Calligraphy Tutorial | Ruling Guidelines on Blank Paper

Ruling guidelines can be a bit mind-boggling when you first start out in calligraphy, but is doesn't have to be! It's really just a formula and it's all about ratios; your x-height in relation to how tall your capitals are. 

We've made a short and sweet video sharing how we rule paper for our in house script. Different script styles use different ratios so play around and find your own style. This may seem really basic but it's the key to well proportioned words! Even if we don't use lines, this ratio is still in play because we've trained our eyes to see it and write that way.

We hope this is helpful! Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have.

Peace, love and letters,

Bailey & Emma

Calligraphy Tutorial | Additional Tools for Lettering, Writing Surfaces

We thought it was HIGH time to share some of our favorite resources in a new mini blog series, Additional Tools for Lettering. This is part two...all about the surface that you write on! By now, if you're reading our blog, you're probably already obsessed with lettering and stationery. We too are, of course, as well! We try not to buy EVERYTHING that comes out, but we do have a few luxe favorites that make our day to day practice even more enjoyable.

A more recent find for us is one that we would now not want to live without, a leather desk blotter writing surface! Writing with a dip pen is so different than normal writing - as anyone that's practiced the art-form well knows. One thing that is very different is that you NEED to have a good writing surface so that the edges of the nib connect properly with the paper, giving you lovely letters. @antiquariabailey's blotter is shown above.

For beginners, we suggest writing on a stack of paper, so that you have a nice padded surface. This is a good, inexpensive option (it's basically free). Another option is using a craft foam pad, like this one. This is what we used for years...until discovering the GORGEOUS leather ones that are shown in this post, made by craftsman Mr. M.G. Ward. 

We had to custom offline order one when we found out that he was making them on Insagram...but luckily, he just opened an Etsy shop for the leather blotter writing surfaces (and some of his rad calligraphy)! Not only is this upgrade beautiful, it is actually a BETTER writing surface than the ones mentioned before. Throughout time, scribes, calligraphers and penman wrote on leather surfaces, as it was the optimal writing surface for lettering.

Not only does Michael Ward (Mr. M. G. Ward) sell just the standard leather writing surface, he also offers beautiful script (or whatever you want) customizations for your luxe blotter. Bailey had a signature custom designed for her...but the choice is up to you! The photo above shows examples of different lettering that has been customized on the blotters (top to bottom, @petitserif, @melissapher, @bienfait, @elegantinkwell, @eileenmgustafson).

One of Bailey's FAVORITE things to-date was watching Michael at IAMPETH, burning this custom signature for @everlycalligraphy one evening on her blotter, shown above! It was pretty incredible to watch in person. Luckily, Michael occasionally posts videos of him burning script into leather on his Instagram account, @mrmgward. Lucky us!!

Have you guys read this AWESOME post about Jake Weidmann's top calligraphy tools? It's pretty good. He also mentions how he uses a leather blotter to write on...and his work is beyond good!

We're just SO excited that the option is now out there for calligraphers! It's something that Bailey has been searching for, for years! We're not even joking.

What do you guys use for your writing surface? We're so curious!! Let us know in the comments or over on Instagram at @antiquariadesign. 

Until next time...

Peace, Love and Letters,

Emma & Bailey

P.S. We were not paid for this post or given the product for a review...simply big fans of it!

*all photos except from the top two are copyright Michael Ward

Calligraphy in Action | Envelope Addressing in White!

             

Hi Folks,

We're here today with our second episode of our new series Calligraphy in Action! Yay!! We've had a lovely response to the first episode...so thank you! Missed the first one? You can find it here.

Today, Bailey demonstrates her signature modern calligraphy lettering in white ink (Dr. Martin's Bleedproof White) on a Paper Source A9 black envelope. Black and white is ALWAYS a stellar combination, and white ink really pops off of the page. She's using a Nikko G nib...the same one that comes in our Calligraphy Started Kit!

Every calligrapher has days that they struggle with ink...and this was one of them! You can tell throughout the video that the ink just doesn't want to flow well off of the pen. Bailey fought it for a little while, and then ended up adding more water to the white ink. It's always amazing how much those little things make a HUGE impact!

