COPPERPLATE

SCRIPT
GRIDS
 CONTE N TS

CONTENTS

CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02 ANGULAR CONFINEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Majuscules
INTRODUCTION & USEFUL LINKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03 Full Sheet
Alternante Shaded with no Break Blocks X-height 9mm . . 28

TOOLS & MATERIALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05 Full Sheet with Note Breaks

Alternante Shaded with Break Blocks X-height 9mm . . 29
Minuscules
THE ORIGINAL TWO GRIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
Full Sheet
PAScribe Majuscule Practice Grid Alternante half Shaded with no Break Blocks
Alternate Shaded with Breaks Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08 X-height 8mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
PAScribe Minuscule Practice Grid Full Sheet with Note Breaks
Unshaded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09 Alternante Half Shaded with no Break Blocks
X-height 8mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
THE ORIGINAL STUDIO GRIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Group one Horizontal and Diagonal (55º) LETTER BUILDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
X-height 2mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Line of Universal Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
X-height 3mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Direct & Indirect Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
X-height 4mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Majuscules – Letter Building – Mapping the Lines
X-height 5mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Dots and Dashes X-height 25mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

X-height 6mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 55° & 50° – Line of universal beauty & CC

X-height 25mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
X-height 7mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Majuscule Letter Building – Tracing the Lines
X-height 8mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
55° & 50° – Line of universal beauty & CC
X-height 9mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 X-height 25mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Group two Horizontal and Diagonal 55° & 50° – Line of universal beauty & CC
(55º with verticals every 30mm) X-height 20mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
X-height 2mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Minuscule Letter Building – Mapping the Lines
X-height 3mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Swelled Stoke & Indirect Ligature
X-height 4mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Minim Letters only X-height 15mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
X-height 5mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Minuscule Letter Building – Tracing the Lines
X-height 6mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The Swelled Stoke & Indirect Ligature
X-height 7mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Minim Letters only X-height 15mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

X-height 8mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Swelled Stoke & Indirect Ligature

X-height, Ascender and Descender Lines X-height 15mm . . 41
X-height 9mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The Swelled Stoke & Indirect Ligature
X-height, Ascender and Descender Lines X-height 10mm . . 42

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 2

 I N T R O D U C TI ON & US E F UL LI NKS

First, thank you for your continued interest in these guidelines. Once I began
writing my Copperplate Script manual, I realised I needed something more than
horizontal lines with a series of 55° axial lines. I needed something which used the
4Fold Symmetry I had developed to anchor the letters and so began the growth
of these various grids. In 2020, I felt I needed to augment the grids, as the more
I used them the more I felt I needed additional grids as well as a better system for
the names of the sheets in their groups.
The grids are meant to be used with a variety of writing implements. I have
outlined some of the tools and materials below to help you better use the grids to
improve accuracy of the letterforms in your personal practice.
Coupled with grids in this pack, there is full, free, course on the PAScribe
Scriptorium which walks you through each grid and how I use it in my teaching of
Copperplate Script.

USEF UL LINKS
Here are some useful links which will boost your use of and interaction with the
grids in this handout.
The PAScribe Community – here you will find many interested practitioners who
are using the grids. Head to the ‘Practice & Progress’ tab on the left and have a
look through the ‘Copperplate Grids’ thread where you can see how other have
been using the grids and applying them. Also check the various Copperplate Script
threads too and connect and discuss grid use with those already working with the
grids. Please use the link below to join
https://pascribe-community.circle.so/join?invitation_token=b8b2d826158fbb146300b
43e4a05e16a7b4d670f-c26c5373-283e-4720-b503-fd157a761def

The PAScribe Scriptorium – this is where the ‘pre-recorded’ and ‘live-recorded’

classes live. This is also where you will find listed all the upcoming live classes. In
here you will find courses on Copperplate Script, Flourishing, English Roundhand
and a host of other Copperplate Script related resources, as well as lots of other
scripts.
https://pascribe-scriptorium.newzenler.com/

