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  • Welcome to TPK! This is your first of 2 free articles. For unlimited access to tutorials and articles, join TPK Premium for less than the cost of a latte.

    Calligraphy Art Tutorial: How to Make a Flourished … Well, Anything!

    February 21, 2019

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    Calligraphy, Dip Pen Calligraphy, Flourishing, Tutorials, Video

    You may think of your dip pen as a tool with which you can write beautiful alphabet characters … and you’re right to see it that way! The alphabet isn’t the only thing that can benefit from a dip pen, though. Today, we’ll examine how to use a dip pen to create artwork depicting almost…

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    Calligraphy Art Tutorial: How to Make a Flourished ... Well, Anything! | The Postman's Knock

    For the past week, the focus of this blog has been on Lasso Lettering, which you can create with any pen. Today, I’d like to shift attention back to the dip pen! While any writing utensil is worth the time to get to know, I especially love the dip pen because of its stroke variation. A dip pen can seamlessly transition from making delicate, thin strokes into bold, heavy strokes — which leads to some serious visual appeal!

    Free Printable "Flourish by Number" Bunny | The Postman's Knock
    You can learn how to flourish this bunny in the (free) “Flourish by Number” Bunny worksheet!

    When I’m not lettering with a dip pen, I love using it to make flourished artwork! The artwork always ends up looking complicated to create, but it’s not. In today’s YouTube tutorial, I’ll show you how to make a flourished heart, and you can apply the concept to almost any recognizable shape!

    Calligraphy Art Tutorial: How to Make a Flourished … Well, Anything! Video

    You can check out the tutorial by watching the video below, or you can find it on YouTube by clicking here. At approximately five minutes long, the video is short and sweet!

    The gist of it: make a pencil outline of your subject. Then, fill in that outline with dense flourishes! Erase your pencil guidelines, and you’ve got some very cool calligraphy art.

    Other Examples of Flourished Calligraphy Art

    I love including flourished calligraphy art in my drills sheets! Following instructions to create such art can really help you to get used to the idea of creating calligraphy art! That will come in handy when you want to make your own piece of original art using a dip pen. Here are some examples:

    Flourished Skull Artwork

    Flourished Calligraphy Artwork | The Postman's Knock
    You can find instructions for making this little guy in the Spooky Drills worksheet! (I used this artwork as a Halloween decoration last year.)

    Flourished Hummingbird Artwork

    12 Artistic Envelope Ideas | The Postman's Knock
    Instructions for making this artwork are in the Garden Drills worksheet! This bird dresses up the back of an envelope beautifully.

    Flourished Fish Artwork

    Not Your Average Calligraphy Drills: Under the Sea Edition | The Postman's Knock
    This creature is a bit more complicated to make than the heart I showed you today — but worth every minute of your time! Find him in the Under the Sea Drills.

    I hope that this post inspires you to use your dip pen to create some flourishy magic! In addition to giving you artistic satisfaction, any piece of calligraphy art that you make will also result in fantastic calligraphy practice. That’s great because sometimes writing “A, A, A, B, B, B …” can get old!

    If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contribute to the comments section. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you! Thanks so much for reading (and watching) TPK, and have a great weekend!

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock

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About the author

Hi, I’m Lindsey Bugbee, the illustrator, calligrapher, and author behind The Postman’s Knock (TPK). Since 2012, the TPK Blog has been a vibrant creative space filled with tutorials and lessons on modern calligraphy, hand lettering, and illustration. After publishing The Calligraphy Book, I wanted to elevate the quality of content even further—so I launched TPK Premium. You can join here to receive access to some of the internet’s best creative inspiration and project tutorials.

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53 responses

  1. Anne Marie Avatar
    Anne Marie
    February 25, 2019

    I’ve been fooling around with a dip pen since I received three different Jacques Herbin gem inks for Christmas. I love them but, as you have mentioned, shimmery ink needs to be shaken up, a lot. I also read it can gunk up some fountain pens so I thought, well, a dip pen, with frequent shaking of the ink bottle, would be the best way to enjoy these inks. These flourishes look like a really fun way to use my pen and the inks too!

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    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      I am glad you did the research and went with a dip pen! I think they are more fun to use, anyways, and you can really establish your own style. There’s just more room to play!

      Log in to Reply
  2. Brenna Malmberg Avatar
    Brenna Malmberg
    February 25, 2019

    I loooove how you broke this down. It makes something that looks so complicated look like I could actually do it!

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    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      It’s so simple once you really break down each step! I am glad you see that 🙂

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  3. Becky Beyl Avatar
    Becky Beyl
    February 25, 2019

    Love all the flourishes. I keep trying out all the latest ones to practice!!

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      Way to go! Aren’t flourishes so fun?

      Log in to Reply
  4. Michelle Shain Avatar
    Michelle Shain
    February 25, 2019

    Lindsay – you’re tutorials are so inspiring – and well instructed.
    I have learned so much. You always answer questions before I have a chance to ask them. It’s like you just know what people will ask. Many thanks for your patience. And persistence! Michelle Shain

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      Thanks, Michelle 🙂 You’re more than welcome–I love doing this and all you readers are so wonderful!

      Log in to Reply
  5. Gretchen Avatar
    Gretchen
    February 25, 2019

    I struggle so much with flourishes. I am going to dive right into these exercises and see if they help me!!

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      This worksheet should help 🙂

      Log in to Reply
  6. moekime Avatar
    moekime
    February 25, 2019

    Thank you for constantly inspiring me….

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      You’re welcome! Thank you for reading!

      Log in to Reply
  7. Dani Avatar
    Dani
    February 25, 2019

    I love these flourishes!! And they have been so helpful for me in practicing pen control.

