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  • Welcome to TPK! This is your first of 2 free articles. For unlimited access to tutorials and articles, join TPK Premium for less than the cost of a latte.

    White Faux Calligraphy Tutorial

    March 1, 2014

    by

    Lindsey Bugbee

    Tutorials

    Creating faux calligraphy is great for beginners who are intimidated by a dip pen, and also for seasoned calligraphers who want to write on irregular surfaces. Try out this fun and easy tutorial to create some of your own faux calligraphy today!

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    White Faux Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Those of you who have been reading the TPK blog for a while may remember my “Cheating Calligraphy” tutorial from last year. I’d like to do a little re-vamp in this blog post — and also start referring to it as “Faux Calligraphy” {the French make everything sound nicer}!

    I just made a lovely hand-written wedding suite predominantly featuring white ink for an NYC couple . While I used a traditional calligraphy pen to make this suite, I want to share an alternative that also renders opaque white results. To make white faux calligraphy, you don’t have to know how to use a dip pen and nibs. Not only that, but making faux calligraphy will help you in creating real calligraphy.

    Hand Written Wedding Invitation Suite | The Postman's Knock

    I commenced my calligraphy career in 2011 by making faux calligraphy. Believe it or not, I even sold art pieces that featured faux calligraphy. It has a nice, round “feel” to it. The main advantage, by far, of creating faux calligraphy is the advantage it will give you in creating “real” calligraphy. Basically, as you create faux calligraphy, you begin to gain an understanding of what the downstrokes of a letter are. As you create real calligraphy later, then, you’ll know to apply more pressure as you create those downstrokes to get a nice, fat line.

    Faux calligraphy can also be used on surfaces that aren’t conducive to real calligraphy. For example, I wouldn’t attempt making real calligraphy on wood because it would wreak havoc on my nibs. Effectively, when I create baby shower clothespins, I use faux calligraphy.

    Clothesline Baby Shower Clothespins | The Postman's Knock

    I also noticed that Molly Suber Thorpe uses faux calligraphy to make chalk place cards in her book Modern Calligraphy. In short, faux calligraphy is a good bit of knowledge to have in your lettering artillery … and it couldn’t be easier. You begin by writing out your word or phrase in pencil, like this:

    White Faux Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    {I have chosen “Je te plumerai”, which in French means, “I am going to [pluck out your feathers].” All that French language training, and this is what I use it for!}

    Next, go over your pencil word or phrase with a Sakura Gellyroll white pen. If you want to make black cheating calligraphy, I recommend using a Pilot G2 gel pen.

    White Faux Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Now, you’re going to determine where the downstrokes are and create a little space to fill in. What do I mean by downstrokes? Essentially: the parts of the letter that you drag your pen down to make. You can draw little letters in the air to determine where the downstrokes are. On “j”, for example, I would have swooped up at a 20 degree angle on the first line, then pulled my pen down {that’s a downstroke}, then pushed the pen up at a 45 degree angle, then pulled sharply down to make the trunk, then pulled my pen up at a 45 degree angle. Leave the “upstrokes” {the lines your pen had to go up to make} alone; just draw lines parallel to the downstrokes, like so:

    White Faux Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    {Here’s a close-up:}

    White Faux Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    Once you’ve made these lines, simply fill them in, wait a while to erase your pencil guidelines, and voilà! You’ve got faux calligraphy.

    White Faux Calligraphy Tutorial | The Postman's Knock

    It’s a snowy night in Boulder, which means it’s a wonderful time to stay in and create some calligraphy! Snow or not, enjoy trying out the technique outlined in this tutorial.

    Talk to you soon!

    XO, Lindsey | The Postman's Knock

    *This post contains affiliate links to Amazon

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About the author

Hi, I’m Lindsey Bugbee, the illustrator, calligrapher, and author behind The Postman’s Knock (TPK). Since 2012, the TPK Blog has been a vibrant creative space filled with tutorials and lessons on modern calligraphy, hand lettering, and illustration. After publishing The Calligraphy Book, I wanted to elevate the quality of content even further—so I launched TPK Premium. You can join here to receive access to some of the internet’s best creative inspiration and project tutorials.

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23 responses

  1. Jennifer Dertadian Avatar
    Jennifer Dertadian
    June 5, 2016

    Hi! Great information!

    What would you recommend for writing calligraphy on a stained wood surface? We are looking for white calligraphy on a dark wood stained surface?

    Thank you so much!!

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      June 8, 2016

      Hi Jennifer! I would recommend a white paint marker. 🙂

      Log in to Reply
      1. Emily Sherman Avatar
        Emily Sherman
        March 10, 2017

        Any specific type of white paint marker? I’m doing wedding chalkboards and wood signs. Something that I could erase for minor screw-ups would be ideal, but we’re traveling with these boards, so a paint pen might be best so theres no chance of it washing off. My biggest issue with paint pens is ones that tend to leak and create a puddle of paint.

        Thanks!
        Emily

        Log in to Reply
        1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
          Lindsey Bugbee
          April 2, 2017

          Sharpie would be a safe bet! I would look on Amazon, though, and read reviews to decide which will be best for the project!

          Log in to Reply
  2. Jamie Avatar
    Jamie
    March 28, 2016

    Hi there! I am doing my own invitations and return envelopes and have not done calligraphy before but would like to start. Would I be giving myself a headache to try and make 240 invites and returns with the faux style?

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      March 28, 2016

      Hi Jamie!

