraphers and graphic artists say that by changing the handwriting, the world around will change. It is worth checking this statement. Today it is not at all difficult to download prescriptions for adults on the Internet. And by the method of constant repetition, positive results will begin to appear. And over time, it will become noticeable, although not significant, but such a significant change will affect the course of fate.

Working with copybooks for adults is an exciting activity for older students

When a person practices even for 15 minutes a day, there is a tangible benefit from the prescription for correcting the handwriting of an adult, he not only remembers the initial skills, but also calms down. Indeed, in this matter, no small concentration, attention, perseverance and calmness are required so that the pencil goes on paper without interruption. You can do self-improvement not only at home, but also as a short break at work. Because when you try to draw beautiful letters with a pencil, your breathing should not be interrupted and calm.

Beautiful capital letters, fast writing is not easy. But this is what will make it clear to the environment about the composure and self-control of a person. Classes must be held regularly. And only perseverance and desire will bear fruit. And even if at the beginning of the path of correction it seems that this is a waste of time, then these doubts will go away.

How to teach a first grader to write beautifully? The prescriptions will help here. Daily exercises will help develop calligraphic handwriting.

Danila went to first grade. For the first two quarters of the letter, he learned, learned to read, there are no problems with the score either.

Difficulties arose only with the letter. Well, he does not get beautiful letters, at least cry.

For some reason, the current copybooks for first-graders do not at all provide for the development of a beautiful calligraphic handwriting.

More recently, notebooks for such kids were in a frequent oblique ruler, each letter fit into its own frame. I'm not even talking about the fact that at first the first-graders wrote sticks, hooks, squiggles for a long time and hard, and only then they moved on to writing the letters of the alphabet.

It is clear that in our computer age, it is much more important to be able to quickly type texts on the keyboard than to write beautifully by hand. But after all, a first-grader is praised or scolded precisely for the written text.

That's why we decided to download and print the correct recipes. But it turned out that on the Internet it is not so easy to find something that suits first graders.

Here is a more or less suitable option: