(Part 2) Best products from r/Calligraphy

Hi, countertrap. I'm new to the sub, but have the same question as you. I'm looking for courses more in a university or college setting, but here's what's worked for me in terms of self-study, that I thought might help you as you consider what to study:

Edward Johnston's book Writing, Illuminating and Lettering was recommended to me when I was starting out, and I think it's still an excellent resource on how to start if one is interested in the absolute classical calligraphy process. https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Illuminating-Lettering-Edward-Johnston/dp/1475299931

I just found an interesting YouTube on his legacy, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA0PA3wsXyA

My personal favorite modern calligrapher so far is Margaret Shepherd, and her books are very accessible and helpful. Her book Learn Calligraphy is, in my opinion, excellent because it starts you at the beginning with Roman hand and moves forward from there, explaining the historical development of letterforms in Western writing all the way to present day. https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Calligraphy-Complete-Lettering-Design/dp/0767907329?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc

She's got a fascinating book on World Calligraphy that I love.

I hope that helps.

As a follow-on to your question, are there courses that exist for calligraphers in the way there are for artists? For example, if I wanted to "go to art school," I could attend, say, Columbia College here in Chicago and graduate with a degree in art with a specialization in oil painting. Are there similar programs for calligraphy?

Personally I and I think I speak for most on this sub would advise against buying a set. There's a running joke that when you buy something that has calligraphy written on it that it's crap.

What do you think she would like to try out? Broad edge or pointed pen? Broad edge is your 'gothic', 'blackletter' and 'uncial (think LotR). Pointed pen is much closer to what you might recognise as cursive but also includes 'Engrosser's'. There are a lot of examples of scripts in the Bestof in the sidebar.

For Broad edge you can't go wrong with a pilot parallel (for rounded scripts like Uncial I hear the 2.4mm would be better), it looks like a marker and it's as simple as one. It will serve you well for a long time and there's no mess or fuss or start-up time if you would be getting out your ink pot and then cleaning down at the end, it's just a lot easier to squeeze into a busy schedule.

For pointed pen, you will need to get an 'Oblique holder', anything that isn't speedball will do, you can get ornamental ones which look a bit fancier but they're all the same. You will also need to buy nibs, The 'G' nibs are very beginner friendly but they're also really quite stiff so I'd advise buying a couple of them and (I'm bias here) a couple of 'Leonardt principal EF', they're a lot nicer to work with and a lot more flexible, not as easy to hop in and use though.

For paper, Rhodia is a solid bet and is available everywhere, you can get ones with subtle dots on which I find help at first keeping your lines straight.

For ink, I recommend Tim Norton's walnut ink, it's easy to use and comes off just as easy.

Check out the sellers list to find out where to get all this stuff in your country, for UK, I've had no trouble with Scribblers and they're customer service is great.

I know this isn't what you were after but I think you will get a lot better value for your money than buying a set that is frankly, shit.
I'm sure getting a nice box and some ribbon would make for a fantastic present that she would love. Sorry for a gigantic wall of text, any Q's, just ask.

In calligraphy we don't call them fonts, but rather scripts, and this particular script would be considered in the Blackletter/Gothic category and Textura Quadrata more specifically.
Here is a link to one specific exemplar, and there are many other variations as well.

Other types of blackletter include Fraktur and Batarde. Each individual has their own slight variations of scripts so we call a persons unique interpretation to a script their hand. Hope this explains some of the basics. If you're interested in learning I'd suggest getting a simple fountain pen such as a Pilot Parallel 3.8mm to start off with some extra ink cartridges and see how you like it. If you decide to get serious in your endeavors a dip pen is very satisfying and a lot more true to the art. If you have any questions feel free to ask anyone here.

P.S. the wiki here has some great exemplars - the term we use for complete alphabets in a specific script- that you can use to study and practice with.

These are looking really good! The best advice is really just to keep practicing. I used that book at first as well and felt like I improved very quickly as I worked through it.

As you move on to words and phrases and majuscules, one trick I found was to start out by laying a sheet of tracing paper over the book and literally tracing the letters. Really helped me get a better feel for the spacing and shapes. Also, if you haven't, watch some videos to get a better sense of the rhythm of the script (Suzanne Cunningham's Instagram is great for this).

