Calligraphy Tips: Writing Letter E

Video Transcript

"I should bring this out a little bit further. These guys want to be in line for a model. So here's our E, let's take a look up here. Here's our E and we're using this same principle of stasis that we had with the B. The crossbar, this crossbar on the E, which is a distinguishing characteristic, is going to be drawn slightly above the line, so that you have the bottom part of the E looking a little bit heavier and therefore giving this a sense of standing balance. Now the E, I really should have drawn this out a little bit further, pardon, pardon. But it's like this, the stroke comes down like this and then you don't pick up, you come over. So that's all the first stroke. Second stroke, third stroke. So it's basically what you learned in school: top to bottom, left to right. And here's our E again, a little bit more well drawn. And economy of line and energy are our big important calligraphy ideas. Notice, you may have heard this term before, economy of line. It has, it means, you know, that you're drawing the least that you have to draw to get this letter put down on the paper. We're talking now about the model Roman alphabet. Not some big fancy thing that can come along later after you've mastered this. And the same idea with energy. Letters are designed so that you can do them in such a way that using the least amount of energy as possible. You want to conserve your energy. But here's another secret, which I'm going to reveal to you now, which is that creative energy nourishes itself."