We hope this video was helpful, especially if one of your New Year's Resolutions is to improve your handwriting! Let us know your handwriting tips in the comments.
My #1 tip for handwriting improvement is to not be afraid of uniqueness or imperfection, that is what makes your handwriting YOURS, not some studygram influencer’s.
Many people genuinely struggle to make their writing legible. Handwriting isn’t about “uniqueness”-it’s about communication. If people can’t understand what you’re writing, it is not effective. Everything isn’t a matter of being special.
@@Theresamonet yes, but it’s not easy to read a “type-look” and not feel poorly. Also you shouldn’t live someone else’s life with their handwriting, your handwriting is yours
@@coffeecorgi164 thats your opinion... ur on a "how to improve your handwriting" video and ur complaining about blocky and boring?? go write chicken scratch if its pretty to you.
That soft-ring notebook has THE GREATEST PAPER!!!!! Thanks for the tip about choosing neatness OR speed. I'm recently upgrading my handwriting from something already good but adding some stylized touches, and I figured out that slowing down makes it work.
I started out just writing the alphabet or the quick brown fox as practice. I got bored, now I find short poems to write out. The bonus is that because I write slowly as practice, I also have time to take in the facets and deeper meaning of the poem. I've written out loads of poems now and poetry is something that I had really not appreciated at all before I started out just wanting to improve my handwriting. With the poems I've written out, sometimes they resonate with something a friend is going through - so I gift them my hand written poem. A really thoughtful and meaningful gift!! Who knew that trying to improve my handwriting would turn into gifting a handwritten poem to my friend that was in pain.
Good video! I’m in my 70’s & took drafting in high school (only girl in the class). Lettering was 50% of the grade of our drawings. A very artistic classmate used to fill pages with rows of As, Bs, Cs, etc. His lettering was exquisite. But no one learns cursive now? We had a special handwriting teacher who visited different schools with his beautiful fountain pens and suits. Yes, typing is important, so is cursive AND lettering!
that depends heavily on year and school! in my year (2005-8) we spent a week nailing cursive, and half of our class posters were in cursive, so i have a bit of cursive in my handwriting. lettering lessons stopped at 4th grade? i think.
My parents were from back in the days when children were taught handwriting & they would talk about learning how to hold a pen and handwriting drills. It didn’t stop at learning to print letters; they had lessons throughout several years of school.
My tip: use a planner throughout the day. I keep a planner that's divided into sections each day. I write things I have to do that day in grey ink or pencil, then once I complete the task, I erase and re-write it in colored ink to match my color-coding. This ensures that I'm writing for a minute or two every few hours, and it lets me see my pretty handwriting over time compared to my crappy quick-handwriting in the future events.
I've always struggled with my handwriting since I'm left handed, but all my teachers kept trying to get me to use my right. There was so much inconsistency that my handwriting turned into a mess. I've been slowly improving it but it does take time, especially if it's something you've been doing for nearly your entire life! Fountain pens have helped me slow down and focus on how I write, while gel pens have helped give me confidence so that I don't worry about smudging.
I'm both handed and ngl it's more comfy writing right-handed if the direction is left to right. tip fedora for staying true to your dominant hand despite everything
I'm a former teacher. I've NEVER tried to force a hand switch a student. That's barbaric. I have occasionally encouraged switching hands to make the point of fine motor awareness, but not to impose a switch of preferred hands. Classroom whiteboards have made me become ambidextrous as a teacher. It's great brain stim to write with both hands, and is a relief when one hand becomes fatigued wrting seventy narrative evaluations (in the old days when we did that sort of thing by hand).
@@matchaeylle I don't think it's mean at all. We live in a right hand dominate world. They were probably just thinking of their future and trying to make it easier for them. I was going to be left handed but my parents kept encouraging me to use my right hand. Maybe it only works when you encourage this from the start. I have no difficulties at all and my handwriting has always received compliments. Perhaps it was a bit too late in the game for for the OP since it's the teachers encouraging it later as a child and not the parents as a baby/toddler.
Thank you for the tips Josh! I wrote Steph and you a personal letter alongside some Pokémon coasters for Christmas and the entire time I was ✍🏽 I wished my penmanship was more refined. One of my New Year’s resolution is actually to improve my writing and hopefully write better holiday cards this year!
The single biggest improvement to my handwriting Ed due to the Apple Newton PDA of the 90s. It had handwriting recognition, but to work well, the letters had to be clear and legible. So the Newton became a kind of tireless automatic handwriting trainer. It never got tired. It never got bored, it just forced you to write better if you wanted to get good recognition results.
I was JUST thinking that I would love if you guys did a video on handwriting. I always find myself replaying or pausing to admire the handwriting shown in the videos and throughout the product listings!!! The power of manifestation!!!
Great tip on speed vs neatness. I always try to write fast, but that comes at a massive cost to legibility (still readable but certainly not pretty), especially if I don't have nice lined or graph paper to write on (imagine having a baseline). I only noticed recently how much better my handwriting looks once I slow down... and having more comfortable pens/pencils helps a lot. My handwriting is still terrible using a stylus though ;-;
managing my expectations definitley made the whole "better handwriting" exercise easier. I stuck to making sure it was legible (consistent, well-spaced, and "completely formed letters"). So even if it's not exactly like the handwriting styles I love, I don't feel so bad because theyre legible nonetheless. Oh, and yes! I used to hate .5 tip pens, but they work better for me because I'm made to write bigger and better instead of almost scribbling incomplete letters and running strokes HAHAHA. I hate the fact that Zarasa pens are expensive where I am (most of these pens are), so my go to pen is Dong-A .4/ .5 Gel pens.
I cleaned up my printing and numbers virtually by visualization at bedtime. It is also quite meditative. It didn't take very long for my writing to change. The video reminded me that I should change my cursive as well.
Something I have always wanted to improve is my handwriting. These 5 Tips have encouraged me to purchase some NEW writing tools from JetPens and start practicing! I really like the idea of practicing/journaling at the same time. Thanks Josh! :-)
Thank you! This video prompted me to go back and look at my handwriting over the last two years of keeping a journal, and you're right, one has to choose neatness or speed. I've also found that different tools prompt different styles for me - some of my fine fountain pen nibs encourage a very different font than the bolder tips in me. Thank you again, for articulating what I suspected but thought stupid because it didn't sound plausible. That bulba pot though....
