Modern calligraphy is the name that is given to any type of decorative lettering that resembles the beautiful swirly script of traditional calligraphy but doesn’t necessarily have any specific rules about how to form each letter. I picked up modern calligraphy about a year and a half ago when I first got into bullet journaling because I frequently saw it in many YouTube videos, and I was eager to try it out. I still practice my calligraphy from time to time and my favorite part about this hobby is that it doesn’t take a lot of time to get good at. It also isn’t super expensive to start learning (of course it is very possible to go down the spiral of buying an endless amount of supplies). Here are 3 tips to start learning modern calligraphy.
1. Get the necessary materials
Modern calligraphy is typically done with a brush pen and there are so many options on the market. While I haven’t tried many brands, I really like the Tombow dual brush pens and they are commonly recommended to beginners and they are loved by many in the modern calligraphy and hand lettering community. I would recommend browsing through the packs on Amazon and purchasing your favorite pack of 10 instead of buying individual markers because the price per pen is much cheaper. If you don’t want to purchase brush pens, any marker that allows you to make thick and thin strokes should do. In terms of what paper to use, printer paper is fine but if you don’t want to fray your brush pens, you may want to consider marker paper. I personally use HP printer paper premium which is a smoother alternative to regular printer paper. While it’s more expensive, a ream of this lasts quite a bit of time if you are resourceful with it, I purchased mine in September 2018 and I still have a lot left.
2. Start learning!
This is the fun part when you get to start seeing your swirly creations come to life. There are plenty of free resources online, just a quick search of “beginner modern calligraphy tutorial” or “beginner hand lettering tutorial” on YouTube will yield thousands of results. My favorite resources for learning are AmandaRachLee intro to calligraphy video and the How To Handletter channel on YouTube. You can also find paid online courses and in-person classes and workshops. Follow along with the videos to get a hang of using a brush pen.
3. Keep practicing and stay inspired.
Especially in the beginning, practicing various strokes and the alphabet will be extremely helpful, and the cool part about modern calligraphy is that you’ll quickly begin to develop your own style(s) after some experimenting. In order to stay inspired I like to go on Pinterest to look at various hand lettering guides, examples of other people’s lettering as well as quotes to use for my future lettering creations, but you can totally find inspiration anywhere.
Modern calligraphy is a super fun hobby for me that’s pretty easy to fit into my schedule if I need a creative break. It’s also quite useful as I frequently handletter birthday and holiday cards. I hope this article inspired you to give modern calligraphy a try.
Happy Lettering!