Calligraphy Principles & Beginnings

Series Summary

In basic terms, calligraphy is simply the art of writing. Today's society, however, sees calligraphy as more of an expression of symbols in a skilled, harmonious manner. The calligraphy alphabet comes in an endless variety because much of the text is determined by the skill and creativity of the calligrapher. Often, calligraphy is used for formal occasions, such as wedding and event invitations, logo designs and religious art, though many people enjoy writing calligraphy for fun in their daily lives. Calligraphy can be used in a variety of different formats, but once it's learned properly, the opportunities to use calligraphy are boundless. In this free video series, a calligrapher will teach you how to write letters 'A' through 'M', as well as words that begin with those letters. You'll learn about the body language of letters, diagrams for basic strokes, and the basic beauty of calligraphy. With these tips and techniques, you'll have half of the alphabet down, and a solid base for endless creativity.

Video Transcript

"Let us begin at the beginning. Now I don't mean by that where letters came from. We'd have to go all the way back to cave paintings and that's a study in itself. I'm talking about, let's start with the point at which our beautiful set of letters, which are sound signs, came to a peak of perfection. Came to a point where they were really and truly beautiful. And we have to study extent examples of that alphabet and this is a sample of the Traian column or rather the base of the Traian column in which exists today in Rome. But it dates from around 113 AD. And when we study these set of forms, we're theorizing because there is no where that is it written that Gillsepi Italio figured out how to do this. So we're going to theorize about how it is that these letters work. So, basically, what we are studying when we study this alphabet, this capital, Roman capital alphabet, is how it works. And how it works is according to principles. And it's principles, not rules. Okay? So I’ll help, hopefully be able to make that clear to you. Here's an example of a very important principle in the field of calligraphy. And that is that form follows function. And we'll talk more about that but I want you to notice that this is not only applicable to the art of lettering but it's also applicable to just about everything else in the nature world and other arts. And then, here is another principle. And that is that all design comes from nature. This to will be reveal as time goes on. And lastly, what I want to say to you is, that there are secrets to be revealed. And I will reveal them as often as I can manage for you because it's pretty exciting. So what I'm saying is that in these sets, set of forms, and in the practice of these, there are secrets to be revealed."