A in Old English Letters

Outline version to colour or trace

How to draw a Old English capital A

1. 1Hold the broad-edge pen at about 40 to 45 degrees and draw the heavy left bowl as a slightly curved downstroke, finishing with a small diamond foot on the baseline.
2. 2Add the thin hairline that sweeps from the top of that stroke to the right, pushing the pen corner rather than the flat edge so the line stays fine.
3. 3Draw the thick right stem as a straight downstroke beside the bowl, leaving a gap about as wide as one stem thickness between the two.
4. 4Close the capital with a short bar or hairline that links the two strokes near the middle, then add a diamond head at the top of the right stem.

Tip: Draw the gap between the two heavy strokes first in your mind, and let it equal one stem width. If that space is narrower, the capital A closes up into a dark blot, which is the main reason it gets misread.

How to draw a Old English lowercase a

1. 1Set the pen at its standing angle and draw a small oval-ish bowl with two angled facets, starting at the upper right and ending at the baseline.
2. 2Pull the right-hand stem straight down from the top of the bowl so it touches the bowl without overshooting it.
3. 3Finish the stem with a short diamond foot and a thin turned-out hairline at the top of the bowl.
4. 4Check that the inner counter is a clear sliver of white about half the stem width, then repeat the shape until it looks even.

Tip: Write a row of five a's and look only at the white inside the bowls. If those counters differ in size, your pen angle is drifting, even when the black strokes seem fine.

What makes A awkward or easy

The A is awkward because the capital is a cluster of separate strokes, and the eye needs the correct gap between them to see an A at all. The lowercase is less demanding, but its bowl is small, so the counter fills in easily, particularly on tattoos and when the pen is a little too wide.

Variations

Textura capital A tends to be built on a vertical stem with a compressed bowl, while Fraktur capitals A sit lighter with more curved hairlines and a flourish at the top. Rotunda forms are rounder and more open. Treat these as broad tendencies, since individual scribes and typefaces mix the features freely.

Common mistakes with Old English A

• The two heavy strokes touch and the capital turns into a black lump.

  Leave a gap equal to one stem width between the strokes. Check it with the pen's own edge as a ruler before you commit.

• The hairline loses its crispness and looks like a wobbly scratch.

  Move the pen on its corner only, with light pressure, and lift off at the end instead of letting the nib drag.

• The lowercase a is drawn like a Roman a with a round loop.

  Break the bowl into angled facets and give the stem a diamond foot, so it matches the rest of the alphabet's rhythm.

Ideas for Old English A

A strong initial for names like Aiden, Amara or Anselm, and for certificate headings where the first word begins with A. On a masthead the capital can lead a title such as The Arbor Times, with the remaining letters kept in lowercase. For monograms, the A pairs well with a plain stem letter like I or L.

Old English A: questions