Eight Modern Calligraphy Myths

If we’re being completely honest here, I don’t even know if some of these calligraphy myths are actually myths. They’re just misconceptions that I’ve gleaned from readers’ emails. However, it never hurts to address misconceptions! Even if you already know these “truths” are false, it will be handy to keep in mind that some calligraphy learners think this way. That way, you can encourage learners you interact with and help them to break through any barriers they’ve put up for themselves.

Here are eight calligraphy myths — all dispelled! — in no particular order:

1. If you have bad handwriting, you cannot create calligraphy.

The important thing to remember about calligraphy is this: at its core, it’s art. It’s not writing. Personally, my handwriting is not what one would call “graceful”, “neat”, or “enviable”. In fact, I am sure that when my snail mail correspondents receive my letters, they have to mentally prepare themselves for what is sure to be a few difficult minutes of deciphering!

No matter what your handwriting looks like, know that it will have zero bearing on what your calligraphy looks like. They are two totally different things. A good calligraphy pen is like a Harry Potter wand … it will help you to create magic that you can’t make without it.

2. Calligraphy is an expensive activity/hobby.

You know that part in the song Forget You by Cee Loo Green where he sings, “I’m sorry / I can’t afford a Ferrari / But that don’t mean I can’t get you there!” Same principle with calligraphy: you can spend as much money on your interest in calligraphy as you want, but at its core you really only need a few basic tools to get you there. All of them are listed in The Utimate Modern Calligraphy Starter’s Kit, and all in all, a fantastic DIY starter kit will cost you $25 or so.

I’ll be the first to admit: I have about a gazillion calligraphy supplies and I spend freely on my interest in the art. However, out of all the supplies I have purchased, pictured above are the only tools I use 99% of the time. They are:

– {Clockwise from nib in cork pen:} Leonardt Principal nib, Brause EF 66 nib, Brause Rose nib, Brause Steno {Blue Pumpkin} nib, Nikko G nib
– General’s straight cork pen
– Rodger’s Pen Box oblique pen fitted for Brause EF 66 nib – {If you’re a beginner, you should be fine getting your footing in calligraphy with just a straight pen first to save some money.}

3. Lefties cannot create calligraphy.

This calligraphy myth is simply not true. Here’s the thing, lefties: we people who write with our right hands, we don’t understand how to use our left hands like you do. It’s easier for us right-handed people to say, “Well, since you can’t do it like me, you’re out of luck,” rather than say, “I don’t understand the technicals of how you can do this — but you can.”

My father is left-handed, and the poor guy was tormented up through fourth grade by teachers that tried — quite forcefully — to get him to write with his right {“correct”} hand. My dad’s teachers’ opinions aside, you do write with your correct hand, lefties! And there are tools for you, specifically, to create calligraphy, just like there are tools for right-handed people.

I know I say this relatively often, but being a leftie is more of an advantage than a drawback. While it’s difficult for right-handed beginners to apply even pressure to both tines of a nib when writing with a right slant {and a straight pen}, lefties don’t find that as hard to do. Right oblique pens were developed to help right-handed people apply that good, even pressure; but left oblique pens were developed more so lefties don’t have to be contortionists {some lefties put themselves in crazy positions to write, and the left oblique helps them not to do that}.

The main rule for anyone learning calligraphy is you do what works for you. Experiment with a few different ways of holding a calligraphy pen; you’ll figure out something that you can embrace as your normal calligraphy position. Whether you’re right-handed or left-handed, you’ve got this!

4. You have to have a dip pen to create calligraphy.

Dip pens can be intimidating, and there are different reasons for not wanting to use one. Maybe you’re just not ready. Maybe you’ve got a child in the prime of his or her “terrible twos” and you know that little jar of {very permanent} India ink is going to end up all over the carpet. Or, maybe you’re just not sure about investing in a dip pen starter kit yet.

“Calligraphy”, to a lot of people {myself included}, really just means “pretty writing”. You can write beautifully using the instrument of your choice; just use faux calligraphy and a little bit of creativity! {The piece below was created using a dual brush pen.}

5. Dip pens are only good for creating calligraphy.

If you’re not interested in illustration/sketchbooking at all, then this calligraphy myth may be true for you. But, if you’re creative enough to create calligraphy {and you are, trust me}; then you’re also creative enough to create illustrations. All of the illustrations above were made using a calligraphy pen and sumi ink and/or watercolor. {If you’re curious about how to make a piece like the watercolor dog illustration, check out my henna cat tutorial on Inkstruck Studio.}

The great thing about drawing with India ink or sumi ink is you can go over the dry ink with watercolor and it won’t bleed. It’s also super vibrant, and it’s easy to control your line width depending on the flexibility of your nib.

