Final Calligraphic Piece Conclusion

I began my calligraphy piece based on my inspiration through tattoos and the way in which their script and fonts have developed over the year into a very interesting and unique genre. A number of tattoo fonts have very interesting histories, being based on calligraphy, roman lettering and also gothic is quite common. The typographic background for tattoo type faces is the same as 'normal' typography, the only difference is the application.

When challenged with a word to select out of the list handed out, I found myself battling with a whole number of choices and decisions as to what would be the most interesting and most fun word to choose to concentrate on for this project. Through experimentation (viewable in my A3 folder) you can see that I've experimented with a number of different words, ranging from positive to negative backgrounds. Throughout I've pretty much maintained the same use of tool, the end of a biro pen, that I so quickly fell in love with through the initial experimental stages.

The thought struck me to create the tattoo inspired project when reading an article on tattoo inspired typography and graphic design in a recent issue of Computer Arts. It allowed me to see that not only are tattoos becoming more popular amongst people in day to day life but also inspiring graphic designers and other people in the creative industries, which inadvertently has inspired me.

I began by researching a number of different fonts and complying my favourites, all of which had a calligraphic/script nature or history to them. I finally found a font that really inspired me, which was VTC Nue Tattoo Script that I found on dafont.com. This was a breakthrough for me since I was finding it difficult to pinpoint how I was going to go about creating all the different elements of my design that I wanted. I then copied this font onto tracing paper, adding my own little swirls and personal touches, to maintain its individuality.

I then inked it (using black ink, since it's the most common and obvious colour when tattooing a piece of script/writing) onto the tracing paper using the end of the biro pen. I really love the effect this tool has on the paper, it allows for large drops of ink that can then be spread around to create the desired impression.

After creating the inked final piece, I realised that my decision to allow the viewer to combine it with images of so called masculinity wouldn't work as I would have liked it too. On finishing the final design, I realised the type spoke for itself and really worked as a simple clean typographic piece. I'm glad that this realization happened though as it's an insight as to how type can hold it's own against imagery and doesn't always have to be combined to be powerful and impacting. I feel that this 'mistake' taught me a lot and one I will remember in the future.

Overall, I'm really pleased with how the project has gone and think that I wouldn't do a lot differently if I'd had another chance. I've enjoyed exploring many different methods, techniques and tools in calligraphy and various similar mediums and think that it's definitely began building blocks for my typographic and calligraphic knowledge as I grow and mature as a graphic designer.