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      That’s exactly what they should help with! Thanks, Dani 🙂

      Log in to Reply
  8. Gena Robertson Avatar
    Gena Robertson
    February 25, 2019

    I know it takes practice, practice, practice!! I aspire to be as good as you someday, Lindsey. You’re the best – and the best teacher! Thank you so much!

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    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      Yes–keep practicing and you will get it in no time! Thanks, Gena <3

      Log in to Reply
  9. Clara Strong Avatar
    Clara Strong
    February 25, 2019

    I love the idea of practicing flourishes this way!

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      It’s so fun!

      Log in to Reply
  10. Laughren Avatar
    Laughren
    February 25, 2019

    I’ve always been afraid of trying (and messing up) flourishes – thanks for your instructions!! I’ll give it a try 🙂

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      May 22, 2019

      It’s totally okay to mess up your flourishes! That’s what practice is for 🙂 You’ll get in the groove in no time!

      Log in to Reply
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My seven-year-old and I have officially entered th My seven-year-old and I have officially entered the @edward.gorey.house envelope art contest! 🎃 My design leans a bit more macabre, while my son’s is, well, gory. (Venus flytraps are apparently no joke.) Visit the TPK Blog to see my process — I love to start with a Procreate draft and take it from there. 

This is a great little contest, and, while it runs through December, it’s *especially* fun to work on this time of year. 👻 My kid and I both thoroughly enjoyed making our masterpieces! If you find yourself with some time in the next couple of months, make your own envelope ... there will be more than one winner! 🥇

#edwardgorey #envelopeart #mailart #kidsart #halloweenart #halloweenmail #envelope #snailmail #snailmailrevolution
Just added a new lesson to the Beginner’s Modern Just added a new lesson to the Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course! ✍️ In Lesson 3, you’ll find over three hours of instruction to get you extremely comfortable using the straight calligraphy pen. If you want to learn pointed pen calligraphy, *join us*! TPK Premium members have the exclusive and incredible opportunity to take this detailed course for $5/month. Link in bio for details!

#calligraphy #moderncalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #learncalligraphy #calligraphytips
Beautiful autumn leaves outside 🍂 inspire beaut Beautiful autumn leaves outside 🍂 inspire beautiful leaves inside ✨. You can find a tutorial over how to make this stunning bookmark in “The Calligraphy Book”. (Confession time: I don’t actually use this bookmark as a bookmark. It ended up being too pretty to be hiding inside a book! 🙈 Instead, I display it on my bulletin board.)

#bookmark #decoratedbookmark #autumnleaves #pointedpen #finetec #colirofinetec #metallicwatercolor
Which is your favorite? 👻 🍬 ✋ 🎃 Good Which is your favorite? 👻 🍬 ✋ 🎃 

Good news: whichever one you like best, you can learn how to create it in “Spellbound Strokes”, TPK’s Halloween 2025 worksheet set! The worksheet is available on the TPK site as of an hour ago. In it, you’ll learn how to create these fabulous Halloween-themed motifs ... and get plenty of calligraphy practice under your belt in the process. ✍️

For the worksheet link, see my stories today (10/9), or shoot me a DM. Happy Halloween, and enjoy!

#halloweencalligraphy #pointedpenpractice #pointedpen #dippen #halloweenart #macbeth
This is just as relaxing to watch as it is to wri This is just as relaxing to watch as it is to write. 🧘‍♀️ DM me for a link to a (free!) worksheet that teaches you how to write this loopy, modern quote. ✍️

#moderncalligraphy #learncalligraphy #calligraphy #handwritten #writingcalligraphy #pointedpencalligraphy #calligraphyvideo #tseliotquote
🎃 Halloween, TPK-style. ✍️ You can find ins 🎃 Halloween, TPK-style. ✍️ You can find instructions for making all of these project (and more!) on the TPK Blog and in TPK’s Halloween-themed worksheets. 🔗 Link in bio, then search for “Halloween” or just browse the Blog and Catalog!

#halloweencalligraphy #halloweenart #calligraphyprojects #halloweencraft #eleganthalloween
🤭 We’re ridiculous. Here’s the story: every 🤭 We’re ridiculous. Here’s the story: every month, @greenleafblue and I host a live creative coffee chat over Zoom for TPK Premium and G&B Patreon members — and we always include a giveaway. This time, we switched it up and picked the winner with a trivia question we made up on the fly. You can see how that went here!

✨ Watch the full chat on the TPK Blog (link in bio → “Blog”).

✨ Join us for the next coffee chat on October 17th by signing up for TPK Premium! I’m thrilled to announce that @sdionbakerdesign will be our special guest. (Her Patreon members can join, too!) And yes, there will be a giveaway. 🎁

👯‍♀️ Fun fact: Jess and I met as roommates studying art history in Paris + Florence way before The Postman’s Knock or Greenleaf & Blueberry existed. Over the years, we’ve nicknamed ourselves Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, Lucy and Ethel… you get the idea. That familiarity definitely comes through in our chats.

#artistchat #artists #artsupplies #zoomchat #creativity #thepostmansknock #greenleafandblueberry
After eight years (and plenty of smudges), my chal After eight years (and plenty of smudges), my chalkboard finally got a makeover! This time, sketching out the design was so much easier thanks to my iPad + Procreate. Once the draft felt right, I used a grid method to bring it to life on the chalkboard. 🖊️✨ Curious how it all came together and find instructions for making your own chalkboard quote art? Check out the TPK Blog to see the process! (Link in bio, then navigate to the “Blog” tab.)

#chalkboard #chalkart #austenquote #janeausten #hyggequote #hyggeart #homeart #artforhome #artprocess #chalk
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