Nice handwriting and good drawing linecontrol. Related?

[Reign]

So I was wondering if having good (nice, regular, legible) handwriting is in any way related with having good linequality when drawing. It seems logical as the two things are based on same principle - having your tool go where you actually wanted it to go. However it maybe unrelated (after all writing requires usually more minute movements of a writing tool than drawing).
So any thoughts on that? Are there any bad/good caligraphers among you who think it (doesn't) help with drawing?
Have any of you considered practicing caligraphy to enhance your drawing skills?

On slightly related note. Do you have an idea how I could simulate a typical fountain pen nib mark in PS?

(My handwriting is simply atrocious btw)

[FraserMcT]

Anyone can make their handwriting look better by taking their time and thinking, I think the same is true with drawing.
However I believe that drawing induces thought about markmaking, whereas writing doesn't. If you are writing a story or poem, you concentrate on storyline and writing techniques etc, not on your handwriting. If you are drawing a person from imagination, then you concentrate on anatomy, clothing etc. but you also think about your lines, as that is part of the whole. In writing, it is now always typed afterwards, so handwriting isn't important in the end (unless it is illegible, but that isn't really relevant in my opinion)

[FraserMcT]

internet fail, sorry for the double post.

[dpaint]

THey might be related but in handwriting you are making the same limited amount of characters over and over again. Drawing is more complex than that and it has a lot more combinations of shape and marks and pressure on the mark. Writing you always make the mark the same pressure you don't vary it for effect.

[Elwell]

Writing and drawing are two totally different mental processes.
On the other hand, calligraphy/hand lettering and drawing are very closely related.

[Bill]

I've always thought that some people just naturally make a nicer mark irrespective of what they're doing with that mark. My dad could give two figs about drawing, but I'd kill to have the line that he makes whenever he writes.

...fixed

[Ryan K]

Would be interesting to see what a bunch of different artists handwriting looks like, compiled next to each other. Like a "What does everyone's handwriting look like thread."

[Elwell]

I've always thought that some people just naturally make a nicer mark irregardless of what they're doing with that mark. My dad could give two figs about drawing, but I'd kill to have the line that he makes whenever he writes.

regardless OR irrespective

[Bill]

regardless OR irrespective

"Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term."

I really liked that word... you couldn't just let me keep it? (I guess I missed the "Blizzard of Condemnation")

[Clochette]

Hmm, I don't think it's much related either.
I don't know how you write, but when i do, my hand leans on the paper, and the movement basically comes from my fingers only. On the contrary, when I draw, I use my wrist and all the arm. I often heard it's better to draw with the full arm to have nice confident lines, especially for long lines. Also to draw big is a good way to improve the line quality. In that matter, drawing is quite different from hand writing I think.

[Nusua]

If it is related, it would most likely be a psychological thing (caring about handwriting the same way as drawing).

[Slash]

Well, if you lack the motor skills to pen letters properly, you'll probably run into problems with drawing as well.

[RyerOrdStar]

I don't think my handwriting is all that pretty, but I can very easily draw long confident strokes.

[Kraus]

Mine is chickenscratch, and i don't care about improving it. Just like i don't care that i can't make a neat line.. That's why i love digital painting: I blotch big, then smaller and smaller.. If i need to make a clean line the software will easily do that for me.. technology is awesome.

[Wooly ESS]

This came from another thread, but it fits so-o-o-o well!

[Ilaekae]

If there was a direct correlation between handwriting and art, I'd be a really REALLY bad plumber...

[Kraus]

Wooly you bastard you owe me a new keyboard.

[Jovian M]

My handwriting is awful. I can't even read my own notes, so I just do that shit straight digital, now.

[nauvice]

if it isnt a direct correlation, psychologically I think it might still be possible... I've never seen an artist who drew sophisticated contour lines with a sloppy hand writing. And people who's style is very grungy, their handwriting fits it too, idk... maybe it only applies to those who are conscious of how they write, and see the style of writing as an expression of themselves just like their art.

And yes! I met a hobbyist of calligraphy once, and she'd definitely argue that its an art form. Some Cartoonists too would say handwriting is important... I think there was even a class devoted to lettering in comics at my school but it was canceled

[Mr Man]

My hand writing is bloody awful. My mum is always moaning at me saying "How is it that you can draw, yet your handwriting is absolutely appauling!

[Ilaekae]

...so is your spelling...

[Schnookiefoo]

...so is your spelling...

Oh snap.


I was actually told as a child by an art teacher that if you're artistic your handwriting will have a slight slant to the right. Not sure if this was correct, but its true for my handwriting.

As for good handwriting, I'd say most artist I've seen, including myself, have somewhat messy but for the most part readable handwriting.

[Jazz]

Well, as I peer at my own writing, I can safely say there's a BIG difference for me! XD Eh, my brother would know, he likes my drawings and makes fun of my writing all the time...calls it chicken scratch enough.

[Baron Impossible]

I was actually told as a child by an art teacher that if you're artistic your handwriting will have a slight slant to the right.

But what she was actually thinking was, "Oh shit, ten minutes til the end of class and I've run out of things to teach..."

My handwriting is worse than bad. I can't really write any more, I'm too used to typing and my brain goes way ahead of my hands. I end up missing out letters and flattening the remainder into meaningless wavy lines.

[Mordus]

It seems there is no direct connection. I believe this may be linked to the right side/ left side of the cerebrum divide. When we draw, we exercise creative impulses and vent wilder feelings, as opposed to the strict legibility and logic of script. Theres a grand divide between the two, especially for me. My line art is clear-cut and confident, whereas my handwriting insists on maintaining itself as a byzantine scrawl.

[Amber Alexander]

I have to assume they are completely different partically because they use very different muscle groups. I can draw all day but a few minutes of writting and my hand is sore.

[Black Spot]

My writing varies from wonderful to giving doctors a run for their money. It all depends on how I feel and how much time I have. I like having nice handwriting when time affords.

[ShroudStar]

I learned calligraphy as a child and that flowed directly into my handwriting, so my penmanship isn't that bad. Add onto the fact that I learned typography in college by copying each letter by hand and it's helped even more. If there is a correlation with good handwriting and drawing/line art, it probably needs to start early.

[Anid Maro]

They're sorta related, but only so much as good brushwork and anatomy are related. You might brush in your strokes beautifully but that won't do you much good if you don't know how to draw a figure well, similarly you might draw your strokes confidently but that won't do you much good if you don't know how to write a letter well.

[kittymeow84]

My handwriting is worse than bad. I can't really write any more, I'm too used to typing and my brain goes way ahead of my hands. I end up missing out letters and flattening the remainder into meaningless wavy lines.

Mine too - always getting ahead of myself. Really terrible writing....letters all leaning different directions. I write in caps to keep things legible otherwise I start doing those retarded scribbles also that mean nothing. Hehe.