Have you heard of The Flourish Forum? How about Dr. Joseph Vitolo’s eBook “Script in the Copperplate Style”? Both of these are powerful resources that you can use to learn and improve your calligraphy! In this post, you’ll find my top picks for free sources of information to increase your knowledge of and confidence with…
The internet is a powerful tool that can facilitate knowledge about any topic. Calligraphy is no exception, but there’s so much information out there that it can be hard to cut through the fluff. In this blog post, I’d like to tell you about five free, quality calligraphy learning resources that I love! All of them will help you to improve and provide you with valuable information that propels you forward in your practice.
The Flourish Forum is an online forum that calligrapher Erica McPhee started several years ago. The amount of aggregate calligraphy knowledge on the Flourish Forum will astound you! When I’m stumped — especially on a technical question (“Why isn’t my Brause Rose nib working?”) — that’s usually the first place I look.
I think the cool thing about The Flourish Forum is that all the knowledge doesn’t just come from one source. Calligraphy enthusiasts across the world contribute to it! In addition to advice and input, you can also find a pen pal and/or participate in a Flourish Forum “garage sale” of calligraphy-related items.
Several people have written me requesting a Copperplate Learn Calligraphy worksheet, but I’m not sure that I could top what Dr. Joseph Vitolo has already put out there for free!
In Script in the Copperplate Style, you’ll find exemplars and instructions for making gorgeous Copperplate lettering. Dr. Vitolo also includes a lot of information about calligraphy in general: which nibs to use, which paper to write on, how to prepare your nibs … it’s all there!
My friend Kate of Olive & Reid Studio is an Aussie calligrapher living in the UK. It’s been fun to track her progress and see her create calligraphy for all sorts of events from celebrity parties to chic galas! As the mother of two little ones, she doesn’t have a lot of time — but when she does, she adds truly helpful information to the Olive & Reid blog.
British calligraphers will particularly appreciate posts that touch on local concerns (“Where can I buy practice paper in the UK?“), while the rest of us benefit from posts like “What is Modern Calligraphy?” and “Ever Needed Calligraphy Ink Alternatives?“.
While it’s not necessarily intended to be a learning resource, Pinterest can teach you a lot about calligraphy through visuals. I’ve had plenty of “aha!” moments just observing others’ work!
On Pinterest, conduct a search for a variation of “calligraphy” (“modern calligraphy”, “dip pen calligraphy”, “mail art”, “calligraphy envelope”, etc.). You’ll find many inspirational examples that pop up, and many of them will shape the way you see the next project that you take on!
As a bonus to readers, I like to provide free calligraphy printables when I have the time! The printable could be a worksheet, drills, or just a little eBook.
You can find freebies scattered throughout the blog. Some of them are just for fun, but others will provide you with valuable practice that will help you to improve your calligraphy. Feel free to peruse!
I hope that you enjoyed this article, and that you became acquainted with a calligraphy learning resource that you weren’t aware of before. If you have any tips for other resources, please share them in the comments! Speaking of resources: the brevity of this article is due in large part to the fact that I’m working on finishing up the new Kaitlin Style worksheet and video course this week. The worksheet is finished, and I just need to complete the videos. Look for the announcement for this improved resource in Friday’s blog post! Remember: current owners of the worksheet set and/or the worksheet set + video course will be “grandfathered in” to the new materials despite a price increase. If you own the current materials, look for an email this weekend with updated download links!
Thanks very much for reading TPK, and have a great week!
Warmly,
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