I’d been thinking of learning calligraphy for awhile, especially after following some awesome calligraphers on Instagram. But I kept chickening out on paying for any courses; what if I buy all these supplies and courses and I hate it? (I tend to pick up and drop hobbies all the time… it must be the hoarding learner in me)
I noticed that one of the calligraphers I followed on Instagram was offering in-person local workshops! Well, that sounds perfect for me as a beginner!
I signed up for a class for beginners with Jenna M. Rainey of Mon Voir Calligraphy.
Why would an in-person course appeal to me?
– Comes with supplies, so I don’t have to fend for myself at the supply shop.
– The instructor covers the basics on how to hold the pen and the proper technique.
– As I’m practicing in the workshop, I can ask questions and the instructor can see and correct my technique.
I figured that I could try out the class, go home and practice a bit, and see if I still liked it enough to seek out other resources. (Spoiler Alert: It’s been 4 months since that first class and I’m still into it)
After that, it got the ball rolling for a ton of other resources that I use to practice.
Lessons and Tutorials
The Flourish Forum
This is free! Free! It’s a mix of forums and video lessons and practice sheets. (You need to register to get the lessons). A video lesson for every letterform and basic word combos. So helpful!
Antiquaria Vintage
Also free! Emma and Bailey are calligraphers who offer exemplars of letter forms through their blog. If you look under the category Calligraphy Lessons, you’ll find blog posts for all the letters of the alphabet.
Modern Calligraphy by Molly Suber Thorpe
This book has a great intro on the basics of holding a pen and setting up for calligraphy. There’s also tons of pages of example letters for you to practice and then some project suggestions.
The International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, Teachers of Handwriting
This is the big one. It can be overwhelming for beginners. But once you get used to it, it’s such a wealth of resources. I would recommend picking one style of writing and go through the lessons systematically. I selected the lessons by Baird and just worked through them. Now I’m working on moving through Brown’s lessons.
Inspiration
Ah, Instagram. I love and hate you all at the same time. But seriously, it’s so inspiring to see people post pictures of their calligraphy. Not only that, some calligraphers post videos and workshop announcements. So it helps to keep an eye out for people who offer workshops. (and I totally found a lot of these people by searching for hashtags like #calligraphy, #moderncalligraphy, #pointedpen.)
Stay tuned for a separate post listing all the awesome people I follow…
What resources have you used to learn calligraphy?
Amazon links are affiliate
