Gunnlaugur SE Briem

Handwriting
as Movement
A commonsense
summary in 32 pages
Gunnlaugur SE Briem
Handwriting
as Movement
A commonsense
summary in 32 pages

Type Archive
exhibition addendum
 Wrong: static letters
Circles are difficult to write well. Ball-and-stick
letters confuse young readers and confound
dyslexics.

abc
abc Right: handwriting as movement
Joins in the right places. Fixed order for direction
and sequence of strokes.

1 Teach your pen to dance

 Movement pattern
Add recognition points, and a
line of scribbles turns into text.



minimum
Recognition points added
Make a zigzag. Then add curves and dots to make a
word.

2 From zigzags to writing

 Furious cat
Easy squiggles turn into hairs
that stand on end. The example
on the right shows how to apply
them.

Grow hair on a bald pate

With careful squiggles, eyebrows and a moustache,
hair and a beard can be made in many ways.

3 Scribbling teaches control

 Hand and eyes at work together
Drawing long lines between widely separated dots
can be difficult. Never mind. Another version of
the same exercise has short lines and close dots.

4 Connect the dots

Missing rungs? Trace zigzags
Some children have a For a beginner nothing is too easy.
natural gift for hand-
writing. Many manage
nicely without the first
exercises. But others,
who need every rung
in the ladder, must
have them.

Here—and no further
Beginning and ending a stroke takes practice. Exer-
cise sheets are available

5 Exercises
 Freckles
Small circles are easy. Let’s make lots, counterclock-
wise, and begin each at the top.

Spotted Dick
Add currants to a suet pastry. Roll into a circular
pudding. Steam for an hour and a half. Serve with
custard.

6 First ovals and curves

 Counterclockwise. And from the top
The letter o fits between two stems of the same zig-
zag that guides the other lower case letters.

Exercises
How to make rounded letters? Tracing the shape
of nineteen coins and 38 bubbles is a useful aid to
memory. If necessary, more sheets are available.

7 Make ovals and curves

 Too hard? Try the loops on the right
If the curves on the left are too demanding, we’ve
got plenty that are easier.

Let’s dance
Good writing is often described as disciplined free-
dom. Control turns squiggles into flourishes.

8 Easy steps
  uu uu
uu adgquy
¬a The a-family
A curved diagonal turns a zigzag into the letter
u. This is the key to a group of letters that are all
made with the same movement.

Closed top
The bowl is closed with a horizontal stroke that
turns back on itself.

g gy
Below the baseline
The stroke goes close to the descender line,
and then begins a curve to the left and slight-
ly upward. It ends at the right side of the
letter.
Writing around two imaginary triangles can
help making the letters g and y.

9 Family likeness 1 of 5
 Previously: a mess
Irregular shapes. Uneven spacing. Wrong stroke
direction. Baselines ignored. All easily corrected.

Six weeks later: still needs work

Zigzags and oval exercises will help, and proper
attention to guidelines. Promising.

10 Before and after

 bp nmhkr
 
bp nmhkr

b
The b-family
A slight curve changes zigzags into letters. The stem
should not stop at the baseline but move upward

¬ again like a bouncing ball.

Closed bottom
The bowl is closed with a horizontal stroke that
turns back on itself.

b hk 7
Variation on a theme
The letter k is much the same as the letter h with a
very tight belt.

11 Family likeness 2 of 5
 Fresh look, old method
Lettershapes changed over the centuries but the
handwriting movements remained much as they
had been in ancient Rome. La Operina, a hand-
writing manual of 32 woodcut pages, shows step
by step how the letter a was made in the sixteenth
century.

12 Tried and tested

 oc e t s
No confusion

ocets
In proper italic the
letter e is made with
two strokes. Written
as a loop, it can be
mistaken for a low
letter l, a letter i with a
misplaced dot, even a The o-family
letter t with a missing Proportions of the curved letters are based on a

o os s
crossbar. zigzag even if the forms are different.

Combined shapes
The letter s is a subtle and demanding stroke.
Tracing the letter o with a backslash is an easy
way of teaching the hand what to do.

13 Family likeness 3 of 5
 Avoidable distress
Writing cramp, also known as ‘scrivener’s palsy’ is
a common problem. It is a neurological condition
that affects a group of muscles in the hand and
arm, often causing serious pain.

Try the gorilla grip?

Clench your fist hard for a minute or two. You will
probably notice tension that affects your whole
arm, and may even grip you shoulder. (Do relax
before it’s too late.) When the hand grips the pen
hard, recognising the trouble and relaxing is usu-
ally enough to stave off further misery.

Easy remedies
Flapping a relaxed hand to and fro by the wrist is
often useful in relaxing the hand and arm. Ran-
dom scribbles can also help.

Changed grip
A tense thumb is a major cause of writing cramp.
Relaxing the grip is usually enough. Holding the
pen between the index finger and middle finger is
a popular remedy.

