Brush Pen Calligraphy | The Postman's Knock

Six Amazing Brush Pens for Beginners

May 21, 2019 by Lindsey Bugbee 3 Comments

I remember when I first set out to purchase brush pens. I was so excited to try out brush pen calligraphy! Then, I saw the overwhelming online selection. I ended up blindly choosing a few brush pens. While I connected with some, there were others that ended up in the junk drawer! The goal of today’s comparison post is to prevent you from buying brush pens that won’t work for you. My hope is that, based on what you read here, you can choose beginner-friendly brush pens that you connect with!
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“Juicy” Brush Pen Calligraphy Tutorial

April 23, 2019 by Lindsey Bugbee 26 Comments

The other day, I saw a video on Instagram that inspired me to develop this “juicy” brush pen calligraphy tutorial! In it, the artist utilized several common art supplies to make playful and eye-catching lettering letters. I modified the supply list to fit the things that I have available to me, and I hope that you’ll do the same! To create this tutorial, you’ll need:

Brush pens (or broad-tipped markers such as Crayola)
A pencil + eraser
A fine-tipped paintbrush
A white gel pen (such as Gelly Roll) + a black pen

Introducing the Elegant Janet Style Brush Pen Worksheet Set

April 9, 2019 by Lindsey Bugbee 71 Comments

Brush pens are the casual, careless, and effortlessly cool cousins of dip pens. They’re approachable and affordable, which is why you probably spot them often on social media! Today, I’m pleased to announce that a brand-new TPK brush pen calligraphy worksheet set is now available: The Janet. The goal of the worksheet set is twofold. It will teach you how to use brush pens and how to use brush pens to write in an elegant, Copperplate-inspired calligraphy style!
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Free Brush Pen Calligraphy Worksheet

March 5, 2019 by Lindsey Bugbee 111 Comments

I first released this simple brush pen worksheet in 2015. Little did I know that it would become one of the most popular printables on TPK! With 131,500 downloads and counting, many a brush pen enthusiast has worked through the exercises in this worksheet. Today, I want to talk about what you can learn from filling out the Free Brush Pen worksheet, as well as other brush pen resources that you can take advantage of on the TPK site!Continue reading…

A Word on Left-Handed Calligraphy

September 25, 2018 by Lindsey Bugbee 4 Comments

Lefty Calligrapher Elisabeth Young Writing — Elisabeth Young of ElisaAnne Calligraphy helped me out a lot with photos for this blog post — I want to extend a huge thanks to her!

If you’re a lefty, you are already aware that you’re in the minority. That has, unfortunately, probably led to frustration in your left-handed calligraphy learning endeavors. Hopeless as it may seem, I promise you that anyone — right- or left-handed — can create calligraphy! For this blog post, I decided to go to the source, and I asked south paw newsletter subscribers about their experiences with writing left-handed calligraphy. I received quite a few responses discussing issues and struggles when writing, tips and tricks for improving lettering, plus some examples of work. This blog post is a compilation of the most important takeaways.

Using Brush Pens for Calligraphy + A Collection of Worksheets

September 21, 2018 by Lindsey Bugbee 111 Comments

I have several blog posts on the TPK website that teach you how to write calligraphy with a dip pen. Today, though, I want to give the spotlight to a different tool — the brush pen! I have written a general overview of brush pens before, but today I want to focus on using brush pens for calligraphy in particular. Flexible tips, quick-drying ink, and familiarity (since you’ve probably worked with markers before) make brush pens a wonderful candidate for not only creating modern calligraphy — but also for learning how to create modern dip pen calligraphy!
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A List of TPK’s Free Printable Calligraphy Practice Sheets

May 15, 2018 by Lindsey Bugbee 113 Comments

The TPK blog is peppered with free printable calligraphy practice sheets to help you improve your penmanship! However, with 400+ blog posts on this site, some of the best freebies may have eluded you. For that reason, I decided to create a compilation of the free dip pen and brush pen calligraphy practice sheets and present them to you in this article. Some may look familiar, while others may be new to you! My hope is that these will help you to set aside some “me time” to improve your penmanship, relax, and indulge your creativity.
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The Top 6 Reasons That People Decide to Learn Calligraphy

January 30, 2018 by Lindsey Bugbee 221 Comments

Throughout my years of having this website, I’ve heard from many people who have decided to learn calligraphy. I’ve noticed that, in general, the motivation behind their learning can be attributed to one (or more) of six reasons. I find that to be very interesting, and a reminder that we’re all not so different! Today, I’d like to share those reasons with you.
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5 Ways to Sneak in Calligraphy Practice

January 2, 2018 by Lindsey Bugbee 165 Comments

If learning calligraphy is one of your main goals for this year, first of all — awesome! Secondly, I’ll tell you right now that the secret is consistent practice. Just like last year, you’re going to be busy this year, and calligraphy practice may fall to the wayside. Follow these sneaky tips, though, and you’ll be able keep on writing!
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3 Quick “Crayola Calligraphy” Projects

May 19, 2017 by Lindsey Bugbee 10 Comments

“Crayola calligraphy” refers to calligraphy that has been created with a standard broad tip marker such as Crayola brand. If you’ve never heard of Crayola calligraphy, then check out this blog post — it will bring you up to speed! Once you’ve read it, come back and try out one of these three quick projects. Each one takes less than 15 minutes and renders fun, visually appealing results!
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