The love of Calligraphy
If you would love to practice some calligraphy, I have a practice sheet with the lines for you to download and practice on your own. I created this sheet a few years back when I wanted to practice in a more consistent way. I challenged myself to practice for 15 days. I printed a bunch of these sheets and practiced every day for at least 30 minutes (that could easily turn into a couple of hours because I enjoy the practice). At the end of 15 days, I had a bunch of beautiful practice sheets.
If you would like a copy of my lined sheet, click below:
this is a practice sheet I filled with “o”
It all began with this page
Now that you know you can download a practice sheet, if you would like to know how I got started with calligraphy, read on! {please? :) }
When I was in my early teens, I came across an art book that belonged to my dad. That one book got me hooked on making letterforms. At that time, I only used a Bic pen to create those letters. It was super fun! I had a notebook that I carried around and made those cool gothic script letters in random pages. That practice planted the seed in my brain and it wasn’t until I was an adult, that I picked up that the gothic script again. I created the design of our friends’ wedding dvd cover using that lettering. Sadly I didn’t take a photo or kept a copy of it – those were pre-(historic)-smartphone days.
Going back to the roots
Several years went by and again I was pulled by lettering and design. I started to see those beautiful lettering displays on handouts and websites. I got curious and started to research.
I had already tried to practice on my own. The first time picking up the dip pen and ink proved disastrous. I had no idea what I was doing, that was quite frustrating and finding online help was overwhelming.
At some point I came across The Postman’s Knock blog. It turns out that was the one place I needed to be to get started. Lindsey had so much content and so many different tutorials that I ended up dropping all other resources and just stuck to that website.
Getting proper help when I couldn’t do it on my own
This may sound like an ad (especially because there is a referral link in this post) but it’s more of an unsolicited testimonial that I have been wanting to write for the longest time.
Practicing Amy Style from The Postman’s Knock
I started out with the Amy Style Calligraphy Video Course. This was a really nice course that accompanied the separate Amy Style worksheets. It was very cost-effective to get properly started! That was the kind of thing I truly needed to get a strong (real) beginning with my calligraphy efforts. That one course gave me the push to become even more curious and aware of what I needed to do to get where I wanted.
You can do it your own way, it’s allowed!
I learned there are several different ways to create calligraphy. There wasn’t just the one specific type of letterform (for example, Copperplate is the one I think of when I think classic calligraphy), creating calligraphy that looks different from the books you may see out there is ok too.
One particular artist that helped me change my rigid point of view in calligraphy is Maybelle Imasa-Stukus. In her beginners class at creative bug , she talks about how she felt about the calligraphy full of rules and so rigid that it became very difficult to practice. She creates her own calligraphy and it’s a very special thing! It’s beautiful and unique!
I really hope you will give Calligraphy a try. Start with a regular pen just to see what you can create with it, and when you are ready move on to the dip pen. You will love the results and so will the people who receive your beautifully written notes and letters.
Need materials and supplies? Here’s the list of the things I use for calligraphy:
