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@movq Oh, even Fraktur! It took me brute force to decypher "Heute", mainly due to the "H". Both "n" and "u" look identical to me, so my brain tricked me into believing that it of course has to be an "n". Looks quite beautiful, keep it coming.
Alright, at closer examination the "u" has a small prong in the left lower corner.
@lyse They are very similar, yes, but I’ve also been sloppy. 😅 “u” should be connected at the bottom, “n” at the top. Here’s a better example from 2018:

https://movq.de/v/82bcbb7b92/eugen.jpg

I also like that capital “E” much better, hmm.
@lyse They are very similar, yes, but I’ve also been sloppy. 😅 “u” should be connected at the bottom, “n” at the top. Here’s a better example from 2018:

https://movq.de/v/82bcbb7b92/eugen.jpg

I also like that capital “E” much better, hmm.
@lyse They are very similar, yes, but I’ve also been sloppy. 😅 “u” should be connected at the bottom, “n” at the top. Here’s a better example from 2018:

https://movq.de/v/82bcbb7b92/eugen.jpg

I also like that capital “E” much better, hmm.
@movq Ah, I see. Although the two "E"s are quite a bit different, I can't decide whether I prefer one over the other. They have both some very nice and unique features. How did you get into calligraphy?
@lyse I don’t remember, to be honest. 🤔 I was probably browsing random images on imgur.com and saw someone doing it, so I thought to myself: “Hey, that’s cool, I always liked that, so let’s just buy a pen and some nibs.” 😅 Luckily, that equipment isn’t very expensive … It was just 20 bucks, so why not just give it a shot.
@lyse I don’t remember, to be honest. 🤔 I was probably browsing random images on imgur.com and saw someone doing it, so I thought to myself: “Hey, that’s cool, I always liked that, so let’s just buy a pen and some nibs.” 😅 Luckily, that equipment isn’t very expensive … It was just 20 bucks, so why not just give it a shot.
@lyse I don’t remember, to be honest. 🤔 I was probably browsing random images on imgur.com and saw someone doing it, so I thought to myself: “Hey, that’s cool, I always liked that, so let’s just buy a pen and some nibs.” 😅 Luckily, that equipment isn’t very expensive … It was just 20 bucks, so why not just give it a shot.
@movq Oh, cool. :-) Does your pen have an ink cartridge or do you dip it in an ink jar? The result looks very uniform, so I suspect the former, but I can't be sure.
@lyse I use ink pots:

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/1.jpg (oops, 5 MB image)

The nibs are pretty simple:

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/2.jpg (5 MB)

A small amount of ink gets trapped in that little “hook” there. (Dunno how to describe it, that’s what I mean: https://movq.de/v/304d99e6cd/2-2.jpg) Depending on the size of the nib, this lasts for about, hmm, maybe half a line? You have to re-dip quite often, which can be a bit annoying. Then again, it’s not a big issue, because the whole process is super slow anyway. When I was writing birthday cards this way, I think it took about 30-45 minutes to write one card with a couple of lines on it.

It’s a matter of practice to make it uniform – and it also depends on the type of ink. “Scabiosa” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_gall_ink) is not very uniform, it’s the purple-ish stuff in the upper half (I probably ran out of ink on “Xerox” and was too lazy to re-dip):

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/3.jpg (6 MB)

The lower half is some other ink, much more uniform.

Those little ink pots last a really, really long time, by the way. This is the one that I’ve been using the most throughout the years, and there’s still quite a bit left:

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/4.jpg

I often thought about buying a pen with an integrated cartridge, but I think that it’s better with ink pots. It’s super easy to clean, nothing ever clogs up or dries out. And you can easily switch to another type of ink without much hassle:

https://movq.de/v/71d33691c0/g.jpg
@lyse I use ink pots:

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/1.jpg (oops, 5 MB image)

The nibs are pretty simple:

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/2.jpg (5 MB)

A small amount of ink gets trapped in that little “hook” there. (Dunno how to describe it, that’s what I mean: https://movq.de/v/304d99e6cd/2-2.jpg) Depending on the size of the nib, this lasts for about, hmm, maybe half a line? You have to re-dip quite often, which can be a bit annoying. Then again, it’s not a big issue, because the whole process is super slow anyway. When I was writing birthday cards this way, I think it took about 30-45 minutes to write one card with a couple of lines on it.

It’s a matter of practice to make it uniform – and it also depends on the type of ink. “Scabiosa” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_gall_ink) is not very uniform, it’s the purple-ish stuff in the upper half (I probably ran out of ink on “Xerox” and was too lazy to re-dip):

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/3.jpg (6 MB)

The lower half is some other ink, much more uniform.

Those little ink pots last a really, really long time, by the way. This is the one that I’ve been using the most throughout the years, and there’s still quite a bit left:

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/4.jpg

I often thought about buying a pen with an integrated cartridge, but I think that it’s better with ink pots. It’s super easy to clean, nothing ever clogs up or dries out. And you can easily switch to another type of ink without much hassle:

https://movq.de/v/71d33691c0/g.jpg
@lyse I use ink pots:

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/1.jpg (oops, 5 MB image)

The nibs are pretty simple:

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/2.jpg (5 MB)

A small amount of ink gets trapped in that little “hook” there. (Dunno how to describe it, that’s what I mean: https://movq.de/v/304d99e6cd/2-2.jpg) Depending on the size of the nib, this lasts for about, hmm, maybe half a line? You have to re-dip quite often, which can be a bit annoying. Then again, it’s not a big issue, because the whole process is super slow anyway. When I was writing birthday cards this way, I think it took about 30-45 minutes to write one card with a couple of lines on it.

