Book Description
This book is a hands-on guide to the entire process of making logos and fonts and even icons, all of which, essentially, start with the ability to draw letterforms. The intent of the book, in fact, is to enable the user to end reliance on "OPF" (other people's fonts) and learn to draw your own custom logos, fonts and lettering! There are many books on the market that simply display collections of logos and fonts, and that give the history of logos and fonts. But Logo, Font & Lettering Bible is unique in that it teaches you how to create logos and fonts from scratch using traditional tools as well as the computer programs Adobe Illustrator and Fontographer (plus a bit about FontLab). The book provides all the traditional rules and tips about letter formation relating to proportion, shaping, balance, spacing, composition and actually teaches five different methods of drawing letters on computer using bezier curves. There has never been a book like this one that goes into so much detail about drawing letters and takes such a fun and irreverent approach while doing so. The book is also full of inspiration and analysis of tons of great examples of vintage and current lettering from old manuscripts to graffiti. Logo, Font & Lettering Bible also shows you how to create fancy drop shadows and other type effects. And finally, the last section provides straight talk on the business of being a logo and font designer, from advertising your work and pricing to dealing with difficult clients (aren't they all?).
This book has been almost unanimously acclaimed by professional letterers, logo designers and font creators, both young and old. It is currently in use as a text in many typography programs and several Design college educators have stated it is one of the few texts that "students are actually happy about having to purchase."
Customer Reviews:
My secret weapon!.......2007-08-17
Not only is it a terrific and easy-to-understand how-to book, but a fabulous idea-starter and it doubles as a coffee table book because it's beautiful to just thumb through.
An Excellent Book for a Typophile!.......2007-06-18
As a design instructor, I found this book an excellent resource for ideas and examples. It has a thorough explanation of Bezier curves, which is invaluable in understanding how vector based applications like Adobe Illustrator, work. Fine examples of type design are included as well.
Candy store for creative minds (recommended).......2007-04-01
Yummy! With humor, clear illustrations, and useful suggestions, Cabarga provides a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to be a letterer, illustrator, font or logo designer. But this hardbound book is not just for "wanabes." I found it includes comprehensive coverage of most everything learned throughout 30 years in the same disciplines along with new valuable timesaving tips. If I had the patience and tenacity to attempt such a compilation, it could be no more complete and not nearly as well presented as LOGO FONT & LETTERING BIBLE. My essay can now be reduced to three words: "What he says."
Leslie Cabarga, a talented illustrator and designer in his own right, does not limit examples to his own. World-renowned artists such as Gerard Huerta, Michael Doret, Tim Nikosey, Tony DiSpigna, and Seymour Chwast -- four dozen in all -- contribute to the wealth of inspiration. In the 1980's I had the privilege of working with uncles for one of these typography leaders -- producing over 200 hand-lettered packaging logos. It was there that I first saw an original triple outline inking of flourished letters by Gerard Huerta and was privileged to study a fraction of the techniques used.
Cabarga urges readers to become critics of their own work. This also reminds me of employment at the Huertas. A bulge could occur when joining curves using technical pens. After working on it for a while and thinking to myself "It's good enough," this infinitesimal area would be the first thing the creative director would point out. After admitting that I saw it too, he remarked, "If you saw it, why show it to me?" I quickly learned to be obsessively concerned about adjoining curves. Ink bulges may not be a problem today with digital lettering but there are other telltale signs of an amateur. Cabarga shows what to look for.
Your eyes are in for a tasty treat. Beautiful examples of calligraphy, and their influence on Roman font characters, are well demonstrated and discussed. But the book is by no means limited to calligraphy. Cabarga patiently differentiates cartooning, illustration, logo design, icon artwork, trademarks, and font design. LOGO FONT & LETTERING BIBLE compares digital tools such as the now defunct Macromedia FreeHand (my past favorite), Adobe Illustrator (which has supplanted the former), the seemingly forgotten Mac OS 9 version of Macromedia Fontographer (which in 2005 was integrated into the FontLab line of digital typography tools and updated to Mac OS X -- hooray!), and the preeminent FontLab.
LOGO FONT & LETTERING BIBLE covers the history of typography and encourages users to build a library of signage photos and magazine scraps for inspiration. Each subject I thought might be overlooked was eventually covered. Even esoteric techniques such as what I refer to as character ink reservoirs (called clog reduction on page 115) are here. Skeleton Strokes on page 152 demonstrates wonderful timesaving suggestions for digital lettering. Optical character spacing and stroke widths are discussed in detail beginning on page 112. Do you want to learn how to clean up the best scans for converting drawings to vector art? Jump over to page 158. Everything you want to know about Bezier (pronounced "Bez-zee-ay," thank you) curves but were afraid to ask is, well, practically everywhere but particularly in the section Bezier Curves for Cowards that begins on page 140.
Mississippi readers will approve. Just as I was thinking, the author needs to demonstrate how to arch text on a path (FreeHand did a better job than Illustrator), I turned to page 191 and, bam! There it is. The comparison on page 226 of residual shape differences in Illustrator and Fontographer after Bezier points are removed from a path is insightful. Not to leave you hanging, the book concludes with suggestions for getting work, building a portfolio, and negotiating fees. Additional resources and a helpful index rounds out 240 pages, which, like all trips to a candy store, seem to end too soon.
Great resource!.......2007-03-09
I found the book to be a great resource in logo creation. The mock logos section quickly steers one in the direction to go in your own projects. The typography part of the book is also a very interesting read. With examples and the background for the fonts in use today.
You can of course find all of this information on your own and in fact most of the issues in this book are familiar to a seasoned designer. But still I found it tremedously interesting to refresh the knowledge of the letters and their different forms.
