Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Calligraphy For Beginners - Learn How To Do Calligraphy (PDFDrive) PDF
Calligraphy For Beginners - Learn How To Do Calligraphy (PDFDrive) PDF
www.howtodocalligraphy.com
2
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Step #1: Gather the Supplies You Need .............................................................................................. 10
Markers............................................................................................................................................. 14
Step #2: Mastering the Pen ................................................................................................................. 19
Step #3: Getting the Letters Right........................................................................................................ 23
The l” Family ..................................................................................................................................... 24
The “n” Family .................................................................................................................................. 25
The “o” Family .................................................................................................................................. 27
The “v” Family .................................................................................................................................. 28
The “x” Family .................................................................................................................................. 28
Step #4: Correcting Your Errors & Perfecting Your Craft..................................................................... 30
Step #5: String Letters Into Words ....................................................................................................... 33
[BONUS] 7 Surefire Tips to Learn Calligraphy In Record Time! .......................................................... 38
Tip #1: Kill Your "I Can't” Mentality ................................................................................................. 40
Tip #2: Don't Skip The Basics............................................................................................................ 42
Tip #3: Spot And Correct Mistakes Early ......................................................................................... 44
Tip #4: Use Calligraphy Guidelines .................................................................................................. 45
Tip #5: Slow and Steady Wins the Race ........................................................................................... 46
Tip #6: The Magic Is In The Grip ....................................................................................................... 47
Tip #7: Don't Develop Your Own Style ............................................................................................ 51
Now, Persevere! ............................................................................................................................... 52
3
Introduction
4
The Italic script is a semi-cursive, sloped style of calligraphy that was
developed during the Renaissance in Italy, which explains its name. It
is one of the most popular styles used in contemporary Western
calligraphy, and is often a script that most beginners and
calligraphers start out with.
5
These are just a few of my personal pieces which demonstrate the
beauty and versatility of Italic calligraphy:
6
Copyright © 2015 Your Calligraphy Tutor. All Rights Reserved
7
Copyright © 2015 Your Calligraphy Tutor. All Rights Reserved
8
With all its wonderful properties, Italic calligraphy (I’ll just refer to it
as calligraphy from now on for fluency sake) must be really difficult
to learn Italic calligraphy… right?
Wrong!
In fact, it is one of the SIMPLEST styles you can ever learn. With a
step-by-step guide and a decent amount of practice, you’ll definitely
master it.
In this Ultimate Guide, I will outline the 5 steps that you can follow,
which will enable you to produce the calligraphy that you have
always desired!
9
Step #1:
Gather the Supplies You Need
10
The first step to even start learning calligraphy is to get all the
required supplies. This chapter will tell you more about the supplies
you may need to get started:
Pens
The best writing tool for a beginner to who is learning calligraphy is a
calligraphy pen (which has a broad-edged nib, and not a pointed
one).
A broad-edged nib allows us to create the effect that we want in Italic Calligraphy
11
There are primarily two kinds of calligraphy pens:
a. Cartridge-loaded pen
b. Dip pens
You don’t have to worry about ‘refilling’ the nib of your pen halfway
through a stroke, unlike a dip pen.
Synonymous with its name, the dip pen is refilled by dipping the nib
into an ink bottle, although most people prefer to refill it by dipping
a brush into ink and then applying it evenly on the nib of the pen
itself.
Using a dip pen allows for a larger variety of inks to be used for
different effects. The nib can also be sharpened or shaped in a way
which suits the calligrapher.
(If you are interested in learning more about dip pens, here’s a
wonderfully detailed article on what a dip pen looks like and how to
use it.)
12
However, I would not recommend it at this point in time.
13
Markers
Markers are a great choice when time is a concern but quality isn’t.
They are wonderful for practicing your strokes and also perfect for
small tasks that don’t require a high level of intricacy, such as writing
a casual note to a friend or co-worker or posting a reminder to
yourself on a Post-it note.
They are also mess-free, and you can carry them around with you
everywhere.
They are fuss-free and mess-free. You can just buy them,
use them till they’re out of ink, throw them away and buy a
14
new one again. They are inexpensive, too.
They are good for practicing the right strokes. Markers are a
cheap and easy way to practice your strokes and
fundamentals before you start using a calligraphy pen.