The PAScribe Scriptorium – houses the PAScribe Prerequisites which come in two
groups, the ’Prerequistes – Basics’ which are five modules which cover Posture,
Placement, Position, PAScribe Muscular and Whole Arm Movement and the
PAScribe Tool Hold, you also get access to the PAScribe Tool Co-ordinate System
which teaches you how to pay attention to where the nib sits on the page to write
effectively. This is what you need to learn before you start writing. The second is
‘Prerequisites – Tools’ where I systematically teach you how to use the tools you
will be using for calligraphy.
https://pascribe-scriptorium.newzenler.com/courses/prerequisite-basic-the-3-ps
https://pascribe-scriptorium.newzenler.com/courses/prerequisite-basic-all-5-basics

PAScribe Grids Course – this is a free course in the PAScribe Scriptorium which
walks you through the grids, and how I intend for you to use them. Once you have
seen my intention for you, it is up to you to apply that information. I would love to
hear your feedback on how you have used them, this you can leave in the PAScribe
Community Grids Thread listed above.
https://pascribe-scriptorium.newzenler.com/courses/pascribe-copperplate-script-grids

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 3

 I N T R O D U C TI ON & US E F UL LI NKS

PAScribe Essential Information Extracts (EIE) – after writing my manual, I

felt there were some things in there I wanted to make available for free to help
anyone wanting to learn, not only, more about Copperplate Script, but about good
calligraphic practice in general. The EIE is a collection of essential pages from the
manual which help learners think about the script, and approach to the craft, more
carefully.
https://pascribe-scriptorium.newzenler.com/courses/
pascribe-essential-information-extracts-eie

Training Wheels – these are two separate handouts which introduce you to a
pulley system I developed to teach spacing of basic copperplate script and an
upright copperplate script. They are monoline scripts done with a pencil with then
helps to lay the foundation for pointed nib application.
https://pascribe-scriptorium.newzenler.com/courses/
pascribe-training-wheels-copperplate-script
https://pascribe-scriptorium.newzenler.com/courses/
pascribe-training-wheels-upright-copperplate

PAScribe Shopify – chances are you got this download either from the Scriptorium
or from Shopify. If the Scriptorium, head over to the Shopify Site and have a look
at some of the cool tools, PAScribe products and handouts you can find there.
https://pascribe-workbooks.myshopify.com/

YouTube – I also have a robust YouTube Channel where you can find a tonne of
free videos on a variety of scripts, tool hold, Posture, Placement & Position as well
as some insights into some of the tools & materials I use and how I use them.
https://www.youtube.com/@PAScribe

OTHER USEFUL LINKS ARE MY

Website – www.PAScribe.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/pascribe/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/pascribe

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 4

 TOOLS & MATERIALS

PENCILS –
Monoline – Consistent Pressure – HB pencil. If you press hard you may want to
consider a 4H or 2H pencil. If you start with a 4H the aim is the get down to a 2H
then to an HB. Remember ‘consistent pressure’ does not mean you are pressing
hard.
Variable Line – Pressure and Release – 4B pencil up to a 9B. This is where I apply
pressure like I am writing with a pointed flexible metal nib.
Variable Line – Pencil Manipulation – HB pencil up to a 2B. This is where you
truncate the tip of the pencil by flattening it a bit allowing you to move from the
point to the flat. This requires a lot more thinking and tool interaction.
A little note – aim to touch the lines on the inside OR you can aim to sit ON the
lines, I would not suggest you aim for the outside of the lines. This is important in
your practice as once you move to the nib, this choice of line touching will change.
PAScribe Scriptorium – ‘Prerequisites – Tools – Pencil’ will teach you pencil
understanding and tool use.

NIBS –
These grids, especially at the smaller sizes where the xheight is 10mm or less, work
best with fine tipped nibs like the Hunt 22b, Hunt 101, Gillott 303, Brause 65 and
the Hiro Leonardt EF Principal. There are other nibs which will work but the
above nibs have a hairline:shade ratio which works wonderfully with the grids.
A little note – when writing with a nib, the fineness of the nib will determine what
you do. When I use the grids for my own practice, I aim to stay INSIDE the
horizontal lines. The choice of nib will then dictate if you are staying INSIDE the
parallelogram, using the 55° line as the centre of your letter OR if you opt to use
the 55° line as the absolute inside of the letter. You may also find this varies as you
improve in script accuracy or if you decide you want a wider or narrower letter.
Test the nib to see which works best or allow the test to help you decide on a
narrower or wider letter.