One minus for me was in part a very cluttrered layout. Though not unreadable it was in places quite colourful and abundant - to a point where the main issue sometimes took a second seat. All in all a great book. Highly recommended!
Fun, witty and informative.......2007-03-05
A designer colleague loaned me this book and it has been a very enlightening and hilarious read. Leslie Cabarga is a very effective communicator; he combines humor, graphics, and verbal communication to tremendous effect, and beginner types like myself come out much richer for the experience. There's really a lot in this book, whether you're looking for hard and fast rules or maybe just a more robust visual sensibility, and it's got plenty of wit to spare.
Highly recommended.
Book Description
"A fun and varied collection of recent posters, books, ads, and other designed pieces that all employ type that is scrawled, scratched, stitched, or otherwise noodled."—Communication Arts
Hand-drawn graphics mark a return to the creator's immediacy and craft. Increasingly, advertising campaigns, CD covers, and branding are adopting the rough-hewn style of manually created typography. This is the first publication to offer a complete overview of handwritten typographics, drawing on an extensive array of letterforms from around the world.
At the heart of the book are hundreds of examples, presented in creative themes: "Scrawl" (letterforms that are raw, splotchy, untidy); "Scratch" (scraped, cut, and gouged fonts); "Script" (type that is sinuous and ornate); "Simulate" (faces that have been redrawn or copied); "Shadow" (dimensional, voluminous, and monumental letterforms); "Suggestive" (forms that imply the metaphorical, surreal, and symbolic); and "Sarcastic" (the ironic, comic, and satiric in lettering).
In an age of digital typography, Handwritten returns to the values of craft. This outstanding collection of unusual, meticulously wrought, and often breathtaking pieces is a must for students and practitioners of design. 500+ illustrations, most in color.
Customer Reviews:
From a teaching pt of view.......2007-07-21
Nice range of examples categorized by how they look. An example is "ornate, curlique, sinuous". More a look book reference than a topic/subject reference. Examples include books, posters, ads, CD/DVD, web designs...all using art with a human touch.
Inspiring and informative.......2006-09-21
Handwritten is a history lesson and an inspiration piece, breaking into a series of successive styles from polished to grunge. The exploration is seemingly complete, and as the above commentor wrote, will inspire you to pick up a pencil and sketchbook, and have at it.
a diverse and complete collection of graphic design that merges the handwritten with the computer.......2006-05-05
Heller and Ilic's book is a collection of (in my opinion, and theirs), exemplary work in the world of graphic design in which the "handwritten" has been implemented in the artists' works.
Examples range from magazine covers, traditional advertisements, film festival posters, album covers, book covers and other media/art. There is a wide range of styles covered, and though there is not a lot of text that accompanies each featured piece, the descriptions of the work are insightful to how (in the opinion of the authors) the text/design work, and in what ways. For instance, the authors comment on one poster which used a childish scrawl saying, "Scrawl is most effective when located with a generous helping of negative space, as is portrayed elegantly in this poster etc.etc."
Though you might not agree with their observations, you will most definitely get something valuable out of your disagreement, wether it is a better sense of your own visions and style/likes/dislikes.
All in all, this book is worth the money. It is bound to inspired you to break out a pencil and your sketchbook again.
Book Description
BL The most comprehensive study yet of the ancient art of Islamic calligraphy The Nasser D. Khalili Collection holds examples of Islamic calligraphy that span six centuries and demonstrate the continuity of this central art form into the modern era. The holdings - nearly 300 in total - include exceptional items that feature the work of many of the most famous master calligraphers, including Seyh Hamdullah and Hafiz Osman. The author discusses items from the Collection under nine headings that exemplify the variety of the artform and the discipline required to master it: mufradat (exercises from the calligraphic curriculum); muraqqa`at (collections of calligraphic samples); and hilyahs (treatments of the description of the Prophet) form the major sections, and there are studies of ijazahs (certificates of competence in the art), karalama (rough copy work), decoupage (cut work), kalib-making (stencilled reproductions), the miniature ghubar script, and leaf gilding.
Customer Reviews:
Synopsis.......2000-06-20
The power of the written word to convey emotional intensity in a pleasing visual form, particularly when dealing with sacred subject matter, has been a constant them in Islamic culture. The demanding discipline of Islamic calligraphy, transmitted from master to pupil throughout the ages, has been the source of one of the humanity's richest artistic traditions. The Nasser D Khalili Collection holds examples of the Islamic calligraphy that span six centuries and demonstrate the continuity of this central art form into the modern era. The holdings - nearly 300 in total - include exceptional items that feature the work of many of the most famous master calligraphers: Yaqut, Seyh Hamdullah, Hafiz Osman, Mahmud Calaluddin, Mehmed Rasim and Yusuf 'Hafiz al-Qur'an'. This book is intended for islamicists, collectors and curators of Islamic art, specialist art trade, some students, and general readers. With a contribution by: Zakariya, Mohamed;
Book Description
In an age of myriad computer fonts and instant communication, your handwriting style is increasingly a very personal creation. In this book, Margaret Shepherd, America's premier calligrapher, shows you that calligraphy is not simply a craft you can learn, but an elegant art form that you can make your own.
Calligraphy remains perennially popular, often adorning wedding invitations, diplomas, and commercial signs. Whether it is Roman, Gothic, Celtic, Bookhand, or Italic style, calligraphy conveys class and elegance. Margaret Shepherd makes this ancient art form accessible in a completely hand-lettered technical guide that will:
* Provide context for calligraphy as an art, exploring the rich tradition of hand-lettering and mapping the evolution of the most popular styles.
