HANDWRITING REFERENCE
Handwriting baseline: level, rising and falling lines
Handwriting baseline follows the bottoms of ordinary letter bodies. Mark its direction and local drift independently of the lean of tall stems.
READING DESK
Reference, comparison & reading
Compare the visible forms
The body bottoms stay near one height.
The body band moves upward across the sample.
The body band moves downward across the sample.
What to inspect
Follow the base of a, e, n and o. Descenders in g, j and y extend below that band. Compare each sentence separately so an underline or enlarged capital does not set the line.
Make the comparison
A rising line travels upward from left to right; a falling line travels downward. Local waves can occur within either direction. Align a photograph to the paper edges before measuring that angle.
Practice with a sample
Mark five body-letter bottoms in a sentence and join them with a light guide. Repeat on a second line. Compare both the overall direction and the distance individual bodies drift above or below it.