INK –
Once again we come back to the nib-ink-paper interaction and the issue with local
availability of these tools and materials. For the papers I use, be it Layout, Marker,
Conqueror or Colorplan, the writing fluid could be Gouache, Watercolour,
Derwernt Inktense, Kuretake Gansai Tambi, Chinese and Japanese Stick Ink,
Monteverde Ink, Pelikan 4001 or Walnut Ink. I know the papers I am using work
with these writing fluids with zero bleeding, I do not tend to worry about them
and their interactions. You will need to find what you have access to and test them.
You will note I have not included ‘Iron Gall Ink’, I do not use Ferro Gallic inks as
they corrode the tip of the pointed flexible metal nibs. They are excellent for quill
work on vellum but not so on paper if you want it to be archival.

MARKERS –
Brush pens come in a few varieties –
1) Spongy Tipped Brush Pens which are manmade and comprise of a spongy
material, sometimes felt, hence them being called fet tipped pens. I tend not to use
the phrase ‘Felt Tipped’ as, invariably, these brush pens are not felt.
2) Filamented Brush Pens which are manmade and comprise of very thin
hair-like filaments. These look and behave much like natural-hair brushes but have
a variety of other properties.
3) Natural Hair Brushes which comprise of natural hair of animals. These are the

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 5

 TOOLS & MATERIALS

brushes many of us associate with expensive watercolour brushes. I love writing

with these with gouache and watercolour. I do not use them with acrylic or oils.
Brush pens also come in a variety of tip sizes from very small, small, medium, large
and very large. Apart from the size of the tip, there is also tip firmness to consider
which are hard, medium and soft. Tip flexibility is yet another characteristic of the
brush pen tips you must consider when choosing your brush pen and what you are
hoping for it to achieve.
Brush Pens with their own internal ink –
Many of the convenience brush pens come with either their own ink in enclosed
barrels or with click in cartridges or even ink convertors to use which ever ink you
desire. If the ink is include, ensure you take the time to test it on the paper you
want to use the guidelines with well before printing a batch of lines out.
Natural or Filamented Brushes –
When using inks, like fountain pen inks, or mixing watercolour, gouache or
metals be mindful of the properties of those writing fluids as how the fluid leaves
the brush could impact on feather or bleeding as you are mixing them from scratch
and my need to add more water or binder (usually gum arabic).
Once you have taken the above into consideration, the next is the paper you are
choosing to write on.

PAPER –
This is a bit of a minefield as it really is down to the nib-ink-paper interaction. This
is up to you to test, as access to tools and materials vary dramatically
internationally.
Grids as Guidelines – If you are using these grids as guidelines you will need to
print them off at 100% opacity. This will ensure you can see them through layout
paper or marker paper. I would not suggest using tracing paper as it makes pencil
marks much darker due to the tooth of the paper or if you are using ink, it will
buckle once the wet ink starts to dry on the tracing paper.
Directly writing on the grids – If you are opting to write directly on them, I
would suggest you print the off at either 50%, 20% or 15% opacity. This will
depend entirely on you vision acuity. You don’t want to be straining to see the lines
and as some of the lines at .25, dotted, dashed or greyed in, you will need to be
careful of the opacity option you choose as this will most definitely vary depending
on the particular grid you are choosing to practice on.
Pencil practice, any cheap copy paper will do, preferably one that is not coated or
gloss. An uncoated paper will allow the pencil to have a little bit of grip due to the
tooth of the paper.
Ink practice, you will find a laser printer will allow for printing ink which will not
interact with the ink you are writing in. If you are using an inkjet printer, you will
need a substantial paper which will be able to hold the ink of the printer AND the
ink you are writing in without allowing them to interact and bleed once they come
in contact with each other. I use Conqueror High White Wove at 100gsm or
Colorplan at 100gsm. As I said before, it is up to you to figure this out as
availability of materials vary internationally.

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 6

 THE ORIGINAL TWO GRIDS

THE ORIGINAL TWO GRIDS IN THE MANUAL

All the grids in this PAScribe Copperplate Script Grids pack, grew out of the first
two grids which follow, they are the ones you will find on the inside of the front
and back covers of the manual ‘Copperplate Script – A Yin & Yang Approach’, of
which there is a Majuscule Grid and a Minuscule Grid.