* Give detailed technical advice on choosing pens, paper, and inks, setting up your workspace, mastering various pen angles, along with step-by-step illustrations to guide you as you practice.
* Explain which alphabets are appropriate for different forms of writing. For example, the Roman alphabet works well for short, unpunctuated passages, while the Italic alphabet is more suited to informal everyday communication.
* Encourage you to personalize your lettering by using variant strokes and interpreting how you would like the words to look on the page.
* Inspire you with carefully chosen illustrations and examples, which bring letters to life.
In Margaret Shepherd's own words, "Calligraphy trains not only your eye and hand, but your mind as well."
Learn Calligraphy is the authoritative primer for this age-old craft, and will help develop a new appreciation for lettering as you discover your creative personality.
Customer Reviews:
Art in hand writting.......2007-09-19
Margaret Shepherd has written many books about this subject (Calligarphy), this is special because include a sort of recomendations for students.
I really enjoyed this book.
Good buy.......2007-06-06
This book is excellent. When I received my book, I started to practice for 1 week and now my handwritting is pretty.
Great Author, great books.......2007-04-14
I was really having a hard time picking out calligraphy how to books so i went to the book store. unfortunately they do not have a lot to choose from, at the second store i found a better selection and found Margaret Sheperd's books. Wow, great books and great way to learn, she has a funny side to her and this book is incredible, not only do you learn you have fun doing it. i also saw a few more books in her name. Unfortunately i didn't have very much time to look at them all and i cant wait to go back to see the rest. I am thinking of picking up all her books.
I think this is the best of the starter books. Very easy and a fun read too!
Cheryl
Response with gratitude.......2005-05-26
I am the author of this book and just want to respond that I agree with the very critical reviewer who felt strongly that Copperplate should have been included. I wish so too. But it would need a whole other set of supplies and hand positions. Copperplate comes along much later, and is really outside the main core of the broad-pen historic hands. Maybe some day!
To respond to Gary Bisaqa's review, I agree and I have covered the business end of calligraphy as a free-lance job, in a whole other book, Calligraphy Projects for Pleasure and Profit.
I wrote this, like all my other books, because I wish I'd had such a book when I started out. Thank you to others who wrote in to say that it helped them start out too.
Excellent book for learning.......2003-06-10
I am learning calligraphy and have looked at a number of books on the subject. This book is almost perfect. She gives you so much more than alphabets: key exercises to do before you start the alphabets, typical beginner's problems (most of which I have experienced!), practice pages you can reproduce. Her sections on swashes and "accessorizing" Gothic capitals are also wonderful - what had always seemed highly mysterious to me turns out to be a matter of combining building blocks, creativity, and - who would have thought - a lot of fun.
One thing she does not do is to cover every hand imaginable. There are lots of books like that out there. Rather, she only covers a small number of hands, but covers them very thoroughly, with a special eye to us novices. For example, once I got the basic hands down, I found one of my main problems was spacing the letters. Nothing looks worse than inconsistent horizontal spacing. She gives good coverage to this important issue, for example suggesting that you step back and look at it from a distance. Try it - if you're a novice, you'll be surprised at how different (and maybe bad) it looks.
I also very much enjoy the samples of projects that she shows as examples of how to apply each hand. In this she highlights the talents of (I assume) her friends, and it adds to the book. Looking at alphabet after alphabet as is done in typical calligraphy books, you don't get a good feel for how you'd use each one, and variations you can apply. Her other book "Calligraphy Projects for Pleasure and Profit" (which I also have) gives you lots more along these lines, but the ones in this book are different and I find them just as valuable.
I even like the way she letters the whole book in her (what she admits is slightly idiosyncratic) italic hand. You want examples - there's a whole book-length example. I don't agree with the other reviewer that this detracts from the book. It's as if she does it because it's fun - an important thing to remember when you're doing the drudgery of straight lines or circles.
The only tiny drawback, if it is one, is that the book doesn't contain a lot that is good to know about techniques of setting up a drawing table, selling, etc. For that (as well as an excellent chapter on type design by Hermann Zapf himself), the book "Calligraphy and Illumination" provides more than you ever wanted to know. I don't think that book replaces this one, however. I find Margaret's explanations well worth the small amount this book costs, and she is much more complete. She'll even autograph it for you (see her web site for details).
This is a wonderful book that every calligraphy student should have. If you can only have one, this is it.
Book Description
Comprehensive compilation of elegant, imaginative two-letter monograms — ideal for enhancing scrolls, certificates, awards and other graphic projects in need of calligraphic excitement. Easily reproduced, royalty-free letters are also perfect for use in art, needlework, craft and other decorative projects.
Customer Reviews:
2,100 victorian monograms.......2007-05-30
This book has the type of monograms I was looking for with decorative curly designs around the letters. The book arrived in a timely manner and is in good condition.
Disappointed with Amazon!.......2004-06-03
I paid $24 for this book only to receive it and the price is stamped on the back "$9.95 in USA"! I would look for this book elsewhere.
Disappointed.......2004-06-03
I paid $24 for this book only to receive it and the price is stamped on the back "$9.95 in USA"! I would look for this book elsewhere.
Book Description
Scrapbookers will discover more than 15 new alphabets created by the nation's top scrapbook lettering artists as well as find the favorite lettering styles from Memory Makers over the past five years. With styles ranging from elegantly classic to cutting-edge creative, there's sure to be a font to suit every scrapbook project.
Every lettering style is featured on a completed scrapbook page and the book is designed to make it easy for scrapbookers to photocopy or trace the alphabets for use in their own albums. In addition, the book includes a multitude of ways to personalize and customize the lettering styles using torn paper, beads, chalk and more. Every scrapbooker can use these stunning alphabet styles to create page titles that pop!
