OLFA/SENIOR TWO/GRAPHICS/CALLIGRAPHY

Calligraphy. This is the art of beautiful handwriting. The term is derive from the Greek words for “beauty” (kallos) and “to write” (graphein). It implies a sure knowledge of the correct form of letters—i.e., the conventional signs by which language can be communicated—and the skill to make them with such ordering of the various parts and harmony of proportions that the experienced, knowledgeable eye will recognize such  composition as a work of art. Calligraphic work, as art, need not be legible in the usual sense of the word.

What is modern calligraphy?

Modern calligraphy is any calligraphy style that does not follow the fundamental rules of traditional calligraphy scripts such as Copperplate, Spencerian, Italic, Blackletter, etc. Modern calligraphy relies on certain principles of traditional calligraphy. However, it can provide you with more creative freedom.

How does modern calligraphy differ from traditional calligraphy?

You see,

Traditional calligraphic scripts (such as the ones mentioned above) are governed by specific, structured, individual strokes that form different letters.

Let’s have a look at some examples.

This is an example of the Copperplate script

Traditional calligraphy are done with specific tools, and with precise measures of heights and angles.

On the other hand modern calligraphy has more freedom in it’s performance.

There are some basic ground rules that should be applied in order to maintain a visual harmony.

These rules may seem complicated and overwhelming especially for beginners, however, I strongly urge you to stick to them and learn how to practice calligraphy properly from the very beginning.

Tools needed for calligraphy designing

1. Brush pens
2. 

The brush pens are the easiest tool to start off with.

The reason is that the brush pen has a flexible (felt) nib which allows you to create nice thick and thin lines with ease.

2. Traditional dip pens 

Traditional dip pens consist of two parts –

1. The nib

   

2. The holder

The holder can either be a straight holder or an oblique holder.

Working with dip pens takes a bit longer to learn, and here is why –

When you work with a dip pen you need to hold it on a specific angle in order for the tines of the nib to open up equally, thus creating a thicker stroke (aka shade).

You need to hold it on a certain angle in order to avoid your tip getting stuck in the paper when you create hairlines (thin upstrokes).

Keep in mind that with this tool you will need to constantly dip your pen in the ink, it will require more maintenance with the nibs, etc.

3. The Pencil

   

This tool is such an essential part of ANY lettering/calligraphy toolbox.

In calligraphy we are mainly using the pencil to sketch out rough concepts, create guidelines and for those who are on a budget you can even practice calligraphy with it.

When it comes to the pencil, I would recommend a simple HB pencil

Just remember not to underestimate the value of the pencil.

Aside from the pencil you will also need a ruler in order to create your guidelines.

The ruler allows you to quickly draw parallel lines with ease

4. Various markers and ballpoint pens

Mostly used for creating Faux Calligraphy and other styles of modern calligraphy, these markers can indeed be a great addition to your lettering.

Adding effects, patterns, colors, pretty much anything that comes to your mind, is one of the benefits when working with modern calligraphy.

How to start with calligraphy – basic strokes

How to hold a brush pen?

Different people like to hold the pen in different ways but the most important thing is the angle on which you to hold it.

Holding the pen too upright will not give you the desired effect (thick and thin contrast) and it will also damage the tip of your pen.

That been said, the next important part is to know where to apply thin strokes and where to apply the thick strokes.

The general rule is that your strokes going up are thin while the ones going down are thick.

The thick down strokes are created by applying pressure while the up strokes are done with the tip of the pen – without applying any pressure. it is essential that you first get familiar with the brush pen and how to use it.

Before even thinking to start writing letters and words, try to get comfortable creating thin lines when going up and thick lines when going down. 

This will help you to get to know the tool and you will start developing a feeling for it in your hand – something that is also known as muscle memory

The basic calligraphy strokes

Once you feel comfortable enough using the brush pen, we can move forward and start learning the basic calligraphy strokes.

There are 7 basic strokes and by combing these basic strokes we can create nearly any letter of the lowercase alphabet. Here are the  basic shapes i would like you to practice before you jump straight into the letters.

And here is a quick example of combining the different basic strokes in order to create letters and even words.

A few fundamental rules about modern calligraphy to keep in mind

The two basic and fundamental rules i want you to start implement in your practice are Consistency and Spacing. 

