# Calligraphy



## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

I really love the Oberon journals, and I want to get one. But with such a fancy journal, I thought my writing would look depressingly pathetic. So I started thinking about getting a calligraphy set a few days ago, but when I checked out Amazon, I was overwhelmed. I don't know which set is the best, so I'm hoping some here may know. Please enable! 

TIA!


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## libros_lego (Mar 24, 2009)

Haha, I'm the same way! I wanted to start a journal, but then I wanted to have a nice handwriting. I really want to learn it, but I don't know how. Hopefully, someone here can help.


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## koolmnbv (Mar 25, 2009)

I never even considered how poorly my handwriting would be in contrast with the gorgeous journal when I get one.

I think your idea of a calligraphy set is a great idea. One that is for beginners and also good/easy to use would be great for me, because ive never tried one before.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

I've been doing calligraphy for years, and just started out with a rather inexpensive beginner set.  Personally, I'd start with a set with real fountain-type pens, NOT the kind of pens that are like markers with chiseled tips. The pens give you a much better writing experience. You'll need a set with extra ink cartridges, as it will take a lot of practice for the writing styles to become second nature to you. (I'd buy a pad of paper that's lined for calligraphy, as well. The line spacing varies according to the nib size (writing tip), and there are some practice pads that will help you with that.)

If you do decide to go with a marker-type of pen, you'll need to practice considerably larger lettering than you would be using if you were writing in a journal. I think it's a bit difficult to get the nicely defined thick and thin strokes that make up beautiful calligraphy if I use a marker. The edges on these types of pens aren't crisp like they are in actual fountain pen nibs.

You'll need an instruction book. Even a very basic one that should come with your pen set will work. I prefer the basic Italic style of calligraphy for most of my projects, as it simply looks like beautiful handwriting, and is easily read.

Good luck. I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of your upcoming hobby. I've used mine for a number of things over the years, and I really get a good workout when graduation time rolls around at my school. (Somehow, I've missed the boat and never gotten paid to do the diplomas, but mine is a very small school with its share of financial difficulties.) Now that I have a bit of arthritis in my hands and fingers, I don't do as much calligraphy as I once did, but I use it enough to keep in practice. Anymore, however, unless people know that I've done the writing by hand, I think they assume it's been doing using the Italic font on a computer. That's a good thing, I guess, because I always want my writing to be perfect. 

(Doing really good calligraphy is a bit like the time that my best friend and I made homemade pasta with our pasta machines to sell at our church's bake sale. At first, people thought the pasta was store-bought because it looked so perfect. Finally, my friend and I, who made our pasta together, made it known that it was homemade. At least now it's known that we make it ourselves.  )


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

My daughter started out doing calligraphy in about the 4th grade.  My dad got her a set for Christmas.  She practiced and practiced with the fountain-type pens and became very good at it.  
I read a poem at a wedding this month and I want to have someone do it in calligraphy so I can frame it with the wedding invitation as a gift to the bride and groom.  I guess I should check and see if my daughter still has her supplies and maybe she could do it for me.  

Good luck.  Can't wait to see some of your results.
deb


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

I really like the Waterman Phileas Pens the best out of all I have tried. They have a really comfortable balanced feel in the hand,which is important in calligraphy.

There are also some workbooks out there that are really good for learning.

Calligraphy is something I was required to learn in school , and I have enjoyed it ever since.

Good luck and have fun !


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I get compliments all the time on my handwriting, and I can honestly attribute it to learning Calligraphy back in gradeschool before I lelarned cursive writing.
It takes time and practice practice practice. I agree with Cindy , skip the markers, get real pens with nibs. The cartridges do make it less messy, I learned by dipping into an ink bottle. That can get very messy. 
As for one to recommend? I'll look and see what Amazon has to offer.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

This thread reminds me of Vegas Asian.  She loves fountain pens.  I haven't seen her around for a few days.  Anyone know anything?
sorry to hijack your thread.
deb


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## koolmnbv (Mar 25, 2009)

drenee said:


> This thread reminds me of Vegas Asian. She loves fountain pens. I haven't seen her around for a few days. Anyone know anything?
> sorry to hijack your thread.
> deb