Once I realised there was an underlying geometry to the majuscules, I was able
to build a grid based on this system of 6x8 parallelograms and it is from here
the Angular Confinement facet of the PAScribe Copperplate Script arose. I the
teaching of the script, I realised the minuscules grid needed an augmentation in
the learning phase of the script. You will notice the scale of the xheight and letter
width ratio is slightly different. This is important to note.

The Majuscule Grid works for both the majuscules and minuscules and should be
the grid you use for general writing. Ideally, you would have practiced the minus-
cules on the slightly squatter Minuscule Grid understanding the proportions via
that shorter xheight and once you are comfortable with minuscules and their inter-
nal spacing at that size you would graduate to the narrow and taller parallelograms
of the more general Majuscule Grid.

My two original grids are based the geometry of the majuscules, it is then from the
majuscule grid I based my minuscule grid. Historically, we see a lot of minuscule
grids upon which the letters sit. But We do not have any historical Copperplate
nor English Roundhand grid for the majuscules, so in this way my grids are
unique when compared to their historical counterparts.

The Original Grids here have been augmented to include 2mm lines between the
grids for you make notes and correction marks.

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 7

 PASCRIBE COPPERPLATE SCRIPT GRID – MAJUSCULE

ALTERNATE SHADED WITH BREAKS BLOCKS XHEIGHT 9MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 8

 PASCRIBE COPPERPLATE SCRIPT GRID – MINUSCULE

UNSHADED WITH BREAK BLOCKS XHEIGHT 8MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 9

 THE ORIGINAL STUDIO GRIDS

THE ORIGINAL STUDIO GRIDS

There are two groups of grids
1) Horizontal lines with a 55° axial line
2) Horizontal lines with a 55° axial line and a 90° vertical line

Horizontal lines with a 55° axial line grids - I have used in The Studio since the
year 2000. I originally ruled these grids up by hand with a Pilot G-Tech 0.3 pen,
a Tee-Square and some Setsquares. I kept the original files pristine and, in a folder,
and when I needed a new set as I had made markings on the ones in use, I would
simply photocopy them. It was only years later did I have them made up on a
computer with even thinner line points.

The grids are horizontal lines at 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9mm in height with a 55° line at
a 20mm wide spacing. The aim of this type of grid was to have horizontal lines for
the letters to adhere to but then a 55° every 20mm to guide you to stay on the 55.
I tried this at 15mm, 20mm, 25mm and 30mm and found 20mm optimum as it
allowed enough writing without the 55 to then gently remind the hand to keep
the letters on that 55.

These are the grids you will see my use for general practice or making clips for
social media. The 6mm at 55° is the one you will see me use the most.

Horizontal lines with a 55° axial line and a 90° vertical line – I added these to my
set of grids in 2001 as I realised I sometimes needed 90° vertical to help with some
of the flourishes I made to the scripts. Eventually, this grid became commonplace
in studio life as my PAScribe Italic Script is an upright, geometric script. A grid of
this sort allowed me to use it for both my copperplate and italic scripts, as well as
for Textualis Quadrata, Fraktur, PAScribe Small Caps and a host of other upright
calligraphic scripts.

In this set the grids are portrait. I also a set of these ‘Original Studio Grids’ in
Landscape. Both groups of scripts I have printed on acetate an I use the all the
time under layout paper for practice and under more substantial papers for when I
want to write invitations or poems or write more accurate text to be scanned.

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 10

 GROUP ONE

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º XHEIGHT 2MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 11

 GROUP ONE

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º XHEIGHT 3MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 12

 GROUP ONE

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º XHEIGHT 4MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 13

 GROUP ONE

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º XHEIGHT 5MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 14

 GROUP ONE

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º XHEIGHT 6MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 15

 GROUP ONE

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º XHEIGHT 7MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 16

 GROUP ONE

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º XHEIGHT 8MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 17

 GROUP ONE

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º XHEIGHT 9MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 18

 GROUP TWO

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º, VERTICALS @ 30MM XHEIGHT 2MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 19

 GROUP TWO

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º, VERTICALS @ 30MM XHEIGHT 3MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 20

 GROUP TWO

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º, VERTICALS @ 30MM XHEIGHT 4MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 21

 GROUP TWO

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º, VERTICALS @ 30MM XHEIGHT 5MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 22