Thank you. I have noticed that my handwriting always looks different some days better than others, and now I know why. I loves pens and pencils, so I have them everywhere, so when I need to write something, I pick up the nearest pen without ever tracking which one I write better with. I will now thanks to your advice.
Great video. I particularly appreciated seeing the characters that you've changed stylistically, like 4's and Y's. I decided to improve my cursive during Covid lockdown. I journal every morning. I slowed down, watched videos, and studied fonts. Slowing down and being mindful and deliberate probably helped the most. Not being afraid to change characters I didn't like was incredibly freeing. I hated the way my capital A's looked. So now my cursive A looks more like calligraphy. I watched another Jet Pens video the other day that helped me immensely. He said to let your index finger guide your pen. OMG, that one tip changed everything! Despite all my practice, my handwriting was still a little bit too cramped and slanted for my taste. When I started using my index finger to guide my pen it opened up the letters and transformed them into things of beauty.
For the fountain pen lefties: I found using Lamys LH nib difficult, because I had to retrain my hand. However I think it could help folks especially if they're starting with the hobby. I find that Twisbi pens do not work for my hand position and Kawecos are very hard starting. (my sister is right handed and doesn't have these issues) I have had the most luck with Sailors and Lamys. I especially find the Sailor gold nibs and the 1.1 italic nib in lamy the easiest to get ink on paper without being super scratchy.
I've been practicing writing with my right hand lately and my #1 tip is to slow down. I still have some coordination problems when I'm practicing so I just slow down my writing speed to the point where I can focus on each individual letter and take the time to write it correctly. Since I do mostly journalling and personal notetaking, I don't really need to write fast.
Are you a lefty by natural inclination? I've trained myself to write with both hands. It's easier to start on the vertical plane I think, like on a whiteboard mounted on the wall.
@Annabell860 1 second ago We learned cursive, If one cannot read or write in cursive, it is difficult to read old documents and records and therefore hard to do any kind of research or advanced learning in many areas. I guess I also distinguish between :"hand writing" and "hand printing", printing being what they teach in schools today. Practice will also make cursive tidy and legible. It is also an artform. I have a few ideas of why they have stopped teaching cursive in the US, but will not put them out for debate here. I would suggest that learning both forms is good for communication and future learning skills.
When I was a kid, long ago…when we learned cursive and word processors were not a thing…I was jealous of another girl with beautiful handwriting, so I practiced and practiced to improve mine. We were also given a grade every quarter in Penmanship throughout elementary school, so it counted. When I was an exchange student in France, I liked the different style they used in their handwriting, and taught myself to imitate that…and so I have a unique (for the US) handwriting that is pretty and legible…and I get frequent compliments on it. I agree with another poster that I see everyone having the same exact handwriting now because they’ve followed study bloggers or online tutorials. Don’t be afraid of your own creativity. Handwriting is a personal thing, it’s uniquely yours. Also, I can write pretty quickly and it’s still neat, and I know you’re showing demos of things, so likely you’re slowed down…but, if I wrote that slowly, I would never get anything done. Maybe that’s just me. (I do agree that re-writing your notes is a great way to study…or type them up in a way that organizes things. It sets it in your brain a lot faster than just reading over and over again. Also, it is less boring, for me anyway, and helped me survive grad school. Making outlines of notes from textbooks you read was also helpful vs highlighting things in the textbooks and re-reading that. You can organize things in a way that make sense to you, or that you know your professor honed in on, etc. And for some classes…flash cards…the good old index cards…very satisfying, particularly for math formulas, specific definitions, and foreign language…and it’s a good excuse to use your bigger tip size favorite markers 😁). I’m glad your company didn’t exist when I was in grad school…I would have had to take out more student loans cause I would have wanted to buy some of everything. Now, my grade school age niece has developed a love for stationery and Auntie Molly Mollie is more than happy to shower her with all the cool stuff…so you’re still draining my bank account, Jet Pens! Thanks for this video, because when people compliment my writing (and I have zero artistic talent, so it’s not from that) and say they could never write neatly, I always tell them, just practice and it’ll become second nature. Muscle memory is the key, you are right!)
These tips I learned in 9th grade when I took a calligraphy course for art credit. I still practice letters that become less than ideal for me from time to time. I am also using fountain pens more. I need a great yellow ink that shows up in both the Hobonichi Cousin and Weeks
I have slowly molded my handwriting over the years, often by seeing a letter written or printed in a way I wanted to copy. I started changing my handwriting in 7th grade when we had a teacher with gorgeous printing, and I changed my a's to look like hers. Another way to make handwriting look nicer is to use a stub/italic nib fountain pen. My writing looks the best with my Pilot Metropolitan 1.1 mm stub nib; it's a fairly inexpensive fountain pen (around $20), and it's always my go-to pen for writing letters and journaling. And journaling or keeping a quotation journal provides lots of unhurried practice for writing. I prefer .03 pens when taking notes, .05 gel pens when on the move, and fountain pens at home. I've even taken up calligraphy which has also impacted my daily handwriting. :)
Well done! "Well, maybe this video can help me get started learning to employ better handwriting." And you came through. I got what I need / want. Clear, sparsely elegant, and most helpful guidance. Thank you.
That "write, then rewrite" tip is gonna help me out during my study sessions! Thanks for the unexpected study tip, though I might go digital in class so I don't have to go through the limited paper I have, lmao
I have gone back to school in my 60s and rewriting out my notes to study them is the one thing I think made my studying easier. Also rewriting them gave me the chance to see if there was anything I missed, anything that looked like it was lacking. This Made A Big Difference. BIG, 2.7 to 3.8 GPA difference. Handwriting makes you slow down and think. I mean, go digital in class and then write them out, but the rewriting was the difference. And good luck!
it really is like drawing!! always keep your old sketchbooks/drawings, let your ink dry before adding color, use a reference, and practice as much as possible. (I really love fine tips for both because I have tiny handwriting and I draw very small, but I've always been heavy-handed so I can't use some fine tips without damaging them ;_; I'm getting better tho)
I've been doing this for 40 years. I've got many notebooks of alphabets and quick brown foxes. I'm a drafter so handwriting is important. My handwriting is just passable. The most improvement I've seen was when I leaned my characters forward 30 degrees as an exercise.
