Three years ago, I wrote the first A Video Crash Course on Watercolor Calligraphy tutorial. While the tutorial was fairly comprehensive, I’ve been wanting to redo it for a while. Time tends to highlight flaws, and the more I went back to the first post, the more I realized that it needed a better video, inspirational examples, and clearer instructions! Today’s post is the result of that realization, and I hope that you enjoy learning watercolor calligraphy from it.
What is Watercolor Calligraphy?
Watercolor calligraphy is calligraphy that you write using watercolors and a dip pen. You can transform practically any watercolor into an “ink” by adding a bit of water to it!
I love using watercolors to create calligraphy because watercolors tend to have a “softer” effect than traditional calligraphy inks. There’s a lot of gradation going on, which looks so cool! For example, as you write a word, it may go from being dark blue to light blue as the concentration of water to paint shifts in the nib.
How to Create Watercolor Calligraphy (in Photos)
To create watercolor calligraphy, you really only need five things: a cup of water, a dip pen (fitted with any nib), a paintbrush (size 1, 2, or 3), any watercolor palette, and a piece of paper. First, you use water to moisten the color (or colors) that you want to use.
Next, you use a paintbrush to add color to the back of your nib.
Then, you write just as you would with any calligraphy ink!
How to Create Watercolor Calligraphy – The Video!
If you’re anything like me, you probably learn best when someone actually shows you how to do something. For that reason, I made a video over how to create watercolor calligraphy. In it, you’ll learn how to write with one color, how to write with two colors, and how to allay the common concern that you may have about watercolor calligraphy.
Want watercolor calligraphy practice? Try filling out TPK’s watercolor calligraphy worksheet!
Why is Watercolor Calligraphy Useful?
The major drawback to using the watercolor calligraphy technique is time. As you can imagine, brushing watercolor on the back of your nib every few letters isn’t exactly efficient. However, if you’re creating calligraphy for relaxation (which many people do), that’s really not an issue! Watercolor calligraphy is great for a few reasons, including:
1. Calligraphy Practice On the Go
Calligraphy ink isn’t the best thing to take on long trips because you never know when you’re going to have a spill. Watercolors, however, are dry until you need them to be wet! For that reason, they make for a very portable “ink”.
2. Whimsical and Unique Writing Effect
The results of watercolor calligraphy are one of a kind. Watercolor allows you to blend colors as you write calligraphy, and the varying levels of gradation are gorgeous. It’s difficult to achieve that sort of effect with most calligraphy inks!
3. Artwork Accents
If you enjoy painting with watercolor, you can use a dip pen and watercolor to add accents to your artwork. The dip pen allows you to achieve the precision and consistency that a brush can’t offer.
What About Paper?
I think you’ll be surprised to find that watercolors aren’t that picky when it comes to paper. If you can write on a piece of paper with regular calligraphy ink, chances are you can write on it with watercolor calligraphy as well. You’ll have great luck using watercolor paper, drawing paper, and even 32# laserjet paper! If you use watercolor calligraphy on envelopes, just make sure they are high-quality.
If something about watercolor calligraphy is stumping you, please feel free to ask in the comments! Otherwise, I hope that you enjoyed this re-vamp, and that you have a great weekend. Thanks so much for reading TPK!
Warmly,