Thats who I thought of immediately when reading this thread. She even posted some fun calligraphy screen savers that she had wrote with her fountain pen.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

I know she did.  They were awesome.  I miss her.  
deb


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Do you have an office supply store near you? Check for pens there.

as for a book to learn from, after looking at Amazon for QUITE a while (I get lost looking at stuff there)
the book that looked the best to me was:
http://www.amazon.com/Calligraphy-Course-Lettering-Maryanne-Grebenstein/dp/0823005534/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1248974144&sr=8-10#reader I browsed around inside the book, and what I could see looked like it was both a history of Calligraphy as well as a how-to. (it's now on my wish list for DH to get.)


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

Sugar said:


> Calligraphy is something I was required to learn in school , and I have enjoyed it ever since.


What kind of school requires calligraphy?


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

Whoo! Thanks for the fast replies, everyone!



koolmnbv said:


> Thats who I thought of immediately when reading this thread. She even posted some fun calligraphy screen savers that she had wrote with her fountain pen.


I was thinking of her as well when I started this thread.  I loved her screensavers.



BTackitt said:


> Do you have an office supply store near you? Check for pens there.
> 
> as for a book to learn from, after looking at Amazon for QUITE a while (I get lost looking at stuff there)
> the book that looked the best to me was:
> http://www.amazon.com/Calligraphy-Course-Lettering-Maryanne-Grebenstein/dp/0823005534/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1248974144&sr=8-10#reader I browsed around inside the book, and what I could see looked like it was both a history of Calligraphy as well as a how-to. (it's now on my wish list for DH to get.)


Regarding the pens, that's what I think I'm going to do. I'm going to take Cindy and Sugar's advice as well and get a good set of pens. I was looking at the pens Sugar specifically recommended on Amazon. They look really nice, and I definitely want to get some. I do want to see what they look like up close, though. Plus, that way I can get refillable cartridges while I'm there.

Thanks for the book recommendation! I'm off to buy it as soon as I finish my KindleBoards surfing. 
I can't wait to have beautiful handwriting so I can then run off and get my beautiful journal. I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking like this, and I hope it helped some others out as well!


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

Cindy416 said:


> ...unless people know that I've done the writing by hand, I think they assume it's been doing using the Italic font on a computer. That's a good thing, I guess, because I always want my writing to be perfect.
> 
> (Doing really good calligraphy is a bit like the time that my best friend and I made homemade pasta with our pasta machines to sell at our church's bake sale. At first, people thought the pasta was store-bought because it looked so perfect. Finally, my friend and I, who made our pasta together, made it known that it was homemade. At least now it's known that we make it ourselves. )


I think that's the best type of compliment!


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> What kind of school requires calligraphy?


Our Elementary school required it in 5th grade.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Mine did in 4th grade.. but. that was.. oh.. 80 or 81.. I forget.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

My handwriting was never great, and has pretty much been in a continual state of deterioration since around junior high. By the time I finished college I was printing all the notes I took in class, as I could print almost as fast as I could write it in cursive, and it was much less labor-intensive to decipher later. Now the only thing I write in cursive is my signature, and even my printing is starting to suffer as a result of the problems with my eyes making it more difficult to get the various pen/pencil strokes in the correct place on the paper. 

Thank goodness I do 99.9% of my "writing" on the computer these days. 

Sorry for taking this on a tangent...back to your regularly scheduled calligraphy lesson.


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## OliviaD (Jul 21, 2009)

I used to do a lot of calligraphy and you'd best start out with a simple instruction book from a hobby store and some simple felt tip markers for practice.  I've been doodling and drawing all my life (as long as I remember).  The key to calligraphy in my opinion is thinking of it as 'drawing' the letters rather than writing them and the hardest part is slowing down and remembering to hold the pen in the right position.  It is very tedious work at best and not for everyone.  I'd suggest just practicing up on your cursive and adding a few flourishes, but use a medium point pen rather than a fine point.  I hope this was helpful.  Beryl.


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

yay! I feel so loved!!

I recommend a Lamy Safari if you are just starting out and are looking for a durable fountain pen. Its was I currently use. the typical cost for it is about 25-30 dollars, but the upside of it is the fact there is a ink converter for it. I used amazon to read reviews. Its one of the cheaper fountain pens in the market and comes highly recommended.


