Calligraphy Simplified

I am a lover of words. I have always been fascinated by books, poems, grammar, and anything involving words. I was the kid that read the dictionary simply for the fun of it. I know, crazy, right? And, I am still that kid at heart! I still love the dictionary, but my new favorite is the thesaurus. I am eternally grateful to the creator of thesauruses! Can anyone else relate?😜

Anyway, I discovered recently my love of hand-lettering and making my words look pretty, as well. It really is an art- so much goes into it! Hand-lettering has become one of my favorite things, and I am always, always learning new styles and tricks. I have learned so much since I began, and I am happy to share the one thing that started me out: easy calligraphy! I hope you enjoy the tutorial below!😀

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I was asked to give a tutorial on my hand-lettering a while back, so I pulled this together for those interested. I didn’t spend too much time on this, so it’s a little rough.😝 I used a basic #2 pencil- It doesn’t take an expensive writing utensil to do this, which is a huge plus! I have put together some tips in addition to the picture😉:

• This is a very detailed word art. You can’t just wing it without practice and expect to get it right. (Unless you just happen to be born with the talent of hand-lettering😜) I am actually usually pickier about my letters than I was when doing this tutorial. Every letter needs to be shaped right, every line and curve smooth, and each letter on the same size scale. The more attention you pay to detail, the better.

 

• One of the biggest things when you do your “calligraphy” is to shape your letters the right way. Calligraphy letters have swooping lines and graceful curves- They aren’t your average cursive letters. I spent a lot of time studying and practicing the lines of these letters before I perfected them. I suggest getting books at the library, Googling it, and simply just studying every bit of calligraphy you see. I am constantly writing random words in this style for practice.

 

• The extra lines in #2 are called downstrokes. It is important you get the thickness even and pick the best looking parts of the letter to place them. Sometimes the downstrokes look awkward if not placed right. You want it to look nice, not having a bunch of misplaced downstrokes. Just play around with it and see what looks best.😉

 

• Adding flourishes to the beginning and end of the word round it out and add a softness to your letters. Everything flows better, and it is much more pleasing to the eye. You can also draw little designs around the word, such as arrows, underlining, hearts, flowers, or other random doodles. This is the part that makes it your own. Do what you think looks good.😜

 

If you need advice, just contact me, and I’ll suggest tweaks to make your words look even prettier.😉 Thank you for reading! I hope this helped y’all out.😃