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Beginner S Guide To Calligraphy
Beginner S Guide To Calligraphy
Table of Contents
History of Calligraphy
Basic Strokes
Vertical Roman
Italic Cursive
Uncial
10
Practice Paper
11
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History of Calligraphy 11
History of Calligraphy
for everyday letters, formal correspondence and invitations. As the arts flourish during Europes Renaissance,
so too did the art of calligraphy. Italians during this
he art of calligraphy as we know it today
time invented the italic script, which became popular
actually finds its origins in cave paintings.
throughout most of Europe. But calligraphers were
Back in the days when communication was
threatened once again with the advent of engraved
a series of grunts, the written word was a
copperplates in the 17th century, which permitted the
mere pictorial representation of significant events in a
printing of finer lines more attuned to italic script. One
cavemans life. As humans developed, the art of drawhundred years later, artistic penmaning pictures became quite highly
ship was in a steep decline.
developed and reached great heights
To further complicate matters for
under the direction of the Egyptians.
artistic scribes, by the 19th cenAbout 3500 BC, the Egyptians cretury the steel pen and fountain pen
ated the highly stylized hieroglyphreplaced the flat-edged pen. The
ics for which they are so well known.
rounded tip of these new pens made
These symbols were incised inside
the special curves of calligraphy
tombs or painted with brushes
more difficult to achieve. The art
across papyrus paper. A few thouitself might have seen its extinction
sand years later, around 1000 BC, the
if it werent for the British poet and
Phoenicians went a step further and
artist William Morris. In the mid-19th
developed what is believed to be
century William Morris spearheaded
one of the first alphabets and writing
a calligraphic revival, reintroducing
systems. Luckily the Phoenicians
the flat edged pen and elevating the
were sea faring types and they readact of writing to the art form of its
ily passed along their new talents
past.
to every seaport through which they
It might appear that the art of calpassed. They most likely influenced
ligraphy couldnt possibly withstand
the Greeks who later developed their
own form of writing, which by 850 BC An example of Egyptian calligraphy, the competition from the 20th cenknown as Hieroglyphics
turys most important invention the
the Romans had adapted to suit the
computer. With a click of the mouse,
Latin language.
a list of various scripts are generated electronically and
It just so happens that Latin was the lingua franca
lasered onto bleached paper in an instant the art of
of the churches of Europe in the Middle Ages and the
script preserved in an electronic pulse. But calligraphy
monks (and a smattering of nobility) constituted the
is flourishing more than ever with calligraphic societies
only literate members of society. Since nothing could
throughout the United States and Europe. According
be more glorious than the word of God, the monks
to noted calligrapher, Julian Waters during a lecture at
began to carefully scribe ancient texts into decoraWashingtons Sidwell Friends School in 1997, true caltive books used by high-ranking church members and
ligraphy is the art of producing letters that capture the
royalty. Paper was expensive during the Middle Ages,
spirit of the text they represent. For many artists, much
so scribing monks developed a writing style that was
mental pre-planning is necessary to fully understand
narrower allowing more words to fit on a single line.
the text before deciding how to display it in its full
This style came to be known as Gothic and lasted as
beauty. This type of emotion can not always be genera popular scribing technique throughout much of the
ated from a computer, which for Julian Waters is simply
Middle Ages.
another tool to be manipulated by the artist.
By the mid 15th century, however, Johannes
Calligraphy is a popular art form whose boundarGutenberg had invented the printing press based upon
ies are not restricted to Europe and the United States.
the Gothic lettering of the monks. This new technique
Around 1500 BC the Chinese developed a complicated
allowed for faster printing of Bibles and threatened the
writing technique using more than 1500 characters.
mtier of the monks. Although the use of the printing
Today the Chinese consider calligraphy to be one
press spread worldwide, handwriting skills were still in
of their most respected art forms. Master Chinese
high demand. The bulky printing press was too coarse
2 2 History of Calligraphy
History of Calligraphy 33
4 4 History of Calligraphy
Calligraphy Today
History of Calligraphy 55
Basic Strokes
Probably the first thing you would do as a beginner calligrapher is practice the
basic elements of letters vertical and horizontal stems, round strokes, slanted
stems. Here are some letter elements for the Roman hand:
More Tips
1. Intentionally make time to practice. I've found that if you actually schedule
practice time, it becomes a part of your routine. It is the routine that will help
make you a better calligrapher.
2. Consistently practice your craft. Setting a schedule to practice once per month
will not help you learn how to write calligraphy. Consistent, scheduled practice
makes for beautiful works of this amazing art. Let's say at least once per week.
3. Share your practice works with others. Sharing what you create is a powerful way
to gain momentum in the learning process. Praise and constructive criticism is
always helpful for the mind and the spirit.
Now try your hand at performing basic strokes using the lins below (Note that none of
these basic strokes will be used as ascenders or descenders yet).
6 6 History of Calligraphy
Vertical Roman
Vertical is the most common type of calligraphy. Its shape is created from a
rectangle with serifs on the ends of the letters. A serif is a small line on the
beginning of a stroke and the end of a stroke.
History of Calligraphy 77
Italic or Cursive
This font is slanted rather then straight, it is also flowing and free. Be sure to ease
up on your grip when using this font.
Practice:
8 8 History of Calligraphy
Practice:
History of Calligraphy 99
Uncial
Uncial is a combination of upper case letters and lower case letters. It shows
stregnth and intensity with elegnce.
Practice:
History of Calligraphy 13
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History of Calligraphy 15
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Works Cited
History of Calligraphy- http://www.essortment.com/all/calligraphyhist_reyt.htm
Calligraphy- http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/calligraphy.html
Phoenician Alphabet- http://www.phoenician.org/alphabet_phoenician.GIF
Western Calligraphy- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_calligraphy
How to Write Calligraphy- http://www.squidoo.com/howtowritecalligraphy
Inkscape Tutorial: Calligraphy- http://www.inkscape.org/doc/calligraphy/tutorial-calligraphy.html
Moriah Sanford
History of Calligraphy 17
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