1. Consistency 

Keeping our letters consistent helps to increase the overall visual harmony. (something pleasing to the eye)

In order to keep your letters consistent you MUST use guidelines.

I see way to often students discrediting guidelines and simply trying to eyeball the heights (X), angles etc.

When I talk about consistency in calligraphy I don’t mean that you have to aim on perfection and mathematical precision. The letters should follow the same height and angle.

All you need to achieve more consistency in your letters is a pencil and a ruler.

Using the ruler and the pencil create the base line and the mean line (to create the x-height).

Add the ascender line, the descender line and the slant lines that will determine the angle of your letters.

2. Spacing 

Good spacing between the letters helps you to keep a high level of legibility (clear enough).

If the letters are too squeezed together that could have a negative impact on your calligraphy

In order to maintain a good and consistent spacing you need to go slower, lift your pen between each stroke and also keeping an eye on the space of the previous letter pair.

Again, this is something that will just improve with time and practice.

So, we have 5 different letter groups –

1. Straight letters – i, l, t, f,
2. Branching letters – n, m, h, b, p, k, r
3. Reverse Branching letters – u, y, a, d, g, q
4. Oval letters – o, c, e
5. Diagonal letters – s, v, w, x, z

Popular calligraphy techniques (step by step)

Once you feel confident with basic strokes you can start experimenting with different styles.

1. Bounce lettering 

Bounce lettering has become quite popular and it can be seen all over the internet.

It is called bounce lettering because that’s exactly how it looks like – the letters bounce up and down!

This style is a perfect example of modern calligraphy since it defies the rules of traditional calligraphy.

Step 1 –

draw some light guidelines using a ruler and a pencil.

We draw the  base line, the mean line as well as some lines for the angle of our letters (keeping up with the consistency)

Feel free to determine the sizes by yourself – if you want the letters to be bigger or smaller, straight or slanted, that’s completely up to you.

Step 2  –

With your pencil, gently write the base of the word.

This step will only be necessary at the very beginning, once you have practiced a lot and you finally developed a feeling for it, you won’t need to sketch out your word every time.

Here is the key to bounce lettering –

As mentioned earlier, bounce lettering is called like that because the letters bounce up and down.

In order to achieve this we are going to write every serial letter above and below the base line.

Once you gained a bit more experience you can play around and experiment with the bouncy pattern.

Step 3 –

Now that we have our word sketched out with the proper bouncy pattern, it’s time to go over it with our brush pen!

Remember – our up strokes are thin while our down strokes are thick!

Calligraphy is all about repetition and building muscle memory. The more you do it the better you become at it!

A golden tip! – 

First you need to relax! If you are angry, frustrated or even hungry you will struggle with your creative flow.

You can also find inspiration from other artists and create your own variations of a certain style.

Who knows maybe YOU will create a new style that will become a new trend in the online calligraphy community

 How to effectively practice modern calligraphy

Practice is the defining element for progress, but the way you practice makes all the difference.

With deliberate practice you can achieve more in less time.

What happens after a lot of practice? 

You will quickly notice that the more your practice the more confident you feel with your strokes.

Like I mentioned it earlier, you start to build something called muscle memory.

Muscle memory is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition, which has been used synonymously with motor learning. When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed without conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems

Here are a couple of actionable tips on how to practice more effectively 

• Practice daily! – i know that many of you have tight schedules and struggle finding time for practice. However, it’s much better to practice daily for even 15-20 minutes than twice a week for two hours (consistency over intensity).
• Warm up drills – before you jump straight to writing your words, warm up your hand muscles by filling in a sheet of the basic drills for example (included in the freebie). It will take you only a few minutes and it will make a difference!
• Proper posture and placement of the tools – you practice calligraphy by sitting at a desk period! I’ve seen people practicing while sitting on the couch, laying in their beds, etc. If you plan to practice like that, don’t expect much progress
•  Use guidelines! – as mentioned earlier, guidelines will help keeping your letters consistent.
• Stick to the basics – avoid multiple words (layouts) and any excessive effects. For the very first weeks focus on the basic strokes and on incorporating them properly to create single words. Focus on keeping your letters consistent – build your foundation first!