History Main / HandwritingAsCharacterization

** {{Discussed|Trope}} in season 2's "Back in the Saddle Again," when the girls notice the specials board at Luke's has been changed to reflect a new dish. Lorelai notes that the handwriting is "so precise, so determined" and approves it as "focused-Luke." Rory informs her that it's Jess's handwriting, and she knows because he's been writing marginalia in her books. Lorelai quickly takes back her assessment of the handwriting by guessing that the notes are things like "play basketball, eat a sandwich," as she doesn't have a high opinion of Jess.
** A variation in season 3's "Lorelai Out Of Water," when Rory scolds Lorelai for not getting rid of the junk in their garage two years earlier as promised. Lorelai retorts she called guys to remove it but got bored waiting for them and went to get coffee. She insists she left a note, but Rory points out they didn't know whether the note was authentic. [[{{Manchild}} Lorelai]] defends herself: "I wrote it on Powerpuff Girls stationery. Who'd he think was setting him up, Hello Kitty?"

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

* ''Literature/GordonBrittasSharingTheDream'': A brief glimpse of Colin's attempts to copy out the Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre Safety Manual depicts his writing style as scrawly and difficult to read, an indicator of Colin's status as The Ditz.

* ''Literature/TheGraceOfKings'': Good calligraphy is considered a mark of refinement and is one of the factors being judged in the qualifying exams for state office. The scholar Lügo Crupo is renowned for the beauty of his writing as well as for the elegance and intelligence of his words -- both of which conceal a morally bankrupt character.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'':

* ''Literature/TheGraceOfKings'': Good calligraphy is considered a mark of refinement and is one of the factors being judged in the qualifying exams for state office. The scholar Lügo Crupo is renowned for the beauty of his writing as well as for the elegance and intelligence of his words.

-->--'''Dale Cooper''', ''Series/TwinPeaks''

* [[TheSmartGuy Smart characters]], especially doctors, are often portrayed as having messy handwriting. This is based on the idea that thinking faster may cause one to write faster and therefore less legibly -- while this is the case for some people, there is no direct correlation relating to one's intelligence and handwriting legibility.

-->'''Holmes:''' The upward strokes on the 'p', the 'j', the 'm', indicate a genius level intellect, while the flourishes in the lower zone denote a highly creative, yet meticulous nature... but if one observers the overall slant and the pressure of the writing, there's suggestion of acute narcissism, a complete lack of empathy, and a pronounced inclination toward--\\

* ''Film/{{Zodiac}}'': Invoked, discussed and inverted as various suspects' written samples are compared and evaluated with the original killer's published letters by a graphologist -- he concludes that some samples match better than there are other evidences that point to that specific suspect. To make matters worse, one of the suspects is ambidextrous while another is a cinema's poster designer and calligraphist while the letters themselves have an iconographic cipher.

* ''Literature/DoubleAct'' by Creator/JacquelineWilson is told from the perspective of twin sisters Ruby and Garnet, writing alternating diary entries in an old accounts book. A difference in handwriting is depicted by the font; Ruby's entries have plain font while Garnet's entries are italicised. Dramatic, extroverted Ruby isn't interested in schoolwork and doesn't care about her handwriting so long as its readable. Bookish, introverted Garnet aspires to be a writer and has much neater handwriting.

** A variation in season 3's "Lorelai Out Of Water," when Rory scolds Lorelai for not getting rid of the junk in their garage two years earlier as promised. Lorelai retorts she called guys to remove it, but got bored waiting for them and went to get coffee. She insists she left a note, but Rory points out they didn't know whether the note was authentic. [[{{Manchild}} Lorelai]] defends herself: "I wrote it on Powerpuff Girls stationery. Who'd he think was setting him up, Hello Kitty?"

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': Monk's handwriting is so neat and consistent it's sometimes confused for being typed.
* ''Series/OhsamaSentaiKingOhger'': In #31, the placards the monarchs hold show characters they wrote that complemented their respective personalities; for example the delinquent-like Yanma wrote his in a jagged hand, the elegant Hymeno wrote hers in neat cursive, and Kaguragi, the leader of the [[{{Wutai}} Japan-like land of Toufu]] wrote his in a calligraphy-like manner.

