Materials
The following is a basic materials list that will get you started in Calligraphy
Basics
Paper, at this point any reasonable quality paper will do.
Avoid absorbent paper that bleeds i.e. paper in which the ink flows and gives a feathery edge.
Newsprint and other inexpensive paper tends to bleed, as do some very expensive papers.General purpose photocopier or ink jet printer paper is usually OK and is also inexpensive.
The paper should also be capable of accepting pencil marks and stand up to the forces of erasing such pencil lines.Graph paper or squared paper can also be used for very basic practice work.
This saves time in drawing guidelines, but is not very flexible in allowing for different sized nibs and hands.
Ruler and pencil for measuring and drawing guidelines.
Clear plastic rulers work well, make sure it is smooth on the ruling edge.
A mechanical pencil with 0.5 mm HB or B leads work well, but a sharp regular wooden pencil also works well.
Eraser for erasing pencil lines.
White plastic erasers such as Staedtler work well
A flat surface on which to write
The surface should be smooth and padded with a few sheets of paper to have a surface that is firm but not too hard.
Good lighting
Preferably there should be no shadows on the writing surface, which should be well lit but without glare.
Pen
There an literally thousands of pen and ink combinations available.
These combinations fall under three broad categories
Self contained, typically these are disposable felt tip pens.
They are ideal for beginners since they are inexpensive and non messy.
The disadvantages are that the range of ink colours are limited, the edge of the nib wears out quickly making it difficult to produce fine lines.
Fountain Pens, frequently sold as boxed sets, popular at Christmas time.
Advantages are that the steel nibs keep their shape and the nibs are available in a variety of sizes and styles.
Disadvantages, limited range of inks and colours, relatively expensive for both nibs and ink.
Dip Pens. These are used mainly by experienced Calligraphers for serious work.
Advantages, numerous different manufacturers and styles, numerous different types of ink and writing media can be used.
Disadvantages, can be messy, more difficult for beginners, the wide variety can be confusing.
Recommendation
An inexpensive felt-tip Calligraphy marker is quite sufficient for these introductory lessons, but if you have a broad nibbed fountain pen then use that.
Ink
If you have a marker pen it comes ready filled with ink.
Use the manufacturer's recommended ink for a fountain pen.
Typically Calligraphers will use an opaque water colour medium called Gouache (pronounced gwarsh).
This is available in many colours and an infinite range of colours can be obtained by mixing.
The advantage of Gouache is that it can be mixed with water to get the consistency you want, this may however be difficult for the beginner to judge, consistency between mixes is also a problem. Unless you already have some dip pens, it is advisable to stick to the felt tip or fountain pen for starters.
Gouache is a pigment and as such tends to sit on the paper rather than soak into the paper as do dyes. This makes it possible to remove gouache by careful scraping or the use of an electric eraser
Masking Tape
Used to hold the paper in place. 'De-stick' the tape first by pressing onto a fabric surface (such as a sweater or trousers) a few times to reduce the stickiness. Otherwise there is a danger the tape may tear the paper when it is removed.
Nice to have (but not essential)
Sloping surface
Most Calligraphers prefer to write on a sloping surface as it is more comfortable and provided more control. This need not be expensive. Any flat board will do. This is not essential for beginners but as you progress you will appreciate the benefits of a sloping surface, particularly if you start to used dip pens and mixed writing fluid.
Electric Eraser
Not essential for a beginner, especially when practicing, but a definite 'nice to have' if you contemplate doing any serious work.
As professional draftspersons go over to computer aided drafting, it may be possible to pick up an electric eraser inexpensively, ask around if you have any friends in the commercial drafting business.
Guideline Drawing Program
If you practice a lot you will soon find you are spending as much time drawing guidelines as you are practicing.
A Guideline Drawing Program such as Calli-Graphic II helps a lot. Calli-Graphic II makes a great present for a friend, a loveone or Yourself.
Note. These introductory lessons introduce the concepts of Calligraphy. Beginners are advised to practice with Straight guidelines. Calli-Graphic II can produce both straight and curved guidelines. Instructions for writing on curved guidelines can be found in the Calli-Curvey II Help/Instructions screens
Pen angle
Let's Play
Take a piece of paper and draw a series of lines parallel to the long edge. The lines should be about 1 inch (25 mm) apart with the first line approximately 1 inch (25 mm) from the long edge.
Take your pen, loaded with ink if necessary, and holding the pen at 45 degrees to the straight lines you have just drawn, draw a series of vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines as shown below. See how the thickness of the line varies depending on the direction in which the line is drawn.
The thickest lines are drawn with the diagonal at right angles to the pen. The thinnest lines are drawn when the pen moves parallel with the nib. Horizontal and vertical lines are the same thickness
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Do the same again but this time change the pen angle to 30 degrees to the horizontal. See how the line thickenesses vary from when the pen was at 45 degrees.
