Creative Lettering and Beyond: Timeless Calligraphy

A collection of traditional calligraphic hands from history and how to write them

Laura Lavender

• Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781633227309
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art Techniques

Discover everything you need to know about historic flourished hands and how to create elegant, modern artwork inspired by traditional calligraphy techniques in this follow-up to the first and best-selling lettering book in Walter Foster's Creative…and Beyond series. Beginning with an i ntroduction to pointed pen and how to get started with this timeless tool, you'll find a brief overview of the recommended tools and materials, as well as how to set up your work space. In addition, you will explore essential techniques used throughout the book, learn to hold the pen properly, and find tips for warming up. Talented artist and teacher Laura Lavender introduces you to a wide range of traditional, historic flourished hands and lettering styles, including Copperplate, Spencerian, Italian hand, Bickham script, Victorian embellished capitals, Art Nouveau capitals, Gothic capitals, and more. Each style includes an engaging introduction and history of the hand, an alphabet sampler, step-by-step instructions for creating the letters, and lots of inspirational examples and ideas for using the hand. Throughout the book, you will also find practice templates that can be copied and used time and again to perfect your technique and style. Creative Lettering and Beyond: Timeless Calligraphy is the ideal guide for learning the techniques of traditional lettering styles.

Part I: Getting Started

Calligraphy is a craft that does not require many tools or materials. All you need to begin is a pen, nib, ink, paper, and practice!

Calligraphy & Lettering Basics

The Importance of Lines

Lines are important in lettering for practice and learning, as well as for creating finished pieces.

There are four key lines in calligraphy: baseline, x-height, cap height, and slant line. These lines are arguably the most important aspect of creating beautiful and legible calligraphic art.

• The baseline is the line upon which all the letters rest.

• The x-height is the height of a small letter “x” placed upon the baseline. When creating letters, it’s a priority to keep them nicely placed along the baseline, and to keep all the x-height letters within the x-height.

• The cap height is the height of the capital letters, or majuscules.

• The slant line is the line at which the letters are sloped. Keep all downstrokes at this angle.

General Points

• The slope of the letter—the line that shows the angle at which the letter has been constructed—is vital for defining the style of the lettering, as well as maintaining its fluidity.

• Letters written in a very upright fashion—no slope—tend to have a more casual feel.

• Highly slanted letters have a more formal feel.

• Maintaining a consistent slope among all your strokes—that is, maintaining a similar angle of all heavy downstrokes—is key to creating a unified look. As a general rule (and rules are meant to be broken, but that’s another story!), keep all downstrokes on the same slant line.

• Traditional script pointed-pen styles have a fixed slant line that must be followed to maintain the look of the hand.

• Modern calligraphy has no fixed slope line, which adds to its individuality.

• Always use lines when writing. This is so important to creating elegant calligraphy. As you become more comfortable and practiced with your calligraphy and lettering, you may only need to use a baseline.

• Using a light box, or other lighting setup, allows you to see guidelines without having to draw them on the page. A light box is worth its weight in gold to a calligrapher!

Tools & Materials

Basic Calligraphy Materials

Pen Holder

I recommend an oblique pen holder, but you may wish to try a straight pen holder. Plastic calligraphy pens are available at most art stores, but choose a turned-wood holder if you can find one and would like to invest. Make sure your chosen nib will fit your holder.

Nib

You need at least one pointed-pen nib. If you’re not sure where to start, I suggest Hunt #56, Nikko G, Hunt #101, and/or Gillott #404.

Ink

Black ink, such as an India ink, is opaque an...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• How to Use This Book
• Part I: Getting Started
• Part II: Pointed-Pen Hands
• Part III: Timeless Calligraphy Styles
• Practice Templates
• Glossary
• Resources
• About the Artist
• Copyright