Unlock the art of flourishing and take your calligraphy to the next level with “Flourish With Me: A Pointed Pen Calligraphy Online Course.” In this new course, you’ll discover that creating professional-looking flourishes goes beyond simply adding a few loops.
When I first started playing around with calligraphy, I loved the idea of flourishing. It was clear that flourishes could add personality, flair, and an enchanting touch to my lettering. And yet, my flourishes looked disappointingly unrefined. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong! I was adding all sorts of embellishments and curlicues, but my calligraphy pieces weren’t quite hitting the mark.
After more than a decade of creating pointed pen calligraphy, I now realize that professional-looking flourishes aren’t a given if you add a few loops here and there. Flourishes have to be intentional and planned, with special attention to the shape and length of your strokes. Balance is also a biggie! With that in mind, I designed Flourish With Me: A Pointed Pen Calligraphy Online Course to condense what I’ve learned about flourishing into a series of instructional videos and a 10-page worksheet.
BEGIN YOUR FLOURISHING JOURNEY
Flourish With Me was designed for people who understand pointed pen calligraphy basics. You’re more or less like me, circa 2014: you can write calligraphy, but your embellishments fall short and the overall effect suffers. In TPK’s new self-paced course, you’ll fix that with the help of modules that guide you through every aspect of flourishing.
In the course, you’ll delve into the essential building blocks of flourishing, like precise pen manipulation and graceful stroke movements. We’ll discuss the art of embellishing individual letters, blending them with your calligraphy to create captivating compositions. Moreover, the course places special emphasis on the art of balance and centering, teaching you how to use flourishes to create a sense of equilibrium and visual allure.
In addition to flourishing the focus phrase on your own, we’ll work through some warm-up drills. I’ll also have you doing some free-style flourishing — after talking you through examples, don’t worry! — of the word “California”.
Ultimately, there’s no one right way to approach flourishing any given word or phrase. When you flourish, the final look depends on your personal style, the occasion, and even your mood! The lack of flourishing rules can make the technique intimidating to teach. So, for this course, I decided to lean on the philosophy I used for the Watercolor Illustrated Maps 101 eCourse. In the Maps course, we make a map of Paris together, and in making that one map, students learn the techniques they need to go on to make other maps.
As a learner, I get overwhelmed quickly, and I’ve found that honing in on something specific to covertly learn general techniques helps me enormously. That’s where the philosophy of this course comes in: as we talk about and flourish the “No esperes” phrase, you’ll pick up tips and techniques that will benefit you your future flourishing endeavors.
Excellent. I intentionally chose to hone in on a non-English phrase for this course because I don’t want you to breeze through writing these words. When writing a foreign language, you have to focus on individual letters to make sure you get the spelling right. That level of focus makes it that much easier to work at a slow and intentional writing pace.
If you do speak Spanish, try to keep the slow pace in mind anyway. As I say several times in the course, I am not impressed if you finish before I do! The less you rush through your writing, the better your flourished pieces are going to look.
“Flourish with Me” complements several free resources available for aspiring calligraphers and flourishing enthusiasts. To further support your flourishing journey, I recommend reading the Making Fabulous Calligraphy Flourishes article. In it, you’ll find general tips for successful flourishing and links to several free printable worksheets. It’s a must-read!
TPK’s Intermediate Modern Calligraphy Online Course is also a great place to learn about flourishing. That course takes a more general approach, showing you several examples that you can piece together to make your own flourished pieces. Flourish With Me and the Intermediate Calligraphy Course contain complementary information and exercises. Both are excellent resources for improving your flourishing techniques.
“Flourish with Me” is not just an online course; it’s an opportunity to embark on a transformative journey that will elevate your calligraphy to new heights. Imagine the satisfaction of creating professional-looking flourishes that captivate and delight!
Enroll now, and you’ll gain access to on-demand instructional videos and a comprehensive worksheet that will guide you through your flourishing journey. Just like with the Watercolor Maps course, I’m so excited to see what student go on to make. Happy flourishing, and enjoy the course!
Happy learning,
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