Capital Idea, Substack!
Substack just hit us with drop caps and I couldn't be more delighted
Have you heard?
Substack now allows you to add a drop cap to your posts.
What’s a drop cap?
It’s that big, stylized letter that opens a piece of writing.
In this short article, Patricia Gomez gives several examples of just how elaborate that initial capital can get. Take a look.
Fancy Writing
Growing up, most kids had the standard kid jobs.
I remember some set up lemonade stands.
Others mowed lawns.
A few babysat other neighborhood kids.
I did all those things, too, but my first business venture was driven by my entrepreneurial spirit.
I was in the 3rd grade, had just taken a calligraphy class, and wanted to show all my classmates how to create the stylized letters I was learning. I charged a quarter to teach each kid calligraphy on the playground.
Okay, fine, I was weird.
But I loved art and all things beautiful. And I wanted my classmates to fall in love with calligraphy, too.
3rd grade was also when we were first learning cursive. Because of this overlap, my cursive and my calligraphy became intertwined, and remain that way to this day. I still use a mash-up of both styles in my handwriting. For example, I opt for the more open L of calligraphy when signing my middle initial, rather than one with loops like Laverne’s famous initial that adorned all her sweaters in Laverne and Shirley.
My love of calligraphy never fully disappeared. It just evolved.
In my 20s, I manned the front desk at a small attorney’s office that was open from only 8 AM to 2 PM. Every afternoon, I’d rush home, put on a talk show, get out my inks and gold leaf, and dedicate hours to figuring out how to illuminate one large letter.
What I was practicing wasn’t exactly practical, but it was a meditative art form that kept my creative juices flowing.
Now, AI has given us the ability to produce all kinds of illuminated letters for fonts and logos without our hands ever having to do more than hit a keyboard. I have mixed feelings about this experience. I think there’s more to calligraphy and illuminated lettering than just producing something beautiful. When you spend time letting your hands practice moving through line and loop, your mind calms and makes connections.
That’s why, along with teaching my daughter cursive, we’re also dabbling in the art of calligraphy. It was only when I introduced her to calligraphy that she found an interest in handwriting.
How to Get the Drop Caps
My guess is that Substack wanted to give its authors a throwback to a stylized editorial look. To make our pieces appear more finished and professional. You won’t hear any complaints from me about the drop caps.
They’re easy to add to articles and look stunning:
From your Substack Dashboard, click on Website editor.
Click on the Posts tab.
Next to Drop caps, click the toggle to the right to turn it on, then select Save.
That’s all there is to it.
Your drop cap will appear at the beginning of every article in the web browser version, in your theme color.
Examples of Illuminations
Take a look at this short video to see how drop caps are now being added to digital documents. You’ll also notice how they compare to their older hand-drawn counterparts.
Or watch as this gentleman shows us how drop caps, or drop letters, as he calls them, are added to a printed page via a printing press.
And if you’re up for it, here’s a short history of Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts discussing what was considered a real illuminated manuscript and what wasn’t. The video also provides information on the Book of Kells and how the Printing Press changed the fate of hand-created books.
In 2011, I was lucky enough to spend some time in Madrid, Spain, where I visited the Instituto Valencia de Don Juan, which houses the Book of Hours of Doña Mencía de Mendoza, created in the 16th century. Here is a recreation of that pocket-sized book so you can get an idea of what’s inside.
Any opportunity you get to see one of these rare works of art, you should take. They are timeless classics that may never be reproduced.
What do you think?
Will you be using the drop cap in your Substack articles? I’d love to know.
Leave me a comment below and tell me why you will or won’t be using the new drop cap on Substack:
Drop caps make reading the beginning of a chapter special. I’ll be giving it a try for sure.