Customer Reviews:
Best variety of draw-it-yourself alphabets for scrapbookers.......2003-06-11
This book is relatively new on the scrapbooking scene, but already I find myself pulling it off the shelf frequently. It is great to be able to create my own titles in the ideal lettering styles, sizes and colors for each page, rather than having to rely on letter stickers and die cuts.
Scrapbook Lettering starts with a short, helpful introduction that runs through basic tools and techniques, then illustrates the process of freehand lettering. The main body however is devoted to the 50 alphabets. Each font has a two-page spread devoted to it that features its use in sample layouts. The authors are very thorough about explaining the simple techniques you will use to draw each alphabet yourself. Suggested theme pages that go particularly well with the alphabet are included, along with variation ideas & tips. I love the last ten alphabets, which are organized chronologically according to which decade they best complement ý great for those heritage pages!
Hereýs what I discovered after practicing with other creative lettering books: the font styles that can be ýfleshed outý from a basic outline alphabet tend to have a fun, casual feeling to them, but quickly run out of designs for more formal titles and pages. The impressive thing about Scrapbook Lettering on the other hand is that the alphabets are designed by about 20 different published lettering artists, so there is enough style variety that you can match a font to suit any page from wedding albums to baby books. You can draw more than half of them completely freehand; with the rest you will need some help from photocopiers, grids or some tracing paper in order to accurately transfer the lines and maintain the precise look of the fancier fonts.
Some scrapbookers, who are used to completely freehanding the more casual styles of other lettering books, may feel that this is too much trouble to go to for a page title. My advice would be not to give up so easily on your artistic instincts! I think that if you find a more technically involved alphabet that you think would put the perfect finishing touch on your memory page, you should invest the little extra effort it will take to transfer it with grid paper or enlarge with a photocopier first. It will be worth it.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle
Book Description
Sheila S. Blair's groundbreaking book is the first reference work on calligraphy, or the art of beautiful writing, in Arabic script. Calligraphy was one of the main methods of artistic expression from the seventh century to the present from the Islamic West to India and beyond. Using over 250 color and black and white illustrations, Blair explains Arabic calligraphy to modern readers, showing how to identify, understand, and appreciate its varied styles and modes. Her book is designed to offer a standardized terminology for identifying and describing various styles of Islamic calligraphy and to help Westerners appreciate why calligraphy has long been so important in Islamic civilization. She also tells the reader what to look for in determining both style and quality of script. This beautiful new book is an ideal reference for anyone with an interest in Islamic art.
Customer Reviews:
contents of this book.......2007-01-23
Table of Contents
PART I: INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1: Arabic Script: Its Role and Principles
A. The importance of writing in Islamic culture
B. Principles of Arabic script
C. The Koranic Text
Chapter 2: Materials
A. Supports
B. Special papers
C. Pens and pen cases
D. Inks and inkwells
PART II: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARABIC SCRIPT IN EARLY ISLAMIC TIMES
Chapter 3: The Standardization of Arabic Script
A. The origins of Arabic script
B. The development of Arabic script
C. The evolution of a calligraphic style
Chapter 4: Early Manuscripts of the Koran
A. Physical characteristics
B. Methodologies for dating
C. Considerations for further study
PART III: THE PREEMINENCE OF ROUND SCRIPTS IN THE EARLY MIDDLE PERIOD
Chapter 5: The Adoption of Round Styles
A. Round book script
B. The new style of broken cursive
C. Broken cursive and Ibn Muqla
D. The standardization of naskh and thuluth under Ibn al-Bawwab
E. What caused the canonization of round scripts in the ninth century?
Chapter 6: The Diversification of Round Scripts
A. The stylization of broken cursive
B. Other round scripts
C. Towards a codification of round scripts
D. Pairs of text scripts
E. Maghribi script
PART IV: THE EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL STYLES IN THE LATER MIDDLE PERIOD
Chapter 7: Calligrpahy in Iran and its Environs under the Mongols and Turkomans
A. The Six Pens under the Ilkhanids and Jalayirids
B. The Six Pens under the Timurids and Turkomans
C. The Hanging Scripts
Chapter 8: Rectilinear and Curvilinear Scripts in Egypt and Syria under the Mamluks
A. Rectilinear scripts
B. Curvilinear scripts
C. Hybrid scripts
Chapter 9: Other Styles and Centers
A. Anatolia
B. India
C. The Maghrib
PART V: DYNASTIC STYLES IN THE AGE OF EMPIRES
Chapter 10: The Safavids, the Qajars, and their Contemporaries in Iran and Central Asia
A. Refinement of the Six Pens
B. Refinement of the hanging scripts
C. Pictorial writing
Chapter 11: The Ottomans in Anatolia, the Balkans, and the Eastern Mediterranean
A. The Canonization of naskh as text script Training, sources, and materials
B. The Canonization of thuluth as display script
C. The Hanging scripts
Chapter 12: Other styles and centers
A. The Mughals and their contemporaries in India
B. The Indian Ocean
C. The Maghrib
D. Sub-Saharan Africa
PART VI: THE MANY FACES OF ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY IN MODERN TIMES
Chapter 13: From traditional styles to calligraphic art and design
A. Traditional styles
B. Printing, typography, and computer graphics
C. Calligraphic art
Bibliography
An essential key to understanding Islamic arts and civilization.......2006-12-14
Every college-level collection strong in either Middle Eastern Studies or Middle Eastern art must have ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY: it's a specialty item for the serious holding which offers the first reference work on Arabic script. Calligraphy is one of the foundation arts of Islamic culture and has been a primary method of artistic expression from the 7th century to modern times, so it well deserves its own book and is anything but the 'esoteric art' Westerners might believe. Over 150 color illustrations and over a hundred black and white details come from dated examples to provide insights on everything from construction and history to identifying forgeries and understanding differing styles. An essential key to understanding Islamic arts and civilization, this reference is not to be missed.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
With its bold strokes and mystic aura, Zen calligraphy has fascinated Westerners for decades, yet it remains an abstract, rarely practiced form of expression outside of Asia. Now, master calligrapher Tanchu Terayama explains the techniques behind this subtle art and offers step-by-step
instructions for practicing it on a professional level.
