On Drawing The Alphabet, Colorwork A to Z, Art

Art of the outside world. Washington Calligraphers Guild: 2026 Graceful Envelope Contest Winners!

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graphic of the letter B, with elaborate interior design

computer graphic of the letters U through Z, filled with the same letter

Process Notes

There are two ways to draw an alphabet: related or different.

In a related alphabet, you take a few shapes – a vertical line, a curve, a diagonal – and construct all of the letters from that handful of shapes. Letters can be modifications of each other, e.g. E & F. Letters can be mirrors images of each other, e.g. M & W. Letters can be rotations of each other, e.g. H & I. The result is an alphabet as a unified whole. Examples, [Square Alphabet] & [Two No and One Yes] & [36 Days Of Type 2023]

In a difference alphabet, you start with an idea and aim to construct each letter noticeably different from the ones before. The goal is to avoid mirror images and rotations and so on. The result is a celebration of variety. Examples [Square Flourishes] & [Fractal Alphabet & Numbers].

Pourqui pas los dos? Alternatively, you could do both, intentionally. Five different shapes as themes, seven variations within each theme. [36 Days Of Type, 2022 scroll down]

In the case of the colorwork alphabet, I started with the second type and ended with the the first. Fortunately or unfortunately, the A was intriguing. It got me started. The others were less so and/or hard to get a good design. Toward the end, I started doing the letters in clumps.

I also wandered away from underlying theme of blackwork embroidery. On one hand, there was more to say on the subject …

“Holbein Stitch, also known as double running stitch, is used to stitch blackwork patterns. The stitch is the same on both sides of the fabric, hence its use on collars and cuffs which would be visible from the front and the back.” RSN Stitchbank: Holbein stitch

… but, on the other hand, I’m not sure there was an entire alphabet’s worth, at least not for me.

Done. Moving on. Next up, gonna work with words for a while.

Links

String or Nothing: BLACKWORK INSPIRATION

Art Threads: Friday Inspiration – Blackwork Embroidery. This has an amazing blackwork of a horsehead, alas the site that it links to is no longer active.

Project Description [Colorwork Alphabet Introduction]