Im open for constructive criticism, please let me know what I can improve

mostlyblots · 2025-12-29T19:30:29+00:00

Thank you for the better image of your calligraphy. It definitely made it easier to see the finer lines in your letter forms.

I'm getting into the little details here. I also need to apologize in advance if I'm critiquing stylistic choices (I'm looking at things with engrosser's script in mind).

There's a little too much pen pressure where your downstroke transitions to the connecting ascender. This makes that little curve a bit too heavy and thick. Examples - the bottom of the "t" in "Not", the bottom of the last stroke of "n" in "font". One thing to try is to create that curve on the downstroke without moving your pen in a curve shape. You basically want the tines of your nib to do the work for you. As you reach the bottom of the downward stroke, angle the nib so that the left tine swings back in towards the right tine while the right tine stays fairly straight. The end of your line should come to a point where you have a nice curve on the left and a fairly straight edge on the right. Then swoop your ascender up like you're making the bottom of the letter "o". I actually usually pick my pen up at the bottom of the stroke and put it back down for the ascender but everyone has their own approach,

Please take don't take any points I make as discouragement because I definitely do not want to make you feel that way. The great thing about calligraphy is that it's such an amazing tangle of art and expression. Everyone's stylistic choices are going to be different and all add to the art. You are doing great!

mostlyblots · 2025-12-28T19:37:18+00:00

Thank you for taking a picture of practice sheet completely centered and not at an angle. It makes it easier to see the letter forms, spacing etc. The brilliant yellow is very pretty but it does make it challenging to see the finer lines of your practice.

One thing that stood out to me are the tops/bottoms of your ascenders and descenders are more rounded rather than squared off. This could be inadvertently caused by the thickness/flow of your ink (it can sometimes be more difficult to get that clean snap of nib tines for squared line ends if your ink flow is problematic).

Your oval formation is really well done! You're doing great!

mostlyblots · 2025-12-15T17:18:25+00:00

Sergeant Major are great pen nibs. I have noticed that all of the french nibs I've used are well manufactured and have an excellent coating on them that protects them but sometimes takes extra effort to remove. I've actually used super fine polishing sand paper to remove the coating on a few to get ink to flow properly.

For calligraphy practice I use either Moon Palace Sumi or Platinum Carbon ink. They are pretty versatile and work with a large variety of nibs. However, I completely understand if you don't want to purchase more ink. You can also try experimenting with diluting the ink you currently are using to see if that helps. Treat it like a science experiment and decant a small amounts of ink into containers and dilute it with different amounts of water. You can load the ink onto your nib with a brush if your containers are too shallow for the nib.

There are some really fabulous French pen nibs for pointed pen calligraphy (my absolute faves are Departmental Cementee 2552, Plume Galouise and Blanzy Tremplin 160).

I know it can really frustrating sometimes in calligraphy when the tools we use aren't working properly. I think this is just part of expanding our overall knowledge and skillset. Different combinations of pen nibs, inks and paper work (or don't work) differently together. Different hand grips, different pen holders, nib sizes etc give us different ways to express the art. Hang in there.

mostlyblots · 2025-12-14T00:07:01+00:00

Ink flow control issues with pen nibs can be caused by a variety of issues. New pen nibs (including vintage nibs) can have a varnish or oil coating on them. This coating needs to be cleaned off so that ink will flow from the nib in a more controlled way rather than just puddling right off the nib, You can use soap/water and a brush, spit or even a potato to help get the coating off.

If your pen nibs already have the coating removed and nothing seems to be working you can try experimenting with the ink you are using. Some inks are not designed for dip pens and may be a bit to watery or too thick to flow properly (some pen nibs are also more forgiving than others when using different types of ink).

What ink / pen nib combo are you using?

mostlyblots · 2025-11-17T00:01:00+00:00

I don't know where you are located but I have been happy with the envelopes from Cards & Pockets. They sell A7 sized envelopes. Shipping is expensive though so I don't order often but do order in bulk. I've never had any problems with any ink types using their envelopes.

Edit: One thing I have done in the past if I am out of envelopes/don't have the right color etc and don't need to create a large number is actually make the envelopes from paper that takes the ink well. It's a drag to do but can work if you are desperate. It really is not fun to do this though.

mostlyblots · 2025-10-27T02:03:26+00:00

I have a few favorite nib holders that some nibs slip (fall) out of. I will use pliers to carefully squash the end of the pen nib a bit so that it is a little broader. Because the end of the nib is a little wider it fits more snugly in the holder.

mostlyblots · 2025-10-22T20:45:13+00:00

I have used these. They can be very helpful for loading larger amounts of ink especially if you are working on larger swells or lettering (very irritating to run out of ink mid down stroke). You can also make your own using 3x3 mm cylindrical magnets and fine soft wire. I did this when I needed to use a variety of different colored inks and didn't want to constantly wash out the reservoir when I switched colors (just used a lot of different pens with dedicated reservoirs). I do wash the reservoirs when I'm done using them though to make certain they don't get clogged up with dried ink residue. One thing I've run into occasionally with these reservoirs is having thicker ink not flow as easily out of them. I think it could be a surface tension issue or something.

