Book of the Week: Creative Calligraphy 3, English Italic

We increasingly value all work done with our hands. An example of this is this manual by the publisher Rubio, which claims the use of English Italics, a writing style that has been invented since the 17th century. Don’t let another century go by to meet him!

The publisher Rubio, has been in our houses for more than 50 years , teaching us with determination and enthusiasm to take a pencil well (we are sorry for lefties), and to write as god commands.

Not content with that and, after managing to sell more than 10 million copies every year, today it is still at the foot of the canyon, for those parents who are not convinced by leaving their children’s education in the hands of a screen.

As a star wars movie, Rubio and his empire, counterattack again with their «METHOD» , and they  propose to teach us also the least children in the house (yes, we refer to those before ESO), showing us different types of calligraphy, and even improving the one we already have.

What they sell us with Creative Calligraphy 3 – English Italic

This manual was first published on October 1, 2019. It is written in a light-hearted and funny tone, very much in keeping with the publisher and the values ​​it conveys as a brand. As if it were a lifelong writing booklet, Creative Calligraphy 3 , encourages us to master the writing technique they used back in the 17th century, and which due to its complexity and characteristics has been lost with the the years go by.

English cursive, or Copperplate , is a very characteristic typeface, with very well defined features; refined and classic (typical qualities of English writing), which began to be used for the printing of calligraphic manuals, but was abandoned over time, due to its complexity.

Traditionally, for its creation, large copper plates (hence its name in English) were used, which had previously been engraved by hand,  homework girl!

Blond, it makes it a tad easier, putting in your hands a manual with numerous templates and exercises, so that the C opperplate has no secrets for you. The only thing you need is a flexible round tip nib, or failing that, an extra fine tip brush pen and, yes, time and patience to practice.

Among its pages are a wide variety of stroke exercises, which increase in difficulty as you progress through the book.

What we buy with Creative Calligraphy 3 – English Italic

We have to tell you that this technique requires time and discipline, so if you are in love with ornamental writing, and have some experience in the world of calligraphy, this book is made for you.

However, if you need a bit of skill, and want to try with Lettering, or just flirting with writing “handmade” , also you have at your disposal, creative calligraphy 1: Manual for lovers of good writing and creative calligraphy 2 : Lettering lovers manual. Two other jewels to consider.

As for the binding, it seemed like a success, very careful and worthy of being in the library of any self-respecting designer, with a taste for things well done (and in Mr. Sleepless’s too), there we left it …

With this manual you no longer have any excuse to add this new skill to your designer record, which you can use to give a twist to future work.

In addition to mastering the “ductus” of the copperplate , (in Spanish, characteristics and qualities of manual writing), thanks to the exercises in this book, you can internalize and apply these techniques to your own writing.

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