We hope you enjoy the video & that itLOTS of practice, so be patient with yourself, the letters will come.

helps in your calligraphy practice! Always remember, calligraphy takes time and lot and

Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "Z"

The day has finally arrived but the practicing never ceases! We've finally reached the end of this series of capital letters...the capital letter "Z." Like the "X," you might not use this letter very much unless you or a loved one has it in their name. It's fun none-the-less and might we add-praciticng the word "Zoro" is pretty fierce!

Hopefully you've enjoyed and learned a ton from this Capital Letter series! We've loved sharing it with you. It may be the end but it's only the beginning...stay tuned for more fun calligraphy challenges and tutorials to come!

Until next time...
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "Y"

Howdy folks! Today, we're bringing you the capital letter "Y." This letter is fun and quite pretty! Experiment with different ways of flourishing the tail and the options for this beauty are endless.

Hopefully your practicing is going really well! You know we love to see it over on Instagram...tag it with #letterschool so that we can take a peek! We're almost done with the capital letters...one more to go.

Until next time...
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Summer and Fall Austin Calligraphy Workshops!

Howdy folks! We wanted to pop in today to let you know that we just released summer and fall calligraphy workshop dates for Austin, Texas.YAHOO! In July, we'll be teaching a mini Intro class - the perfect thing to take if you're brand new to calligraphy. We'll also be having our Script 101 and Script 102 full day workshops in early October. We'd love to see you there! Please feel free to reach out if you have questions about any of the classes. Have a fabulous weekend! xoxo Bailey & Emma

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "X"

After a little hiatus...we're back with the capital letter "X"! This is one that you certainly don't use often unless you're lucky enough to have it in your name or in a loved one's name. It's fun and pretty closely related to the lower case "x."

The first option is by far the most difficult to master. You'll need to balance the counter-spaces and make sure that the middle touches just enough to not make it an "H"...but if you touch too much it will turn blobby! Probably not the best one to start on! Option number 2 and 3 are much more simplistic.

We'll be back next week with the Capital Letter "Y"! Almost through the alphabet folks:)

Until next time...
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "W"

Howdy folks! We're back today with the tutorial for the capital letter "W"! This letter can be a little tricky and illusive but practice your "U's" and "V's" along with the "W" since they're all so closely related.

The first and last options are all made in one stoke, whereas the second option has four separate strokes to create it!

We're thrilled that so many of you are learning along with us! Be sure to tag your practice with #letterschool if you'd like us to take a peek.

Until next time...
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "V"

After a bit of a hiatus due to travel, we're back today with the capital letter "V".  Pay close attention to this one as well as "U" since they are closely related to the next letter we'll cover...the "W."

The trick to the letter "V" is keep the axis (as opposed to the downstroke) in line with the other letters in the alphabet. Imagine splicing the letter down the center....that's your axis. That center line should be a the same angle as the other letters (most telling are the "l" and "t" in the Valentine examples above).

Happy practicing!
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "U"

We're picking right back up where we left off and bringing you the Capital Letter "U" today! This letter isn't used too much in writing but is great to practice since it's closely related to the "Y" and the "W!"

It' can be really nice when you let the last down stroke go below the base line, like in #2. It lends the word a lovely balance...don't you think?

Hopefully we'll see some of you in our sold out workshop this weekend at Urbanic!

As always, tag your practice with #letterschool so that we can take a peek at your progress!
Until next time...
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Workshop | Urbanic (Los Angeles) April 27th

We are so, so excited to be teaching in LA! There will be 2 classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon...so you can pick which works best for you!

We'd love to have you join us if you'd like to get your toes wet in the world of calligraphy. See you there!

Pop over to Urbanic's shop here to register.

xoxo
Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "T"

Spring has come in a hurry. Today it was a whopping 93 degrees! Can you even believe it? More like summer!

Today's post is for the capital letter "T". It's such a useful letter, it will pay you in dividends to study it carefully. It's pretty simple though, which is great. The main key and the only suggestion we'll give is to make darn sure that the main downstroke is on the correct angle. If it's off from the rest of your letters, it can look WONKY! Take it from someone who's been there.

