Orson Welles signature
Orson Welles’s signature begins with a tall, double-looped oval O and flows directly into a wide W and tall double-l loops across a continuous horizontal band.
What does Orson Welles’s signature look like?
Orson Welles’s signature begins with a tall, double-looped oval O and flows directly into a wide W and tall double-l loops across a continuous horizontal band. The final s extends smoothly to the right.
- Slant
- +34°forward
- Baseline
- +5.2°rising
- Width / height
- 4.40 : 1overall proportions
- Opening height
- 3.74×opening versus body letters
About Orson Welles and this autograph
Orson Welles (6 May 1915 – 10 October 1985) was an American actor and filmmaker. This specimen is the Wikimedia Commons vector rendering of Orson Welles’s signature.
Orson Welles signature and handwriting analysis
Orson Welles’s signature sample has 34° of forward slant, a rising baseline and 7 enclosed loops. Comparing autograph strokes, baseline angle (+5.2°), slant (+34°), opening ratio (3.74×) and enclosed loops (7) reveals how individual signature traits contrast with standard handwriting features. Use the layers to follow the writing line, letter band, slant and enclosed loops.
- Slantforward
- +34°
- Baselinerising
- +5.2°
- Width / heightoverall proportions
- 4.40 : 1
- Opening heightopening versus body letters
- 3.74×
- Enclosed loopsclosed spaces in the image
- 7
- Ink groupsmain disconnected groups
- 1
- Ink densityinside the signature bounds
- 6.0%
- Underlineno long lower flourish
- None
- Finish heightrelative to the letter body
- −0.59×
Opening, letter body and finish
The enlarged opening stands above the smaller letters. The opening-to-body ratio is 3.74×, while the whole image is 4.40 times as wide as it is tall. The rightmost ink finishes below the writing line; look at this ending separately from the slant of the letters themselves.
Loops and the lower flourish
The sample contains 7 enclosed loops and 1 main ink group. The letterforms carry the main horizontal movement; there is no long lower underline detected beneath their band.
All 11 measured signature features
Slant
+34°Angle of the letter strokes from vertical. Positive angles lean right; negative angles lean left.
The signature has a forward slant (+34°). The blue-green guides show the lean of strokes across the name.
Baseline
+5.2°Direction of the writing line from the beginning to the end of the signature.
The writing line rises (+5.2°). The red guide follows the base of the letters, separate from lower loops and flourishes.
Opening capital
3.7×Height of the opening letter relative to the typical letters that follow. 1× means similar heights.
The opening stands 3.7 times as high as the following letters. The purple box marks its area; the dashed blue guide marks the letter-body band.
Enclosed loops
7Closed spaces surrounded by ink, counted across the whole signature.
There are 7 enclosed loops in the sample. Orange outlines locate them. Compare their size and placement within the name.
Ink groups
1Separate connected areas of ink in the image. Dots or detached letters can form additional groups.
The signature contains 1 main ink group. Most of the visible ink joins into one connected shape. Look at where those shapes join or separate.
Ink density
6%Share of the signature’s enclosing rectangle occupied by ink.
Ink covers 6% of the measured signature area; the rest is open space. Compare the open areas with the thickness of the visible strokes.
Underline / flourish
NoneLength of a lower underline or flourish compared with the full signature width.
No long lower underline is detected. The name is carried by the letterforms and their own lower strokes.
Finish height
−0.6×Height of the rightmost ending above or below the baseline, in typical letter heights. Positive is above; negative is below.
The ending sits below the writing line (−0.6 letter heights). The orange guide locates the finish relative to the red baseline.
Width / height
4.4 : 1Full ink width divided by full ink height, including the signature’s tall and low strokes.
The shape is 4.4 times as wide as it is high. Its ink spans 1353 × 307 image pixels. Compare the horizontal spread with the vertical reach of the capitals and loops.
Ornamentation
3.5×Total traced stroke length divided by signature width. More turns and retraced shapes add length.
The traced strokes total 4,699 pixels, about 3.5 times the signature’s width. Look for loops, turns and flourishes that add movement within that width.
Angularity
3.7Number of corners per 100 pixels of traced ink outline. Higher values indicate more frequent sharp turns.
The outline contains about 3.7 corners per 100 pixels. Inspect the turns in the pen-path layer and compare pointed changes of direction with rounded curves.
Signatures with similar shapes
Compare these samples’ slant, proportions and letter rhythm with Orson Welles’s autograph.
