Learning Calligraphy

If you are interested in learning calligraphy, there are several different areas you will need to study in order to become a successful calligrapher.

As with any new venture you take on, you have the big, overall picture of how to do something, which can be overwhelming and leave you wondering how you'll ever learn how to do it all.

You can make learning calligraphy easier to tackle by breaking down the training into smaller sections. If you focus on each individual piece of learning calligraphy step-by-step, it makes you feel more confident about being able to master one thing at a time versus the entire process all at once.

As you are learning calligraphy and mastering each piece of the puzzle one at a time, allow yourself the time it takes for concepts and process to sink in. You can practice one process thoroughly before moving on to the next, which makes the learning process much easier and lets you look forward to learning the next step.

The first step in learning calligraphy is to equip yourself with the right tools. To begin, you need a lined sketchbook, a calligraphy pen or marker and a training book or manual. You may want to start with an instruction guide strictly for beginners, which will explain things in language a beginner will understand.

Your instruction should include the most basic ways of learning letter forms and strokes so you can go on to build from there. The more time spent practicing the strokes, angles and curves, the better. Only when you really grasp a concept or know that you've mastered the things you are practicing should you move along to the next step.

Another part of learning calligraphy will go over how to use the pen properly. This part of the training will cover holding your instrument correctly and how to move and turn it, in addition to how and when to apply more pressure to create different thickness of lines. This portion of the training will explain how by moving the pen vertically or horizontally and at different angles will create completely different results in your calligraphy writing.

The next part of your training will go over different font styles and how to form letters in many different alphabets. This is where putting in a lot of practice time will be to your benefit. You'll want to master one alphabet before tackling the next one.

There are hundreds of different font styles ranging from block style to fancy scripts. There are also embellishments that you can add to the words to make them look even fancier.

By practicing how to form each letter, then each word and then stringing words together, you'll get a feel for the correct letter size and especially the spacing in between letters to keep them legible and in proper form.

After mastering the alphabet writing step, you'll discover other tips and tricks to use with various font styles, or even with how to take what you've already learned and modify it to make it a little easier or to achieve different results.

You'll also be ready to try using different instruments at this point so you can see how they all work, and how one instrument might work better than another based on the type of project. By experimenting with dip pens, markers and brushes, it will expand your knowledge and expertise.