Hope your practice is going well! Make sure to tag it with #letterschool if you'd like us to take a peek.

Until next time...

Peace, Love and Letters,

Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "S"

Happy April 1st everyone! No pranks here...we're positively thrilled that it's arrived. Today, we've got a good tutorial for you...the capital letter "S." 

It's a fun letter but can go OH-SO-WRONG if you're not careful. The key is to get the axis of the letter on the correct diagonal. So imagine splicing through the center of the letter...is it on the same diagonal as the rest of your downstrokes? We hope so.

It can definitely take time to get this one right, so be patient with yourself. The most important thing is to keep practicing and writing real things! Are you taking the #WRITE_ON challenge? It would be a great way to practice some calligraphy AND make a loved one happy!

As usual, we'd love to see what you're up to! Tag your practice with #letterschool so that we can take a peek!

Until next time...

Peace, Love and Letters.

Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Love | Free Background!

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a busy and delightful first week of spring. How gorgeous is this spring-inspired background design on The Curious Calligrapher, designed by our very own, Bailey Amon Rivera?

The best part? It's totally FREE over on their site! Wahoo!

So pop over there now to grab the download.
Have a great weekend. We'll see ya next week!
xoxo
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital letter "R"

Picking right back up where we left off...with the capital letter "R"! We simply swoon over this letter. When formed correctly, it has such a lovely grace and flow to it.

You'll find this letter to be closely related to the "P," as well as the "B" so these are all great to practice together. In fact, on option #2 you make a "P" en-route to making the "R." Master one and you'll get 'em all.

We hope your practice is going swimming-ly! Be sure to tag it with #letterschool so that we can take a peek!

Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital letter "Q"

Howdy folks! We're popping in quickly today with the Capital letter "Q"! It's not one that's used a ton...but it's a BEAUTY!

Happy practicing! If you're ready to share your work...tag it with #letterschool so that we can take a peek!

Until next time...
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "P"

Happy almost spring! Not sure about you but we're just dying for it to get here already….

Today, we're reviewing the capital letter "P". YAHOO!

This letter is very closely related to the capital letter "B" and "R" for that matter. We especially love that option #1 and #3 are done in one stroke (you can keep the pen going or stop it on #1). Make sure that the bowl on the "P" is not too small or too big. You want to strive for it to hit a little below center and have a nice oval shape to it!

We hope your practicing is going well! Is it going well? It's always great to hear from you in the comments or by tagging your practice on Instagram with #letterschool.

Until next time….
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "O"

Howdy folks! Hope you're having a great week so far…

We're here today with the capital letter O!! It's definitely a fun one once you get the hang of it but takes a bit of serious practice. The key to this letter is maintaining the lovely oval O shape. If you notice on all of the options, the outer stroke is a nice oval shape. If it's too wide, skinny or misshapen, it will not look right.

You can start by just practicing ovals…not evening thinking of the letter. Then, add the finishing touches that turn the oval into a letter!

Happy practicing! Make sure to tag it with #letterschool so that we can take a peek!

Until next time…
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the Capital Letter "N"

Hi there folks! We're back this week with the capital letter "N." We'll be able to keep this one short and sweet since it's so closely related to last week's tutorial for "M." When considering your letter selections in a body of text, you'll want to make sure that your N shape relates to the M that you choose, this way there will be cohesion in your work. So if you have a flourish like in option #1, you use it on the "M" too (like option #1 from the M exemplar last week). Make sense?

We love seeing what you're up to! Tag your practice with #letterschool to show us your progress. And as always…let us know if you have any questions!

Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

Calligraphy Tutorial | the capital letter "M"

The terms, Mr., Mrs. and Miss make mastering the capital letter "M" crucial for any calligrapher. While the letter may not be easy (most have quite a few strokes), it is very, very beautiful. Over the years, "M" and it's many forms have certainly enchanted and challenged us.

Done in one stroke, #2 is the best to start with. #1 and #3 are fun and great to play around with. Which is your favorite?

It's been so fun to see everyone's calligraphy practice over on Instagram (we're @antiquariadesign). If you're following our tutorials we'd love to see your work! Simply tag your image #letterschool or mention us in the comment.

Until next time,
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey