(High Quality) Basics of Flourishing by Curious Medium

A Beginner's Guide to
Calligraphy Flourishing
© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only

Content
3 Introduction
4 What is flourishing
7
Rules and principles of
flourishing
11 Where to flourish
20 How to flourish a word

or phrase
26 Embellishments
30 Wrapping up
33 Printable Worksheets
© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 2/47

Hello!
I'm Dawn from Singapore - a little red dot
where it's sunny and hot 355 days a year. I
love all things calligraphy, flourishing and
floral watercolour.
Over on my website, I keep a blog where I

share how to get started with calligraphy
and flourishing. I also tell stories of my
creative journey (with tips on how you can
rediscover your creativity too!).
If you're looking for more free resources

like this one, head over to the downloads
section of my website. I've got guide
sheets, practice sheets and more to come.
For now, let's get started with calligraphy

flourishing!

What is flourishing?
A flourish is a decorative detail or an ornamental stroke to make your letters look more
polished or fancy, giving opportunities for your calligraphy work to flourish and bloom.
This guide only talks about calligraphy flourishing, where the strokes of your letters are
pulled and extended to form beautiful lines and curves.

Just know that there are other types of flourishing. For example:
Offhand Calligraphic
flourishing drawing or
Where flourishing is spontaneous and calligrams
created without pre-planning or pencil
drafts. You may have seen examples of Where flourishes and/or text are
offhand flourishing where lines and curves arranged to take on shapes such as faces
intertwine to form quills and feathers. and animals.

This guide talks about the basics of calligraphy flourishing, which can be applied to
any type of calligraphy.
I personally practise pointed pen calligraphy, but the same rules and principles
apply for brush lettering, pencil calligraphy, ballpoint pen calligraphy, or even faux
calligraphy!
What are the rules and
principles of flourishing?
If there's only one rule that shouldn't be broken, it's this:
1
Avoid crossing shades with shades.
Hairlines can cross hairlines, hairlines can also cross shaded strokes, but
avoid crossing shaded strokes with shaded strokes. This creates a hotspot
which looks visually heavy and doesn’t look elegant. You also run the risk of
pulling ink if you're doing pointed pen calligraphy.
• See how the “r” and “h” flourish

look heavy as a shaded stroke
crosses another shaded stroke.

Here are 3 other principles that you should follow:
2
Create ovals.
Try to create ovals with your flourishes, instead of circles. This will create
harmony with the shapes of your letters.
• See how the flourishes here are

more circular.

3
Cross lines at 90°.
Try to cross your lines at approximately 90°. You don't have to be too precise
about the angle, but just remember not to squeeze your flourishes too tightly.
Give them space to breathe.
• See how the flourishes here look

tighter as the lines cross at
smaller angles.

4
Look at negative space.
Try to be conscious of both the strokes that you are making, and the
negative space that is created. This will help with the visual balance in your
flourishes, and again - gives your flourishes space to breathe.
• See how the flourishes here look

more cramped as there is less
negative space.

Where do I flourish?
Keeping in mind the rules and principles of flourishing, let's take a look at common spots
you can flourish:
1 Ascender loops 2 Descender loops 3 Crossbar
4 Entrance strokes 5 Exit strokes

Flourishing variations
1
Ascender loops
These variations can be used for the letters b, d, f, h, k and l.
Tip: Notice how flourishing doesn't always have to be complicated or elaborate!

You can always start with just extending a stroke, before incorporating more loops
and cusps to extend the flourish.

2
Descender loops
These variations can be used for the letters f, g, j, p, y and z.

3
Crossbar (of the letter t)

4
Entrance strokes
These variations are very versatile and can be used for many different letters.

5
Exit strokes
These variations are commonly used for the letters a, h, m, n, r, s and u. With a
little creativity, they can be tweaked and used in many different letters.

When you start becoming more comfortable with basic flourishes, you can explore
variations just by changing the size of your ovals and the direction of your strokes!

Printable
Worksheets
I've included traceable

worksheets of these
flourishing variations at
the end of this guide.
Print them out and try

your hand at flourishing!

We've only looked at
minuscule letters so far.
Majuscule letters are
Flourished another prime spot for

flourishing and the
Majuscules variations are practically
endless!
I've included a traceable

worksheet of a
flourished majuscule
exemplar at the end of
this guide.

your hand at flourishing!
Or head over to my
Instagram account at
@curious.medium, and
see how I've come up
with 16 variations of
each majuscule letter in
the #flourishingatoz
challenge!

How do I flourish
a word or a phrase?
First of all, remember to incorporate the 4 basic rules and principles on pages 7 to 10!
The key to flourishing a word or a longer phrase is balance.

If you have a flourish at the end of a word, try balancing it out with a flourish at the start of
the word. Same for the top and bottom of a word.
• See how this word looks heavier

on the right.
• See how this word looks top-

heavy.

• Be careful not to over-flourish
and take attention away from the
word.
Tip: Flourishes can be shaded too!

Just make sure they are
secondary shades, so they are
thinner than the primary shades
(i.e. downstrokes in your letters).

Let’s try
flourishing
a word!
1. Write out the word without
ascender loops, descender loops,
crossbars, entrance strokes and exit
strokes.
2. Use a pencil to sketch out the

flourishes at these spots. Remember
to think about maintaining balance!
Here are two variations that I've

come up with.

Let’s try
flourishing
a phrase!
For phrases or quotes, follow the
same process.
1. Write out the phrase without

ascender loops, descender loops,
crossbars, entrance strokes and exit
strokes.
2. Use a pencil to sketch out the

flourishes. Think about how you can
make use of flourishes to fill the
negative space in between the lines.
Remember to think about
maintaining balance!
Here are two variations that I've

come up with.

Printable
Worksheets
I've included a template

for the word "calligraphy"
and the phrase “Find
magic in the mundane” at
the end of this guide.
You can print them out

and try coming up with
different flourishing
variations!

What other
embellishments
can I add?
Other than flourishes, you can add other embellishments and decorative elements to give
a personal style and flair to your calligraphy pieces!

Here, I've added little
stalks of leaves, beads
and echo strokes to
emphasise the word
"permission".
Notice how I've

crossed the flourishes
at approximately 90°
when I added the
stalks of leaves, and
how I tried to ensure
balance when adding
embellishments.
Here, I've added

simplified acanthus
leaves and rounded
off some of the
flourish strokes with a
little "droplet".
Here, I've added florals, cartouches and wheat strokes to
create a heart-shaped border around the text.

Printable
Worksheets
I've included templates

for these 3 phrases at the
end of this guide.

coming up with your own
flourishing variations,
then add embellishments
in your own style!

How can I practise and
improve my flourishing?
If you're new to flourishing, you can start with using a pencil or monoline pen.
This will help to train your muscle memory in flourishing without having to deal with the
added challenge of shaded strokes and hairlines.
Go at your own pace, then switch to pointed pen or brush pens when you're feeling more
confident!

Most importantly, experiment, try, and keep an open mind!
Don't be too harsh on yourself if your flourishes don't turn out

looking the way you envisioned. Make a note of what you didn't like,
analyse what you think can be done better, and try again.
Over time, practice will always make progress!

What’s next?
I hope you found this guide useful as an introduction to calligraphy flourishing! If you use
any of the traceable sheets or templates in this guide, please share them with me or tag me
on social media - I'd love to see!
Head over to my website to check out other useful tutorials and free downloads. Email me
if you have any questions, or chat with me on social media!
www.curiousmedium.xyz @curious.medium @curious.medium @curious_medium
While I would love for this resource to help as many budding calligraphers as possible, please know that this is
for your personal use only and should not be sold, shared elsewhere or otherwise distributed. If you want to
share this with others, please direct them to my website instead. Thank you!
Icons made by Freepik and Royyan Wijaya from www.flaticon.com

Printable
Worksheets
• Flourishing variations
• Flourished majuscule
exemplar
• Flourishing a word
• Flourishing a phrase

3 ways to use
these worksheets
1 Print these worksheets out and write

directly on them.
• Print at 100% A4 (disable any

options that say "Fit to Page",
"Scale to Fit" or "Crop to Fit".
• Print on calligraphy-friendly paper

e.g. PaperOne Digital paper,
Double A Premium paper, or HP
Premium32 Laserjet paper.
2 Print these worksheets out and use

them as a template.
• Print at 100% A4 (disable any

options that say "Fit to Page",
"Scale to Fit" or "Crop to Fit".
• Place a sheet of translucent or

thinner paper on top for your
practice. I use Rhodia’s blank
paper pad and Daler-Rowney's
layout paper pad.
3
Use these worksheets digitally.
• Save the PDF as images. Transfer

the images to your iPad and use
them in Procreate.

Ascender Loop Variations
5mm x-height | 2:1:2 ratio | 55° slant

Descender Loop Variations

Crossbar Variations

Entrance Stroke Variations

Exit Stroke Variations

Bonus Variations

Bonus Variations

Flourished Majuscule Exemplar
5mm x-height | Grid sheet | 55° slant

Flourishing a Word

Flourishing a Phrase




(High Quality) Basics of Flourishing by Curious Medium

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

(High Quality) Basics of Flourishing by Curious Medium

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Beginner's Guide to

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only

20 How to flourish a word

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 2/47

Over on my website, I keep a blog where I

If you're looking for more free resources

For now, let's get started with calligraphy

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 3/47

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 4/47

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 5/47

• See how the “r” and “h” flourish

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 7/47

• See how the flourishes here are

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 8/47

• See how the flourishes here look

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 9/47

• See how the flourishes here look

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 10/47

1 Ascender loops 2 Descender loops 3 Crossbar

4 Entrance strokes 5 Exit strokes

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 11/47

These variations can be used for the letters b, d, f, h, k and l.

Tip: Notice how flourishing doesn't always have to be complicated or elaborate!

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 12/47

These variations can be used for the letters f, g, j, p, y and z.

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 13/47

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 14/47

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 15/47

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 16/47

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 17/47

I've included traceable

Print them out and try

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 18/47

Flourished another prime spot for

I've included a traceable

Print them out and try

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 19/47

The key to flourishing a word or a longer phrase is balance.

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 20/47

• See how this word looks heavier

• See how this word looks top-

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 21/47

Tip: Flourishes can be shaded too!

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 22/47

2. Use a pencil to sketch out the

Here are two variations that I've

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 23/47

1. Write out the phrase without

2. Use a pencil to sketch out the

Here are two variations that I've

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 24/47

I've included a template

You can print them out

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 25/47

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 26/47

Notice how I've

Here, I've added

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 28/47

I've included templates

Print them out and try

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 29/47

© Curious Medium 2021 | www.curiousmedium.xyz | For personal use only 30/47

Don't be too harsh on yourself if your flourishes don't turn out