I'm learning Japanese, so sometimes when I try to improve my English handwriting, I think "oh, I should also improve my Japanese handwriting" and end up going back & forth. Probably not the wisest for long term improvement, but I do want to have good handwriting in both languages.
I moved interstate when I was 10 years old (back in the 70s) and in those days we had to write cursive in Primary school. The state I used to live in (Victoria) did the letters b,f,j,k,p,q,r,s,t,y,z,and all of the capitals differently to where I was now living (Western Australia). The Western Australian style was more like the traditional copperplate than the modernised loopy style in Victoria which was nothing more than printing sort of joined up. I got one of those lined books you used in the first couple of years of school that had thick lines with two finer dotted lines at each third as certain letters would go to the two thirds line, some would go to the half way line and some to just the first third line. Every day after school, I would get out this book and with my trusty HB pencil, I would write the alphabet over and over, just the lower case, then just the upper case until I had filled the page. If I found I was have trouble with a particular letter, I would do a full line of just that letter, over and over. I took a few months but in the end I had changed my muscle memory to the more old school cursive with "tick turns" between letters and the forward lean of about 30 degrees slope. Then three years later I went back to Victoria and the teacher I had was stunned at how 'beautiful' my handwriting was. Then in high school, they didn't care how you wrote...laughs
Pre-printed exemplars are a must for me. I washi tape it to a light board and trace the letters. Once I feel I am close to the original, I practice without the light board.
Great tips! I thought myself Cursive Italic handwriting in 2017. It was an interesting and rewarding experience. I especially enjoy the pangrams! I still use Cursive Italic handwriting every day.
Practice writing in categories such as color names, friend’s names, song lyrics, TV shows, etc… I like both grid paper and dots. They both help keep my letters symmetrical.
Hello. I like your videos and how you show off the latest writing utensils and techniques for improving my handwriting. Because of you, I am getting better at calligraphy.
My handwriting used to be a mess. It's awesome to see that our methods for improving were so similar. My motivation to improve was to learn calligraphy!
These tricks are very useful and I would like to put them into practice on the Hobonich Techo Planner but it's sooo expensive. Not only is my dream planner, but it is the dream planner of many people. I know that it is of high quality and that it contains some very interesting feautres, but the price is not very affordable. I love your content and I hope you reach the amount of 1 million. as soon as possible. Sport and respect! ❤
I remember reading on someone’s handwriting, TH-cam video once that, depending on the pen you use changes your handwriting, and after I read that I was never the same again
Great video and how you emphasized several times. Change will take time. I switched to fountain pens to purposely slow down with my writing, as you said neat and fast are not close to one another. I still scribble still, but even my scribbles are better.
My wife got me the *BEST* Christmas present this year. Or would it be 'last' year? I mean Christmas was just a month ago. Oh well, anyway. What she got me was anything I wanted from Jet Pens. So, I added whatever I wanted to my Wishlist and then emailed it to her. Christmas morning, there it was . . . $800 worth of Jet Pens. But this is not the reason for my post. What is, however, is the best thing for highlighting. I do not highlight the conventional way where the entire word is painted over with a highlighting marker. I choose to use a ruler and just simply underline the word(s) I want to highlight. It just makes it easy for me to read, and looks so much cleaner too. And while I have tried many different types of pens and pencils, I could never find one I really liked; until now. I cannot recommend the highlighter pencils enough! Out of the entire Christmas shipment the (4) four highlighter pencils are the only items I would hate to live without. After using these I can't see how anyone would continue to use the marker style. If you do a lot of highlighting, then at least try the pencils. While you're at it, pick up a 6 inch ruler to keep those highlights nice and straight. Here you go --> (and NO, I do not work for Jet Pens) www.jetpens.com/Kutsuwa-HiLiNE-Highlighter-Pencil-Green/pd/13492
Thank you for reminding me that these exist. I rarely write with pens that aren’t fountain pens, which presents a challenge in finding highlighters that won’t smear water soluble inks. HiLine pencils have excellent reviews by fountain pen enthusiasts, and I look forward to trying them. 😊
So are you the person behind the beautiful JetPens writing? My cursive handwriting is good, but I have been wanting to make my printing more consistent. So I have been looking at photos on JetPens and trying to emulate the writing. One thing I do for practice is to write out the alphabetical names of animals, elements, countries, flowers and plants, etc. That way I get lots of practice with all the letters. Great video - thanks for this.
Josh is not the person who does the writing samples on our site; it's another team member! Thanks for sharing your tip; it's definitely a great way to get all the letters. :)
Thank you so much for the awesome tips! I know I'm going to be coming back to reference this vid several times in the future, haha. I suppose if I approach writing practice like art practice, the amount of time it takes to improve doesn't matter as long as I have fun while I'm practicing. Here's to better handwriting in the future!
Good presentation and tips. I did check out the different pens online and am going to try the Zebra Sarasa Nano 0.3. I like a pretty fine tip point. I was hoping they made a0.2mm but I didn't see one. We'll give it a try Thanks so much for sharing
Though the Sarasa's pretty much have me on lockdown as my go to pen, my notebook addiction can waver and I really didn't need to see those Kokuyo Soft Rings. I'm feelin' that itch to spend, spend, spend.
The whole class notes thing helped so much when I was in school, especially since I did want my notes in pen, but I knew I'd fuck them up somehow. So I'd write them all in pencil, make sure all the info was correct and everything And then rewrote it all at home as a way of studying I had a bit of a weird journey with penmanship because I changed "my font" so often for so long, I kind of just didn't know what my handwriting was supposed to be anymore XD
I have pretty nice handwriting and can write any style: caps, small caps, cursive or calligraphy. (My favorite is cursive, though.) However, sometimes I write illegibly on purpose. I think a messy handwriting has its own charisma and uniqueness. Nice and neat handwriting could be predictable, rigid and boring at times. 😊
If you go through my notebooks and see the same letter over and over again in the margins somewhere, it means I accidentally wrote it like that, liked it more than the way I usually write it, then practiced it over and over until it became natural.