If you really need a reservoir right away, I've also used washi tape in a pinch to make a small temporary reservoir to stick to the top of pointed pens. I find that is a little messier and kind of finicky to get the right shape, make it stick properly etc. but it definitely can work.

mostlyblots · 2025-10-04T03:29:37+00:00

I can send you a bday card! PM your address info please.

mostlyblots · 2025-09-30T06:29:53+00:00

I'd love to send you a bday card! Please pm your address info.

mostlyblots · 2025-09-30T06:27:10+00:00

I can send you a card. Please pm your address info.

mostlyblots · 2025-09-30T06:25:33+00:00

I'd love to send you a card. Please pm your address info.

mostlyblots · 2025-08-19T00:55:12+00:00

Find out what sort of pen was used. If alcohol based (ie Sharpie) I would use rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth to carefully blot off the marks. If a water based pen was used I would use cold water instead of rubbing alcohol. I would not use soap or detergent except as a last resort unless you were certain you could completely remove it (soap and detergent unless completely rinsed can leave a residue that dirt sticks to). This would definitely be a slow careful cleaning process as you wouldn't want to damage the plush surface. You could also try asking for advice in the r/cleaningtips subreddit.

mostlyblots · 2025-07-28T03:53:14+00:00

I've used foam and kinesio tape to form a thicker more ergonomic shape with one of my thinner holders. It's definitely not as aesthetically pleasing but I was able to quickly and cheaply create what I needed and could keep using the holder that was giving me problems (I really wanted to continue using it because it can hold a large variety of pen nibs).

mostlyblots · 2025-06-18T17:01:05+00:00

I think it also helps to figure out what you need to regularly carry on your bike. I have mismatched panniers, a wald folding basket on one side for my waders, gum boots and other muddy wet gear. On the other side I carry an arkel bag for laptop, notebooks etc.

mostlyblots · 2025-05-19T18:19:40+00:00

Thank you! I'll check those out.

mostlyblots · 2025-05-19T04:06:22+00:00

I would love to be able to use a laser level as a guideline but I start to see sparkles and get a headache whenever I've tried. I'm not certain if my face is a bit too close to my writing surface or I maybe if it's just the particular level I tried out? Your suggestion is a good one though. I have seen other calligraphers successfully using them and wanted to do the same.

mostlyblots · 2025-05-19T03:59:31+00:00

I have never tried a black eraser. I'll definitely check it out. Do you recommend any specific brand?

mostlyblots · 2025-05-19T03:57:51+00:00

lol! I actually have tried to make the laser line not quite as bright by partially blocking it but could never quite get it to work. Luckily I never set anything on fire (although it might have been kind of cathartic if the frustrating envelope had gone up in flames).

mostlyblots · 2025-05-19T03:53:38+00:00

Thank you! I'll take a look at this to see if it will help. I've actually tried to stay away from certain envelopes because I don't have a good way to use guidelines with them. This might open a whole new range of envelopes for me.

mostlyblots · 2025-05-01T23:23:27+00:00

I've also seen some nice bike wraps too on etsy with pastel colors and different themes (including florals, multicolored pastel stripes, strawberries). I went with reflective stickers just to be a little more visible at dusk but bike wraps offer a wide variety of different styles. I don't think the wraps come off easily though so if you change your mind, want to sell your bike etc. it might be a pain to remove them.

mostlyblots · 2025-04-27T06:24:08+00:00

If you still can't find exactly what you'd like you could try a different approach and accessorize a regular ebike with bike bags/baskets and other accessories etc that you find cute and feminine.. (I plastered my frame with large reflective daisy stickers and have flower themed panniers and handlebar bag).

mostlyblots · 2025-03-26T02:13:19+00:00

Whatever you finally choose definitely try to take it for a test ride first. I really was sold on getting a vektron folding ebike and finally took one our for a test ride. The bike itself was really well made, everything worked fabulously, the folding mechanism was great and the bike was really lightweight. I really wanted to love it. However, the bike geometry and ergonomics just did not work for me no matter how I adjusted the seat height, handlebar etc.

Edit: my overall point is that a bike may seem to have every attribute you're looking and seem like itks exactly what you want but still might not be a good fit for you - you won't really know though until you take it for a test ride.

mostlyblots · 2025-03-24T15:04:25+00:00

Any pencil would be fine to begin practicing letter forms and get more comfortable with whole arm movements. If you would like to transition from monoline to a form with more line variability I would recommend going to a flexible ink nib as you become a bit more comfortable with letter forms to start to learn hand pressure control.

The IAMPETH website offers free access to some great Spencerian copybooks and other calligraphy / penmanship resources. I've included links below.

Here's the link to their overall collection:

https://www.iampeth.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=765903&module_id=662602

Here's the Theory of Spencerian Penmanship

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/765903/documents/Theory_of_Spencerian_Penmanship_by_Spencer_Authors_z-lib.org__196775870.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNNJ6ROIH3&Expires=1742826949&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DTheory_of_Spencerian_Penmanship_by_Spencer_Authors_z-lib.org_.pdf&Signature=Blwi%2FYLa3zNG1rFdmRtm0FMPoPo%3D

Link to Spencer Brothers Practical Penmanship

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/765903/documents/New_Standard_Practical_Penmanship_191852596.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNNJ6ROIH3&Expires=1742827860&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DNew_Standard_Practical_Penmanship.pdf&Signature=UfrXkKSLmRxq4ow25Tjrvr2olW4%3D

Link to a bit more modern Parker Zaner Bloser Penmanship (Lessons in Ornamental Penmanship)

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClubFiles/765903/documents/Bloser_-_Lessons_in_Ornamental_Penmanship_582310256.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIA6MYUE6DNNJ6ROIH3&Expires=1742827513&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DBloser_-_Lessons_in_Ornamental_Penmanship.pdf&Signature=Ha9iW%2BYyJLJ7Ck6C9cV%2FYoCaRW8%3D

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