After introducing the basics, Terayama presents a unique meditative warm-up to establish the proper mental attitude needed to release one's creative energies. Next, the power of the brushed line is explained and demonstrated. What makes a good line or a bad one, an expressive effort or an unfocused
one? Lessons on brushing symbolic Japanese characters follow, including those for "emptiness," "nothingness," and "flower." The painting section shows readers how to draw the spare yet elegant pictorial themes of this classic art: bamboo, plum blossoms, Mount Fuji, and the inspirational Zen priest
Daruma.
If the exercises are the heart of the book, the Appreciation section is the soul. This chapter introduces classic works from renowned priests and other historical figures, including Miyamoto Musashi (the celebrated swordsman and author of The Book of Five Rings), Morihei Ueshiba (the founder of
aikido), Jigoro Kano (the father of judo), and Zen priest Hakuin. Each masterpiece is accompanied by penetrating commentary on the strengths and salient features of the work.
Rarely has Zen calligraphy been demonstrated and discussed with such candor and insight. Illuminating yet another side of Zen, Zen Brushwork will be an invaluable source to those interested in meditation, Zen, Buddhism, the martial arts, and Oriental traditions in general.
Contents
Introduction
Part I Background
What is Zen Calligraphy?
The Evolution of Kanji
The Fundamentals of Calligraphy
The Four Treasures of Calligraphy
Hitsuzendo
Part II Preparation-Warming Up and Developing Ki
The Zen Line
Yoki-ho: A Method of Developing Ki and Warming-Up
warm-up exercise 1: Yoki-ho: The Long Version
warm-up exercise 2: The Short Form of Yoki-ho: A Five-Minute Exercise
warm-up exercise 3: Kusho: Writing in the Air
Part III Zen Calligraphy and Painting
Basic Practice
The Zen Line and Its Applications
exercise 1: Mujibo (The Zen Line)
exercise 2: Enso (The Zen Circle)
exercise 3: Horizontal and Vertical Lines
exercise 4: Fine Lines
Tensho (Seal Script)
exercise 5: So (Grass) and a Practice Line
Kaisho (Standard Script)
exercise 6: Sho (Calligraphy) and Practice Lines
Further Practice
Sosho (Grass Script)
exercise 7: Mu (Nothing)
exercise 8: Hana (Flower)
exercise 9: Ku (Emptiness)
exercise 10: Mu Ichi Motsu (Owning No-thing)
exercise 11: Ichigyo Zanmai (Be in the Moment)
Writing Western Script
exercise 12: Writing Western Script: ABC
exercise 13: Shodo (Calligraphy)
Painting
exercise 14: Orchid
exercise 15: Bamboo
exercise 16: Plum Blossoms (with inscription)
exercise 17: Mount Fuji
exercise 18: Daruma
exercise 19: Wall-Gazing Daruma
exercise 20: "One-Stroke" Daruma
exercise 21: Ji-Wa-Choku (Compassion, Harmony, Honesty)
Part IV Appreciation
Works by Old Masters
Works by Terayama Tanchu
Glossary
What is Zen Calligraphy?
Calligraphy (sho) is a formative art based on writing. It includes not only writing that is beautiful, but phrases that are novel and interesting. According to the Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945; see figure 1), true creativity is not the product of a conscious effort but rather the
"phenomenon of life itself." True creation must arise from mu-shin, or the state of "no-mind," a state beyond thought, emotions, and expectations. Work that is produced through conscious effort is ultimately devoid of life.
Zen calligraphy in particular must spring from shonen sozoku, a Buddhist term equivalent to "true thought." Shonen is a state of full concentration that is devoid of thoughts and ideas, while sozoku here means "free-flowing continuity." Greatness in brushwork cannot be achieved through conscious
effort; it is only achieved through the states of mu-shin and shonen sozuku, or "no-mind" and a continuous state free of the thoughts and ideas that distract the mind.
Zen calligraphy differs from other calligraphic disciplines as it is focused on the realization of "no-mind." Furthermore, in contrast tosho, which uses Chinese characters as a basis, it is the expression of Zen through a brush, whether the result is a single stroke, a Zen circle, or an ink
painting. While sho is restricted to brushed writing, Zen calligraphy extends to other forms of brushwork.
Nearly all calligraphy today is born of conscious attention to an aesthetic concept, but we rarely find lines that are truly alive. In contrast, the calligraphy of Zen masters such as Daito Kokushi (1282-1337; founder of Daitokuji temple in Kyoto) or Ikkyu Sojun (1394-1481) resonates with the energy
of "no-mind" achieved through complete concentration. In these works, the lines are filled with vitality and the shapes are fresh and original.
Sen no Rikyu (1522-91), who established many of the basic precepts of the tea ceremony, held that nothing surpassed Zen calligraphy as a subject for display in the alcove of the tea room. He undoubtedly felt that only art works that reflect the eternal vitality of Zen writings could encourage the
mind toward enlightenment.
Rikyu recognized that calligraphy necessarily demands the highest level of spirituality. A line that manifests clarity cannot be drawn if the heart is clouded by worldly concerns; a stroke cannot be brushed with resolution if the heart is agitated; and calligraphy that reveals depth cannot be
produced if cultivation and experience are shallow.
