During this workshop, we will dive deep into the world of Fraktur – a 16th-century blackletter script that mixes the elegance and refinement of formal gothic hands with the liveliness of Bastarda. Students will explore the fundamentals of Fraktur and dip their toes into the concept of organic, animated letters. Over four sessions, we will uncover its most vital features, practice various letterforms, and delve into the techniques that make this style unique and beautiful. I designed the workshop for students at all levels with at least some experience in broad-edge calligraphy.

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Lesson 1

During the first lesson of the workshop, I will introduce the students to the historical background, inspirations, and main features of Fraktur calligraphy. We will explore the basic strokes and techniques used in the exemplar and practice minuscule letterforms in groups of similarity and difficulty, focusing on addressing unique challenges within each group. I will present some variations of the letterforms, and we will briefly discuss possible stroke modulation using advanced techniques like pen rotation and drawing with a corner of the nib.

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Lesson 2

On the second day, the workshop will continue with the practice of the remaining minuscule letterform groups, followed by an introduction to ligatures, numbers, and punctuation marks. Students will further explore the unique challenges and techniques introduced in Lesson 1 in the context of the new letterforms. 

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Lesson 3

We will dedicate the third lesson to the practice of Fraktur capitals. Students will explore the structure and features of capital letterforms and their variations. The day will also include a discussion on the modularity of capital letterforms.

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Lesson 4

During the final day, we will emphasize organic and dynamic nature of Fraktur through a lighter-weight variation of the exemplar. Students will explore ways to bring expressiveness and vitality to their calligraphy while maintaining the script's core principles. Finally, we will briefly look at possible variations that students can explore in the future.

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Homework
After each lesson, student will receive a homework assignment and have the option to submit it for a brief critique. 

Note to Students