Using the Pen
Lesson 2 from: Introduction to CalligraphyFullosophie, Bianca Mascorro
Using the Pen
Lesson 2 from: Introduction to CalligraphyFullosophie, Bianca Mascorro
Lessons
Lesson Info
Using the Pen
We are going to start off with obviously how to use the pen um basically holding your pen is going to be very critical to your letter forms and getting the right lines you're gonna want to do if you can tell from here but you know basically hold your pen and a forty five degree angle to the paper or in your nib so it's gonna be forty five degrees versus too far up and too far down um you're always going toe want tio have your nib aligned to the line that you're drawing so basically it's going to be out of fifty five degree angle, which is what this guide sheet is and that's in the materials that they're down low double for this class that guide sheet so that's going to get a fifty five degree line and that's what your letters they're going to be following us fifty five degrees so instead of drawing with your pen like this it's always going to be more like this that is how you're going to be holding your pen. You don't want tio wobble in either direction you're going tohave the vent hol...
e up and you're probably wondering what the heck event hole is so let's talk about the pen parts excuse me, the nimh parts basically all these pointed pens have the body of the pen which goes into the flames here um there are the vent holes right in the middle of that hole there that actually acts as a ink reservoir and above that is the tip in the point where the tips slash point, which is consisting of two slits, and when you apply pressure on your down strokes, those slits open up it's not breaking a promise that actually supposed to do that. And when those split, the ink flows through and you get a nice broad hairline, so but you don't want those to split on your way up, you know, we're in europe strokes. You only want them to do that on your dance strokes. So that is how basically the pen works. Excuse me, how the networks and like I said, you're vent holes always gonna be facing up. So now that you know what that that hole is, you know, what's keeping eye on as you using your pen, how does it differ from right handed to left handed? Is that is that the theory? Is that that issue that comes up that isn't yes, definitely so a lot of lefthanders, they will use the straight holders. Um, I know they make left handed oblique holders, which is basically instead of having your name to the left, I believe it's going to be flips tow that way, which seems very odd to me. I've never tried it obviously, and right handed and left handed calligraphy for me is next to impossible. I've definitely tried that out and it's so strange, so I really couldn't tell you how this works and as some people love it, some people we've left handers even use the weak on the left hand side yourself versus on the right hand side. Um but for the most part, I have found that people that I talked to that are left handers. They prefer the straight holders. So that's, a very good question. Um, let's. See? Yeah, I wish I had more input on, you know, on left handed calligraphers or four left handed calligraphers, but it's, just something where I feel like, without actually doing it myself. It's one of those things was just full. How can you really talk about that? I think it's good to know that there's no. Knowing that there's tools out there as well. That's that can help. Yeah, definitely. Um, and speaking of actually the angle of your nib within the holder. So that's, basically, how you're gonna hold it our place it in there. So it's it's not quite as intuitive with these plastic holders because you can really, like, rotated around like all sorts of ways, but with the holders with the metal flames if there's only one way that it can go in so that's pretty pretty straightforward you are going to want to line up the tip of your nib tio those basically the center actus access of the shaft so if like there's a line going like this you know right down the middle if you want your nib to meet that deadline and a little bit more difficult to do with this holder just because it's such a big nib and this doesn't quite go in and far enough a lot of the times but you're still going to get the job done so for future you know if you go and invest in one of these metal holders are seizing the wooden holders with the flame jizz that's definitely something that you want to dio um before I forget not every holder will hold every pen so excuse me nibs so basically this one is the nico g that flames is kind of, um shapes to hold that particular name but it's not going to hold my one o one, which is my personal favorite um and vice versa so I can't actually swap out the nibs in these pens so that's why I have like six pens up here just they'll hold the different tips so let's get started on the down strokes or seated overall pen strokes so basically your calligraphy or your words your letters are going to be made up of a variety of strokes so you know, before I started up I'm sorry you need to actually wipe off the residue from your name um it comes with like a coating on it and it's kind of a waxy little coding is going to make your eq roll right off of it, which means that you're not able to write to get that off you're gonna want to use like toothpaste or windex I actually put mine in my mouth, which is not something I made up it's a total legit thing but to me I find that to be the best, especially if I've had like a suite of coffee is just that stuff was right so um that for me is the best way to do it but I know a lot people just don't want to do that and so therefore, you know, he's just like he's dish soap, anything that's going to cut that greece off um that will get that that really coating off and you're gonna be nice and prepared to use your debit and you're going to know that it's ready to go when it is nice and evenly coated if you can see that let's see there we go so it's just a nice even coding if it starts to beat up it'll you know, grow I want to keep doing that connection. Probably do that a little bit more here. But I'm not going to stick it in my mouth in front of you.
Class Materials
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Ratings and Reviews
Catherine Moore
I was immediately drawn to this class because the camera work caught the find detail I was looking for. Love the calligraphy style itself and seeing each letter drawn with Bianca's explanation of why certain things are done, such as relationships to lines, was very helpful. I had been looking online for very specific information on pen angle AND nib angle, and this video cleared up some questions I had. Also, information concerning how much ink to use (covering the vent hole) solved another issue I was having. I also like that Bianca emphasized the basic strokes for daily practice. Also Bianca explained how she stops and starts for specific letters and this helped me figure out some issues I was having. This is my favorite of 5 online calligraphy courses I have done online! Thanks for offering it.
James McCullough
I would recommend anyone interested in Calligraphy to take this course. I liked that she took the time to explain the basic strokes and the importance of practice. I also enjoy her being authentic letting me know that with all her years of doing this she still does warm up strokes before tackling a project.
a Creativelive Student
I found this class incredibly helpful. In fact, after this class I hand-addressed all of my wedding invitation envelopes using the calligraphy skills and materials I learned here. They turned out beautifully, I got a ton of compliments, and I didn't have to pay a professional hundreds of dollars to do it! The course itself is focused and packed with information. I liked it so much I bought another course from the instructor. I haven't taken it yet, but I'm looking forward to doing it this fall when my work schedule eases up a bit.