"Hardware" for typographers

[sendoushi]

This topic was imported from the Typophile platform

Hey,

I was searching today for pens to help typographers do they work.
Found out Pilot Parallel which seems pretty interesting since i'm left-handed and it's an afordable pen but... what better place to question this than typophile?

What "hardware" do you use to help yourself creating letters?

[hrant]

Logitech MX 300.

hhp

[sendoushi]

Well ... when I said "hardware", I was more like... saying analog tools ehehe.

[hrant]

When I have to, I use a mechanical pencil, and paper like this:
http://www.draftingsuppliesdew.com/images/clearprint/clearprint-pad.jpg

Pilot Parallel

Especially if you're left-handed I would personally recommend avoiding broad-nib painting; focus instead on notan (which is determined solely by the border between black and white). Unless you're trying to start a southpaw ductile revolution* (which would be great).

* Where's that thread where John Hudson nicely showed some alternatives?

hhp

[sendoushi]

I know that. I have 3 Art pen which are just... too hard to use. But Pilot Parallel... I've been seeing nice reviews about it because it goes "both ways" while an art pen just goes one way. I already bought on ebay two parallel so I can try it out.

[hrant]

Here it is - a classic thread: https://typography.guru/forums/topic/58843-forwarding
John's experiments start about 1/5 of the way down on the 3rd page.

BTW you might also try calligraphy pens meant for Arabic. If you must.

hhp

[sendoushi]

interesting... i'll take a closer look to that topic. thanks

[oldnick]

The original Pentel "felt-tip"—which was, in fact, bamboo—was muy bueno. Many an ambitious project was launched on the back of a cocktail napkin…

[typerror]

Joel
You may wish to search John Neal Bookseller for canted edge nibs. The Parallel pens are very forgiving, free-flowing and responsive. He also has books by various artists on left handed calligraphy which may facilitate your experience.A less expensive route may be some of the chisel edge markers. Elegant writer by Speedball is by far the most durable/long lasting but there are others that come in larger sizes.

[chrisburton]

I use the Staedtler Mars 780 C Lead Holder for lettering (also left-handed). I bought some Microns but I'm not a fan of them or inking my work in general.

[Chris Dean]

@joelsantos & chrisburton: Hands down, that pencil was the siht. I highly recommend it. The choice of lead is up to you. I prefer a 2B. As a lefty, I’d recommend an F.

And don’t forget the “lead pointer tub.”

It makes a bit of a mess if you carry it around as the lead shavings can fall out, so you’ll have to wrap it tightly in a small plastic bag. And see that little white thing? That’s similar to a (replaceable) cigarette filter you stick and twist your freshly sharpened lead into to remove excess shavings.

*sigh*

I miss the days when carrying around a cool pencil and sharpener made you look bad-ass in front of your friends.

[5star]

That Pilot Parallel is awesome, I'm ordering a set of them with refills!

Here's a shot of what I currently roll with...

 

...felt tip pilots, various sharpies, lead sticks both round and rectangular, mechanical pencil n' other stuff. Plus lots more that I couldn't bother squeezing into the shot.

This time of year I go out and harvest various types of dried reed plants. They're awesome to draw with!

And ya, I keep my drawing stuffs in sterling silver vessels of all kinds that I never ever polish 🙂

n.

[sendoushi]

@typerror: can't find those canted edge nibs. Those speedball seems interesting to me but Parallel are cheaper and easier to get so... I'll go with those for now and let's see!

@chrisburton: What technique do you use? The scribble at 30 degrees? Do you find yourself doing more sans-serif, calligraphy, serif...? That lead holder seems pretty interesting. How is the weight and those things?

@Christopher Dean: Never seen a sharpener for 2mm here ehehe. I've always used the top cap and it sucks! No need to carry around unless it's around the house.

@5star: Refills are pretty inexpensive but I've found that it's possible to have one of those refillable cartridges from the fountain pens on the Parallel. That seems pretty interesting for me, for example, to mix with water to have another kind of transparency level. I've always found that pure black is not really the way to work on font production unless it's already on the computer. Do you really use that whole lot? :P What kind of work do you do?

By the way people, books? I have some collectible books and even left-hand calligraphy book but I think I need a book of techniques (besides this left-hand calligraphy) and sort of.

[dberlowgone]

Typographers use red pencils and yellow, pink and other highlighters.

Calligraphers and lettering artists use a whole different set of tools, as you now can read. :)

[sendoushi]

@dberlow: why red pencils, yellow, pink... highlighters?

[hrant]

To mark/correct printed proofs! :-)

left-hand calligraphy book

I could recommend some brain typedesign books but I think you're not interested.

hhp

[sendoushi]

@hrant: what do you mean by brain typedesign?

[hrant]

What I (and seemingly David) have been getting at all along: stop thinking about painting and start thinking about thinking. Even at the beginning type was not made with any of the pretty things mentioned in this thread.

hhp

[sendoushi]

@hrant: so a more logical/mathematical view of typedesign?

[hrant]

Not necessarily so clinical, but at least try to work as directly as possible with the actual tool used to make letterforms: the bézier. It's harder to make pretty shapes that way, but to me [thinking about] marking the border -not the body- is the only way to truly leverage the medium.

hhp

[sendoushi]

well I could be interested. I'm still developing myself as a type designer so I don't really know what I want. Do you know any articles with beginner approach to that brain typedesign? :P

[hrant]

Nothing that stands out unfortunately. But you could start by studying the concept of notan as well as the work of Dwiggins and Bloemsma. Aicher was also a thinking designer (so worth reading) but Rotis suffers from being his first (and only) real typeface.

hhp

[Chris Dean]

@hrant: I am not a type designer, but I have decades in design and typography. Shouldn’t one learn theories before, or at least in conjunction with, tools? I’ll take design as an example. We were taught about gestalt principles, rhetoric, semiotics, colour theory, heck, even some math &c. Then we started focusing on what a printing press, graphic camera, tech pen (and eventually computer) could do to help us apply this knowledge.

If all one knows is how to swing a hammer, how can they be expected to design a building?

[hrant]

I'm all for thinking before doing (in fact I emphasize the former too much). But this thread is about tools.

hhp

[typerror]

First off Hrant... lettering is not painting, so just put that out of your mind! Still, you persist in trying to sway others with misnomers.
Secondly, do you think that lettering artists/calligraphers go willy nilly into the dark when designing a font. That tells me you are thoughtless, and or ignorant of my "ilk's" process.
Thirdly... Notan is inherent in the practice of lettering/calligraphy, probably more so than laying down outlines. Outlines give no hint of black/white relationships until there is the presence of both. And you cannot calculate the "undefined" until you define those two elements and look for that "other."

But this is about tools... and your unbending resolve to disallow two different approaches to co-exist.