6. If you know how to create calligraphy, you can write on any paper surface.

This is kind of true, kind of not true. If someone hands you a piece of flimsy 20# printer paper and a dip pen plus sumi or India ink and says, “Write my wedding vows on here; I’m going to give them as a gift!”, that’s bad news bears. That paper will absorb the ink like crazy, and the result will be legible but very bleed-y letters.

The trick to writing on certain paper surfaces is using the right ink and nib. As a quick example, let’s consider the humble grocery bag. First, here it is with sumi ink:

See how that ink bled? It’s legible, but it doesn’t look neat. That’s because the ink is a bit thin for the paper, which is absorbent and encourages the ink to sort of spiderweb out.

Here’s try #2, with walnut ink:

Yikes. Walnut ink is just a tad thicker than water, so it really soaked in to the surface.

But … when you use white ink:

Perfection. That’s because the ink is essentially acrylic paint; the paper doesn’t encourage it to spread out because the ink is so thick that it will pretty much stay put.

My solution for absorbent surfaces like grocery sacks or low-quality {absorbent} envelopes is either A) write with white ink; or B) use a thickened-up black ink. You can thicken up your ink with gum arabic or ink thickener. Thicker ink is harder to work with, but it will allow you to write on absorbent papers.

7. You must take classes to learn calligraphy.

I know I’ve mentioned this before somewhere, but my spouse, Hernán, is in the last months of his PhD in Aerospace Engineering {well, at least we think so … keep your fingers crossed!}. His advisor sat him down shortly after Hernán began the program, and said, “As a general rule, classes are useless. You can learn whatever you want from books and the internet.” {I should also mention that Hernán’s advisor is a German engineer who doesn’t mince words.} While, obviously, this isn’t a blanket statement, it does apply to many things {and has inspired me to pursue learning many things!}.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to learn whatever you want on your own, and calligraphy is no exception! You can purchase a Learn for a Latté worksheet set on TPK for $5.00, or check out one of the free worksheets {the styles offered are: Kaitlin, Beth, Janet, Amy, and Flourish Formal}. Go to YouTube and watch a few videos of people creating calligraphy so you can see the process in action! If you don’t mind a $15-ish investment, purchase the book Modern Calligraphy by Molly Suber Thorpe; I found it very informative and inspirational as a beginner! If you’re interested in how I, personally, learned calligraphy, check out the blog post How I Learned Calligraphy … I know you can learn it, too, without investing a lot of money in classes. {That said, you may find a class enjoyable — so if you think you’d have fun taking one, by all means! Go for it! But it’s not a must.}

8. Calligraphed envelopes won’t get delivered.

You might be curious about how many calligraphed envelopes have been returned to me … and the answer is zero. Okay, yes, I think two in the past three years have gotten lost; but who knows why that was? The only artistic envelope that has been returned to me was this ambitious paper cut art envelope … which, ah, was clearly torn to shreds by the sorting machine. Oops.

I know, though, that some people have problems with calligraphed envelopes being returned. So, here are a few general tips to follow:

• Make sure the zip code is written clearly and legibly. Machines at the post office read that zip code, and if your zip code is legible, your chances of the letter being delivered go up exponentially.
• Always write your return address in the upper left corner or on the back of the envelope. Make sure it’s super-legible {but you can still feel free to write it in calligraphy}. That way, if the envelope is undeliverable, at least you’ll get it back and know that the person you wrote to doesn’t have it.
• If your post office doesn’t seem to support your calligraphic aspirations {though it will take a lot to get them fed up … just check out Schin Loong’s Annoy a Postman for evidence}, tone it down a bit. You can experiment with what they’ll tolerate and what they won’t tolerate by asking your recipients to confirm when their letter(s) arrive.

And that’s it for the top eight calligraphy myths {that I know of, at least}. If you are aware of any more myths, or want to know whether something you have heard is myth or fact, please feel free to comment. Also … do you know of a good left-handed calligrapher who may be willing to answer some questions for a blog post? I’d love to give lefties more guidance, but I’m afraid I’m ill-equipped to do so!

Thanks again for reading TPK! I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Warmly,