To write kanji characters that resonate and demonstrate their deeper meaning, one's own mind must achieve unity with the meaning of the words-a requirement that calls for a higher level of spirituality. The calligrapher, therefore, must strive for the state of "no-mind" through meditation and
contemplation.
Customer Reviews:
Japanese calligraphy / caligrafía japonesa.......2007-09-10
Excellent book about Shodo, japanese art of calligraphy. Antique and Terayama sensei's pictures are superb, great election.
Excelente libro sobre Shodo, el arte de la caligrafía japonesa. Las pinturas, tanto las antiguas como las del propio maestro Terayama, son increibles, una gran elección.
A thoughtfully written and an easy-to-follow guide.......2004-02-10
Ably translated into English by Thomas F. Judge and John Stevens, Zen Brushwork: Focusing The Mind With Calligraphy And Painting by Tanchu Terayama (Nishogakusha University) uses black-and-white photography to illustrate simple exercises and practices that one can follow to expand one's mind and meditation skills through the arts of calligraphy and painting -- especially as they have been practiced in Asian nations for thousands of years. Showcasing works of art as well as advice and practical instructions, Zen Brushwork is a thoughtfully written and an easy-to-follow guide that especially recommended to students of meditation, Zen Buddhism, and the contemplative aspects of the martial arts.
Customer Reviews:
Best Chinese Book of 2006.......2007-01-12
Beautiful written characters combined with excelent text and funny image.
Good for both students and teachers !
Exquisite Chinese Characters.......2005-10-12
Each and every Chinese character has a form of its own, representing a particular meaning and/or sound. This book is a good introduction to Chinese characters. An exquisite Chinese character, like thousand words, tells its own story and evolution. Through understanding these key characters, sometimes called radicals, one can discover the beauty of Chinese culture as well as civilization. (...)
One of a kind...but definitely not Japanese.......2004-11-04
I have been inspired by this book to pursue the study of Chinese characters to a deeper level. On the other hand, the more I read and compare it to other resources on the same subject, the more critical I become.
This book has inspired me to a deeper study of Chinese radicals (for a better understanding of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean). The result - I've found it makes a great stepping stone, and can be used for comparative analysis of the surprising variety of information available to English speakers mostly through the internet, or through native language dictionaries for those with access, but it should NOT be relied upon as a single source for learning, teaching, or research. It is reasonably educational and artistic, but not authoritative.
Even though I love this book and go back to it occasionally, there is one huge glaring error, to the point of unethical advertising, starting on the cover of the book. The title misleadingly contains the word "Japanese." Although Chinese characters are an important part of the Japanese language, it contains NOTHING about Japanese. You would have to be aware of Japanese independently of this book in order to make the connection that is made ONLY in the title. It is an English language book explaining aspects of Chinese, with the use of simplified characters created by the Peoples Republic of China as examples - although the simplified PRC characters bear some resemblance to the traditional characters that are mostly used in Japan, they are not the same, therefore making this book less useful for dedicated students of Japanese.
Anyway, despite this beef with the title and the fact that it should not be used a sole source for academic pursuit, it has many more merits than demerits. Since it is one of the very few books dedicated to this specific subject as well, the uniqueness adds a little to its value.
An interesting study.......2004-05-29
I like this book, and so I'm giving it 4 stars, but that is not to say that the criticisms of it are without merit.
Firstly, this book has absolutely nothing to do with learning the Chinese language. You will not be able to read Chinese from buying this book, and it will be impossible to study the language, since there is no systemitized presentation of the language. What this book instead does is presents an interesting geneology of some fairly common, culturaly relevant, or visualy interesting characters. For people who already know some Chinese, or for people who are interested in evolutions of writting systems or graphic design, this is not a bad book.
There are some strange inconsistencies, but I have a theory that explains them. First, the book inconsitently presents some characters in simplified form, while others are in traditional form. Second, criticisms of the caligraphy are fair. They have heart, but it is not really outstanding, and certainly not something to be emulated.
From these two problems, I concluded that the book was not a product of the Chinese mainland, Xiang Gang (Hong Kong), or Taiwan, since such inconsitencies would have been corrected. If you do some checking, that's because it isn't. As you probably could have guessed by the author's name, it's an Italian book. The Italian author worked with a Japanese illustrator to compile the book.
Japanese Kanji are Chinese characters adopted into the Japanese language, but they have been isolated from Chinese for centuries. As a result, some of the more complex characters have been simplified. Simplification of Chinese characters started long before Mao made them standard in the PRC. Infact, they are generaly based on cursive and calligraphic short-hands developed by people who had to write a lot, or who were not educated enough to constantly be in need of writting formal characters.
Many characters have been simplified from their original forms even in the so called "Traditional" character set (Fanti Zi) such as the numbers, and the Tai in Taiwan. The original, complex numbers used in formal Chinese can still be found on currency, mostly to confound counterfiters. Some characters, such as Li, meaning 'inside,' or Zhen, meaning 'real' can be found written one way, but typed in a less simplified way.
Simplification in pre-Mao Chinese was common, but not standardized. When Mao standardized all the characters for the PRC, he took all of the commonly simplified characters, as well as simplifying some other, more complex characters with whole new sets of visual symbolism, some time to enhance the 'phonetic' part of the character, so that it is easier to guess the sound of the word. The characters 'ren' and 'shi,' together meaning 'to come to know' are great examples of this.
