Ruler technique
Drawing a straight line with a ruler seems easy enough, but if you want
precision there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First of all, always
keep the ruler between your body and the pencil. It's much more difficult
to draw a line on the near side of the ruler. And always draw from left
to right (or vice versa if you are left handed), parallel to your body.
Don't draw towards or away from your body. A good rule is to turn the paper,
not the ruler. Press firmly on the ruler so that it doesn't slide on the
paper. (Some rulers have rubber strips on the underside to prevent sliding.
This is a useful feature.)
See to it that the light falls in on the drawing side of the ruler, or you
will have shadows that fool your eyes. By the way, your lamp should be on
your left if you are right handed, otherwise you will get shadows from your
hand when you write. Rulers work best with pencils. If you want to use a
ruler with a pen that has a liquid ink - which may be needed in illumination
- you must be very careful. There is a risk that the ink will be sucked
in under the ruler and produce an ugly blob. You can avoid this in three
ways:
1. Use a technical drawing ruler that rests on little rubber (or plastic)
ridges so that the drawing edge has no contact with the paper. If you can't
get such a ruler, try putting three or four layers of masking tape on the
underside of the ruler, to lift the edge from the paper.
2. Let the ruler rest on the paper, but hold the pen at an angle so that
the line is drawn a fraction of an inch away from the ruler.
3. Lift the drawing edge of the ruler slightly off the paper with the fingertips
of your left hand. This is tricky, but it can be done.
Don't attempt to use calligraphy pens with the ruler. The nearer side of
the nib will bend slightly from the contact with the ruler, and no ink will
get through. Also, the edge of the nib is usually curved, which makes it
slip easily. Using felt tip markers with a ruler is a mistake - they will
smear the ruler edge. A ruler should be kept clean at all times.
The above is a simple way of preparing a writing surface. When you are making
a real document you will also need to take the illuminations into account,
but the principles are the same.
Now, at last! Take out your calligraphy pen and fill it with ink (if you
haven't already done so). Choose a medium nib - 1/16 inch is about right.
This corresponds roughly to Osmiroid B2 or Rotring 1.5 mm.