How to Load Calligraphy Pens

Video Transcript

"I'm Joanna Joseph for Expert Village. Now, we're going to load the pen. We dip it in the ink, maybe pull it off on the side, and use that dump sheet to pull off the excess. We're going to put the guard sheet under the hand, and let's make a mark, see what happens. This pen is got a chiseled tip, remember? So, if I go this way I get a thin mark, if I pull it this way I get a thick one. Thin, thin, thick, thin, thick. Isn't that pretty? And it's good to practice this, and really get used to the behavior of this tool. I was in my twenties when I first started calligraphy, and I think it was my first realization that even the simplest tool is designed a certain way. And this is a simple exercise, but later I actually used it in a stationary design I did for somebody to represent their hair."