Japanese characters are written without these contemporary simplifications since they were linguisticly isolated from Chinese by the 20th century, but reflect many common older simplifications. An prime example of this is the character 'ya' used in 'yazhou' for Asia, or otherwise just meaning second. It is rather dificult to write aestheticaly in Traditional Characters, but in Simplified Characters (Jianti Zi) it is much much easier, if not as beautifull. On the other hand, the correspondent Japanese Kanji is written in the old hand-written style.
Needless to say, the Japanese also have different aesthetic standards from the Chinese. The use of Japanese is not at all uncommon in earlier European Sinology. Ezera Pound, for instance, in translating the works of Li Bai (Also called Li Po, or Li Bo, as it was pronounced during the Tang Dynasty) actualy translated an Italian manuscript which itself was translated from a Japanese copy of the Chinese Poet's famous writtings. This circuitious route would explain some of the, er, to put it kindly, eccentricities of Pound's translations, and it explains some of the inconsistencies in this book.
There are many things this book is not: it is not an introduction to Chinese. It is not an instructional book on how to paint calligraphy. It is not a comprehensive academic study of the Chinese system of writting.
As long as you accept it for what it is, though, and don't mistake it for something it's not, this is a pleasant book. The characters are more or less acurately explained, and they are organized according to important cultural themes. Thus, it is a nice primer on the subject of the esoteric meanings and evolutions of Chinese characters for the casual (not academic) student. There are better books I've read on the subject, but they are all in Chinese.
A fairly good introduction to the Chinese writing system........2002-12-26
This is a fairly good introduction to the Chinese writing system providing insight into its origins and current use. While the calligraphic representations of the modern forms of the characters may be somewhat off, much of the background information is fine. The romanisation system is the officially recognised pinyin romanisation scheme developed by Russian and Chinese linguists during the 1930s and updated in the 1950s; it is generally employed in the transliteration of Standard Chinese into Latin letters. There is no need to worry over what 'dialect' the transliterations belong to because the vast majority of any given publication concerning China and the Chinese language will be in Standard Chinese, the national normative based on Northern Chinese. There are seven to eight Chinese languages with a myriad of dialects each, and it would be illogical to favour the others over the national standard. With regards to the evolution of characters, the sources from which the author bases the evolution is explained in the background information towards the front. I would recommend this as a wonderful coffeetable book, art book, and general introduction to the Chinese writing system, but not as an ultimate foundation in learning the Chinese script. If one is seriously interested in learning good handwriting, I recommend Johan Bjorksten's «Learn to write Chinese characters» from the Yale Language Series. It's inexpensive and perhaps even more useful than the volume on sale here. Both books use pinyin romanised Standard Chinese -- and usually with the tones noted, too! Most books, unfortunately, tend to leave them out. Bjorksten's work should be used as a supplement to a full on course in Standard Chinese (biaozhun hanyu... or, as many may say, putonghua); however, it can stand alone for those who are simply curious about the writing system itself and would like an appliable introduction.
Customer Reviews:
More Confusion on Chinese Writing.......2005-09-12
Trying to learn Chinese calligraphy, alone, from a book, is probably akin to trying to learn martial arts or ballet from a video or DVD - perhaps useless, potentially dangerous. Yet the book still deserves credit on the principle that in remote lands, a poor map made by a foreigner is better than no map at all. In fact, there is an apparent gap in the literature in English on this subject: a perusal of copious material available at Shanghai Foreign Language Bookstore on Fuzhou Rd reveals nothing any better. There is simply no authoritative English reference.
In any case, there are numerous points of contention within this book, concerning the presentation of basic strokes, composite strokes, stroke ordering rules, etc. The author presents the `basic' strokes as follows:
heng2, shu4, pie3, na4, tiao3, dian3, gou1, zhe2
The author presents tiao3 as a basic stroke. The stroke he is evidently describing is referred to elsewhere in the literature as ti2: `an upwards diagonal character stroke, rising from left to right; or a lifting brush stroke in painting'. In no other reference can I find this stroke named as tiao3.
The author presents gou1, `a hook stroke appended to other strokes', as a basic stroke with four variants. A hook stroke can definitely be appended to the basic strokes heng2, shu4, pie3, such that these strokes exist in `unhooked' and `hooked' variants. But as noted in other references, gou1 can also be be used to create wan1 gou1 `bent hooked', xie2 gou1 `slanting hooked', and wo4 gou1 `crouching hooked' as valid composite strokes, as well as heng2 zhe2 gou1, heng2 zhe2 wan1 gou1, heng2 zhe2 zhe2 gou1, shu4 wan1 gou1, shu4 zhe2 zhe2 gou1, heng2 zhe2 xie2 gou1, etc, which brings the number of variations to a dozen or more.
The author presents zhe2 `to fold, to turn' as a basic stroke with two variants. The author ignores wan1 `bend, bent', and xie2 `slanting', which are also used to describe direction or directional changes in composite characters, but with an obvious visual difference from zhe2. A useful visual comparison of the composite strokes (a) heng2 zhe2 heng2, (b) heng2 zhe2 heng2 wan1, (c) heng2 zhe2 heng2 zhe2, and (d) heng2 zh2 heng2 zhe2 should make the differences obvious. In fact, the two variants the author discusses are heng2 zhe2 and shu4 zhe2. These are only two of numerous uses of zhe2 in composite strokes. Other `variants' of zhe2 include: heng2 zhe2 ti2, heng2 zhe2 heng2, heng2 zhe2 heng2 wan1, heng2 zhe2 heng2 zhe2, heng2 zhe2 gou1, heng2 zhe2 zhe2 pie3, heng2 zhe2 wan1 gou1, heng2 zhe2 zhe2 gou1, heng2 zhe2 xie2 gou1, shu4 zhe2 zhe2 gou1, etc.