It’s a matter of practice to make it uniform – and it also depends on the type of ink. “Scabiosa” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_gall_ink) is not very uniform, it’s the purple-ish stuff in the upper half (I probably ran out of ink on “Xerox” and was too lazy to re-dip):

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/3.jpg (6 MB)

The lower half is some other ink, much more uniform.

Those little ink pots last a really, really long time, by the way. This is the one that I’ve been using the most throughout the years, and there’s still quite a bit left:

https://movq.de/v/f75e6597bb/4.jpg

I often thought about buying a pen with an integrated cartridge, but I think that it’s better with ink pots. It’s super easy to clean, nothing ever clogs up or dries out. And you can easily switch to another type of ink without much hassle:

https://movq.de/v/71d33691c0/g.jpg
@movq I'm bad and handwriting so I envy you, I wouldn't be able to write that beautifully.
@movq I'm bad at handwriting so I envy you, I wouldn't be able to write that beautifully.
@justamoment Thanks 😅 To be fair, though, I think it’s easier to write Fraktur than normal handwriting. First, as I said, I’m doing it super slow. Second, that pen/nib has much more “friction” on the paper than a regular pen. I find it much easier to make a straight line this way.

Doing something like this (not mine, got it off Google) is a whole different story: https://movq.de/v/de01805560/s.png
@justamoment Thanks 😅 To be fair, though, I think it’s easier to write Fraktur than normal handwriting. First, as I said, I’m doing it super slow. Second, that pen/nib has much more “friction” on the paper than a regular pen. I find it much easier to make a straight line this way.

Doing something like this (not mine, got it off Google) is a whole different story: https://movq.de/v/de01805560/s.png
@justamoment Thanks 😅 To be fair, though, I think it’s easier to write Fraktur than normal handwriting. First, as I said, I’m doing it super slow. Second, that pen/nib has much more “friction” on the paper than a regular pen. I find it much easier to make a straight line this way.

Doing something like this (not mine, got it off Google) is a whole different story: https://movq.de/v/de01805560/s.png
@movq Wow, this is super interesting to see! Thank you very much, mate. <3 Now that hook is cool, I'm surprised that it can extend the ink supply that long. Quite genious.

Holy moly, half an hour for a few lines?! This is really something. But the result is totally worth it. Your writings look amazing, let me tell you. I bet the receiver of the birthday card was incredibly pleased.

Do I read the wikipedia article correctly, drying takes around a day? This can't be true, can it? Anyways, bring us joy with calligraphy in the future. :-)

If you'd take your time, @justamoment, your handwriting could be nice, too. :-D
@lyse @movq I forgot to tell you why: I'm dyslexic.

My issue is been able to write something that's at least readable...

If it's not in all caps it'll be a mess (apart from my usual mistakes), even a child's handwriting is wonderful to me.

If I wrote in a readable way my hands hurts after a couple of minutes, luckily we have computers now. 😋👍
@justamoment I see. Proper fonts to the rescue. ;-)
@lyse Those birthday cards were quite popular, yes. 😅

> drying takes around a day?

Nah, it’s a few minutes. At least with the ink(s) that I’m using. 🤔

@justamoment Oh! Well that’s a different story then. 😵 (Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with dyslexia in person … Hmmm.)
@lyse Those birthday cards were quite popular, yes. 😅

> drying takes around a day?

Nah, it’s a few minutes. At least with the ink(s) that I’m using. 🤔

@justamoment Oh! Well that’s a different story then. 😵 (Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with dyslexia in person … Hmmm.)
@lyse Those birthday cards were quite popular, yes. 😅

> drying takes around a day?

Nah, it’s a few minutes. At least with the ink(s) that I’m using. 🤔

@justamoment Oh! Well that’s a different story then. 😵 (Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with dyslexia in person … Hmmm.)
@movq That sounds much more reasonable.
@lyse Usual fonts are fine for me, but OpenDyslexic is like a super booster, great for everyone, I've seen some reading apps have the option to use it.

@movq now you do, 😸 I personally only met two people, one at work and the other was a little boy who was the child's of my own teacher, he had a very low self-esteem because of it, just like me in my early days.

The worst is having it going undiagnosed, to others you just don't like school and don't want to put effort, that's was hell until my teachers noticed and made me do a checkup for it.

If I had to say what really affected me because of dyslexia in my daily life was only within school, out of there almost everything can be overcame or avoided with technology or alternatives, now only handwriting and math are still an issue (digital texting, dictation and calculators are now at hand for me 😎).
@justamoment I meant you could select a handwriting font and then do calligraphy, too. At least from a result's point of view. :-)
@lyse Well, I actually did a couple of times, I did commissions for flyers, business cards and wedding invitations so I've played a lot with fonts.

Sometimes the choosed font is unreadable to me so I write in simple sans then apply the font on the text.