PSC presents

The Romitalic Workshop
with Randall M. Hasson

A blend of live sessions and prerecorded classes conducted over three successive Saturdays

Three Live Sessions on Saturdays: April 15, 22 and 29
9:00 am to 11:30 am PST

Learn how to Analyze Letterforms and then Personalize them to Your Own Tastes

Join Randall Hasson on a 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.
Learn a soft, rounded, lyrical hand: Romitalic.
After the hand was created, Randall conducted research into traditional Italic and Roman forms – as well as show card lettering styles of the early twentieth century, to pull together the influences that led to the lettering that was his initial inspiration. He teaches this hand in these lessons.
His new book, Romatalic, is a 46 page work that is included as a PDF in this course. Printed copies are also available at discounted prices. 

The duration of the pre-recorded videos in the Romitalic class is 3.5 hours.
Scroll down for pre-workshop handouts, materials lists, and videos.

Getting Started & Handouts

Romitalic includes a 46-page color PDF with the exemplars for lowercase and capitals plus variations. This handout also details many traditional and show card lettering styles that could have conttributed to the lettering styles that inspired 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 supply of a free-flowing ink (view Materials List).

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. 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!

How the Hybrid Course Model Works

One of the silver linings of the pandemic is the evolution of how calligraphy instruction is delivered to calligraphy guilds and study groups. Although screen fatigue is a real concern for some learners, many calligraphy students have discovered the benefits of online learning to complement in-person workshops. My hybrid workshops were developed to engage students in a format that combines the best of both worlds.

I have found that shorter periods on Zoom and the ability to follow along with a detailed course, working on your own schedule, suits most people very well. These pre-recorded classes are produced in smaller sections to help reduce screen fatigue and are easier to fit into ones' busy schedule. They also allow more time to concentrate on a particular skill compared to a weekend workshop, where the instructor must move on to the next topic. And finally, having a longer period of time than just two days to work on a skill keeps you engaged, especially when the next session may be coming up!  

Why choose Courses from the Hasson Studio?

A superior quality, informative presentation is the highest priority in Randall’s Course offerings. He has a focus on the WHY of his subject matter. Each course has detailed introductions with history and background, information on materials, and skill session videos geared towards your learning style. Short videos allow a more focused concentration, while longer presentations can give a greater overview for those who learn better that way.

Features of these Online Courses

Extended access allows you to learn at your own pace.
Classes are ready to begin as soon as your payment is processed.

  • Classes are prerecorded, allowing you to watch on your own schedule
  • Videos are recorded in High Definition video with multiple camera angles
  • Videos are paced for the artist; unnecessary pauses and wasted time are edited out.
  • Copious handouts, resources, or detailed materials videos are included with each course.
  •  2 years of extended access for individual courses; 3 years for multiple class bundles. 
As a workshop chairperson, this was my first time taking a hybrid workshop and I can say that it is the premiere model of what online workshops should be. The recorded sessions present the lessons in bite sized chunks so the student is not overwhelmed. The check in sessions with Randall help to address any problems, allow for sharing work, and his monthly Live sessions supplement the learning with inspirational presentations. All this from an excellent teacher whose work crosses boundaries of the fine art, calligraphy, journaling/mixed media, and commercial art worlds.

Lisa Leong-Tsang
Artist, Calligrapher, Former Workshops Chair (WOC), President: Society for Calligraphy and Handwriting
www.calligraphysociety.org, Instagram @lisaltsang

Course Curriculum
Lessons are added after each week's Session

Randall Hasson

Randall M. Hasson is an artist, calligrapher, instructor and speaker who has appeared on the faculty of over 25 Arts, Lettering Arts, and Educational Conferences in the United States, Canada and England. 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, he co-edited of the 24th (Centennial) Edition of The Speedball Textbook. In addition to a series of online workshops called Writing with a Bent Nib, Randall 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 1900’s.

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