Ok, I watched the video and read all the comments - this is my 2¢ worth: I'm left-handed, and started kindergarten in 1963. My right-handed Mom told me: "Whatever they tell you to do, do the opposite." Then she showed me how to turn my paper correctly for a lefty. (My oldest sibling was left-handed, and my parents had already been through the "force the lefty to be right-handed" deal.) So, thanks to my Mom, I don't have the over-reach problem and I have nice hand-writing, depending on how hurried I am, the type of paper, and MOST important: the writing surface. Writing on a desk or table is one thing, balancing a notebook on the steering wheel of my car is a different "technique". I used to get lined practice pads at my local dollar store, but that was 10 years ago, when my grandkids were little. I also had a font for my computer that showed printed* letters in thick full lines, and dotted lines with the ruled part printing, too. When my grandkids moved back here, (from another state), I made up sheets for each one with their name, new address, and phone number in the font so they could learn it more quickly. *I think there was another 1 for cursive, too, but I can't recall for sure. I really do recommend getting practice pads/sheets. Amazon has a practice book for printing and another for cursive for kids for $4 each. Yes, they're for kids, but when learning or relearning something new, it's better to start from the beginning. My favorite ballpoint pen was the skinny blue one by Pilot, but they don't make them anymore. Glad I bought dozens in blue + a dozen each in red, black, green, and purple. I actually still have a few left. The round pens and pens with the triangular gel pad hurt my fingers and aggrevate the carpal tunnel syndrome. For gel pens, every day usage: the Pilot Precise V5, V7, and V9. The V9 has been discontinued, but it was only available in 3 colors. The V7 is in about 6 (?) colors, and the V5 is in 12 colors. They dry very quickly. For special writing, or projects, the Sakura Gelly Rolls. I only have inexpensive fountain pens, and I haven't used them enough to learn the technique well. But I have lots of colors! For felt tip pens, the Sharpie pens (not Sharpie markers). They used to come in 12 colors. I bought a set at BJ's Club 14 pens, $10 during back to school sales one year: 2 black, 2 blue, and 1 each of 10 other colors. They don't smear, or bleed too much thru paper. Flairs are great, too, but I get more bleed-thru. Heavy-handed writer. And I love the Stabilo 68 & 88 pens, but they aren't water-proof. I walked out to my car in the rain one day with my beautifully written grocery list in lilac. By the time I took 10 steps to get into the car, I had a list of lilac blobs and smears. Lesson learned.
Haven't watched the video yet but shout out to the lyrics of "Wyatt's Song (Your Name)" by The Wonder Years like 3 seconds in (with the exquisite handwriting example)! One of my favorite bands, someone's got good taste at JetPens 😊
Pentel Kerry as also Pentel Graphgear 500 in 0.5mm and 0.7mm both pencils, make way more beautiful, more rounded letters!! I don't know what that brand does, if it's magic or simply mechanics, but no other pencil, from any other brand, writes as beautiful letters, as these do!! The Graphgear, is more versatile, because it's perfect for both free and technical drawing ( best mechanical pencil for drawing!) Pentel Kerry, is a writer and an EDC perfection! I hate myself, for not getting this pencil earlier. If you check the reviews on their official page, people say it's the BEST pencil ever made. I have to agree on that!! As for pens, nothing beats the Pilot Precise V5 !! Same I said for those pencils, goes for this pen too!!! Their ink, is also water soluble..!!!
Express first not to impress. You cannot do things at the same time. Thinking and Drafts over Calligraphy are different as study in Psychology says. So focus what you write first then legibility starts later. Contents and point of view is a must.
Soooooo, the card to link to the practice sheet is linking to the timestamp for the start of that segment. Are the sheets able to be reached on the website proper?
I’m journaling, about a page of A5, before bed every night. Improved quite a bit, but I think my main problem is I’m rushing, thus getting sloppy. Need to practice my pace before my actual handwriting.
Pen type affects my hand writing so much! 😂 Only I can decipher my writing when it's with a broad nib fountain pen. For anything I need to refer back to later I use a gel pen.
I’m in my 70’s and have always gripped my writing instruments tightly. At my age now, it causes a burning sensation at my wrist and I cannot write for very long without becoming uncomfortable. Is there a way I can relearn holding a pen and enjoy the experience of writing? Thank you.
Now imagine... writing in a new language 😳 I'm practicing my Hiragana & Katakana writing but dang it's so difficult to make it look at least readable in a sentence 😅
We hope this video was helpful, especially if one of your New Year's Resolutions is to improve your handwriting! Let us know your handwriting tips in the comments.
When I write, I use a technique that involves moving the paper instead of my hand.
In other words, I write with the paper instead of the pen!
My #1 tip for handwriting improvement is to not be afraid of uniqueness or imperfection, that is what makes your handwriting YOURS, not some studygram influencer’s.
The prettiest handwriting in this video is 10 seconds in. Everything else looks blocky and boring
Many people genuinely struggle to make their writing legible. Handwriting isn’t about “uniqueness”-it’s about communication. If people can’t understand what you’re writing, it is not effective. Everything isn’t a matter of being special.
@@Theresamonet yes, but it’s not easy to read a “type-look” and not feel poorly. Also you shouldn’t live someone else’s life with their handwriting, your handwriting is yours
yes but my uniqueness is clashing w my aesthetic sense.. so I will sacrifice something unique to me kne way or another 🤔
@@coffeecorgi164 thats your opinion... ur on a "how to improve your handwriting" video and ur complaining about blocky and boring?? go write chicken scratch if its pretty to you.
That soft-ring notebook has THE GREATEST PAPER!!!!!
Thanks for the tip about choosing neatness OR speed. I'm recently upgrading my handwriting from something already good but adding some stylized touches, and I figured out that slowing down makes it work.
What is the name of that notebook?
@@Z3Inc the Kokuyu Soofa soft-ring notebook
@@LaLa_ArtGal Thank you!
if you also have a heavy handed, uncomfortable grip you default to, using a fountain pen helps so much in switching to tripod!!
I started out just writing the alphabet or the quick brown fox as practice. I got bored, now I find short poems to write out. The bonus is that because I write slowly as practice, I also have time to take in the facets and deeper meaning of the poem. I've written out loads of poems now and poetry is something that I had really not appreciated at all before I started out just wanting to improve my handwriting.
With the poems I've written out, sometimes they resonate with something a friend is going through - so I gift them my hand written poem. A really thoughtful and meaningful gift!!