Markers are not suitable for larger tasks. For example, you
wouldn’t want to letter a certificate or a heartfelt gift to a
friend with a marker.
Markers tend to dry out quickly, and you might only be able
to use them only for a short period of time.
15
The tip blunts, even with really careful use. This is because
the pressure that you put on the nib of the marker causes it
to deteriorate and blunt after repeated usage.
Paper
Ensure that you have a good supply of paper, preferably thick, good
quality paper.
What you want is paper which does not cause ink to feather (bleed).
There are many factors which contribute to feathering, but changing
the paper you’re using to stop the feathering of ink is the easiest
way.
16
Ink feathers when written on cheap / overly absorbent paper
You can start out with inexpensive printing quality paper (for e.g.
Double A Printing Paper) – they are good and smooth enough.
If you don’t mind investing a little more for better quality paper, you
can try out Rhodia pads, Kokuyo Campus Paper or Maruman Paper.
There are many other brands but these are a few of the popular
ones.
17
Additional tools that you may want to get before starting out:
18
Step #2:
Mastering the Pen
19
You should pay the most attention to this step.
If you do not get this step right, all your effort in mastering steps #3 -
#5 will be in vain. You won’t be able to write calligraphy even if
you’ve finished step #5.
This will be the single most important step you will learn. Screw it up
and you can forget about ever doing beautiful calligraphy!
Fortunately for you, sometimes the most important things can be the
simplest things too.
Whether or not you can write beautiful calligraphy all boils down to:
This is because the angle at which your hold your pen determines the
look of your letters. Hold it at the correct angle and you’ll get your
“thicks” and “thins” at the right places.
Copyright © 2015 Your Calligraphy Tutor. All Rights Reserved
20
Figure 1: At a 45-degree angle, the thicks and thins appear magically as you write.
If you want to know if you are holding your pen at the correct angle,
draw a horizontal line 45 degrees to your right. If you’re holding your
pen at the correct angle, you would be creating the thinnest line
possible with the pen.
Figure 2: Hold your pen such that your nib is at a 45 degree angle
Copyright © 2015 Your Calligraphy Tutor. All Rights Reserved
21
Let’s illustrate this using a diagram:
If you hold it in a 0-degree angle, your "n" will be the one on the
right - thick vertical and diagonal strokes.
However, what you want are thick vertical strokes and horizontal
strokes but thin diagonals. That can only be achieved with a 45-
degree pen angle. The "n" on the left best demonstrates that.
You have to master Step #2 before you can proceed to Step #3.
Copyright © 2015 Your Calligraphy Tutor. All Rights Reserved
22
Step #3:
Getting the Letters Right
23
The next step on the list is to begin to form letters following a
template as a guide.
There are six basic letter families: l, n, u, o, v, and x.
The l” Family
24
The “n” Family
**Notice that the “n” shape consists of two vertical lines connected
by a branch that extends out midway from the first vertical.
25
The “u” Family
Notice that the “u” shape is a vertical inversion of the letter “n” –
just turn “n” upside down and you get a “u”!
26
The “o” Family
27
The “v” Family
28
Some additional tips for you to note:
29
Step #4:
Correcting Your Errors & Perfecting
Your Craft
30
There are many types of errors that you can make in calligraphy, and
it is very important that you are able to identify them, or at least
have someone there to help you to identify them so that you can
advance quickly in your practice.
Here are just a few of the many common mistakes beginners make:
These letters are too fat and rounded and are too wide for Italic
text.
Letters on the left are too round. They should be narrower like the ones on the right.
31
Solution: Keep the letters more compact; keep them narrower.
When you practice your letters, compare them to the letters
shown in Step #3 and make sure that your letters are not overly
rounded.
Archs are too rounded (like a bridge); they should inch towards the top then drop
32
Step #5:
String Letters Into Words
33
Now that you know how to form beautiful calligraphy letters, it’s
time to string these letters together to form words.
34
Some things to take note of here:
35
Now It’s Your Turn To Do It!
36
I have given you the five basic steps that you can take, and now that
you know the five steps, you will be able to learn calligraphy in the
comfort of your own home. All it takes from here is to practice italic
calligraphy the right way and before you know it, you will be able to
write beautiful calligraphy anytime, anywhere, and for any occasion.
