Calligraphy For Dummies

Wow!!!! I am a complete beginner. This book has been incredibly helpful and thorough! Well worth the money! This book taught me that: one can use Italic style in everyday handwriting, it is the most useful style one can learn, it's easy and first you should practice it with a regular pen or marker making it easy for most people to become really proficient in doing calligraphy. The author even devoted an entire section of the book to the italic style. This was incredibly helpful and important!!! However, the author teaches many styles, giving tips and tricks along the way. Another very important part of the book that was incredibly helpful was teaching and giving practice points for basic strokes and how one can use those by putting them together to form all the alphabet lettering. This book also dives into fancy lettering as well. I can not praise this book enough!!! It is easy to follow, use and apply and practice.

True to the fun and easy to follow Dummies way, this book starts at the very beginning of what to expect, how the book is set up, etc. and goes step by step through probably anything you'd need to know if you're a calligraphy beginner--how to select your materials, how a fountain pen is set up,markers, paper....even using a dip pen. It has a ton of different styles and how to work on them as well as tracing and practice worksheets. I bought this as a total beginner who wanted to find out more without spending a ton of cash on a full blown setup ...I have arthritic hairdressers hands and as a result my handwriting veers towards.....awful😂....so don't have delusions that I'll be cranking out handlettered wedding invites, but have read that practicing can not only possibly help handwriting but might be good exercise(at the least it will make me look productive while I squander time on the patio)

I read that kindle users are disappointed that the kindle version cannot printout the exercise portion of the book for practice. The author has already posted the link to the pdf file containing the exercises in one of the comments to an earli review. That makes the kindle version cheaper and more convenient to use.In doing the the actual exercise, i find that this book teaches creating the italics characters using less strokes than the guide that comes with my Pilot Parellel pen which is a handy A4 size guide. The recommended strokes in this book are more difficult to follow for most fountain pens as most fountain pens don't write well from right to left, and bottom to up, the strokes in capital "C" and "O", are easier by using 2 strokes instead of 1. "G" is created in 2 strokes here, compared to 3 for the pilot guide. As a result of following the strokes in this book, i feel that i may damage my fountain pens as it feels like writing against its nature (will feel very rough going from right to left), and result in a lot of skipping and ink bursting ftom the tips as it skipped from the roughness. I feel like i am abusing my pens. That is the only thing i am unsure of following in this book. Other than that, it is easy to follow. Thebitalics version also looks more elegant, though more difficult to create, withe the "ear" and "foot" added to the capital characters. Overall a good book.Update:For your convenience, the link to the exercises given by the author is [...]Update 2 (17 march):Amazon removed the link to the workbook pdf file that I posted above. You can however find the link posted by the author in the comments of the review by Mr. Rabbit Boyer. The PDF however only included the first 7 chapters (and 3 more pages for chapter 12.) That is effectively only 40% into the book. I hope the author will provide the practice fornthe rest of the letters other than italics letteres.

I have had several different books to learn calligraphy and while all have had their good points this has been the very best I have come across. It is plain and easy to read and understand. It explains why you do things to way you do and gives you spaces to practice and spaces to trace each letter before you start on calligraphy paper and making words. I would imagine a dummy could learn calligraphy from this book but you don't have to be a dummy to learn from it. I just absolutely love it and I feel you will, too.

Starting with no previous knowledge (and a very bad writting style), I got decent result in a few time.You don't have to follow the order given by the book. For example, if you an get hold of a manuscript pen (it allows to use standard ink cartridges and is quite inexpensive), you may directly start with a calligraphy pen.Italic is clean, fast but you'll probably want to jump fast to the gothic writting. although the book don't encourage it it's perfectly possible.The last one (Copperplate) can be done before/after the other. Definitively a good book for beginners (and more advanced who want to learn Copperplate).

Don't let this title or the other reviews fool you. The instruction in this best-selling book does start with the basics (including an entire chapter on materials) but it also moves on to explain some intermediate and even advanced ways to use calligraphy.The book covers the details of how to write 6 alphabets: Italic, Blackletter, Roman, Manuscript, Uncial, and Copperplate. It also explains how to expand these basic alphabets into innumerable additional styles.Projects that are described are: how to letter a quotation, design a fancy signature, create a poster or sign, design a diploma or certificate, create plaques, and using calligraphy for wedding invitations, places cards, programs, etc. Also included is an entire chapter on how to start a calligraphy business.

Para quem deseja melhorar (ou reaprender) a arte da caligrafia esse livro é um começo, definitivamente não o fim.

Buen libro es plica perfecto

Ho preso questo libro per cimentarmi nell'arte calligrafica sperando di migliorare anche la mia scrittura. L'approccio utilizzato nel libro è molto pratico. Nel libro sono proposti molti esercizi ed è consigliato fotocopiare le pagine di esempio ed utilizzarle per esercitarsi. Libro consigliato.

Very solid calligraphy reference. Contains good tips & easy to read.Mainly uses a cheap Manuscript calligraphy pen for examples, but also includes instructions for dip pens , including oblique dip pens. Mentions brush pens. Has a lot of practice pages in back.I own about 30 calligraphy books and wish this had been my first. It isn't pretty, but it is stuffed with good information & I instructions.

Brilliant!I have horrible handwriting. I have always had horrible handwriting. And in spite of somehow winning both spelling and writing competitions at school about a hundred years ago, I have always despised my handwriting. Others have related there is nothing wrong with my handwriting over the years, but as I am neither stupid or blind, I have inevitably discounted such comments and plaudits with disdain.What made matters considerably worse during my schooldays and forever thereafter was the fact my English master had the most beautiful handwriting I have still ever seen! He wrote in a classic calligraphy style, but at a speed I could barely even comprehend! Thus, I blame this poor man for my ingrained psychological problem entirely!Then I espied this book on the site, and hope rose in my heart. And although only having received the tome fairly recently, my handwriting has already become more pleasing to the eye. I know this is not supposed to be a handwriting book, but I care not a jot. It has helped me, and my calligraphy is coming on in leaps and bounds. Concise, Well written and very supportive in most regards, I cannot believe anyone wishing to practice calligraphy could do much better to begin with. Highly recommended.