Who knew that trying to improve my handwriting would turn into gifting a handwritten poem to my friend that was in pain.
Good video! I’m in my 70’s & took drafting in high school (only girl in the class). Lettering was 50% of the grade of our drawings. A very artistic classmate used to fill pages with rows of As, Bs, Cs, etc. His lettering was exquisite. But no one learns cursive now? We had a special handwriting teacher who visited different schools with his beautiful fountain pens and suits. Yes, typing is important, so is cursive AND lettering!
that depends heavily on year and school! in my year (2005-8) we spent a week nailing cursive, and half of our class posters were in cursive, so i have a bit of cursive in my handwriting. lettering lessons stopped at 4th grade? i think.
We don't even learn typing at school anymore
My parents were from back in the days when children were taught handwriting & they would talk about learning how to hold a pen and handwriting drills. It didn’t stop at learning to print letters; they had lessons throughout several years of school.
My tip: use a planner throughout the day. I keep a planner that's divided into sections each day. I write things I have to do that day in grey ink or pencil, then once I complete the task, I erase and re-write it in colored ink to match my color-coding. This ensures that I'm writing for a minute or two every few hours, and it lets me see my pretty handwriting over time compared to my crappy quick-handwriting in the future events.
I've always struggled with my handwriting since I'm left handed, but all my teachers kept trying to get me to use my right. There was so much inconsistency that my handwriting turned into a mess. I've been slowly improving it but it does take time, especially if it's something you've been doing for nearly your entire life! Fountain pens have helped me slow down and focus on how I write, while gel pens have helped give me confidence so that I don't worry about smudging.
that’s so mean of those ‘teachers’ wtf 😅
I'm both handed and ngl it's more comfy writing right-handed if the direction is left to right. tip fedora for staying true to your dominant hand despite everything
@@m.i.n.9000 you can also say ambidextrous for being able to write with both hands
I'm a former teacher. I've NEVER tried to force a hand switch a student. That's barbaric. I have occasionally encouraged switching hands to make the point of fine motor awareness, but not to impose a switch of preferred hands. Classroom whiteboards have made me become ambidextrous as a teacher. It's great brain stim to write with both hands, and is a relief when one hand becomes fatigued wrting seventy narrative evaluations (in the old days when we did that sort of thing by hand).
@@matchaeylle I don't think it's mean at all. We live in a right hand dominate world. They were probably just thinking of their future and trying to make it easier for them.
I was going to be left handed but my parents kept encouraging me to use my right hand. Maybe it only works when you encourage this from the start. I have no difficulties at all and my handwriting has always received compliments. Perhaps it was a bit too late in the game for for the OP since it's the teachers encouraging it later as a child and not the parents as a baby/toddler.
Thank you for the tips Josh! I wrote Steph and you a personal letter alongside some Pokémon coasters for Christmas and the entire time I was ✍🏽 I wished my penmanship was more refined. One of my New Year’s resolution is actually to improve my writing and hopefully write better holiday cards this year!
They received your package! Steph and Josh really enjoyed your thoughtful gift 😊
The single biggest improvement to my handwriting Ed due to the Apple Newton PDA of the 90s. It had handwriting recognition, but to work well, the letters had to be clear and legible. So the Newton became a kind of tireless automatic handwriting trainer. It never got tired. It never got bored, it just forced you to write better if you wanted to get good recognition results.
I was JUST thinking that I would love if you guys did a video on handwriting. I always find myself replaying or pausing to admire the handwriting shown in the videos and throughout the product listings!!!
The power of manifestation!!!
i LOVE how they gave tips for heavy-handed writers, as I am one myself!!
Great tip on speed vs neatness. I always try to write fast, but that comes at a massive cost to legibility (still readable but certainly not pretty), especially if I don't have nice lined or graph paper to write on (imagine having a baseline). I only noticed recently how much better my handwriting looks once I slow down... and having more comfortable pens/pencils helps a lot. My handwriting is still terrible using a stylus though ;-;
Great tips. Your advice about in-class vs afterwards changed everything. Journaling is a great habit to build, Two birds with one pen!
managing my expectations definitley made the whole "better handwriting" exercise easier. I stuck to making sure it was legible (consistent, well-spaced, and "completely formed letters"). So even if it's not exactly like the handwriting styles I love, I don't feel so bad because theyre legible nonetheless. Oh, and yes! I used to hate .5 tip pens, but they work better for me because I'm made to write bigger and better instead of almost scribbling incomplete letters and running strokes HAHAHA. I hate the fact that Zarasa pens are expensive where I am (most of these pens are), so my go to pen is Dong-A .4/ .5 Gel pens.
I cleaned up my printing and numbers virtually by visualization at bedtime. It is also quite meditative. It didn't take very long for my writing to change. The video reminded me that I should change my cursive as well.
Something I have always wanted to improve is my handwriting. These 5 Tips have encouraged me to purchase some NEW writing tools from JetPens and start practicing! I really like the idea of practicing/journaling at the same time. Thanks Josh! :-)
Thank you! This video prompted me to go back and look at my handwriting over the last two years of keeping a journal, and you're right, one has to choose neatness or speed. I've also found that different tools prompt different styles for me - some of my fine fountain pen nibs encourage a very different font than the bolder tips in me. Thank you again, for articulating what I suspected but thought stupid because it didn't sound plausible.
That bulba pot though....
I'm a heavy handed everything! I didn't know ink pooled for me, but now that I know I'm going to make sure to be more patient :D
Thank you. I have noticed that my handwriting always looks different some days better than others, and now I know why. I loves pens and pencils, so I have them everywhere, so when I need to write something, I pick up the nearest pen without ever tracking which one I write better with. I will now thanks to your advice.
Great video. I particularly appreciated seeing the characters that you've changed stylistically, like 4's and Y's. I decided to improve my cursive during Covid lockdown. I journal every morning. I slowed down, watched videos, and studied fonts. Slowing down and being mindful and deliberate probably helped the most. Not being afraid to change characters I didn't like was incredibly freeing. I hated the way my capital A's looked. So now my cursive A looks more like calligraphy.
I watched another Jet Pens video the other day that helped me immensely. He said to let your index finger guide your pen. OMG, that one tip changed everything! Despite all my practice, my handwriting was still a little bit too cramped and slanted for my taste. When I started using my index finger to guide my pen it opened up the letters and transformed them into things of beauty.
