Lowercase cursive - the letter b (traditional version)
Obligatory disclaimer:
🛑 Note that 1) the style(s) of writing depicted here are far from the only correct way(s) to write cursive. 2) I’m not claiming that this is the One True Method or anything like that, or that I am the One True Authority on cursive. 3) This series cannot cover everything and so info you feel is important may be left out. Info I feel is important will not be left out 🛑
Hullo! Mod Seraphtonin here 🌸
We’re back with the second installment of the “basic cursive” series- the lowercase b!
Why is this post arriving so much later than that first “a” post? Well, that’s because Mod Seraph got busy and also because Mod Seraph Doesn’t Like The Letter b
Notes about accessibility:
🌸 You’ll notice that some colours have been changed from the last time ‘round! I was informed that my initial colour choices were not colourblind-friendly!
🌸 2 “b”s or not 2 “b”s, that is the question 😁 (oh come on, I had to make the joke) The second letter with the lowered opacity should help make things more colourblind-friendly
🌸 Colours used may continue to change - please feel free to let me know if you find it hard to make out some info!
The traditional “b”:
*Sighs* Yeah, this is the “b” I was taught. For readers who have only learnt print, this is probably hideous, because it looks so alien compared to the print b. But, this is the b I was taught and so I’ll be starting with it
(Other ways of writing “b” are comin’ up in future posts)
Why do I call it the “traditional” b? Well, mostly because it’s a “b” which was more common in ye olden days. I mainly see people using this style of “b” when they want the aesthetic of the older cursive script (ex: copperplate) while typographers aiming for a more modern appearance (ex: on instagram) have largely switched to “b”s that more closely resemble the print “b”. More on that “b” later
However, I’m still a big believer in learning the basics before deviating from those, so I’ll teach this “b” before showing how it’s changed as cursive has become more modernised
How to write:
Oh we’re gettin’ fancy over here. Mod Seraph has discovered how to make gifs!
To write this, start at the “T” part of the first arrow and move your pen in the direction of the arrow until you get to the “>”. Repeat for 2, and then 3. You can choose whether to just pause between steps or lift your pen from the page altogether. It might be easier to do the latter if you’re just starting out, so you can eyeball the whole letter and make sure it still looks good
Again, the whole letter can be written in one brush stroke if you so desire. Just connect all 3 steps together in one long line. If you’re a beginner, I suggest not doing this until you’re a bit more comfortable with the letter. You’re more liable to get a wonky character if you try to speed through it
A secret to a more proportioned letter:
This is me illustrating why it’s good to pause or lift your pen off the page, folks. In blue, you’ll see a “b” where I went straight from stroke 1 into stroke 2 without pausing or lifting my pen off the page. You’ll note that the top of the “b” looks a lot... skinnier, even though I start from around the same place
Now, I won’t say that certain ways of writing are wrong, because writing is very much made up and how one letter looks is kinda arbitrary so long as it’s visually different from the other letters... That being said, I like my letters to look proportional, and that blue “b”? It’s a little bottom-heavy. You’ll also note that the line beginning the letter, brush stroke 1, needs to be at a much steeper angle, to avoid having a letter that slants too much. This’ll be a running theme through letters such as “f”, “h”, “k”, “l”, etc, as they all have that loop at the top
Overall, I advocate for pausing after brush stroke 1 and deliberately entering into brush stroke 2 at a gentler angle, so your loop is bigger and so the top of the letter ends up more proportional compared to the bottom
See? Now your “🐝” 😉 looks a lot more stable!
Anchor points:
As always, it’s good to keep “anchor points” in mind when writing your cursive. These are the parts of your letter which touch or come close to touching your guidelines. If you want your letter to be very neat and structured, make sure your anchor points all touch the guidelines. In order to add some character to your characters 😉, consider varying the anchor points! As always, cursive doesn’t have to be neat to be pretty!
And, that’s all for now! Thanks for tuning in 😁
- Mod Seraphtonin (Ko-fi)