14 Writing cramp
  lijf 
The l-family
The dots over the letters i and j should be placed
with some care: not too close to the stems and not
too far away. But only one of the four needs special
attention, the letter f.

Playful variants

¬
f
A double-f may be
written more than one
way. The stroke se-
quence is not import-
ant. And good writers
sometimes play with
stems of different
slant.

Care and attention

The top of the letter f turns to the right, and the
bottom to the left. The stem itself should not be
curved. But if possible, to compensate for optical
illusion, it should tilt slightly less than the other
letters.

How far down before a left turn?

The proper length of a descender troubles many
beginners. A set of guidelines removes all doubt.

15 Family likeness 4 of 5
 Speed kills
The easiest path to good handwriting is simply to
slow down. Even, consistent lettershapes are best
mastered with unhurried exercises. There will be
plenty of time later to gather speed.

Make haste slowly

Handwriting is usually a compromise. One option
is handsome and legible. Another is a fast scribble.
Shopping lists and lecture notes serve a function.
They need not be a work of art. Some departure
from a firm foundation does no harm. With luck,
common sense finds a middle way.

16 Slow down
 xvwz

xvw
z
Diagonals
Letters with slanted lines (not ‘diagonal’ in the
mathematical sense of a straight line that con-
nects two nonadjacent angles or vertices of a poly-

[][[] [] [] v[] [] ^
gon or polyhedron) still fit a zigzag grid.

. .
.
Sequence How to use a zigzag grid
The letter x should be Divide the gap between two stems (left). Mark the
written in two down- end points of a lettershape on the grid (middle).
strokes, with the sec- Connect the dots (right).
ond to the left. It will
remain legible even
without a pen lift.

17 Family likeness 5 of 5
 Conventional grip
The hand rests on its side. The thumb holds the
pen against first and middle fingers.

Anything goes
How a pen is held does not really matter as long as
it does not cause writing cramp.

Effective gadget
A triangular pencil grip is very useful. It slides
onto a pencil or ballpoint and gives the hand a
firm grasp.

18 Pen hold
Simple shapes
Most capital letters are
based on diagonals, rect-
angles and circles.

Abc
Beautiful but static
Classical Roman capitals are beautiful and impos-
ing but not suitable for fast writing.

Proportions
Capital height should be
roughly halfway between
the ascender top and
height of the letter x. New solution
Centuries of shortcuts and embellishments be-
came the lower case letters we use now.

19 Capitals
 Left-handed pen grip
A pen in the left hand (above right) should be
held differently from a pen in the right hand. It
should be gripped farther from the nib, and with
the shaft at a different angle.

7
[][[] [] [] [] ^ [][[] [] [] [] ^
abc abc
Don’t do this Anatomy
Hooking the wrist often Handwriting has been shaped by movements that
causes enduring writing the 27 bones in the right hand and wrist make
cramp. with ease. They are harder for the left. Slanting the
writing backward helps.

20 Left-handed writing 1 of 2
 AVWM
NKXYZ
Simple shapes Consistent diagonals
Most capital letters are Much the same shapes are repeated in the letters
based on diagonals, A, V, M and W. The stroke sequence is not as
rectangles and circles. important as is it in the lower case letters.

Convenient boxes
Regular shapes are easier to makes by imagining
letters inside rectangles with fixed reference
points.

VV W W Optical illusion
Two letters V side by side (left) do not make a
pleasing letter W. Tilted together, the two halves
are better balanced.

21 The A - group
Space Paper position
When two children A right-hander should keep the sheet directly in
sit side by side, the front and slightly to the right of centre, for an
left-handed should uninterrupted view of the writing. A left-hander
be on the left and should have the sheet at an angle and slightly to
right-handed on the the left.
right. A left-handed child needs room on the desk
for the left arm. When two children sit side by
side, the left-handed should be on the left and
right-handed on the right.

Elevation Light
High seat is often useful With illumination from the left, the left hand will
for left-handed writers. cast a shadow on the writing. When possible this
A chair cushion is a pop- should be avoided.
ular adjustment.

22 Left- handed writing 2 of 2

 EFTLHIJ
Simple shapes Effortless results
Most capital letters are With the exception of the letter J, straight lines
based on diagonals, make up the H-group. With proper attention to
rectangles and circles. the space between the letters and the counterspace
inside them, it is easy to attain.

EEEEE Same movement …

In ancient Rome the stem and bottom horizontal
of the letter E were usually written in a single
stroke, followed by the top and the middle bars.

… different look
Over the centuries
the shape of the letter
changed. But the path
and stroke sequence are
the same.
HEF8
Subtle common features
The bar in the letters H and E should be the same
height. But to avoid a minor optical illusion, the
bar of the letter F should be slightly lower.

23 The H- group
 Arrighi’s little book
The greatest manual of chancery italic ever pub-
lished is available for free download as a facsimile
with an English translation from <operina.com>.
Early in the fifteenth century, Florentine schol-
ars created a new style of handwriting. The shapes
were influenced by classical texts. The movements
came from blackletter cursive.
Operina is a slim volume of 32 pages. Every two
pages were printed from a separate woodcut by
Ugo da Carpi, who is best known as a master of
chiaroscuro engraving.

24 Operina
 OQCG
Simple shapes
Most capital letters are
based on diagonals,
rectangles and circles.
DPRB SU
Rounded characters
Circle is an absolute form: either it is one or it
isn’t. Letters that started as circles now have more
sensible look.

D∂
∂ D∂
DD An improved movement
The letter E is not the only character that benefits
from a stem with an exit stroke. In the letters B
and D it makes a smooth join between a straight
line and a curve.

LL LD LE LB
Cohesion
Repeated movements bind a handwriting style
together. For all its subtlety, the vast range of the
Latin alphabet uses a few basic forms.

25 The O - group
 Make your own exercise sheets

abc You will need two items. One is a typeface, de-

signed as a handwriting model. The other is soft-
ware that adds joins to your text. You can down-

a b c
load both, free of charge, from <briem.net>.
Create pages with text and pictures of your
choosing. Join the letters with fast, simple soft-

abc
ware. Print out your own sheets.
Discover which texts make the best models. (Po-
etry or jokes? Maxims, riddles?) Enjoy. Share.

Added joins
Java software connects the
letters automatically

26 Software
 012345
6789 H
Size
Ordinary numerals are usually the same height as
the capital letters.

44
+ 88
S O0 Easy shapes
b a

A plus sign can help with proportions for the

numeral 4, and an 8 can be based on the letter S. A
zero should be narrower than the letter O.

Error
8 555 5
Stroke sequence matters
The numeral 3 can be Movements that make letters and numbers are
misread for a five if a bit important. The top of the numeral 5 should
of it goes missing. always be written as a separate final stroke.

27 Numerals
 How to draw a straight line
On the whole, you should look at the point where
you want the pen nib to go, and let your hand take
care of getting it there.

   

The quick brown

Master a movement by making it

Tracing the same line several times can work won-
ders. And tracing a zigzag first is an easy start for
coordination of eye and hand.

Desk strips solve a problem

Keeping an eye on a model alphabet is useful. A
postcard or a shopping list will look better for it.
Not everybody remembers the proper shape of
the letters. Unfolding a desk strip is easy enough.
In time a desk strip will get crumpled in a pocket.
Never mind. A fresh photocopy takes care of that.

28 Tracing
 One-way pen
Upstrokes cause problems for pointed pens. They
tend to snag in the paper. This shaped the copper-
plate style, which these days can look childish.

Modern tools move in any direction

Italic handwriting suits the ballpoint and the
fibretip very well.

LEGIBLE
CAPITALS
Better than copperplate
To get the ink flowing, entry strokes were added to
copperplate writing. This came at a cost.

29 Modern copperplate?
Shorthand is fast
It is good for notetaking
of factual points, less so
with conceptual matters.
Personal shortcuts make
the writing hard for others
to decipher, even by users
of the same system.

Typing is fast
But notetaking speed is
not as important as un-
derstanding of the subject.
Many children who use
keyboards are confused by
similar letters (b d p q).

Handwriting wins
Students understand better
what they take down. Good
handwriting gets higher
exam scores. Strong writing
abilities of four-year olds
can foretell an average of
one-third higher grades in
reading and arithmetic at
age nine.
Handwriting for notes
Studies show that children take longer to compose
sentences and essays on a keyboard than they do
when they write them by hand. They express fewer
ideas and manage fewer complete sentences.

30 Typing, shorthand
 Bad for beginners
Two thousand years of evolution were thrown out
by people who probably never heard of it. Joined
writing is meant to follow print script, and some-
times does.

Geometric forms
Letters that are based
on a circle are more
difficult to write than
letters based on an oval.
They are also harder for
dyslexics. Unwise start
After three years of static, geometric lettershapes,
children are expected to learn a new joined script.
Some never do.

31 Print script
 Rounded, wide letters
A personal hand, far departed from a handwriting
model, still retains the italic movement pattern.

ABCDEFGH Firm foundation

abcdefghijklm Handwriting is always

IJKLMNOPQ a matter of taste and

personal choice. Italic

nopqrstuvwxyz provides lettershapes and

joins, stroke sequence and

RSTUVWXYZ direction.

Spiky, compressed writing

A legible, spirited scribble.

32 A personal hand
Addendum
These pages show an approach to teaching italic
handwriting. It was a part of an exhibition in June
and July 2018.

Copyright © 2018 Gunnlaugur SE Briem.

The Type Archive

100 Hackford Road, London SW9 0QU
Phone (+44) 020 7735 0055
<typearchive.org>