Every so often someone asks me what they should do if they want to start doing calligraphy, so I thought I'd make a post to help guide people in the right direction. (You can thank the teacher in me.) Calligraphy is a wonderful hobby because it has a low start-up cost and you don't need a lot of complicated materials to try it out. The tricky thing about calligraphy is navigating what materials to start out with to have success as a beginner and not get discouraged. I've heard that within the first few hours of trying calligraphy, you will know if it's a good hobby for you. I can tell you that I personally was hooked within the first 5 minutes. There is something I find immensely satisfying about creating something beautiful in a relatively short time.
Let's get started...
Materials
When starting out it's important to get the right materials. The type of nib, ink, and paper you use must all come together in perfect harmony if your calligraphy attempts are going to sing. (Like my metaphor? :)) As you gain more practice you can try to mix it up and branch out, but when starting out you really need the right tools. Here are my suggestions:
Nib: Nikko G. Time and time again I have heard that this is the best and easiest nib to start out with. I would agree. You probably only need one or two to start out.
Penholder: If you are right-handed, you should get an oblique holder. If you are left-handed, you should get a straight holder. I like the black plastic Speedball holders.
Ink: Higgins Eternal or Sumi Ink. I think Sumi Ink is the easiest to use, but sometimes it's a little more expensive or hard to find in small bottles if you're just trying things out. Higgins Eternal is a great starter ink and usually available at most art stores.
Paper: Rhodia paper. Any pad of Rhodia paper will do, you can pick the size. They come in blank, lined, grid, or dot-grid.
Online Vendors
Finding calligraphy materials at a local art store is pretty hit or miss so you'll have to do your own scouting wherever you live. Here are some great online vendors of calligraphy materials:
John Neal Bookseller http://www.johnnealbooks.com
Paper & Ink Arts http://www.paperinkarts.com
Dick Blick http://www.dickblick.com
Calligraphy Starter Kits
There are some professional calligraphers that sell super cute calligraphy starter kits. The benefit of these kits is that everything you need comes in one stylish kit, and it usually contains that calligrapher's alphabet for you to practice copying. The drawback is that all the cute packaging usually makes it more expensive. Here are some calligraphers that sell calligraphy kits. If you don't know which to pick, I would look at each calligrapher's writing style and pick the style you like the best because that's the alphabet exemplar that you will receive.
Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls (click here)
Antiquaria (click here)
Laura Hooper Calligraphy (click here)
Linea Carta (click here)
Everly Calligraphy (click here)
Design Roots (click here)
Classes & Workshops
Many local adult education schools offer calligraphy courses so be sure to check out your local listings. Also, many professional calligraphers teach workshops around the country. I have yet to attend one of these workshops so if you happen to have the time and space to do so, I will try not to be jealous. Here is a list of calligraphers whose workshops I would love to attend, in no particular order:
Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls, San Francisco & worldwide (click here)
Kathy Milici, Newton, NJ & nationwide (click here)
Paperfinger, Brooklyn & Portland (click here)
Molly Jacques, Detroit & nationwide (click here)
Antiquaria, Austin (click here)
Meant To Be Calligraphy, Washington D.C. (click here)
Blue Eye Brown Eye, Dallas & nationwide (click here)
Linea Carta, Los Altos, CA (click here)
Design House of Moira, San Diego & Scottsdale, AZ (click here)
K.A.Kalligraphy, Newport Beach (click here)
Online Classes & Tutorials
I Still Love Calligraphy/Melissa Esplin (classes)
Skillshare (classes)
Antiquaria (tutorials)
Flourish Forum (All kinds of resources. You need to be a member, but membership is free.)
Books
There are, obviously, many more books out there but these are two that I have that I really like.
Modern Calligraphy by Molly Suber Thorpe
Okay, I think I've told you just about everything you need to get started and then some. A great place to start is by learning Copperplate or Spencerian scripts, whichever you like better. And lastly, the key to improving your calligraphy is simply just to practice. There is no replacement for practice. Even just a few minutes a day and you'll be amazed how quickly your penmanship can improve! Happy calligraphy-ing!