For addressing envelopes, are you using dark colored envelopes or light colored? For dark, a mechanical chalk pencil will be your best friend to draw guidelines. For light colored, some may disagree with me here, but a $20 light pad will be a lifesaver. You just make one template and slide it in the envelope and go.

The hardest part of envelopes IMO is centering, so if you are ok with left aligned or just staggered, it will go a lot faster.

ETA links

Under $15:

• Calligraphy Marker - Good for people VERY new to calligraphy, easy to use, won't make amazing compositions.
  
  
• Pilot Parallel Pens - Good balance of looking/acting like an expensive pen and easy to use. If you get one of these, I would recommend the 3.8mm because the large size helps in learning the forms of each hand.
  
  Under $30:
  
  
• Speedball Dip Nibs/holders - This package has a diverse collection of nibs, which means many different sizes for about the price of a single parallel pen. Downsides include more maintaining/cleaning of each nib, unlike the almost maintenance-free parallel pen. Also, you will need to buy ink separately. Some good ink I've just gotten is parker.

I think I know what you mean. For broad edge, I'd suggest Michelle Brown's A Guide To Western Historical Manuscripts. I'm not sure what the answer is for pointed pen.

Brown's book is meant for paleographers (historians who read old manuscripts) not calligraphers, so it won't have anything like a ductus or comments on how to do the scripts inside. What it does have is a crap ton of scripts, laid out in high-quality full-page photos from the original manuscripts in a nice large format.

If you want instructions for how to do said scripts, I'd recommend The Historical Source Book for Scribes, by Brown (again) and Patricia Lovett, an accomplished calligrapher. This won't have quite the breadth you're after (it only has 14 scripts vs. 55 in Guide to Western historical manuscripts), but I think it's a valuable starting point to learning scripts from just a manuscript, as I talk about at length here (that comment also has some links to online libraries with extensive digitization projects; it takes some work to get what you want out of them, but once you do the selection and image quality is miles better than any book).

If you can't find an affordable copy of "historical source book" (the price seems to fluctuate wildly), Drogin's Medieval Calligraphy is not as good, but still a good starting point. And it's super cheap.

Also, I wouldn't recommend Harris' The Calligrapher's Bible. It's overdone in some areas and underdone in others, as I talk about here.

Sorry to link to my own replies so much, but I have a lot to say on this topic and I only have so much time to type :)

Sounds very frustrating, I have to admit. I must admit that mine have worked ok, but having read some reviews on Amazon, they can be a bit hit or miss.

The Pilot Parallel pens look like so much fun, and they are definitely on my (extensive!) wishlist. I think they are pretty pricey ($24.00) in comparison to a simple ink cartridge converter though (couple of dollars). But then you'd also have to buy a bottle of ink to fill it.

For years I have used Shaeffer pens for Calligraphy. These are a bit cheaper than Pilot, and always have excellent reviews. The only downside is that Shaeffer have their own cartridge system, so you're stuck buying their cartridges instead of the standard ones. (Although again, you could invest in a converter to use bottled ink, but these seem expensive).

Hope this helps. I'm not in the US, so I've used Amazon for general pricing.

Nice, a cool uncle!

I would recommend either Zig calligraphy markers or a Pilot Parallel Pen. Both are cheap enough to mess around with while still being legitimate tools. I would definitely recommend broad edge over pointed pen because PP takes a lot of time and effort for good results and I know when I was 13 I would've just wanted fun things to mess around with.

The only thing is I would not recommend highlighters to practice with due to their angled chiseled tip. Most calligraphy markers have straight chiseled tips, like most real calligraphy tools I'm aware of.

Happy shopping!

I am penpals with someone who frequents this sub and asked him this very question in my last letter. He recommended the Pilot Parallel Pen with the 2.4mm ($8.61) or 3.8mm ($9.65) nib as a good place to start if I didn't want to go the dip pen and ink route. For the dip pen and ink route, he suggested the Speedball Calligraphy No. 5 Artist Set ($9.16) and some Noodler's Ink (as low as $12.50 on Amazon).

Best of luck! What a great gift!