To Your Success,
Henry
www.howtodocalligraphy.com
37
[BONUS]
7 Surefire Tips to Learn Calligraphy
In Record Time!
38
Everyone wants to learn calligraphy, and everyone wants to learn
it fast.
But, not everyone can, because they might not know how to.
Here are the 7 proven and effective tips below
will significantly accelerate your progress and help you learn how to
write calligraphy in the shortest time possible.
However, just before I let you in on the 7 tips which you would
definitely find useful, you will find NO magical techniques or tricks
here which will enable you to learn calligraphy overnight.
Zero. None.
If you are looking for that magical technique, I'm afraid I'll have to
disappoint you.
The fast and easy way to learn calligraphy is to practice. There's no
way around that.
But trust me, these 7 tips will make a world of difference to your
practice and learning of calligraphy.
Now get ready for these 7 Golden Tips:
39
Tip #1: Kill Your "I Can't” Mentality
This is the first thing you've got to do.
One of the largest hindrances to your learning calligraphy is you
believing that you can't learn it. Some of the common reasons I've
heard are:
I cannot learn calligraphy because…
40
Till this date, anyone who has followed the right steps has been able
to learn calligraphy, no matter how bad their handwriting is, or
how little artistic talent they have. But don't just take it from me, the
lengendary master calligrapher, Lloyd Reynolds, said it too.
I used to believe that I could never learn calligraphy because I had no
artistic talent and bad handwriting too. But when I started believing
that I can (since so many people just like me were also able to learn
calligraphy), I started to truly see myself enjoying earning and writing
calligraphy.
Time has proven again and again that anyone can learn calligraphy if
they can write. So stop worrying, ditch that "I can't" mindset, grab
your pen and start learning!
41
Tip #2: Don't Skip The Basics
42
Learn a step-by-step method. Get an online calligraphy guide,
whatever. There are many good books out there that would give you
a good head start.
Here's a list of good books that I would recommend:
If you prefer a more visual step-by-step guide that takes you along
every step of the way, you may want to try our Easy Calligraphy e-
Learning System™, which uses the proven 5-step method. It is
broken down into 5 lessons, where each lesson contains a series of
compact tutorial videos to get you maximum results in the shortest
time possible.
43
Tip #3: Spot And Correct Mistakes Early
44
Tip #4: Use Calligraphy Guidelines
45
Tip #5: Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Slow down!
Calligraphy is not a race, but it's sad that not many people see that.
The quicker you write, the more ugly habits from your handwriting
will surface.
Instead, don't rush through your letters. Focus on making every
stroke as perfect as possible. Make sure that they look as perfect as
the model examples.
Concentrating intently on every stroke will increase your chances
of producing a sharp, clean stroke. Letters will also look uniform.
As you slow down and become more meticulous and aware of how
you’re writing, you will realise that you are doing much better
calligraphy than before.
46
Tip #6: The Magic Is In The Grip
47
Let’s illustrate this using a diagram:
48
Pen Contact
When the edges of strokes turn out jagged and uneven, instead of a
nice, smooth and thick line, it’s a sign you’re not holding your pen
properly.
It can take time getting used to the broad nib of the calligraphy pen
which can be honestly be quite difficult to write with compared to a
regular pen.
You have to make sure that the nib of your pen is flat against the
surface of the paper at all times when you are making the stroke.
You can hold it this way: let the pen rest on the side of your middle
finger, with the thumb securing it. The index finger then rests on top
of the pen, gently pressing the pen flat against the paper.
Practice this with exercises like these:
49
Once you get the hang of it, you’ll see your strokes come out nice
and clean!
50
Tip #7: Don't Develop Your Own Style
51
Now, Persevere!
Calligraphy may be a little more difficult at the start, but as with all
worthwhile pursuits, the pleasure and calm that you get is
definitely worth the effort and the practice.
And good news, just like running downhill, it gets easier and easier as
you go on.
So, now that you know these 7 proven and effective tips, put them
into action! Practice and persevere! You will be able to develop a
deeply satisfying personal skill which will be worth every second
spent learning.
Please feel free to share your thoughts with me – you may email me
at henry@howtodocalligraphy.com anytime!
52