Converter


converters help, because it help reduce the numbers of refills one has to buy. You just need bottled ink. for the converter above, you hold it by the red end and dip a portion of the opposite side in the bottle. Twist the red end and it draws in ink. (took me a while to figure out how the converter worked.....it didn't come with instructions and it was one of those "oh-duh" moments)
There are also dip pens at Barnes and Nobles, (stationary section) if you are looking around. The pen in my avatar came from B&N. costed about 10-13 dollars.


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

before purchasing a more expensice pen or set....Pilot (pen brand) also has a disposible fountain pen called the Pilot Varsity. It used to be sold in store at Office Max or Office Depot, but now you can only order from them via internet. Still Amazon also carries them.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

NogDog said:


> My handwriting was never great, and has pretty much been in a continual state of deterioration since around junior high. By the time I finished college I was printing all the notes I took in class, as I could print almost as fast as I could write it in cursive, and it was much less labor-intensive to decipher later. Now the only thing I write in cursive is my signature, and even my printing is starting to suffer as a result of the problems with my eyes making it more difficult to get the various pen/pencil strokes in the correct place on the paper.
> 
> Thank goodness I do 99.9% of my "writing" on the computer these days.
> 
> Sorry for taking this on a tangent...back to your regularly scheduled calligraphy lesson.


College was the death of my neat handwriting. I started using a laptop for everything. My career doesn't help either. I usually have to write so much in such a short time period, it comes out illegible ... sometimes to me as well.



Beryl said:


> I used to do a lot of calligraphy and you'd best start out with a simple instruction book from a hobby store and some simple felt tip markers for practice. I've been doodling and drawing all my life (as long as I remember). The key to calligraphy in my opinion is thinking of it as 'drawing' the letters rather than writing them and the hardest part is slowing down and remembering to hold the pen in the right position. It is very tedious work at best and not for everyone. I'd suggest just practicing up on your cursive and adding a few flourishes, but use a medium point pen rather than a fine point. I hope this was helpful. Beryl.


I hadn't thought of calligraphy like that. I think it will definitely help when I start. So no matter how much one practices, will calligraphy always be a really slow process?



Vegas_Asian said:


> yay! I feel so loved!!
> 
> I recommend a Lamy Safari if you are just starting out and are looking for a durable fountain pen. Its was I currently use. the typical cost for it is about 25-30 dollars, but the upside of it is the fact there is a ink converter for it. I used amazon to read reviews. Its one of the cheaper fountain pens in the market and comes highly recommended.
> 
> ...


Glad to see you're still around! 

I'm definitely going to take a look at those pens. I'm sad that the Pilot one isn't available in physical stores anymore, but since the price is so good, I think it's a perfect Amazon buy. 
Thanks!


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

The Pilot fountain pen that I looked at doesn't seem to be a calligraphy pen, per se. The difference between a fountain pen for calligraphy and a fountain pen designed for regular handwriting lies in the nib. The Pilot pen in the photo (and on Amazon) seems to have a rounded, ball-type of point, whereas, a calligraphy pen has a straight edge. You hold the pen at a 45 degree angle, and that's how you achieve the thick and thin strokes. With a regular fountain pen, you can use calligraphic styling, and you'll end up with very nice-looking handwriting, but it won't produce fonts like Italic, old English, etc.

Here's a website that explains a bit more about the difference between nibs. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.quamut.com/chart/731/05nibwidthchart.jpg&imgrefurl=http://quamut.com/quamut/calligraphy/page/calligraphy_pens.html&usg=__2Ct9pX86BFIdqAE93_n4S4KhoK4=&h=527&w=372&sz=28&hl=en&start=17&um=1&tbnid=X_B4WVXd2_GohM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcalligraphy%2Bnibs%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7GGLL_en%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Once you get really familiar with calligraphic techniques, including letter formation, spacing, letter size, etc., you'll find that it's not as laborious as it was in the beginning. The suggestion about drawing letters rather than writing them is a good one. Holding the pen properly, as well as the position of your hand and paper, are very important. It may seem a bit daunting at first, but jump in with both feet, as the saying goes. Practice, practice, practice, and before long, you'll find that calligraphy will come much more easily to you.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

Ah. I see. I didn't know there was a difference. I'm learning so much on KB! 
That website was very interesting. Thanks!
I can't wait to go to Office Depot and start buying pens!


