One of the things that creates beauty in formal calligraphy (i.e., calligraphy based on historical models, rather than expressive, experimental, “modern calligraphy”) is consistency.
Not only must every “a” be as identical as possible to every other “a,” but the letters in a particular script must feel like they belong together. As if they are members of the same family.
What makes letters feel like they belong to the same family?
Certainly consistency of size, weight, pen angle (where applicable), letter slant, and relationship to the baseline/waistline are all important.
In addition, and intimately related to the above, [Read more…]
