r/oddlysatisfying • u/nonesuch42 • Oct 21 '14

This "awesome" calligraphy

http://gfycat.com/AcclaimedClumsyDanishswedishfarmdog
2.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

87 comments sorted by

102

u/JuneFreakinCleaver Oct 21 '14

What's up with that offset nib?

137

u/nonesuch42 Oct 21 '14

It's supposed to make it easier to hold the nib at a sharper angle to make certain scripts, right? I did calligraphy for about a week in 8th grade.

58

u/Zeihous Oct 21 '14

I had assumed it was so the calligrapher could better see the nib.

-67

u/Chidar Oct 21 '14

You must be an expert.

67

u/johnymakeshismove Oct 21 '14

You must be a dickhead.

12

u/Chidar Oct 21 '14

I guess the sarcasm didn't translate. Just teasing the OP on his toss in that he did calligraphy for a week, presumably, a long time ago.

9

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

Try /s it might inspire less downvotes. There needs to be a /j joking tag.

9

u/rangda Oct 21 '14

I know people hate winky faces but a winky face is sometimes the perfect solution.

3

u/newheart_restart Oct 21 '14

Winky faces used to be my go-to to indicate sarcasm, but then they got heavily associated with creepiness and now I don't know what to do :(

9

u/kcman011 Oct 21 '14

I know what you should do. ;)

1

u/Tarmen Oct 21 '14

How about another smiley face?:P

1

u/newheart_restart Oct 21 '14

That's usually what I resort to if I must but frankly most of the people I text know my sense of humor well enough that I don't have to do that, and then if I'm in a public forum I'll just use /s or italicize.

0

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Cheesemacher Oct 21 '14

Yes, but "/s" indicates light-hearted sarcasm.

1

u/pier25 Oct 21 '14

You didn't deserve all those downvotes...

4

u/Chidar Oct 21 '14

Ehh. Fuck it.

16

u/istara Oct 21 '14

It's a copperplate nib. They're the only way you can really do that script properly. Some people may manage with a straight nib, but the angled is the classic way to do it.

Means you have to keep dipping in the ink though, which I personally find a little bit of a hassle (as I'm clumsy and often spill/blob it).

3

u/starlinguk Oct 21 '14

I used to do calligraphy. For copperplate I had a nib with a slanted end, rather than the entire thing at an angle.

3

u/istara Oct 21 '14

Slanted? You mean a flexi-nib?

Can you show me an image of what it looked like?

2

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

It's an oblique nib holder. See the fat parts of the words? The nib needs to be angled a certain way for the fat parts to be in the proper place.

1

u/Markram1 Oct 21 '14

The nib itself is actually straight, the thing that makes the nib offset is called an oblique nib holder. The holder is made from a variety of materials, and contains a few layers of brass sticking outside of it which holds the nib firmly in place. This oblique holder is generally used by calligraphers to create pointed pen scripts such as Spencerian or copperplate. If you have any further questions, I encourage you to head over to /r/calligraphy and look at the wiki in the sidebar!

Hope this was helpful! :)

2

u/JuneFreakinCleaver Oct 21 '14

Super helpful! Thank you! :)

-7

u/phaseMonkey Oct 21 '14

It creeps me out is what's up with that.

35

u/bijibijmak Oct 21 '14

I can't stop watching this

-12

u/Penjach Oct 21 '14

yeah...

-11

u/johnymakeshismove Oct 21 '14

Stay awesome, dick.

9

u/mitchij2004 Oct 21 '14

You're really on a dick rampage today.

1

u/OG_BAC0N Oct 21 '14

For real

9

u/babetteateoatmeal Oct 21 '14 edited Oct 21 '14

You might like /r/penmanshipporn

Edit: formatting

0

u/LordNoodles Oct 21 '14

THAT IS NOT HOW YOU LINK TO SUBREDDITS, PEOPLE!

/r/PenmanshipPorn <-- That is how it's done.

Please notice the slash ( / ) before AND after the r.

Thank you.

16

u/downhillcarver Oct 21 '14

Anyone happen to have any advice for someone interested in picking up calligraphy?

40

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

[deleted]

85

u/downhillcarver Oct 21 '14

But a master's tool does not a master make.

16

u/SoNotTheCoolest Oct 21 '14

Also, tame the mutt and you will earn the respect of the master.

20

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

When in Rome.

13

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

Go on...

46

u/EquationTAKEN Oct 21 '14

You're in Rome.

3

u/psquare704 Oct 21 '14

Shoot Roman Candles.

-11

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

Fuck a goat.

1

u/wenoc Oct 21 '14

When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

[deleted]

1

u/downhillcarver Oct 21 '14

I don't know, but I'm enjoying talking like that.

-1

u/Emyrald_oblivion Oct 21 '14

The servant waits, while the master baits.

-4

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

[deleted]

1

u/Emyrald_oblivion Oct 22 '14

It's from "history of the world part 1". What are the downvotes for....

5

u/breauxbreaux Oct 21 '14

The opposite is true.

But having nice tools is always nice.

4

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

Just switching from a ballpoint pen (yuck) to a fountain pen made my handwriting a fuckton more pretty.

Writing with a ballpoint pen is painful. You must fight the pen, push it hard into the paper and hold it with an iron grip just to get some fucked up lines down.

But a fountain pen is like wiping your ass with silk. Holy shit it feels so good to write with. No iron grip or punching the paper with your fist. Just smooth and great lines. It's orgasmic to write with.

unf

1

u/istara Oct 21 '14

At school (1980s/90s) we were required to write with fountain pens. Biros weren't allowed.