I don't think it's that thin, really, but yes - slid the printed guidelines right underneath. Between the bold lines and the shaded interlinear space, it stands out quite well. I don't know the pound weight on the paper, but it's my favorite to do calligraphy on - the Maruman Mnemosyne line.

The book is called "Written Letters" by Jacqueline Svaren. My mom used to practice calligraphy back in the day, and her friend (who I think was a professional calligrapher) gave her that book. When she saw that I was learning calligraphy, she got excited and sent me a copy :)

It's a nice reference to have, with 33 different alphabets in it (though many are variations on the same alphabet, e.g, majuscule and minuscules are separate), covering ancient and modern (up through the '70s mostly) hands... plus some good tips and commentary. Worth picking up -- especially if you can get a deal on it.

After your suggestions my current amazon cart for her is:

Calligraphy: A Beginner's Guide to Pointed Pen and Brush Pen Lettering

Hand Lettering for Relaxation: An Inspirational Workbook for Creating Beautiful Lettered Art

Strathmore 300 Series Drawing Pad, Medium Surface, 9"x12" Glue Bound, 50 Sheets

Rhodia No.16 A5 6 x 8 1/4 80 Sheet, Dot Pad.

Tombow 56191 Advanced Lettering Set.

Pilot Parallel Pen 2-Color Calligraphy Pen Set, with Black and Red Ink Cartridges in 2.4mm Nib size and 3.8mm Nib size with extra 12 assorted colors cartridges and 12 black cartridges. I assume the cartridges are not dependent on nib size as that would be infuriatingly stupid. Only dependent on the brands pen circumference? Correct me if I am wrong on that.

Hopefully that's pretty comprehensive but as far as speedball goes these are the texts I've found:

Speedball Textbook 24th Edition for $8.67.

Speedball Textbook: For Pen and Brush Lettering, 20th Edition for $113.35.

The Speedball Textbook, a comprehensive Guide to Pen and Brush Lettering, 23rd, Twenth-Third Edition for $51.01 new.

Did you have a specific edition in mind? A lot of the ones I'm seeing on amazon vary greatly as shown above.

I bought this set from amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manuscript-Masterclass-Calligraphy-Gift-Set/dp/B000VVG3O0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396470125&sr=8-2&keywords=calligraphy
I don't really mind spending some cash on this, since I quite like it already. So if you could recommend some nibs that would be lovely :)

For me, books. There are a lot of paleographers and calligraphers who have devoted a lot of time analyzing historical manuscripts and tracing the lineage.

Some good ones:

Historical Scripts by Stan Knight

Medieval Calligraphy by Marc Drogin

The Historical Source Book for Scribes by Michelle P. Brown and Patricia Lovett

Those are just a few. There are plenty more good ones! Also, getting into script analysis yourself can be very helpful. Start looking through the manuscript section of the sidebar and making your own observations. It can be quite illuminating.

There's a v. cool accessory for the dedicated shopper - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dritz-Porter-Mechanical-Fabric-Refills/dp/B001UAKL4Y

It's a mechanical pencil with dressmakers chalk. Rubs out very easily and comes with spare leads and erasers. Very well worth it if you're working on coloured paper.

Speaking from the "more practical" Copperplate school ;) - I learned Copperplate because I love the look/style, and I wanted to get into wedding calligraphy. Speed is important here since time = money.

I wouldn't say the "non-Engrosser's"-style Copperplate is "without particularly well defined basic strokes" as /u/BestBefore2015 has said, but it is definitely more "open to interpretation" than Engrosser's script. I would say that most of the modern pointed pen calligraphy that's so pervasive on Etsy today comes from this style of Copperplate. I have taken Copperplate from four different teachers who are all master calligraphers in their own right, and all four have different styles. That said, I bought the Eleanor Winters book because it was one of the only few available, and I did not particularly care for her interpretation. IMHO, her style is too rounded and too curved. I much prefer Gordon Turner's book which is much closer to the engravings from George Bickham's The Universal Penman, another must-have if you're going to study old-style Copperplate.

Most of the folks in this sub who do Copperplate are of the Engrosser's school, so you'll have a wealth of resources and feedback should you decide to learn it.

