How to Learn Calligraphy

By eHow Education Editor

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Calligraphy, literally translated, means "beautiful writing." Heralded as an art form above and beyond a means of communication, calligraphy is a wonderful way to express yourself.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Blank-inside Greeting Cards
Calligraphy Pens
Candles
Music For Zen Meditation
Soothing Music
Art Papers
Ink
Tracing Paper

Step1

Choose professional calligraphy pens and ink. The best choice for beginners is a chisel-point pen with a width of approximately one and a half millimeters.

Step2

Take the time to relax and meditate. Calligraphy is an age-old art form that draws on a steady hand and inner peace.

Step3

Begin by finding a copy of the uncial alphabet. This is one of the more common calligraphic alphabets, and was utilized by the early Christians.

Step4

Trace the letters of the uncial alphabet slowly and carefully several times to get a good feel for the curves of the letters and the pen strokes.

Step5

Focus on keeping your letters straight and uniformly sized. You can move on to the fancy maneuvers later.

Step6

Research local beginning calligraphy classes at a junior college or art institute. Nothing can replace the helpful guidance of a trained calligraphy professional.

Tips & Warnings

Use your newfound calligraphic skills to create unique birthday cards, party invitations, gift certificates or valentines.

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Comments

kymegan said

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on 4/11/2008 this is gay

shadowinx said

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on 10/3/2007 why candles???

Anonymous said

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on 4/3/2006 To be good at calligraphy you should find an alphabet on the Internet with calligraphic letters and trace over it several times.

Anonymous said

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on 2/10/2006 I learned with cheap felt-tip calligraphy pens, and as I learned the correct letter shapes I moved up to better calligraphy pens (both cartridge and dip).

I also used graph paper to get lines already printed to make it easier for me to get a feel for the size of each letter. Now, all I have to do it make two lines lightly in pencil. After calliging and letting the ink dry, I erase the penciled lines. Or if you have light box, you can have lines on a transparency then place the paper on top of the lined transparency and light box and use the lines that show through the paper.