Um. Believe it or not, I'm not really the person to ask how to learn calligraphy, because I learned what little I know by the extremely person-specific method of "jump in blindly, try everything, and do umpteen million sketches to get something right." Which means that whenever I have a new project in mind, I end up relearning a lot of stuff.
If your set is something like the Parker gift calligraphy set, it might include a calligraphy workbook. I have one, but I haven't opened it. Still, it's likely a good source.
There are also basics of calligraphy books. I've recently found a good one in my public library. Something that worked for me was to pick alphabets from that book, just the ones I liked the look of, and try to follow the strokes as closely as possible.
I bought an el cheapo college ruled notebook (whose paper isn't anywhere near ideal for holding calligraphy ink, but I didn't care for exercise) and wrote the same quote over and over with different alphabets. That way I got to get a steadier hand, and also learned about how my different pen tips handle ink flow, and about what common features characterize a single "hand" (the handwriting equivalent of font) and something about what makes letters beautiful.
Before I got that book, I would try my hand at designing alphabets myself. I had "developed" a few that have a sorta unified look. But again, instead of writing out alphabets per se, I was just writing quotes.
So I guess the one word answer is "write." Get a sketchbook, don't worry about lining a good-quality drawing paper or whatever to start with, and copy down stuff you like. It's very peaceful. Later, focusing on a single project accelerates your learning.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-01-11 10:28 pm (UTC)If your set is something like the Parker gift calligraphy set, it might include a calligraphy workbook. I have one, but I haven't opened it. Still, it's likely a good source.
There are also basics of calligraphy books. I've recently found a good one in my public library. Something that worked for me was to pick alphabets from that book, just the ones I liked the look of, and try to follow the strokes as closely as possible.
I bought an el cheapo college ruled notebook (whose paper isn't anywhere near ideal for holding calligraphy ink, but I didn't care for exercise) and wrote the same quote over and over with different alphabets. That way I got to get a steadier hand, and also learned about how my different pen tips handle ink flow, and about what common features characterize a single "hand" (the handwriting equivalent of font) and something about what makes letters beautiful.
Before I got that book, I would try my hand at designing alphabets myself. I had "developed" a few that have a sorta unified look. But again, instead of writing out alphabets per se, I was just writing quotes.
So I guess the one word answer is "write." Get a sketchbook, don't worry about lining a good-quality drawing paper or whatever to start with, and copy down stuff you like. It's very peaceful. Later, focusing on a single project accelerates your learning.