Now try drawing some half circles as show. Start your stroke at about the 10 o'clock and come anti-clockwise to the 4 o'clock position. Do it again this time going clockwise. Try to keep the pen going in a circle as shown. Again see how the thickness of the lines vary depending on the direction of the slope relative to the pen angle. This variation of stroke thickness is an essential element of broad pen calligraphy.
Try making small circles and larger circles, if you have a number of pens or nibs try using them. Get a feel for how the pen moves, get a feel for how the shapes look when drawn small or large, see how they vary.
Paper & Ink
Now is the time to consider the paper/ ink combination. Does the ink bleed, does the ink flow evenly across the paper, is a smooth line left?
If the ink bleeds try using a different paper, or if you are mixing your own ink, try making it thicker. If the lines are rough or skipping then perhaps the paper is too rough, try a smoother one.
In each case do not push the pen always pull the pen across the page.
Keep it Constant
Generally the pen angle is kept constant when writing. This gives the characteristic variation in line thickness as well as giving a consistency between letters.
Occasionally however it is necessary to change the pen angle to obtain a thicker or thinner line than would otherwise be possible. Sometimes the pen angle is changed between strokes, other times the pen angle is changed within the stroke, this is called pen manipulation.
In these lessons assume the pen angle is constant unless otherwise instructed.
Posture and Presentation.
Some (experienced) calligraphers can produce excellent work with their pad of paper on their knees whilst watching TV. This is not recommended for beginners.
Find a comfortable seating position with your paper in front of you, preferably on a sloping surface. Keep the point at which you are writing in front of you. As you progress across the page, move the paper, or yourself so that the point where you are writing remains in front of you.
Letter Heights
Nib Width
In Broad Pen Calligraphy the height of the various letter is usually described in terms of the Nib Width. As the term implies the Nib Width is the width of the nib and represents the thickest stroke that the nib can make. Often it is not necessary to actually measure the Nib Width, rather a Nib Ladder can be drawn and used for producing guidelines. An example of a nib ladder is shown below.
Guidelines
In most forms of broad pen calligraphy the aim is to have a consistency in the lettering. As one's eye scans across the page there should be a consistency in shape, line thickness and height of letters. One aid in obtaining a consistency of lettering is to use Guidelines which help to ensure that letters fall on a straight line and letters have a consistency of height.
Guidelines may be drawn by hand, copied from an exemplar or may be drawn by computer.
Calli-Graphic II is a computer program, designed for Windows ®95/98 which accurately draws Calligraphy Guidelines.
Line Spacings
Before drawing the guidelines it is necessary to determine the spacing of the various lines.
Line spacing is determined from a consideration of the width of the nib and the style of Calligraphy (known as the Hand being written).
The base line is the line on which the letters 'sit'. It is the line from which the location of the other lines are determined.
The height of a letter is usually measured relative to the Nib Width.
The waist height is the height of minuscule letters such as a, c, e, i, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, x & z.
This waist height is more commonly known as the 'x' height, since it is the height of the letter x and also it is common practice to put an 'x' in the waist when ruling out a page.
You may refer to a hand (in this example) as having an x height of 4.5 nib widths This means that the height of the letter x is 4.5 times the width of the nib.
Letters such as b, d, f, h, k, l & t, have parts which go above the waist and are known as Ascenders. The space above the waist is known as the ascender height, in this example 2.5 nib widths.
Letters such as g, j, p, q & y have parts that go below the waist and are known as Descenders. The space below the waist is known as the descender height, in this example 2.5 nib widths.
In most hands the majority of MAJUSCULES do not go below the base line.
Majuscules do not necessarily have the same height as the ascenders on the minuscules.
Upright Guidelines
In the examples above you will see upright guidelines as well as horizontal ones. In the example the uprights are vertical with an angle of 90 degrees to the horizontal. Here the upright sections of the letters are vertical. In other hands the uprights may be at an angle of less than 90 degrees, in which case the upright guidelines would be sloping at that angle.
Skeletal Letters
One very good, and inexpensive, way to learn about letter forms is to tie two pencils together and produce skeletal shapes; see the animation below.
In the lessons that follow a number of skeletal letter shapes are shown. Drawing the outlines of letters in this way helps to gain an appreciation of the way in which the letters are formed and the differences in line thicknesses produced in Broad Pen Calligraphy.
In the next part of these lessons we will learn about a specific hand, the Foundational hand.
If your browser supports Frames select the 'Frames' option otherwise select 'No Frames'. The lessons are the same with either option, selecting the 'Frames' option makes it easier to find a specific letter or numeral.
