Syncopation

Several of the styles you learned this week (Swing, Arched Italic) can lead you into wonderfully syncopated designs: let the letters lean at various angles; lengthen some of the vertical strokes up or down; and let them stand above or below the base line. Letters are people too, and they don't have to behave themselves every minute.  Blend a little anarchy into the regimentation.     

I used the style at left for the title of my book Calligraphy Alphabets Made Easy to give the sense of energy, creativity, and individuality. The letters have an almost random relation to the base line.    


At right, the Italic chapter in Learn Calligraphy ends with letters that come alive and start to dance. They follow a curved baseline but lean at different angles.