      I would definitely digitize what you can; you could make a return address stamp as long as you have a scanner. 🙂 As far as faux calligraphy on 240 invitations, it will definitely take a while (but it would also take a long time with dip pen calligraphy)! I’d try to get 10-15 envelopes done per day, and that way you’d be done in about a month. It is do-able, definitely; but if it’s in the budget, it might be worth it to hire a calligrapher (there are a lot of calligraphers who can be found on Etsy for reasonable prices)! That would save you a lot of time!

      Log in to Reply
  3. Kim Avatar
    Kim
    February 9, 2016

    What is the best medium to use when attempting to paint black faux calligraphy on a painted wood?

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      February 23, 2016

      Hi Kim! If you could find a black paint marker, that would be best. 🙂

      Log in to Reply
  4. Christine Avatar
    Christine
    January 25, 2016

    Hi Lindsey,

    One question that I haven’t been able to figure out anywhere — how do you decide on what side to draw the parallel lines for downstrokes? Are they usually to the left? is it just wherever you feel? I’m finding that just guessing makes things look a bit unbalanced.

    Thanks!

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      January 25, 2016

      Hi Christine! It doesn’t matter, really; I just fill in my downstrokes on the side that I think will help my letter to look more even/balanced. 🙂

      Log in to Reply
  5. Laurence W Avatar
    Laurence W
    August 3, 2015

    Thanks for this tutorial I’ve just found thanks to the 3R blog ! I think faux calligraphy is beautiful and white on black paper is great !

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      August 16, 2015

      I’m so happy that you enjoyed the tutorial — thank you for taking the time to write such kind words!

      Log in to Reply
  6. Kat Avatar
    Kat
    October 7, 2014

    I’m reading through ALL of your tutorials. You are really good at tutorials! What kind of white pen do you use? I’ve had such a hard time finding white pens that work well. I’d also be curious if you have suggestions for opaque white markers that you could use on say brown kraft paper (or recycled grocery bags).

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      October 11, 2014

      Thank you! I have a tendency to explain everything to death, so that really helps when writing them. I use Sakura Gelly Roll white pens … and I’m not sure about opaque white markers! If I need to write large, I usually just paint the text on with acrylic paint. 🙂 You could use the same faux calligraphy technique with a paint brush. I hope this helps!

      Log in to Reply
  7. Katzi Avatar
    Katzi
    June 9, 2014

    This is beautiful! I used your Cheating Calligraphy tutorial for some Christmas cards last year and I had so much fun that I try to inject this Faux Calligraphy style in a lot of what I do because I just love it so much!
    Thank you so much for posting this re-vamp! I am loving the white-on-black! I hope to play with some color variations soon 🙂

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      June 12, 2014

      Cheating calligraphy is a lot of fun! I love “real” calligraphy; but sometimes I just don’t want to make a mess, or can’t easily write on a surface … or just want that nice effect of faux calligraphy. You really can do it with anything! Chalk, crayons … whatever. I’m so glad you like it! Blog about your faux calligraphy adventures if you do experiment with some color variations; I’d love to see what you come up with!

      Log in to Reply
  8. Kathy Avatar
    Kathy
    March 3, 2014

    Beautiful, lovely lines! But, why is it “faux?” I’m not asking rhetorically, I’m really curious.

    If calligraphy is beautiful writing, this method and result looks as beautiful as “real” calligraphy? Or is it that calligraphy is only defined by the pen? In Asia, they use a brush, but it’s not considered faux.

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      March 3, 2014

      That’s a good question! I suppose I would consider calligraphy that is created with a specialized instrument — so, a dip pen; or, as you pointed out, a brush in Asia — “real” calligraphy; and calligraphy created with a non-specialized instrument (a regular pen) “faux” calligraphy. Ultimately, though, it is all calligraphy as lovely handwriting. But I have to call this something to differentiate it from calligraphy created with a specialized instrument. 🙂

      On a note completely unrelated to your comment, I visited your blog and noticed you live in Brooklyn. I am so jealous. We absolutely loved Brooklyn when we visited NYC in September … all of the houses were adorable — very neat area! Have you tried Tutt Café? It’s on Hicks Street … lovely outdoor seating when the weather is cooperating. If you like Middle Eastern food and you haven’t gone, try it!

      Hopefully I answered your question; you make an excellent point about it being calligraphy despite it not being calligraphy (how’s that for a catch-22?). Thanks so much for reading!

      Log in to Reply
  9. Vishruti Avatar
    Vishruti
    March 2, 2014

    I have loved calligraphy since I was little – the love especially began when I received my first school certificate for some competition I won – it was written in a wonderful calligraphic way…

    never really got the chance to learn this art formally – but I LOVE Lindsay’s calligraphy. If you ever turn this into a font in the future – please do let me know 🙂

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      March 3, 2014

      You could certainly create this, Vishruti! You can make “faux calligraphy” with any style of hand-writing. 🙂 I’ll let you know if I ever dabble in font creation in the future; I’d like to!

      Log in to Reply
  10. Silver Magpies Avatar
    Silver Magpies
    March 2, 2014

    Lindsey

    You’ve inspired me to practice my handwriting! I’ve still got the smudged left-handler problem, but any improvement in my chicken scratch is still improvement.

    I aspire to faux calligraphy in the near future. 🙂

    Nan

    Log in to Reply
    1. Lindsey Bugbee Avatar
      Lindsey Bugbee
      March 3, 2014

      Black paper with white faux calligraphy would look gorgeous as a tag (or thank you note) to supplement one of your silver pieces! Go for it, girl!

      Log in to Reply

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