For the fountain pen lefties: I found using Lamys LH nib difficult, because I had to retrain my hand. However I think it could help folks especially if they're starting with the hobby. I find that Twisbi pens do not work for my hand position and Kawecos are very hard starting. (my sister is right handed and doesn't have these issues)
I have had the most luck with Sailors and Lamys. I especially find the Sailor gold nibs and the 1.1 italic nib in lamy the easiest to get ink on paper without being super scratchy.
I've been practicing writing with my right hand lately and my #1 tip is to slow down. I still have some coordination problems when I'm practicing so I just slow down my writing speed to the point where I can focus on each individual letter and take the time to write it correctly. Since I do mostly journalling and personal notetaking, I don't really need to write fast.
Are you a lefty by natural inclination? I've trained myself to write with both hands. It's easier to start on the vertical plane I think, like on a whiteboard mounted on the wall.
@Annabell860
1 second ago
We learned cursive, If one cannot read or write in cursive, it is difficult to read old documents and records and therefore hard to do any kind of research or advanced learning in many areas. I guess I also distinguish between :"hand writing" and "hand printing", printing being what they teach in schools today. Practice will also make cursive tidy and legible. It is also an artform. I have a few ideas of why they have stopped teaching cursive in the US, but will not put them out for debate here. I would suggest that learning both forms is good for communication and future learning skills.
You’re the best, Josh
When I was a kid, long ago…when we learned cursive and word processors were not a thing…I was jealous of another girl with beautiful handwriting, so I practiced and practiced to improve mine. We were also given a grade every quarter in Penmanship throughout elementary school, so it counted. When I was an exchange student in France, I liked the different style they used in their handwriting, and taught myself to imitate that…and so I have a unique (for the US) handwriting that is pretty and legible…and I get frequent compliments on it. I agree with another poster that I see everyone having the same exact handwriting now because they’ve followed study bloggers or online tutorials. Don’t be afraid of your own creativity. Handwriting is a personal thing, it’s uniquely yours. Also, I can write pretty quickly and it’s still neat, and I know you’re showing demos of things, so likely you’re slowed down…but, if I wrote that slowly, I would never get anything done. Maybe that’s just me. (I do agree that re-writing your notes is a great way to study…or type them up in a way that organizes things. It sets it in your brain a lot faster than just reading over and over again. Also, it is less boring, for me anyway, and helped me survive grad school. Making outlines of notes from textbooks you read was also helpful vs highlighting things in the textbooks and re-reading that. You can organize things in a way that make sense to you, or that you know your professor honed in on, etc. And for some classes…flash cards…the good old index cards…very satisfying, particularly for math formulas, specific definitions, and foreign language…and it’s a good excuse to use your bigger tip size favorite markers 😁). I’m glad your company didn’t exist when I was in grad school…I would have had to take out more student loans cause I would have wanted to buy some of everything. Now, my grade school age niece has developed a love for stationery and Auntie Molly Mollie is more than happy to shower her with all the cool stuff…so you’re still draining my bank account, Jet Pens! Thanks for this video, because when people compliment my writing (and I have zero artistic talent, so it’s not from that) and say they could never write neatly, I always tell them, just practice and it’ll become second nature. Muscle memory is the key, you are right!)
Great tips! Josh seriously seems like the friendliest person ever.
These tips I learned in 9th grade when I took a calligraphy course for art credit. I still practice letters that become less than ideal for me from time to time. I am also using fountain pens more. I need a great yellow ink that shows up in both the Hobonichi Cousin and Weeks
I have slowly molded my handwriting over the years, often by seeing a letter written or printed in a way I wanted to copy. I started changing my handwriting in 7th grade when we had a teacher with gorgeous printing, and I changed my a's to look like hers. Another way to make handwriting look nicer is to use a stub/italic nib fountain pen. My writing looks the best with my Pilot Metropolitan 1.1 mm stub nib; it's a fairly inexpensive fountain pen (around $20), and it's always my go-to pen for writing letters and journaling. And journaling or keeping a quotation journal provides lots of unhurried practice for writing. I prefer .03 pens when taking notes, .05 gel pens when on the move, and fountain pens at home. I've even taken up calligraphy which has also impacted my daily handwriting. :)
Well done!
"Well, maybe this video can help me get started learning to employ better handwriting." And you came through. I got what I need / want. Clear, sparsely elegant, and most helpful guidance. Thank you.
That "write, then rewrite" tip is gonna help me out during my study sessions! Thanks for the unexpected study tip, though I might go digital in class so I don't have to go through the limited paper I have, lmao
I have gone back to school in my 60s and rewriting out my notes to study them is the one thing I think made my studying easier. Also rewriting them gave me the chance to see if there was anything I missed, anything that looked like it was lacking. This Made A Big Difference. BIG, 2.7 to 3.8 GPA difference. Handwriting makes you slow down and think. I mean, go digital in class and then write them out, but the rewriting was the difference. And good luck!
@@Erni3K If it's the rewriting that makes the difference, I could try and get another notepad, and thanks!
5:46 love the shading on the Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo
it really is like drawing!! always keep your old sketchbooks/drawings, let your ink dry before adding color, use a reference, and practice as much as possible. (I really love fine tips for both because I have tiny handwriting and I draw very small, but I've always been heavy-handed so I can't use some fine tips without damaging them ;_; I'm getting better tho)
I've been doing this for 40 years. I've got many notebooks of alphabets and quick brown foxes.
I'm a drafter so handwriting is important. My handwriting is just passable. The most improvement I've seen was when I leaned my characters forward 30 degrees as an exercise.
I'm learning Japanese, so sometimes when I try to improve my English handwriting, I think "oh, I should also improve my Japanese handwriting" and end up going back & forth. Probably not the wisest for long term improvement, but I do want to have good handwriting in both languages.
I moved interstate when I was 10 years old (back in the 70s) and in those days we had to write cursive in Primary school.
The state I used to live in (Victoria) did the letters b,f,j,k,p,q,r,s,t,y,z,and all of the capitals differently to where I was now living (Western Australia). The Western Australian style was more like the traditional copperplate than the modernised loopy style in Victoria which was nothing more than printing sort of joined up.
