Online Workshop

Fraktura: Double Stroke Gothic Script with Viktor Kams

Blackletter better with double strokes! Improve your understanding of gothic forms and expand your calligraphic vocabulary with this unique variant.

This class is the result of a series of tests and practices inspired mostly by the work of late German calligraphers Hans Schreiber and Hanns Thaddaus Hoyer, whose work was introduced to me by Carl Rohrs at the 2019 conference in Montreal.

I have tried to develop my own technique to build up these double-stroke letters one stroke at a time, as opposed to what we can achieve by writing with a scroll pen. Therefore, the intention of this technique is to have more control over every little detail of each letter, like where and how to start and end each stroke and the amount of space between strokes in certain parts of the letter.

• The first session will serve as an introduction to a regular version of fraktur, based on my favorite gothic typeface: Gilgengart, designed by the late Hermann Zapf in 1938. This practice will help us warm up and get familiar with the shape, rhythm, and spacing of this particular version of fraktur.

• In the second session, students will be introduced to the method I developed to build up the double-stroke letters. Live demonstrations will be supported by handouts to help the practice of participants after the class. Minuscule and majuscule samples will be covered in this lesson.

• In the third session, we will explore the application of these double-stroke letters in actual words and texts with tools of different sizes that will help us create pieces in a variety of weights and scales taking us from 2-mm nibs on paper to large flat brushes on canvases or walls. In this last class, students will be encouraged to work on a piece (or pieces) with longer texts or larger scales.

Classes will be held online in English via Zoom. Live sessions will be recorded for online viewing until August 24, 2023.

In the week between each live session, students will have time to practice, ask questions on the class forum, and submit assignments.

Watch a presentation by Viktor Kams, “Journey of a Scribe,” here:

MATERIALS LIST

• Broad edge nibs of different sizes 2mm to 5mm (Brause or Speedball work well).

• Automatic pens, pilot parallel pens and scroll pens might be helpful too.

• Flat brushes, different sizes. Winsor and Newton, Rphael KAerel or similar are good. (These tools are optional; the class will be mostly with pens).

• Sheets of different kinds of paper, drawing or kraft paper are good for practice. A few sheets or quality paper such as Arches, Canson or any other you prefer will be helpful for final pieces.

• I recommend walnut or sumi ink, gouache and watercolors can also work well. But you can use any ink you choose.