Basic Shapes & Forms in Calligraphy

Video Transcript

"We'll begin with a basic oval shape. We're working in the 8 pen width area, so we're using the capital height, and we're going to make an oval in two strokes. Now, sometimes I'll refer to the "O" as an oval, not the letter. Because you already have an "O" in your head, and the "O" that you have in your head might resemble Charlie Browns great pumpkin. So part of the skill of lettering or calligraphy is to replace the "O" that you learned in grammar school with a different shape "O", one that has slightly more graceful proportions. I'm getting a little variety here, but that's alright, that's what makes handwriting more interesting. So two strokes, and generally we're going to pull those strokes down, because it's easier to control the pen with a downward stroke."