For my Trace Your Name project, I chose the typeface Baskerville. I chose this because I personally like fonts that is not too tall not too wide. Baskerville caught my attention with its balanced shape; the others seemed a bit too skewed or disproportionate in thickness and in overall appearance. I noticed that Baskerville differentiates the thickness of the lines in the letter. Tracing the first half my name SUSAN was more difficult than the second half. Drawing SUS took some more focus in the curvature and gradual shift in thickness of the curves, especially the S. The most trouble I had was drawing the thinnest curves and serifs that thickened out of the thin curves of the S. The easiest part of my name would be the AN. I have some background in drawing straight lines and noticing when lines are not perfectly straight.

My next words were “THE SAVAGE.” This took less time because I was allowed to trace/ mimic the worksheet. Tracing was easy with a steady hand. The issue was determining the  correct spacing between each letter, especially in the AVA. My technique was to draw the outline of the letters and then step back from the sheet and analyze the spacing. If my eye feels little big awkward at the sight, it means to start over.

I learned that typefaces are very strict on structure and the slightest detail. One wrong stroke and the whole letter is off and unappealing. I’ve also learned that the serifs, although very tedious to draw, is essential in stabilizing existence of the letter. Without the serifs, my name would have floated off into a 120 degree rather than the preferred 180 degree.

I am old fashion, meaning that I will voluntarily choose to draw by hand than draw with a trackpad on a laptop. Tracing and erasing brought back memories from high school and it felt great to relive the same passion again.