You’ve seen these smooth lines, nice curves, and well-proportioned letters…
Then, you take a look at your own writing and wonder:
“Why does mine not look like that?”
The secret is simple: it’s not a lack of talent, but simply a matter of a few specifics that newbies don’t often understand.
- You’re Writing Letters, Not Drawing Them
Calligraphy is far from regular writing.
If you usually write fast without analyzing the structure of individual letters,
you’re doing something different with calligraphy, as it’s actually a type of drawing in which every shape is built specifically.
Try changing your attitude:
Write more slowly, and think about what each individual letter looks like.
- You Can’t Control Your Pressure
This gives you the well known “thin and thick” look in your letters.
If you don’t press down at all, the letter will appear as a very thin line.
If you squeeze the pen more, the line will be thicker.
If all of the strokes have approximately the same thickness, the effect of the calligraphic style is lost.
Work on this technique:
Practice making single vertical movements with varying degrees of pressure.
- You’re Going Way Too Fast
Speed will spoil everything.
The desire to get the result as soon as possible often pushes beginners to speed up, while calligraphic strokes actually need to be made slowly.
It may seem paradoxical, but slowing down will accelerate your progress.
- Your Letters Have the Wrong Proportions
Even though you might be satisfied with your lettering, spacing is often overlooked.
If it is too tight, the letters start to blend into each other; if it is too wide, the composition looks disconnected.
The key to a good calligraphic composition is balance.
- You Don’t Practice the Basic Strokes
It’s easy to jump straight into writing beautiful words and phrases.
But without working on the basic strokes:
lines will be irregular in thickness;
the proportions of the letters will be inconsistent;
your progress will be slowed down.
Reality check:
The basic strokes may seem like a boring exercise, but you should always remember that these are your stepping stones.
- You Don’t Understand the Difficulty Level
Everything is simple if you know how it works.
You must have time for your hand to:
get used to the technique
find a good rhythm
get familiar with the shape of the letters
The early stages of your calligraphy journey are always difficult, so don’t give up.
Conclusion
Your handwriting won’t start looking like calligraphy overnight, and that’s the catchword!
If you practice your basic strokes correctly, your writing will:
slow down
become controlled
become balanced
Slowly but surely, your letters will transform.
And, without realizing it yourself, one day you will realize that:
“Now that actually looks good!”