Yard Stick font

[Aaron Aziz]

So I finally have found somebody in my area to start showing my some of the basics of the hand lettering. My instructor introduced me to the 3x5 width height rule as well as having me hand sketching a "yard stick" font. He also then went on to show me how by slanting the vertical boxes of my 3 by 5 you can turn the yard stick font from a gothic to a script. I have just one word from my lesson that is written as an example and I am supposed to practice sketching out more of this font before we get together again in a couple of weeks. Does anyone have a image of what the complete alphabet should look like in this yard stick script font?

Also if anybody is heading down to ISA here beginning of April it would be fun to start putting some faces with name if anyone is interested sharing a story and a drink.

Thanks,

[Mike Jackson]

Aaron,
Do you have any examples or photos of the yard stick font in use?

[Aaron Aziz]

Here is a photo of what was demonstrated to me.

[Mike Jackson]

Aaron,
The lower case characters for many scripts are often very similar. The upper case characters usually have the "style", so it'd be very difficult to know exactly what the rest of the letters would look like.

I am attaching a screen grab of Script MT Bold which might help some. I think the takeaway from your example is limited to the concept of a font with the stroke thickness equal to the counter width. You could also have a style where the counter width is two or three times the stroke widths.

Before the Internet, we had to find books that showed letterstyles and fonts. Now, you can go to a web site of a good font house and see all you want, and even enter a sample line of custom text in that font. It is very easy to find inspiration and information via the Internet.

Check out this page which shows the anatomy and terms:
Typographer’s Glossary: http://www.fontshop.com/glossary/

Hope this helps,
Mike Jackson

[Phillip Vega]

What is the 3x5 width height rule? Im a noob.

[pat mackle]

The 3 X 5 rule was coined by the early Romans as the most esthetic visual balance of height and width. I believe I read that is the rule that the Greek Parthenon was built on.
Even rail road tracks are built based on the width of the ruts Roman chariots produced on roadways. Not that they were were visually esthetic, but because they were deep and already established.

[Kent Smith]

The thick and thin characteristics of the stroke also contribute greatly to the style and legibility.