The author dismisses the study of composite strokes as unnecessary:
"These composite strokes can be seen as combinations of the eight basic strokes, and it is not really necessary to practice them separately."
This is nonsense.
The models or example characters the author provides for his basic strokes consistently use basic strokes not yet studied, and composite strokes, which the author dismisses as unworthy of study. For example, like every other book on Chinese calligraphy, the author presents the character yong3, meaning `forever', as a model for studying the basic strokes, but glosses over the composite strokes used in yong3.
In fairness, the literature in English on Chinese calligraphy is inconsistent, contradictory, confusing; and Bjorksten's book is a cut above the sorry lot. But it's discouraging to think that by following Bjorksten's method of practicing basic strokes over and over again, with no feedback from a teacher, that one may be ingraining incorrect knowledge and technique.
Insightful presentation.......2005-03-05
First, I have now been studying Chinese for about 4 years, and this was an early book I got cheap from a used book store. I have changed my mind about it several times over the years. The discouraging part of the book is indicating how many times you would need to practice a character to get good at it. In the beginning, this was definitely true becasue a newbie simply cannot understand the important parts of a character and the relative alignment of strokes. As you acquire more characters, it becomes clearer what is important within the character.
In the beginning, this is tough. You need to write them again and again until your hand moves fluidly, not haltingly. This book gives you directions to achieve this, and key pieces (or parts) of strokes that will distinguish your writing from a first grader. There a fixed number of actual strokes, the difficulty is this relative positioning that's the killer.
The book is short, but gets to the point. I would have preferred larger and more examples, but he nevertheless gives you what you need.
The issue of stroke order has arisen. In my Chinese class, the native-born instructor says we should not obsess on stroke order. BUT it is important. I find that it is easy to correct an order, less easy to recognize characters in beautiful balance. This book helps.
So, do I write well. My teacher says I need more work. A ball point pen or pencil does not emulate a brush very well. The book focusses on that. I still think the book in less focussed on "calligraphy" vs. good character writing. Calligraphy is much more than writing characters accurately: it's an art form usually deviating from a standard printed/written character. This book focusses less on the art form, and more on the appearance and quality of a character. A western analogy: the book improves printing, not cursive script.
I really like the book. Before you can do calligraphy, you must be able to write characters in the regular way. [That segment in "Hero" on calligraphy was excellent!]
Get the book now, before you develop bad habits.
Very Interesting.......2004-03-18
This book was quite helpful by helping one to gain a better understanding of the background and make-up of Chinese characters which helps one to better appreciate both their historical and aesthetic value. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to seriously learn about Chinese characters.
Not a primer, but good in its own right.......2004-02-04
I'm learning Chinese as part of my major and wanted a good book on characters, specifically for things like stroke order, and picked this up expecting it to be a practical tutorial on how to write basic Chinese characters. What it actually is is more of a guidebook for calligraphy. Now, as that, it is very good. The author definitely conveys the mindset one needs to be a skilled calligrapher, and gives great step by step instructions on how to write well. For that, I don't regret picking this up. However, if you, like myself, are more concerned with learning how to write the 2000 or so most used characters towards the end of being functionally literate in Chinese, this is not the book to purchase. It would be something like teaching calligraphy to kindergarten students. Also, the stroke order illustrations for the characters towards the end of the book, while representing commonly used characters, are really small, and presume that you've gone through the prior half of the book as recommended, that is practicing each stroke for a half hour a day until mastered. If you're learning calligraphy for it's own sake, or just have lots of time, this is great. If however you need to develop a functional writing ability in Chinese relatively quickly, I would personally recommend buying another book first and coming back to this.
Do Not Try This At Home (without this text!!).......2002-11-26
I have just started learning to write Chinese characters and THIS is the holy grail of beiginners' books. I looked through many listmania and reviews on Amazon.com's site (thank you ALL!) and decided to start with this primer. As a hands-on learner, I know now why it has been recommended so highly by those who teach, speak, or are just learning the Chinese language.
I am reminded of the first days in school when we had to practice writing our ABCs on a tablet with pencil. We wrote those damned letters over and over again, didn't we? The teacher stood at the blackboard and showed us the best way to make the lines and the order of the "character's strokes."
This book is the Mrs. Hatfield of my first grade class in Chinese. Each stroke is shown carefully. Each stroke is also shown when it is not written correctly and gives the "name" of the error (eg. "fish hook, etc.)
Tao only knows how a Swedish author conceived of and wrote such a wonderful primer to the language. It makes sense, however, that a person whose first language is NOT Chinese would be so specific about the right and wrong way to hold the pen, use the correct posture and table angle, and keep "between the lines."
I don't get too hard on myself when I can't make a character look the way they does in the book. I look back at how I wrote my name in first grade and now understand the true meaning of "penmanship". The author urges the learner to practice each stroke at least one hundred times until you go on to the next stroke. Add them together and you get a beautiful character. Don't practice each stroke individually over the course of days and many sheets of paper, and the character resemble the rough letters I wrote in my first grade homeworlk.
DO NOT attempt to do this at home (learn to write Chinese characters) without this very important primer. It is invaluable, extraordinary, and shows a great deal of thought and study by the author and those who assisted him in compiling this material. I do my 100 + strokes a day. I don't jump ahead and do what I thought I could do -- "Oh that character looks easy, it's just an upside down Y."
I know this edition will get dog eared and I will probably buy another to replace this text. It has no equal. Aside from the friends in China who supported me and applaud me for learning their language, this small text tells me that I CAN learn a language and fulfill a longtime dream. Hurrah! and thank you, Mr. Bjorksten.
from Lodro Dawa, my Buddhist nickname.
(Someday I will learn to write it AND learn its lesson for wisdom in this lifetime.)
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