The other day, I received an email asking me about what I — personally — did to learn calligraphy. Did I practice with workbooks? Set myself rigid hours devoted to writing? Actually, no. My practice was always pleasant and fairly non-structured, and I learned pretty quickly! In this post, I’ll go over six tricks that I used to keep my learning on the right track. Hopefully you can apply them to your own calligraphy journey!
Continue reading…
On Friday, I wrote a tutorial about how to make “Circus Lettering”, a fun lettering style inspired by vintage circus and carnival posters. In that tutorial, I focused on the letter “M”, and I tried to provide some general rules for writing all letters using the style. As I was writing, though, it occurred to me that you may have questions about how to make certain other letters of the alphabet — an “O”, for example, doesn’t follow the same rules as an “M”! With that in mind, I decided to make a printable exemplar.
Continue reading…
I love experimenting with lettering for two reasons: first, lettering is functional and practical. You combine letters in order to make words, which you can then use to catch someone’s eye on a sign, mail art, or whatever else you want to make. Second, lettering comes with rules. No matter what, an “A” has to look like an “A”, a “B” has to look like a “B”, and so on and so forth. It’s much easier to be innovative when you’ve got some parameters!
Continue reading…
If you enjoy working with a dip pen, then you may be interested in selling calligraphy. In addition to providing you with a bit of income, selling your calligraphy can give you extra practice and exercise your creativity in a new way as an entrepreneur! In this article, you’ll find six ways to get noticed when selling calligraphy.
Continue reading…
The Nikko G nib is a fantastic calligraphy nib — but did you know that it was originally developed to be a drawing nib? I’ve used it to illustrate several fun projects like a lace butterfly and a henna bluebird! The objective of today’s mail art tutorial is twofold: first, I want you to end up with an artistic envelope that you love. Second, I want you to get a basic introduction to drawing with the Nikko G because next month I plan to explore pen and ink drawing techniques a bit more with you!
Continue reading…
Every Monday, I’ve been sending out a brief newsletter to TPK subscribers. It’s something I have really enjoyed because a newsletter isn’t nearly as formal as a blog post; instead, it feels more like a conversation. In the last newsletter, I asked for blog post topic feedback — in short, what do readers want more of (or less of)? A theme appeared throughout several of the feedback emails: more watercolor tutorials! So, today, I want to show you how to make this simple twig watercolor thank you card. It features a blending/salting technique that I promise you can do, and I’ll teach you how in a video toward the end of the post!
Continue reading…
There’s hardly a better canvas to practice your art, calligraphy, and lettering skills on than an envelope! Envelopes’ practical, temporary nature makes them great for trying out new techniques and exercising old favorites. In this post, you’ll find 12 artistic envelope ideas to fire you up for making your own mail art!
Continue reading…
I’m sure that you know the feeling of creating something that you’re proud of. Then, time passes, and you realize: “Wow, I really could have done that better.” That’s exactly how I felt with the Amy Style Calligraphy Worksheet Set. When I first released the set in 2015, I thought it was just great! I’d done it to the best of my ability, and that’s all that a person can ask for, really.
Continue reading…
I recently received an email from a reader asking me about the practical uses for calligraphy. This reader works in the corporate world, and she was having trouble justifying taking the time to learn the art. I get it! We constantly have to make choices about how to manage our days, and oftentimes you can’t justify indulging in an enjoyable creative pursuit. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that calligraphy can be incorporated into your day-to-day with good reason! Here’s what I came up with:
Continue reading…
Every year, Hernán and I go on a trip to explore somewhere new. This year’s trip was to Naples, Barcelona, and Paris — and we wanted to pack extra light. We only took “under the seat” bags so there wouldn’t be any luggage to check (and no extra fees on budget airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet). Of course, taking a small-ish bag meant traveling with only the bare necessities; the only “creative supply” I took was a Pilot G2 pen! When I found myself wanting to make some art and calligraphy while in Paris, the idea for this blog post was born. In it, you’ll learn seven tips for making calligraphy and art on the go with minimal supplies!
Continue reading…