I got one of those lined books you used in the first couple of years of school that had thick lines with two finer dotted lines at each third as certain letters would go to the two thirds line, some would go to the half way line and some to just the first third line. Every day after school, I would get out this book and with my trusty HB pencil, I would write the alphabet over and over, just the lower case, then just the upper case until I had filled the page. If I found I was have trouble with a particular letter, I would do a full line of just that letter, over and over. I took a few months but in the end I had changed my muscle memory to the more old school cursive with "tick turns" between letters and the forward lean of about 30 degrees slope.
Then three years later I went back to Victoria and the teacher I had was stunned at how 'beautiful' my handwriting was. Then in high school, they didn't care how you wrote...laughs
Writing in cursive is inherently faster, and can be completely legible if learned at an early age. Too bad schools are abandoning this skill.
Nice to meet the person behind the great handwriting in the videos!
Pre-printed exemplars are a must for me. I washi tape it to a light board and trace the letters. Once I feel I am close to the original, I practice without the light board.
My pen size is smaller than the printed exemplar so I can see it while tracing it. 😊
I have been slowly working on mine for the past couple of years 😂 my print is now not too bad, my cursive is still shocking but very slowly improving.
These are excellent tips! Thank you for this great video.
Great tips! I thought myself Cursive Italic handwriting in 2017. It was an interesting and rewarding experience. I especially enjoy the pangrams! I still use Cursive Italic handwriting every day.
Practice writing in categories such as color names, friend’s names, song lyrics, TV shows, etc…
I like both grid paper and dots. They both help keep my letters symmetrical.
Hello. I like your videos and how you show off the latest writing utensils and techniques for improving my handwriting. Because of you, I am getting better at calligraphy.
My handwriting used to be a mess. It's awesome to see that our methods for improving were so similar. My motivation to improve was to learn calligraphy!
I loved this video! Do have a notebook for handwriting practice notebook for lefties?
I practice more when I enjoy my pens. Studying letter forms is a meditation too 🧘🏾♂️
Jet Pen personalities are always genial.
This is such a helpful video! I'm trying to learn how to write/draw with my non dominant hand(Left) so this really will help ! ^^
Amazing peak of handwriting for people ☺️♥️✍️ The Best Resolution is good for y'all 🌎
These tricks are very useful and I would like to put them into practice on the Hobonich Techo Planner but it's sooo expensive. Not only is my dream planner, but it is the dream planner of many people. I know that it is of high quality and that it contains some very interesting feautres, but the price is not very affordable.
I love your content and I hope you reach the amount of 1 million. as soon as possible. Sport and respect! ❤
Thank you so much for this video! I’ll definitely try to practice using those work sheets! 🙏🏼✨
I remember reading on someone’s handwriting, TH-cam video once that, depending on the pen you use changes your handwriting, and after I read that I was never the same again
Great video and how you emphasized several times. Change will take time. I switched to fountain pens to purposely slow down with my writing, as you said neat and fast are not close to one another. I still scribble still, but even my scribbles are better.
I
I'm left-handed. Though my legibility has improved with practice I stopped trying for perfection. Just write and have a great time. 😉
Very nice and looking forward to your uploading!
My wife got me the *BEST* Christmas present this year. Or would it be 'last' year? I mean Christmas was just a month ago. Oh well, anyway.
What she got me was anything I wanted from Jet Pens. So, I added whatever I wanted to my Wishlist and then emailed it to her. Christmas morning, there it was . . . $800 worth of Jet Pens. But this is not the reason for my post. What is, however, is the best thing for highlighting.
I do not highlight the conventional way where the entire word is painted over with a highlighting marker. I choose to use a ruler and just simply underline the word(s) I want to highlight. It just makes it easy for me to read, and looks so much cleaner too. And while I have tried many different types of pens and pencils, I could never find one I really liked; until now.
I cannot recommend the highlighter pencils enough! Out of the entire Christmas shipment the (4) four highlighter pencils are the only items I would hate to live without. After using these I can't see how anyone would continue to use the marker style. If you do a lot of highlighting, then at least try the pencils. While you're at it, pick up a 6 inch ruler to keep those highlights nice and straight.
Here you go --> (and NO, I do not work for Jet Pens)
www.jetpens.com/Kutsuwa-HiLiNE-Highlighter-Pencil-Green/pd/13492
Thank you for reminding me that these exist. I rarely write with pens that aren’t fountain pens, which presents a challenge in finding highlighters that won’t smear water soluble inks. HiLine pencils have excellent reviews by fountain pen enthusiasts, and I look forward to trying them. 😊
So are you the person behind the beautiful JetPens writing? My cursive handwriting is good, but I have been wanting to make my printing more consistent. So I have been looking at photos on JetPens and trying to emulate the writing. One thing I do for practice is to write out the alphabetical names of animals, elements, countries, flowers and plants, etc. That way I get lots of practice with all the letters. Great video - thanks for this.
Josh is not the person who does the writing samples on our site; it's another team member! Thanks for sharing your tip; it's definitely a great way to get all the letters. :)
Great video and very honest, thanks JetPens!
Thanks Josh !
I really enjoyed this and gave me another good reason to buy from you, thank you!
Thank you so much for the awesome tips! I know I'm going to be coming back to reference this vid several times in the future, haha.
I suppose if I approach writing practice like art practice, the amount of time it takes to improve doesn't matter as long as I have fun while I'm practicing. Here's to better handwriting in the future!
Good presentation and tips. I did check out the different pens online and am going to try the Zebra Sarasa Nano 0.3. I like a pretty fine tip point. I was hoping they made a0.2mm but I didn't see one. We'll give it a try Thanks so much for sharing
Though the Sarasa's pretty much have me on lockdown as my go to pen, my notebook addiction can waver and I really didn't need to see those Kokuyo Soft Rings. I'm feelin' that itch to spend, spend, spend.
Is this a specific font for print? Because I see most of the hosts on Jetpens writing this way. Thanks.
Hi jetpen, I finally improved my handwriting and I love it
The whole class notes thing helped so much when I was in school, especially since I did want my notes in pen, but I knew I'd fuck them up somehow. So I'd write them all in pencil, make sure all the info was correct and everything
And then rewrote it all at home as a way of studying
I had a bit of a weird journey with penmanship because I changed "my font" so often for so long, I kind of just didn't know what my handwriting was supposed to be anymore XD
Josh, you are so nice person.
