Writing Broad Edge Neuland

Neuland is a German typeface that was designed in 1923 by Rudolf Koch. Because he designed it by directly carving it into metal, the original had a great deal of variety between sizes. I personally love this script because of how expressive it is and how easy it is to play around with it and the different forms of supplies you can use. I drew inspiration from the Neuland typeface and a few exemplars that I have studied from and created a fun way to learn Broad Edge Neuland using parallel pens. We will be staying with 0 degree and 90 degree pen angles, so those who have never tried broad edge calligraphy before will find it relatively easy to learn this script. 

Let's get started!

Topics Covered

• Supplies needed
• Writing space and writing zone
• Body position and hand position
• Getting to know the Pilot Parallel Pen
• 0 degree and 90 degree pen angle exercises
• Broad Edge Neuland

Want to join us for class? It's offered on-demand and now available to enrolled students. Enjoy this video and printable worksheets today!

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Materials Needed

Getting to know your Parallel Pen:

• Pilot Parallel Pens (6.0 for beginners or 3.8). I will be utilizing the other two sizes for blending, so bring the other sizes if you have them. Make sure they have a cartridge that you can remove or are empty.
• jar of water
• The blue flushing bulb and black film (acetate) that came with your packaging. If you do not have the black film, you can trim a small piece of acetate (2x2).
• napkin or cloth

Broad Edge Neuland:

• Parallel Pen (6.0 recommended for beginners or 3.8)
• Printed guidelines for the parallel pen that you will be using
• You can use a layout bond paper (ex: Strathmore or Borden & Riley) to lay on top of your printed guideline
• Walnut ink or any water based ink
• Gum arabic (If your ink is too thin, you can add a drop or two of gum arabic to your dinky dip of ink. Practice decanting ink into a smaller container such as a dinky dip to avoid contamination and waste if ink gets knocked over. If your nib skips, condition the exposed portion of your parallel plates (nib) with a drop of gum arabic to help ink stick to it better.)
• A padded writing surface such as a writing pad or a few sheets of paper. A cushioned writing surface allows the nib to glide better on the paper and have a better reaction to pressure. 

Homework Challenge 

Want to see our students homework? Search the hashtag #kcaneulandhand on Instagram to see samples from this week's homework. Our students who participate in this challenge get entered into a drawing to win prizes.

Instructor: Jane Matsumoto

Instagram: @ginkgoarts

Facebook: @ginkgoarts