The chariot of the serpent
Oct. 8th, 2019 02:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shivverAn inadvertent Inktober piece.
So this was a thing.
I've actually been scribing every day, at least a bit, but I've been too busy to really do anything worth posting. I just started a class on Foundational Humanist Bookhand (which was too good a name for a hand to pass up), and last night, after spending the last week learning the monoline version of the minuscules, we started doing edged-pen work. I did a bit of practice before bed and thought I would do the "chariot of the serpent" quote with Crowley's tattoo as a quick Inktober thing.
So, at work, I practiced the phrase a couple of times then started to lay it out, and this happened, which I thought was too cool not to post. You can see this is a practice work, as it's on practice paper (Rhodia dot grid, which I love for calligraphy - it gives you a hint of guidelines without actually being lines) and the ink bled in a couple of places, mostly on the snake.
The thing that I love, though, is the "s" at the beginning of "serpent". It was entirely a mistake. You see, the Foundational "s" looks more like the one on the line below - symmetrical top-to-bottom (more or less) and square ends. The first stroke of the "s" is the middle one, then you add the top and bottom. When I put my pen down to do the first stroke, I misjudged the line I was writing on and placed the ink where the tail is, ruining the letter. I thought, "Ah, f*$#!" and quickly just scribbled the body of the S and then the tail to cover the mistake. And then I realized, with that more emotional gesturing, the body and the tail came out looking like a snake. "Well," I thought, "I know how to put a snake-looking serif on the head, so I finished the S as you see it.
My writing is very cold and precise, and this really shows how putting a bit of emotion into the work can really make it shine.
So this was a thing.
I've actually been scribing every day, at least a bit, but I've been too busy to really do anything worth posting. I just started a class on Foundational Humanist Bookhand (which was too good a name for a hand to pass up), and last night, after spending the last week learning the monoline version of the minuscules, we started doing edged-pen work. I did a bit of practice before bed and thought I would do the "chariot of the serpent" quote with Crowley's tattoo as a quick Inktober thing.
So, at work, I practiced the phrase a couple of times then started to lay it out, and this happened, which I thought was too cool not to post. You can see this is a practice work, as it's on practice paper (Rhodia dot grid, which I love for calligraphy - it gives you a hint of guidelines without actually being lines) and the ink bled in a couple of places, mostly on the snake.
The thing that I love, though, is the "s" at the beginning of "serpent". It was entirely a mistake. You see, the Foundational "s" looks more like the one on the line below - symmetrical top-to-bottom (more or less) and square ends. The first stroke of the "s" is the middle one, then you add the top and bottom. When I put my pen down to do the first stroke, I misjudged the line I was writing on and placed the ink where the tail is, ruining the letter. I thought, "Ah, f*$#!" and quickly just scribbled the body of the S and then the tail to cover the mistake. And then I realized, with that more emotional gesturing, the body and the tail came out looking like a snake. "Well," I thought, "I know how to put a snake-looking serif on the head, so I finished the S as you see it.
My writing is very cold and precise, and this really shows how putting a bit of emotion into the work can really make it shine.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-09 12:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-09 02:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-09 06:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-09 10:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-09 11:40 pm (UTC)I just checked out your journal and OMG I love your drawings! Beautiful and inspirational! (And I love how you're using toned paper with dark ink for shadows and white ink for highlights.)
no subject
Date: 2019-10-10 11:19 am (UTC)