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Hmm, I'd like to see some examples of your calligraphy. Anybody have any photos or scans to show off?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Harvey said:


> Hmm, I'd like to see some examples of your calligraphy. Anybody have any photos or scans to show off?


Vegas_Asian has a couple examples in the screensavers thread:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,5659.msg199828.html#msg199828
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,5659.msg199841.html#msg199841


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Learning calligraphy is fun and rewarding  --  I played around with it about fifteen years ago and addressed all my Christmas cards that way one year, and did a couple of poems for framing as well as a bunch of explanatory notes written in photo albums.

But because in a way it's "drawing letters" rather than "writing", it's probably not the kind of thing you'd use for writing in a journal.  For that, you might try just working on improving your handwriting  --  and actually a good fountain pen will almost certainly help with that, because it doesn't seem to allow sloppy scrawling but makes you form letters smoothly.  

When I was in school, they only allowed us to use pencils (and chalk pencils) until the end of second grade, and then we were allowed fountain pens but NOT ballpoint pens because those supposedly invited fast, sloppy, and careless writing.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Susan in VA said:


> When I was in school, they only allowed us to use pencils (and chalk pencils) until the end of second grade, and then we were allowed fountain pens but NOT ballpoint pens because those supposedly invited fast, sloppy, and careless writing.


you know, that does sound like a good reason. Maybe I will purchase fountain pens for my teens. Goodness know s they are smart, but their handwriting is atrocious.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Learning calligraphy is fun and rewarding -- I played around with it about fifteen years ago and addressed all my Christmas cards that way one year, and did a couple of poems for framing as well as a bunch of explanatory notes written in photo albums.
> 
> But because in a way it's "drawing letters" rather than "writing", it's probably not the kind of thing you'd use for writing in a journal. For that, you might try just working on improving your handwriting -- and actually a good fountain pen will almost certainly help with that, because it doesn't seem to allow sloppy scrawling but makes you form letters smoothly.
> 
> ...


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Cindy416 said:


> Once you learn the technique, you can use either do calligraphy with the appropriate pens, or you can use the basic letter formations with a regular fountain pen to come up with an adaptation that is more like writing, which will enable you to write more quickly. Any way you look at it, you'll find that your handwriting will become very much improved. (Well, I THINK it will if you want it to. Wink )


I'll bet that would work great, adapting some of the calligraphy techniques to use in regular writing to make it "prettier"! Maybe I should revisit some of those techniques as well, my writing is getting pretty sloppy.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> I'll bet that would work great, adapting some of the calligraphy techniques to use in regular writing to make it "prettier"! Maybe I should revisit some of those techniques as well, my writing is getting pretty sloppy.


That does sound like a great idea. Whether it's too slow to write or not, I definitely want to learn calligraphy. It's nice to know it will probably improve my regular writing as well.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

NogDog said:


> Vegas_Asian has a couple examples in the screensavers thread:
> 
> http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,5659.msg199828.html#msg199828
> http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,5659.msg199841.html#msg199841


Thanks for posting those links. You have a nice built-in "font", Vegas.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Maybe I should try a fountain pen to improve my writing.  It certainly couldn't hurt   My mom does calligraphy, but, unfortunately, that is a talent that I haven't seemed to inherit


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

marianner said:


> Maybe I should try a fountain pen to improve my writing. It certainly couldn't hurt  My mom does calligraphy, but, unfortunately, that is a talent that I haven't seemed to inherit


That might work for you, as there's something that's very special (to me, anyway) about writing with a fountain pen. Even as a kid I was fascinated by fountain pens, and I remember very well the first one that I had. It had to be filled by using a little lever on the side, which pressed on an internal cartridge and drew ink up into the tube. I have been the owner of a number of fountain pens since that time, and, although I don't routinely write with one now (because I don't want to lose it), I do use one for special things, even if I'm not doing actual calligraphy.


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