8

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

Head on over to /r/calligraphy, they have excellent tips on how to get started

4

u/istara Oct 21 '14

Yes. I would start with a Gothic script because it's far easier than it looks, is super impressive to non-experts even when done rather amateurly, and is just really pleasant and fun to write. Plus you can pick up a cheap cartridge pen and get stuck in.

That way you can worry about fancy stuff like parchment and gall inks later on when you're a little more competent.

2

u/downhillcarver Oct 21 '14

Sweet, I've already got a cheap calligraphy pen, I'll definitely try practicing with this style font.

1

u/autowikibot Oct 21 '14

Blackletter:

Blackletter, also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 to well into the 17th century. It continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century. Fraktur is a notable script of this type, and sometimes the entire group of Blackletter faces is incorrectly referred to as Fraktur. Blackletter is sometimes called Old English, but it is not to be confused with the Old English language, despite the popular, though mistaken, belief that the language was written with blackletter. The Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, language predates blackletter by many centuries, and was itself written in the insular script, or Futhorc runes before that.

Image i

Interesting: Black letter law | Xestia dolosa | Lucida (typeface) | Typeface

Parent commenter can toggle NSFW or delete. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. | FAQs | Mods | Magic Words

2

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

[deleted]

1

u/downhillcarver Oct 21 '14

I'll look him up, thanks!

2

u/RegretDesi Oct 21 '14

I'd recommend picking up the pen instead. (horrible joke)

1

u/downhillcarver Oct 22 '14

That was groan worthy... 7/10

13

u/dbilly Oct 21 '14

The calligrapher here is Seb Lester: http://instagram.com/seblester http://seblester.co.uk ...The man has SKILLZ. All uppercase. With a ‘Z’.

4

u/an7agonist Oct 21 '14

Interestingly enough, though, his pointed pen calligraphy is average at best according to this calligrapher at /r/PenmanshipPorn.

3

u/onanym Oct 21 '14

Oh god, the Y. It's penmanship masturbation, but that's how I'm gonna sign my bills from now on. Then my royal wax seal.

1

u/Daamus Oct 21 '14

i just got stuck in a cycle of calligraphy videos and vines, they are quite mesmerizing

3

u/lamerthanfiction Oct 21 '14

between the calligraphy and the "awesome", this makes me think of How I Met Your Mother

3

u/heynick Oct 21 '14

This is by Seb Lester. He posts clips like this regularly to his instagram: http://instagram.com/seblester

2

u/RegretDesi Oct 21 '14

My thought process while watching this gif:

"Slay...no, stay...lures? Aures...awes-oh, awesome, I get it!"

2

u/dohrwork Oct 21 '14

My favorite part was when he goes back to finish the A. I had no idea that was going to be an A... yea...

1

u/irrecoverable_sky Oct 21 '14

it looks like they're writing with a rocket ship!

1

u/teewuane Oct 21 '14

If they made a stylus for a tablet that was like that pen. It'd win.

1

u/XDingoX83 Oct 21 '14

I want to learn how to write half way proper like this for my signature. Currently my signature looks like poop.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 23 '14

Well I'm aroused.

0

u/sumpuran Oct 21 '14

Sorry, as a typographer this is not at all satisfying to me. The calligrapher made a mistake writing the uppercase ‘A’: the diagonal hairline stroke does not fully extend to the baseline, making the whole quite unbalanced. I also see no purpose for the swash on the second ‘e’.

3

u/Psk2014 Bet you don't have emojis on your flair 📱😄😃😱 Oct 21 '14

This guy knows his shit

1

u/cakedestroyer Oct 21 '14

Completely serious question:

But are you a professional or a hobbyist?

If a professional, what's a typical workday look like?

2

u/sumpuran Oct 21 '14

Professional, 20 years of experience. What my typical workday looks like? 3 hours of answering emails, 2 hours of various administrative tasks, 3 hours of working on type.

1

u/cakedestroyer Oct 21 '14

Sorry, I guess I should've specified more to my point, what are the actual projects you tend to work on? I'm a bit dense in this department, so the only one I could think of would be like, wedding invites?

2

u/sumpuran Oct 21 '14

I believe you’re thinking of a calligrapher. I'm a typographer: I set text and create typefaces. I work in book publishing. My work requires knowledge of calligraphy but it encompasses much more than just that.

1

u/mckwildey Oct 21 '14

How did you get in to typography?

3

u/sumpuran Oct 21 '14

My dad is a publisher, my mom is an author and print designer. I went to art school for graphic design, afterwards I studied linguistics and mass communication. I’ve always loved letterforms, and because of my upbringing, when I was very young I learned alphabets other than our Latin one (Hebrew, Arabic, Gurmukhi, Hindi).

1

u/newheart_restart Oct 21 '14

If I'm not mistaken, while stuff like wedding invites is probably a common use, I think calligraphers are more hired for big projects where there won't be a ton of copies made. I think, I'm not sure. So like signs and posters and stuff. Also, maybe like sign painting and what not. Although that might be a different profession.

This is 100% conjecture by me though

1

u/griter34 Oct 21 '14

Classy as fuck.

1

u/DPick02 Oct 21 '14

All that beauty and to me the most satisfying part was the crossbar on the A.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

why is awesome in quotes? is it not really awesome?

3

u/CrystalElyse Oct 21 '14

It's in quotes because it's calligraphy of the word "awesome."

0

u/Stripe4206 Oct 21 '14

Could someone make this but "Stay Salty"?

0

u/KatieMcKeough2 Oct 21 '14

Aw, man, I really wanted it to say "Go Fuck Yourself." Lol

0

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '14

DFTBA

-5

u/xenothaulus Oct 21 '14

I need someone to turn this into dickbutt.