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Calligraphy and Handmade Letting
October 12, 2017
Calligraphy and handmade lettering – tips for beginners!
What do we need?: A pencil, an eraser, a piece of paper and a pen (it can either be a brush lettering pen or two separate ones: a thick and a small one).
How do we start?: Let your imagination fly, or open Pinterest (a great source of inspiration). Although there are a thousand letter fonts, to start, I’ve chosen 4 different styles: decorative, modern, doodle and parts and pieces. You’ll love them!
Tips to: DECORATIVE LETTERING
- Itziar de PedroStart by writing the word using cursive handwriting
- Vary the sizes and heights of the letters within a word (avoid straight lines)
- Prolong the starting and finishing letter of the word
- Slant your normal vertical lines at 60 degrees
- Upstrokes are thin and down strokes are thick
Tips to: DOODLE LETTERING
- Write in big round letters (this is especially used for titles)
- Make vertical lines of the letters double
- Design a pattern for the inside and keep it uniform throughout the word
- Subtitles are often written with tall skinny letters like the ones in the example
Tips to: PARTS AND PIECES LETTERING
- Use uppercase letters and leave a space between them
- Rewrite the same letter and join them to the previous ones you drew
- Show the interceptions between the lines
- Keep the letters the same height and width
Tips to: DETAIL LETTERING
- Start by drawing the outlines and then work on the inside
- Make the letters the same size
- Use the same pattern inside
- Make a small shadow for each letter using a thin pen
You may be wondering, what can I use calligraphy for? To start off, you can now handwrite your thank you notes, holiday cards, happy birthday letters, invitations…. You can make beautiful titles for your notebooks; you can frame your work and hang it on your wall, or you can even turn it into a gift for a loved one. I hoped you enjoyed these examples and I urge you to try your own!
Stay tuned, coming up soon are some fall DIY, Halloween crafts and much more!