Foundations / 10 minute exercise
Build letters from a few strokes
Many lowercase script letters reuse the same movements. Practicing those movements separately lets you work on one problem without also thinking about spelling.
Take it step by step
- Make a row of rising hairlines and a row of descending strokes. With a pencil or ordinary pen, focus on direction; pressure contrast is not required.
- Practice an underturn: descend, round the bottom, then rise. Practice an overturn: rise, round the top, then descend. Keep the turns open rather than pinched.
- Draw counterclockwise ovals for your chosen script model. Look for a balanced enclosed space, not a perfect geometric circle.
- Add ascending and descending loops, then combine familiar strokes into i, u, n, and m. Lift the pen between strokes when needed; connected appearance does not require continuous motion.
Your turn
Try this on paper
Make five of each: straight stroke, underturn, overturn, oval, ascending loop, descending loop. Circle your most consistent pair and repeat that pair five times.
Make a practice sheet →Before you move on
Do similar strokes have similar width and height, even when they are not identical?
Repeat the exercise if you want to. Marking a lesson complete records your practice, not a claim of mastery.
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