As a calligrapher the questions you’re likely to be asked include “How long did it take you?”, “did you do it on the computer?” and the favourite of all: “what do you do when things go wrong?” Things going wrong – it happens. It’s part of developing our calligraphy. And it’s not the end of…
Tag: learning calligraphy
Foundational Hand – Order and Direction
After studying the proportions of the Foundational Hand letters, the next step is to start writing the letters. Each letter is constructed rather than written. The letters are made up of a combination of pen strokes, which are only made in a top – down or left – right direction. The pen is never pushed…
Foundational Hand – Proportions
After studying Roman Capitals, next on the list is the Foundational Hand, sometimes called Roman Minuscules. The Foundational Hand are the lower-case letters written beside Roman Capitals. As with the Roman Capitals we need to study the proportion of the letters before we pick up a calligraphy pen and make a start with some sample…
Numbers
Numbers follow the characteristics of the main script. So, they should be sloped and based on an oval shape when written with Italics and round in shape and upright when written with Roman Capitals. Numbers can be either ranged or non-ranged. Ranged numbers are typically used with Capital letters where there are no ascenders and…
Roman Capitals – Serifs
Serifs are small strokes added to letters to ‘finish’ the letter. They can enhance the letters, but if produced badly will spoil the letter rather than ‘finishing it’. You need to be careful when adding serifs. If they are too big they can distract from the letterform and can even alter the final shape of…
Roman Capitals – Letter and Word Spacing
Many calligraphers put all their effort in to producing correctly proportioned letterforms. Whilst the letters are very important, bad letter and word spacing will distract from the lettering. Can you imagine looking at a piece of work with beautiful lettering only to be distracted by poor spacing? Spacing can make or break a piece of…
Roman Capitals – Order and Directions
Once the proportions of the Roman Capitals have been studied, the next step is to start writing the letters.Each letter is constructed rather than written. The letters are made up from a combination of pen strokes.With this style of lettering, the pen strokes are only made in a top – down or left – right…
Roman Capitals – Proportions
Roman Capitals are usually the first style of calligraphy to be taught to the students of a new class. This is not always the case and there have been debates in the past to which is the best style to start with. Anyway, we are going to study Roman Capitals. We could just pick up…
Tips for Practising a New Style
It is best to practice frequently and in a constructive and methodical way. By setting yourself a target for the practice session you will be more focused and achieve better results. Practising a new style (Roman Capitals) Here is an approach you could use to learn a new lettering style. We are not going to…
Copperplate Writing – Best Practice
With Copperplate, it is important to have the right equipment and materials. Drawing Board For most work, a calligrapher will use a drawing board, which if at the correct angle will help improve ink flow. When writing Copperplate, I personally tend not to use a board. By having the paper flat on the desk, it…