 GROUP TWO

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º, VERTICALS @ 30MM XHEIGHT 6MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 23

 GROUP TWO

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º, VERTICALS @ 30MM XHEIGHT 7MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 24

 GROUP TWO

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º, VERTICALS @ 30MM XHEIGHT 8MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 25

 GROUP TWO

HORIZONTAL AND DIAGONAL 55º, VERTICALS @ 30MM XHEIGHT 9MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 26

 ANGULAR CONFINEMENT

MAJUSCULES
ANGULAR CONFINEMENT
The Full Sheet is for you to practice continuous writing where you choose the
baselines you are sticking to. Mark off, on the layout paper, where you are intend-
ing to have the baseline so you know which lines you are working on. I would
suggest you only use this sheet once you are conversant with the grid and you
know how much space you want for your interlinear spaces. One of the issues with
this sheet is assuming you can write the next line of text too close to the top line so
care and attention must be paid for this not to happen.

MAJUSCULE
ANGULAR CONFINEMENT – NOTES
This sheet has breaks with 2mm horizontal lines to give you the option to make
notes under where you are working allowing you to keep track of which issues
you are seeing with the writing of the letters, their shapes and parts. I am always
making notes on my own practice in the blank spaces and felt this would be a
good addition to the grids so you have one less thing to worry about – writing in
straight lines on blank paper and keeping the ideas separate.

MINUSCULES
ANGULAR CONFINEMENT
The Full Sheet is for you practice continuous writing where you choose the base-
lines you are keeping to. Mark off on the layout paper you are looking through so
you know which lines you are working on.

MINUSCULES
ANGULAR CONFINEMENT – NOTES
This sheet has breaks with 2mm horizontal lines to give you the option to make
notes under where you are working allowing you to keep track of what issues
you are seeing with the writing of the letters, their shapes and parts. I am always
making notes on my own practice in the blank spaces and felt this would be a
good addition to the grids so you have one less thing to worry about – writing in
straight lines on blank paper and keeping the ideas separate.

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 27

 MAJUSCULE – ANGULAR CONFINEMENT

FULL SHEET
ALTERNANTE SHADED WITH NO BREAK BLOCKS XHEIGHT 9MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 28

 MAJUSCULE – ANGULAR CONFINEMENT - NOTES

FULL SHEET WITH NOTE BREAKS

ALTERNANTE SHADED WITH BREAK BLOCKS XHEIGHT 9MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 29

 MINUSCULE – ANGULAR CONFINEMENT

FULL SHEET
ALTERNANTE HALF SHADED WITH NO BREAK BLOCKS XHEIGHT 8MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 30

 MINUSCULE – ANGULAR CONFINEMENT - NOTES

FULL SHEET
ALTERNANTE HALF SHADED WITH BREAK BLOCKS XHEIGHT 8MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 31

 LETTER BUILDING

LETTER BUILDING
The aim of these grids is to help you gain a deeper understanding of how the basic
parts of the letters relate to the grid. It also helps you grasp internal letter space as
well as how all the letters relate to each other.

This set of grids is broken into three parts and work best with a pencil due to the
size of the grid. You can attempt this with nib and ink, but you will need a larger
nib like a Nikko G or a Blue Pumpkin nib.

Majuscule Letter Building

The first of these grids, ‘Dots & Dashes’, is to help you build your understanding
of the Line of Universal Beauty (LOUB) at 55°, the Connective Stoke (CS) at 50°
and their interaction.
Understanding where the ´Acute Curvilinear Triangle´ sits is key to these lines
and the letters they are associated with. These LOUB-CS grids are at 25mm and
20mm and are probably larger than you practise the majuscules at, this will help
with building shape understanding and application of these lines at various sizes.

Majuscule Letter Building

The in this group of grids has the LOUB and CS already drawn in. These are at
25mm and 20mm and help you to see how these two lines interact with each other
and allows you to practice at different two sizes.
These two lines form the basis of the spacing of the majuscule letters and are em-
bedded in the Angular Confinement system. They also generate an understanding
of width which also reinforces the width of the grid for the PAScribe Copperplate
Script Approach.

