Everyone has their own style when it comes to doing calligraphy and making prints, but I thought I would share my process including the materials I always have on hand, and how I make my own ink!
This is a print for a friend. She sent me this sweet quote and requested a navy ink on white paper. Let's get started on getting all of our material together!
The items I always start with are:
1. Smooth paper (here is 100# cardstock)
2. Sketching pencil
3. Eraser
4. Ruler
5. Gouache and small container (Or the readymade ink from any craft store)
6. Calligraphy nib and handle (My favorite nib is the Nikko G. I got mine online HERE)
I start by deciding how many rows of words I need for the quote. This one has 5 rows, so I used the ruler to make 5 equally spaced lines, and then lightly sketched the quote on top. I love the book Modern Calligraphy by Molly Suber Thorpe because she shows so many different styles for all of the letters. Sometimes I get stuck doing the same things over and over, and this book has given me so many ideas and pushed me creatively. I highly recommend it!
Once the quote is sketched out to my liking, I get my ink ready! It's easy to buy ink at the store, but I find the colors are very limited so I love making my own! I don't think people realize how easy it is.
I have a huge pack of gouache paints that I got at Hobby Lobby and literally all you do it squeeze some paint into a small container, and add water. Thats it! you can mix colors around to make WHATEVER ink color you want! You have to be careful not to add too much water as it will be too thin when you're writing, so just add a drop of water at a time until the consistency is just slightly thicker than water, almost like blood. (I know thats gross I'm sorry but its the best description!!)
Next, I carefully traced the quote and prayed I didn't mess up! It did take me two times to get this one right, but I'm really happy with the end result. Once it's completely dried, erase your pencil marks and you're done!
The key to calligraphy is lots of practice and lots of patience. Don't put any pressure on upstrokes and have firm pressure on downstrokes to get that variation of thin/thick lines. I thought I broke my nib the first time I did this, but they are supposed to split down the middle on your downstroke and carry that nice ink in between the prongs to make a thick line. Be sure to always do a couple strokes on some scrap paper after dipping your nib into fresh ink so that you don't end up with ink blobs. Youtube is also a great resource!
I hope this post was helpful if you have been thinking about trying it out!
x Jessica
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