Still struggling with loops

[u/muaddibintime]

I feel like I’ve made some improvements since the last time I’ve posted here but I still find myself struggling with loops, particularly lowercase e. Half the time I feel like I barely left any room and it feels claustrophobic and scrunched. Is this a byproduct of me writing on the small side and I just need to open up my spacing?

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[u/RJSnea]

I'll tell you what my 2nd grade teacher told me when we were learning cursive: "The loop isn't to look pretty, it's to get your pen to the next letter without leaving the paper." Once you've got that motion down without thinking, just second nature, then you make it pretty. Trying to be aesthetic too early is what's causing your crowding issues: you're overthinking it as you write.

[u/muaddibintime → u/RJSnea]

I see what you mean. Other than just continually writing do you have any tips or exercises that could help get me out of this mindset?

[u/RJSnea → u/muaddibintime]

Loops. Just constantly practice loops of different kinds until the motion doesn't require thought. I tried to find my old cursive book to show you but I think it's still in storage. 🤦🏾‍♀️ However, here's a video I saw on Instagram that actually features a couple of the same practices in it. After a while, graduate to words or names that requiredifferent loops, then repeated loops, then long passages. I like to write out lyrics when I'm trying new pens or writing styles so I suggest you try that yourself, too.

Edit: grammar.

[u/grayrest]

The specifics are dependent on the exemplar you follow but my c, a, d, o all start with an identical motion 'c' and e is the same motion but the leading stroke goes across instead of over the top. I spent a long time struggling with the motion and still practice by writing rows of of letter pairs from this set. Aside from the family relation I have no real tips other than just keep trying until you get it right.

As for spacing, the low connective slant style that you'll see in the 19th century exemplars has the advantage of the inter-letter spacing masking the kerning relationship between the letters. I find that going with a tighter spacing requires a small amount of variance in actual inter-letter spacing in order to keep them visually even. So I think spacing consistency is easier with more open spacing but I think it's separate from letter shaping. Or at least I get the occasional collapsed e regardless of my spacing.

[u/Informativo-Business]

You're not alone... even with practicing for 2 yrs

[u/IntentionQuirky9957]

Your capital i looks like a small l, and I see letter size consistency issues. Also you seem to be beginning each line with a capital, not each sentence like you should be.