Letter Spacing

getting the proportions right

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By placing a short pen stroke after each letter at its widest point (left) you will get a good idea of how your letters can be spaced. Spaces between letters and words, and between the the pen strokes themselves, are important for a good layout, whether they are uniformly irregular or formally regular.

Depending on the size of the nib you will be using your lettering will vary in weight. A guide to finding the size of the lettering is pictured left.

Turn your pen sideways so that the nib is at right angles to the paper. With a series of short strokes measure how high your writing lines are. By altering the measurement slightly you will also alter the appearance of the letters. Capital letters can reach as high as the top of the ascender line or somewhere in between - it depends on your preference.

There is a brilliant piece of equipment you can buy from Scribblers (calligraphy supplies), called the X-Height calculator. It is a very simple way of working out your nib size and the height of your writing line.