Romitalic from Randall M. Hasson
Note that this class is now hosted at Hasson Studio. The link below will redirect you to the appropriate pages.
Join Randall Hasson on his journey of discovery and come away with a new lettering style as well as valuable ideas on how you can analyze a letterform you like and create something specific to your hand.
The lettering on a book cover provided the first spark of inspiration, while an advertisement from the 1920s set in motion the process of developing this new personalized letterform. Following a flurry of research into traditional Italic and Roman forms – as well as show card lettering styles of the early twentieth century – a soft, rounded, lyrical Italic hand evolved that Randall calls Romitalic.
Watch Romitalic now! Price $125.
Note that new students enrolling in any Randall Hasson class will be redirected to Hasson Studio.
View sample videos and the course curriculum.
Randall Hasson offers an overview of the Romitalic class.
What’s Included
Romitalic is a prerecorded class and includes copious handouts and resources. Videos are recorded in 1080p HD with additional motion graphics. This course is hosted at Hasson Studio, offering extended 2 year access.
Students are invited to Randall’s private Facebook Group where you can share your progress and meet your fellow students.
The duration of the Romitalic class is 3.5 hours.
What you will Learn
Getting Started & Handouts
Romitalic includes a 46-page color PDF with the exemplars for lowercase and capitals plus variations. This handout also details the many traditional and show card lettering styles that formed the inspiration for Romitalic.
If you’re new to calligraphy, Randall also shares his favorite materials, as well as some tips for filling your nib with ink. The materials needed are minimal: A Speedball C-4 nib, a gridded pad, and a plentiful supply of a free-flowing ink such as walnut ink.
The inspiration for Romitalic
Randall’s journey through the process of developing Romitalic will give you valuable ideas on how you can analyze a letterform you like and then create something specific to your hand. The main inspiration for Romitalic came from an advertisement by Edgar Yates – the soft, rounded letterform with a forward slant had an attractive lyrical quality. Further research made connections between historic calligraphic hands and the show card writers of the early twentieth century.
Romitalic Lowercase
After summing up the characteristics that make Romitalic unique (slant, branching, spacing, serifs, and more), this section takes you through the basic letterform in the minuscule or lowercase letters. The alphabet is presented in letter groups so that you can practice with letters that have similar characteristics, followed by writing the full alphabet from A to Z. You’ll also learn about when and where to use alternate letterforms, so that you can adapt your letters in the course of writing words and sentences.
Romitalic Capitals
After a discussion about how the capitals were adapted to match the miniscules, Randall writes alphabet sentences and talks about putting all these forms together. You’ll also learn valuable tips for writing Roman and Italic forms without guidelines – or with just a baseline [view Preview movie]. The idea is to arrive at a comfortable x-height and proportion for whichever letter style you are writing – along the way you will personalize the letterform based on what your hand actually wants to do!
Romitalic – Creating a Personalized Letterform
Watch Romitalic now! Price $125.
Note that new students enrolling in any Randall Hasson class will be redirected to Hasson Studio.
View sample videos and the course curriculum.
Instructor Bio
Randall M. Hasson is an artist, calligrapher, instructor and speaker who has appeared on the faculty of arts, lettering arts, and educational conferences in the United States, Canada and England. He owned and operated the Randall M. Hasson Gallery from 2000–2013 in San Diego, CA and Santa Fe, NM. He is the author of articles on a variety of art or lettering art related subjects and has appeared as a mainstage presenter and/or teacher with lecture topics covering public art, art history, the painting process, collaborative art projects, and the history of writing including the recent invention of the ADLaM alphabet in West Africa.
In 2015, Randall co-edited the 24th (Centennial) Edition of The Speedball Textbook. He is currently writing and designing his forthcoming book Teaching America How to Letter – The Speedball Story, a history of commercial lettering and American show card writing in the early 1900s. It is due to be published by Letterform Archive in 2020.
More classes from Randall Hasson
Writing with a Bent Nib Series
Writing with a Bent Nib is a five-part series of online classes from Randall M. Hasson that will make you fall in love with the square, round and oval-shaped pen nibs.
You can purchase the entire series for a one-time payment, or purchase classes separately.