Watercolor Calligraphy Tutorial

Around this time last year, I wrote a post over watercolor calligraphy, which I had recently discovered. Since then, I have created many a calligraphed envelope using this delightful technique, and I’ve picked up tips and tricks that make watercolor calligraphy easier. This watercolor calligraphy tutorial will help you take your calligraphy to the next level; you’ll just need a couple of supplies to start.

The photo above outlines a simple but effective watercolor calligraphy kit. It consists of:

• Clean water
• Watercolors {Mine are from Greenleaf & Blueberry}
• A small-bristled brush
• Calligraphy pens {You don’t need both pens pictured; you’ll just need one depending on the style of calligraphy you plan on making.}

You’ll also need a nib.

In my experience, certain nibs are better for watercolor calligraphy than others. The nib that I have the best luck with in watercolor calligraphy is the Brause Steno nib {the blue nib}. I’ve never had great luck with this nib in an oblique holder, so I always use it in a straight holder; that means I’m always using the Steno for calligraphy styles that don’t have much of a slant {like the Beth or the Amy}, print styles, or hand-lettering.

As far as oblique pen holders {read this post if you’re not sure what an oblique holder is}, the Nikko G is a great nib to try watercolor calligraphy with, especially if you’re a beginner. It is a relatively rigid nib, meaning your risk of mess-ups is lower {since it’s easier to control}. The Brause EF66 and the Brause Rose are probably my two favorite nibs for creating watercolor calligraphy in an oblique because they offer a great contrast between thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes. However, both nibs can be a bit finicky for users who aren’t super-familiar with calligraphy yet; the tines on both of these nibs are very flexible, which can translate to being unruly. Ultimately, though, you should use the nib that you like using the most for your regular calligraphy practice and/or projects.

The last key to great watercolor calligraphy is good-quality paper.

If you practice watercolor calligraphy on printer paper, you’re going to notice some major bleeding/spiderwebbing because the paper is absorbent. What you want is a good-quality paper with low absorbency. To this end, I use Strathmore 70 lb. drawing paper for practice and general projects, Strathmore 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper for more formal projects, and Royal Sundance 80 lb. envelopes for correspondence.

While I ultimately am going to show you how to create a multi-colored effect, it’s important to begin practicing with one color first. Put a drop of water in the color or colors of watercolor that you are planning to use. This will reconstitute the paints and make them easy to work with.

Of course, you can use liquid watercolors; I just like to use dry pans like these because they are convenient with no fuss! If you have liquid watercolors, mix them up as though you are going to use them for a regular watercolor painting or art piece.

To begin creating watercolor calligraphy, use a paintbrush that’s roughly the size of the one pictured to brush watercolor paint on the back of your nib.

After you brush the paint on, the back of the nib should look like this:

This is a little bit tough to explain, and you’ll have to do it {and, sorry, mess up doing it as well!} to understand … but basically, you need to hit this happy medium in which there is a good amount of watercolor on the back of your nib, but not so much that it beads up. You can see in the photo below that the watercolor paint is “hugging” the back of the nib, and contours the same way the back of the nib does.

It is important that you don’t end up with a large bead of watercolor on the back of your nib. If you do, gravity is going to work its reliable magic and give you a big, project-ruining blob.

You may be wondering what a bead of watercolor will look like on the back of your nib. Here’s an example on the Rose:

See how there’s a little hill of purple watercolor there?

Luckily, it’s easy to get rid of that “hill”. Simply give your calligraphy pen a firm shake above your art water, and the excess watercolor will drip right off!

Once your nib is properly loaded with watercolor {and there’s no watercolor “hill”}, you’re ready to write! Simply write as you would with a regular calligraphy pen {for more information on writing with a calligraphy pen, visit this blog post and this blog post}.

The thing you will notice when writing with watercolor is it tends to run out fairly quickly. You’ll know it’s time to refill your nib with paint when this happens {I’m attempting to write “hello”}:

Thankfully, when you reload and put your nib back on the paper, the watercolor that you previously wrote will eagerly blend with your fresh watercolor. If you ever have any trouble with getting the ink to start flowing, simply “kiss” the very tip of the nib to your art water as outlined in The Beginner’s Guide to Modern Calligraphy, and as shown in this photo.

The photo below should give you an idea of how the different nibs and calligraphy styles look written in watercolor. {You can learn all these different calligraphy styles here.} Probably the easiest for a beginner will be the Beth {using the Brause Steno and a straight pen}. You can also use the latter pen/nib combination to write words in print, which will get you acquainted with the way the watercolor flows from the nib.

Once you’ve practiced one-color watercolor words, it’s time to move on to several colors! Begin by brushing your nib with the first color you mean to use. I have chosen a goldenrod tone below.

Write the first part of your letter with your color.

Next, without washing off your nib, brush on another color. I have chosen green, which quickly blended with the goldenrod.

Use the blended result on the back of your nib to finish the letter and write a couple of additional letters.

See how all the colors seamlessly blend into each other?

Keep blending the colors in the back of your nib as you work to create the piece …

And you’ll end up with a multi-colored, visually interesting work of art!

The envelope above was created using Janet Style, paired with the guide sheet from Amazing Envelopes for a Latté. You really can take any of the Latté styles and create watercolor calligraphy with them, as well as any traditional style like copperplate, spencerian … whatever.

Maybe you saw on Instagram yesterday, but I had fun creating this envelope using Kaitlin style calligraphy and DIY glitter confetti! To make the “confetti”, I just used a hole punch on glitter card stock and glued the resulting circles down.

Another perk to learning watercolor calligraphy is, by default, you’ll be able to make art with this new skill. I used a calligraphy pen loaded with watercolor to create much of this coat of arms!

As far as obstacles you may encounter when creating calligraphy with watercolor, there are only a couple I can think of. The first is the “hill” of ink, which I described earlier. The second is you may find that sometimes the ink flow seems very dry. This means that some watercolor has dried on your nib and is preventing fresh watercolor from flowing. To remedy that, quickly clean off the nib {still attached to the pen} in the art water, wipe it clean with a cloth, and pick up where you left off.

You may also find that your nib doesn’t seem to “like” watercolor calligraphy. It may just be unruly and acting strange with the medium — and in this case, it’s fine to just try out another nib and see if you have better luck with that. Some nibs are really great for using watercolor with, and some nibs really aren’t!

I am sure I am missing some obvious questions, so if you think of anything, please let me know in the comments! I’m happy to answer to the best of my ability. In the meantime, I hope this post helps you to create calligraphy with a beautiful new twist!

Warmest wishes always,

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