Today, I’m excited to announce the arrival of the Not Your Average Calligraphy Drills: Holiday Edition worksheet! This festive worksheet is full of winter-themed drills that will help you to embrace chilly weather and the cozy moments indoors that come with the cold.
To me, the holiday season (November-December) is synonymous with hygge. In the Northern Hemisphere, it gets frigid and gray, and we rejoice in warm beverages, soft blankets, and twinkling lights. Winter comforts were on my mind as I designed the 2021 TPK holiday calligraphy worksheet, and making the drills in it made me feel so cozy. I suspect you’ll feel the same way as you work through its exercises!
What are TPK Holiday Calligraphy Worksheets?
This is a page from the 2020 Holiday Worksheet, which features several flourished phrases.
Calligraphy is appropriate year-round, but it especially shines around the holidays. I think there are two reasons for that: first, people are more likely to spend time indoors doing activities (like calligraphy). Second, it’s traditional to send holiday greetings in the mail.
TPK’s 2016 holiday worksheet features this fantastic flourished tree. I can’t get enough of this motif!
In 2016, I created TPK’s first holiday worksheet to help readers make neat holiday paper goods. Now, the TPK holiday worksheet is an annual tradition, and each year’s worksheet has a new twist. It’s difficult to pick a favorite because every worksheet has something that makes it special, whether that’s a flourished tree (2016), holiday doodle instructions (2019), or a stately reindeer (2020).
For the first time in TPK holiday worksheet history, this year’s worksheet is a Not Your Average Calligraphy Drills sheet. It serves three purposes:
Help beginner calligraphers practice using a pointed pen + offer a fun warm-up for intermediate/advanced calligraphers
Teach you how to create motifs that you can use on real-life holiday projects like cards, mail art, menus, etc.
Infuse festivity and coziness into your holiday season*
*As I created this worksheet, I found myself developing a craving for warm evenings in front of the fire. I’ve been indulging that craving, complete with cups of hot apple cider and plushy slippers. Exploring the themes in this worksheet reminded me that it’s good to embrace the cold weather and relax!
This “Happy Holidays” snowman is one of the two large drills in the 2021 holiday worksheet. He’s perfectly at home on a card or incorporated into mail art!
As with all TPK worksheets, you’ll want to print this set off on a calligraphy-friendly paper, like 32# laserjet. Use your favorite pen/nib/ink combination to fill it out, and take your time!
Meet the Holiday Calligraphy Drills
Like other Not Your Average Calligraphy Drills packets, the 2021 holiday worksheet starts off simple and gets progressively challenging. You’ll begin with vertical drills, then move on to two pages of square drills.
Each drill helps you to work on certain aspects of calligraphy creation, like being mindful of stroke contrast or creating clean oval shapes.
Next, you’ll move on to circular drills, which tend to be a bit more complicated!
Remember that there’s no pressure to complete the 2021 holiday worksheet in a day. I encourage you to take your time: there’s a lot to work on in here!
Finally, you’ll end by creating a holly-themed calligraphy medallion and a flourished snowman. Both of these drills take quite a bit of concentration, but the eye-catching result is worth the work!
The “Holly Calligraphy Medallion” dual artwork + drill takes some concentration to create. Once you get the hang of it, though, you’ll want to put it on everything!
The 2021 holiday calligraphy worksheet is also available in a Procreate version. Procreate is an app that allows you to draw and create calligraphy on your iPad with an Apple Pencil. I, personally, love the tactile nature of pen and paper … but sometimes it’s just not possible to practice calligraphy with pen and paper. In those cases, Procreate worksheets come in handy.
If you choose to practice with the Procreate worksheet, I recommend using the “Brush Pen” brush (under “Calligraphy Brushes”) at size 4%. Be sure to draw on a new layer, and try using a color other than black to trace over the drills!
I want to thank everyone who has purchased a TPK worksheet — holiday-themed or not — for supporting this site! For those who don’t have the budget or the circumstance to purchase and print a TPK worksheet or take a course, remember that there are plenty of free resources for practicing calligraphy, too. You can take advantage of any of TPK’s free worksheets, or take on a unique holiday tutorial! Thanks again, and happy holidays!
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