Minuscule Letter Building

The third group of sheets are called ‘the Swelled Stroke and Indirect Ligature’.
Understanding where and how the ligature approaches the xheight and where the
apex of the curve touches the xheight and the baseline is key to producing this
most important stroke as the ‘swelled stroke’ is the basis of the minuscule letters.
Sheet one is the ‘Minim Letters Only’ grid and asks you to construct the swelled
stroke yourself by going round a pulley/circle one of which tangentially touches
the baseline and the other the xheight, you will need to keep in the circumference
but as soon as you touch the 55° line you go up or down on them until you get
to a circumference again. Plotting this in with some dots or dashes is easier at the
start until a solid line can be written.
Sheet two is also a ‘Minim Letters Only’ grid but this grid has the Monoline
Swelled Stroke plotted in for you. The monoline swelled stroke rests both ON the
grid and simply between a baseline and an xheight line. I hope by you SEEING
where the monoline swelled stroke, it will not only help you to better understand
where to plot the line but also how the consistence of this base shape generates
consistency in the letters.
At this point in your working with the Monoline Swelled Stroke you should begin
to work in tandem with the ‘PAScribe Training Wheels’ to help you develop the
widths of the letters. See the links above on page 02 under Training Wheels’.
Sheet three uses the same scale and includes the ascender and descender lines
all the while implementing the same exercises found in the ‘PAScribe Training
Wheels’. This sheet will allow you to write all the minuscules not just the minim
ones. Make sure you plot the lines in with dots of dashes before attempting to
write the letters in a solid monoline.
Sheet four reduces the scale of the previous grid, this makes it a lot more difficult
to see what you are doing due to the number of lines, but the principle is the
same. Do not print these out to write directly on, rather, use them under a sheet of
layout / marker paper as that will help with seeing the lines better. Practice on this
grid with a pencil first as it this grid prepares you for nib and ink writing.

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 32

LINE OF UNIVERSAL BEAUTY

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 33

DIRECT & INDIRECT STROKES

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 34

 MAJUSCULES – LETTER BUILDING – MAPPING THE LINES

DOTS AND DASHES XHEIGHT 25MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 35

 MAJUSCULE LETTER BUILDING – MAPPING THE LINES

55 & 50 – LINE OF UNIVERSAL BEAUTY & CC XHEIGHT 25MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 36

 MAJUSCULE LETTER BUILDING – TRACING THE LINES

55 & 50 – LINE OF UNIVERSAL BEAUTY & CC XHEIGHT 25MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 37

 MAJUSCULE LETTER BUILDING – TRACING THE LINES

55 & 50 – LINE OF UNIVERSAL BEAUTY & CC XHEIGHT 20MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 38

 MINUSCULE LETTER BUILDING – MAPPING THE LINES

THE SWELLED STOKE & INDIRECT LIGATURE

MINIM LETTERS ONLY XHEIGHT 15MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 39

 MINUSCULE LETTER BUILDING – TRACING THE LINES

THE SWELLED STOKE & INDIRECT LIGATURE

MINIM LETTERS ONLY XHEIGHT 15MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 40

 MINUSCULE LETTER BUILDING – TRACING THE LINES

THE SWELLED STOKE & INDIRECT LIGATURE

XHEIGHT, ASCENDER AND DESCENDER LINES XHEIGHT 15MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 41

 MINUSCULE LETTER BUILDING – TRACING THE LINES

THE SWELLED STOKE & INDIRECT LIGATURE

XHEIGHT, ASCENDER AND DESCENDER LINES XHEIGHT 10MM

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 42

 NOTES - 2MM

NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 43

 NOTES - 3MM

NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 44

 NOTES - 4MM

NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

©PAScribe, 2018 – Copperplate Script: A Yin & Yang Approach 45

Paul Antonio, born in 1974, in Trinidad, W. I., moved to London in 1998 where he
studied Letterform History at the University of Reading’s Department of Typography
and Graphic Communications. His studies continued at Reigate School of Art and
Design in Calligraphy, Gilding and Heraldic Painting, where he graduated with a
distinction. After studying Arabic Calligraphy, English Palaeography 600CE-1600CE
and Archaeological Illustration, he traveled to Egypt on behalf of the Metropolitan
Museum, New York to draw hieroglyphs at their dig site in Dashur. He currently
teaches throughout the world and is one of the four Crown Office Scribes.