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': Bill Dauterive's signature is his first name in block letters and his last name in cursive, as he is a slob, but proud of his roots.

** Leni and Lola write in cursive and dot their eyes with hearts, which fits with them being TheFashionista and a little girl in a PrincessPhase respectively. Also, Leni often misspells words because she's a DumbBlonde.

* In ''Fanfic/ALoadOfBulk'', Lana misspells many words because she is only six years old.

* Discussed in ''Film/TheTalentedMrRipley''. Tom Ripley analyzes Dickie Greenleaf's handwriting, noting that his letters not touching the line they are written on are a sign of vanity. This is more than a casual observation on Tom's part, as he is skilled in forging people's handwriting and signatures, something he uses [[spoiler:when assuming Dickie's identity after murdering him]].

* ''Double Act'' by Creator/JacquelineWilson is told from the perspective of twin sisters Ruby and Garnet, writing alternating diary entries in an old accounts book. A difference in handwriting is depicted by the font; Ruby's entries have plain font while Garnet's entries are italicised. Dramatic, extroverted Ruby isn't interested in schoolwork and doesn't care about her handwriting so long as its readable. Bookish, introverted Garnet aspires to be a writer and has much neater handwriting.

** [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in season 2's "Back in the Saddle Again," when the girls notice the specials board at Luke's has been changed to reflect a new dish. Lorelai notes that the handwriting is "so precise, so determined" and approves it as "focused-Luke." Rory informs her that it's Jess's handwriting, and she knows because he's been writing marginalia in her books. Lorelai quickly takes back her assessment of the handwriting by guessing that the notes are things like "play basketball, eat a sandwich," as she doesn't have a high opinion of Jess.

-->'''Holmes:''' The upward strokes on the 'p', the 'j', the 'm', indicate a genius level intellect, while the flourishes in the lower zone denote a highly creative, yet meticulous nature... but if one observers the overall slant and the pressure of the writing, there's suggestion of acute narcissism, a complete lack of empathy, and a pronounced inclination toward--
-->'''Moriarty:''' No.
-->'''Holmes:''' Moral insanity.
* Discussed in ''Film/TheTalentedMrRipley''. Tom Ripley analyzes Dickie Greenleaf's handwriting, noting that his letters not touching the lien they are written on are a sign of vanity. This is more than a casual observation on Tom's part, as he is skilled in forging people's handwriting and signatures, something he uses [[spoiler:when assuming Dickie's identity after murdering him]].

* ''Series/GilmoreGirls:'' [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in season 2's "Back in the Saddle Again," when the girls notice the specials board at Luke's has been changed to reflect a new dish. Lorelai notes that the handwriting is "so precise, so determined" and approves it as "focused-Luke." Rory informs her that it's Jess's handwriting, and she knows because he's been writing marginalia in her books. Lorelai quickly takes back her assessment of the handwriting by guessing that the notes are things like "play basketball, eat a sandwich," as she doesn't have a high opinion of Jess.

[[/folder]]

* Discussed in ''Film/TheTalentedMrRipley''. Tom Ripley analyzes Dickie Greenleaf's handwriting, noting that his letters not touching the lien they are written on are a sign of vanity. This is more than a casual observation on Tom's part, as he is skilled in forging people's handwriting and signatures, something he uses [[spoiler:when assuming Dickie's identity after murdering him]].

Just like how a person's accent or speech patterns can provide insights into their personality, so can something like their handwriting. For instance:

* [[TheSmartGuy Smart characters]], especially doctors, are often portrayed as having messy handwriting. This is based on the idea of how thinking faster may cause one to write faster and therefore less legibly -- while this is the case for some people, there is no direct correlation relating to one's intelligence and handwriting legibility.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

-->'''Holmes:''' The upward strokes on the 'p', the 'j', the 'm', indicate a genius level intellect, while the flourishes in the lower zone denote a highly creative, yet meticulous nature... but if one observers the overall slant and the pressure of the writing, there's suggestion of acute narcissism, a complete lack of empathy, and a pronounced inclination toward-

Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]