[edited to fix link]

Yes, I do brush load. :) -- I actually have these little ink pots so it's convenient even if I make too much because it'll be covered. I don't plan on buying any more colors anytime soon because by the rate of my usage, it looks like this primary set will last me quite a while. Your ultramarine suggestion is filed for future purposes, is all. :)

Last week, I bought a Pilot Parallel 1.5mm (10$), refills of black ink (4$), and some non-related book to get the total to over 25$ for free shipping on amazon.ca. (I live in Quebec).

The Pilot Parallel is suggested for beginners in the wiki. I've been using it for two evenings, and I love it so far :).

probably good just to make the ha letter by itself and practice getting that to look nice!

have you looked at: https://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Calligraphy-Write-Alphabet-More/dp/086171699X/

Is it this one?
http://www.amazon.com/Bienfang-Inches-Calligraphic-Practice-R400145/dp/B001KZH2C8#immersive-view_1464159129178.

I think, from looking at the tiny square, that the line with the greatest height is the main part of the letter, with the ascenders and descenders in the shorter height lines.
The ascenders may be two short lines high, depends on the paper.

The angled lines are for the slant of your letters.

There are some printable examples and even a few programs that will allow you to create and print your own versions to customise slant and line width. (Get a printer that can use a bulk ink system...)

The advice that was given to me by /u/GardenofWelcomeLies was to start with a dip pen, so I will pass along the same advice.

Overall, a dip pen and some sumi ink will run you cheaper than an automatic like the pilot parallel's.

edit: Here are the 3 things you can use to start your adventure: 1. Manuscript Student Set 2. Sumi ink - make sure it is NONwaterproof 3. Rhodia dot pad

Lalalalaa

Changing from speedball C nibs to some manuscript round hand nib did wonders. I've still got many small mistakes and too little word spacing on line two, but it feels like I'm getting back into the game :)

Nib is 2.05mm and ink is Diamine Orange. Script is German Text.

Universal Penman - Here's a book that I'd recommend for some inspiration. It won't provide you with much in the way of instruction, but will definitely show you what can be done with the style you've shown.

Is that the Rhodia paper with the 5mm dots?

Edit: Like this? It's been on my wish list, considering buying some.

You're right, I didn't keep track of the nib angle in this one so it just seemed to default to 45. I learned gothic black letter first when I started calligraphy so I think I just naturally go to that angle. In new ones I've started drawing 20 degree lines across the page to make sure its correct and I think they've turned out a bit better. Thanks for the response though, any advice has been really useful from here.

It was originally from a book that came with a set (this one I think, I got it a few years ago) but have mostly memorised them now so there may be a few flaws from gaps in my memory.

I use this paper, and I love it!

I was in your position a week ago and ordered this pen from amazon. I have really enjoyed it so far and its my first pen. You get 4 ink tubes, 3 nibs, and the pen for $10.

I started out with just a 2 mm Sharpie chisel tip pen that was only around $1.50 from a local craft store. I printed out a random calligraphy alphabet that I found online and tried to mimic that when I got bored in class. (You can see this alphabet, Chaucery Italic, influences my Gothic letters unfortunately, such as my 'i', which is supposed to have one minim, as /u/SMTRodent pointed out, but I make it with two as is done in Chaucery.)

I then picked up the Manuscript 5 nib set at the same craft store, and started this excerpt in my spare time about a week ago. I also browse this subreddit, and plan to actually practice now that summer is here! Hope this helped!

I think the 3.8mm is a good midground here. 6mm is bigger than you think.

Learn Calligraphy has some good instruction for the gothic scripts. The rest is flourishing, which comes with a lot of practice.

I agree with others about not buying a set. But if you really insist on buying a set, this one is somewhat decent for broad edge calligraphy: Manuscript set. I have this one and I use it when I travel because I don't have to carry ink bottle which just calls for disaster to happen.

Even though set is okay, I really think it is better if you go with either pilot parallel or nibs + holder. Pens from the set sometimes refuse to write, I find them somewhat tricky to clean thoroughly and there is limited choice of inks and colours. I am only a beginner and my focus is on pointed pen at the moment, but my italic looks more crisp when I use dip nibs when compared to Manuscript set.

https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Parallel-Calligraphy-Cartridges-90050/dp/B002RJNT46

It is from Jackie Svaren's Written Letters.