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Using Brush Pens for Calligraphy + A Collection of Worksheets

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Using Brush Pens for Calligraphy + A Collection of Worksheets | The Postman's Knock

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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The Best Beginner Calligraphy Nib

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The Best Beginner Calligraphy Nib: The Nikko G | The Postman's Knock

I always recommend the Nikko G nib as the best beginner calligraphy nib. It’s in the supply list section of all TPK Learn Calligraphy worksheets as well as the Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course. Using the Nikko G can save you a lot of frustration, which will encourage you to keep practicing your calligraphy! In this post, we’ll discuss why the Nikko G nib is good for beginners, where you can find it, and how to use it to its full potential.
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How to Use a Dip Pen to Create Modern Calligraphy

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How to Use a Dip Pen to Create Modern Calligraphy | The Postman's Knock

I first picked up a dip pen in 2005. At that time, it seemed to be best suited to making squiggles because it was tough to write letters with! Fast forward a few years, though, and I saw other people using these mysterious instruments to create modern calligraphy. Flowy alphabets with a beautiful contrast abounded, and I wanted to know how to do that myself!
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Circus Lettering Exemplar + Video Tutorial

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Circus Lettering Printable Exemplar + Video Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

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.
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Simple Twig Watercolor Thank You Card Tutorial

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Simple Twig Watercolor Thank You Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

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!
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A Video Crash Course on Watercolor Calligraphy 2.0

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A Video Crash Course on Watercolor Calligraphy | The Postman's Knock

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.
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Blended Watercolor Thank You Card Tutorial

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Blended Watercolor Thank You Card Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

This thank you card tutorial, based on a Mexican Talavera tile design, is one of my favorites on the TPK blog because of its vibrant color scheme. The card only uses two colors — brown and turquoise — but the different values of those colors add a lot of visual interest. If you feel intimidated by blending watercolors, set that fear aside for this post! I will teach you exactly how to blend the two tones, and I promise that you can do it. Here are the steps for making this card:
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A Guide to Pointed Pen Calligraphy Nibs

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A Guide to Pointed Pen Calligraphy Nibs | The Postman's Knock

When you first decide to learn calligraphy, you’ll find that the internet is rife with assumptions about what you already know. Many articles assume that you know about calligraphy nibs when, in fact, many people don’t realize that there’s a difference between any two given nibs. In this blog post, we’ll examine a few pointed pen calligraphy nibs, including where to get them and what to use them for.
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Phantom Blush Calligraphy Tutorial (Includes Video)

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Phantom Blush Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

I have to admit that I struggled over what to call this calligraphy tutorial. “White calligraphy with a hint of color and a shadow on a watercolor background” just didn’t have a nice ring to it. So: “Phantom Blush” it is! This calligraphy technique is a favorite of mine because it’s casual, artistic, and quick. You can find instructions over how to make it below, including a ~6 minute tutorial video that will help those of us who love video demos!
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