I have pretty nice handwriting and can write any style: caps, small caps, cursive or calligraphy. (My favorite is cursive, though.) However, sometimes I write illegibly on purpose. I think a messy handwriting has its own charisma and uniqueness. Nice and neat handwriting could be predictable, rigid and boring at times. 😊
That print in the background makes it look like Josh is wearing a bow in his hair.
The tips are as good as the Pokémon Mew behind you. Thanks bro for the tips. I’m going to try them all.
If you go through my notebooks and see the same letter over and over again in the margins somewhere, it means I accidentally wrote it like that, liked it more than the way I usually write it, then practiced it over and over until it became natural.
I've always written in cursive, can i achieve such straight writing?
The video that I was needing
Ok, I watched the video and read all the comments - this is my 2¢ worth:
I'm left-handed, and started kindergarten in 1963. My right-handed Mom told me: "Whatever they tell you to do, do the opposite." Then she showed me how to turn my paper correctly for a lefty. (My oldest sibling was left-handed, and my parents had already been through the "force the lefty to be right-handed" deal.) So, thanks to my Mom, I don't have the over-reach problem and I have nice hand-writing, depending on how hurried I am, the type of paper, and MOST important: the writing surface. Writing on a desk or table is one thing, balancing a notebook on the steering wheel of my car is a different "technique".
I used to get lined practice pads at my local dollar store, but that was 10 years ago, when my grandkids were little.
I also had a font for my computer that showed printed* letters in thick full lines, and dotted lines with the ruled part printing, too. When my grandkids moved back here, (from another state), I made up sheets for each one with their name, new address, and phone number in the font so they could learn it more quickly.
*I think there was another 1 for cursive, too, but I can't recall for sure.
I really do recommend getting practice pads/sheets. Amazon has a practice book for printing and another for cursive for kids for $4 each. Yes, they're for kids, but when learning or relearning something new, it's better to start from the beginning.
My favorite ballpoint pen was the skinny blue one by Pilot, but they don't make them anymore. Glad I bought dozens in blue + a dozen each in red, black, green, and purple. I actually still have a few left.
The round pens and pens with the triangular gel pad hurt my fingers and aggrevate the carpal tunnel syndrome.
For gel pens, every day usage: the Pilot Precise V5, V7, and V9. The V9 has been discontinued, but it was only available in 3 colors. The V7 is in about 6 (?) colors, and the V5 is in 12 colors. They dry very quickly.
For special writing, or projects, the Sakura Gelly Rolls.
I only have inexpensive fountain pens, and I haven't used them enough to learn the technique well. But I have lots of colors!
For felt tip pens, the Sharpie pens (not Sharpie markers). They used to come in 12 colors. I bought a set at BJ's Club 14 pens, $10 during back to school sales one year: 2 black, 2 blue, and 1 each of 10 other colors. They don't smear, or bleed too much thru paper. Flairs are great, too, but I get more bleed-thru. Heavy-handed writer. And I love the Stabilo 68 & 88 pens, but they aren't water-proof. I walked out to my car in the rain one day with my beautifully written grocery list in lilac. By the time I took 10 steps to get into the car, I had a list of lilac blobs and smears. Lesson learned.
Haven't watched the video yet but shout out to the lyrics of "Wyatt's Song (Your Name)" by The Wonder Years like 3 seconds in (with the exquisite handwriting example)! One of my favorite bands, someone's got good taste at JetPens 😊
If I would have watched a little further I would have seen it's you Josh! That's dope!
YEAH! Josh!
Pentel Kerry as also Pentel Graphgear 500 in 0.5mm and 0.7mm both pencils, make way more beautiful, more rounded letters!! I don't know what that brand does, if it's magic or simply mechanics, but no other pencil, from any other brand, writes as beautiful letters, as these do!!
The Graphgear, is more versatile, because it's perfect for both free and technical drawing ( best mechanical pencil for drawing!)
Pentel Kerry, is a writer and an EDC perfection! I hate myself, for not getting this pencil earlier. If you check the reviews on their official page, people say it's the BEST pencil ever made. I have to agree on that!!
As for pens, nothing beats the Pilot Precise V5 !! Same I said for those pencils, goes for this pen too!!! Their ink, is also water soluble..!!!
Express first not to impress. You cannot do things at the same time. Thinking and Drafts over Calligraphy are different as study in Psychology says. So focus what you write first then legibility starts later. Contents and point of view is a must.
Soooooo, the card to link to the practice sheet is linking to the timestamp for the start of that segment. Are the sheets able to be reached on the website proper?
Hmm that's strange, when we click the card, it takes us to the right page, which is this link: to.jetpens.com/3XoUWqy.
Such great tips !
My dude, is that a protoss pylon on your shelf? Nice to find an SC fan in the wild!
Found your Stationery Paper links.
I am always looking for letter and envelope pairs both correct size and paper quality.
I’m journaling, about a page of A5, before bed every night. Improved quite a bit, but I think my main problem is I’m rushing, thus getting sloppy. Need to practice my pace before my actual handwriting.
Pen type affects my hand writing so much! 😂 Only I can decipher my writing when it's with a broad nib fountain pen. For anything I need to refer back to later I use a gel pen.
Thank you for the great tips!
my zebra delgard was cracked when i bought it did not notice until it was too late. Also the nonbreaking function dont always work
Where can i get jet pens
Thanks the tips were a great help
I got my hand writing better one summer I was grounded, I would copy a book word for word into a note book, just the constant work helped
Could JetPens share cursive practice sheets for adults? Especially for fountain pen users, since those are made for cursive writing.
We have practice sheets here! www.jetpens.com/blog/Free-Downloads-Printables-Coloring-Pages-Cursive-Worksheets-More/pt/484
Thank you for this
Yeah
I’m in my 70’s and have always gripped my writing instruments tightly. At my age now, it causes a burning sensation at my wrist and I cannot write for very long without becoming uncomfortable. Is there a way I can relearn holding a pen and enjoy the experience of writing? Thank you.
Now imagine... writing in a new language 😳 I'm practicing my Hiragana & Katakana writing but dang it's so difficult to make it look at least readable in a sentence 😅
Katakana is easier to write.
I love Zebra!
You explained that so well. Thank you!
And Hi Jira! :-)
4mm grids, good taste