October 28, 2013

Calligraphy Tutorial | Getting Started, Calligraphy Supplies

Are you as OBSESSED with calligraphy and hand-lettering as we are?
Yeah..we thought so.

That's why we're excited to share our knowledge (and extreme love) for this not-so-dying art with you, right HERE on the Antiquaria blog.
HOORAY!!



Spearheaded by our resident expert calligrapher (and Antiquaria partner), Bailey Amon Rivera, we've created a weekly series of simple instructions and helpful hints to get you started or add some polish to your current penmanship practice.

Lets jump right in...today, we're focusing on the supplies. You need those to start, right?

If you've never done calligraphy before, you may find it all a little daunting. No lies...we did too. Simply speaking, calligraphy materials are not common anymore (because they are not at all necessary to daily life).  Most of the tools that are being made now, are sub-par and you will never, EVER succeed with them, especially if you are a beginner. 

Bailey learned this the hard way (even though she was told as much by her very first teacher). It was only a day after her first class when she sought out the nearest art shop and bought hundreds of dollars worth of "calligraphy" supplies. How much of that has she used over the years? Not a darn thing. What did she use? What her teacher gave her. 
Consider lesson learned.


The basic supplies that you need to get started in calligraphy are pretty simple and inexpensive.

You'll need:
a pen (otherwise called a pen holder); this is what you insert your nib into and hold while writing
nibs; those little pointy metal things that flex to create gorgeous letters
paper; the key is that it's well sized (so that ink doesn't bleed), arches, rhodia and canson make great papers. DO NOT BUY THAT ART-STORE CALLIGRAPHY PAPER. It's bad news bears. Just because it says "calligraphy" on it does not mean it's good for it.
sumi ink; many things work for black ink and many don't, we like sumi ink best for practice (and reproduction)
white ink; it not necessary but it's super fun to use, we like Dr. Martin's Bleedproof white
ruler; for making lines, duh
pencil; great for practicing letter shapes, making lines, marking corrections, taking notes (just have one, ok?)
storage box; it's not crucial but definitely helps keep your nibs together so they don't get lost (or eaten by the cat)

We decided to make sourcing your supplies super easy by putting together our own, adorable, Calligraphy Starter Kit! (P.S- It also makes a fabulous gift for a lettering enthusiast)!


Packaged in one neat little box, is everything you need to learn lettering. It includes all of our time-tested favorites, a peerless pen holder, 2 Nikko G nibs, Sumi Ink, exemplars of Bailey's signature calligraphy style for both Upper and Lower case alphabets as well as an adorable graph paper notebook to use for practice!


We'll leave you with a little video inspiration!



See ya'll back here tomorrow when we'll get started on the Lower Case alphabet!

Til then...
Peace, Love and Letters,
Emma & Bailey

13 comments:

  1. This is wonderful!!! Will save a lot of people the headache of bad ink/nibs and paper... oy vey! I own all these supplies already which took a lot of time to figure out :) but would love to buy the notebook and Bailey's calligraphy sheets if you guys decide to sell those separately

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  2. Jenny,
    Wasn't it crazy hard to figure out what tools worked?! I feel ya. What a great idea to offer the exemplar's and notebook by themselves:) Thanks for the fabulous suggestion! Will add it to the shop as soon as we can.
    xo
    Bailey

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  3. Hi! I too would love to buy the calligraphy lettering sheets separately if you ever offer those separately. I already have my favorite nibs (including the fabulous Nikkos), as I'm not new to this, but am again starting to practice letters!

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  4. Nice and simple, I love it! And I have you to thank Bailey, for introducing me to the Nikko G a while back. My fave! :-)

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  5. I have been looking for a pretty storage case for my nibs and ink well or ink bottle. Where do you find such things? Also, do you know of any brick and mortar store in Austin that sell good calligraphy supplies. Love your work!

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    1. Hi Pam,
      Unfortunately, there really aren't any brick and mortar calligraphy stores around. You can get some supplies (like paper and ink) at Asels on MLK or Jerry's Art-O-Rama. I like to store my nibs and small items in vintage tins which I find online (like on Ruby Lane) or at estate sales (if I'm lucky). Hope this helps!
      xo
      Bailey

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  6. OMG! this post will be very helfull for me! I'm going to start with Calligraphy... let's see what I can do! :)
    I'm from Barcelona, and I'm quite worried about finding the correct paper to start as you said "do not by the art-store calligraphy paper".
    thanks for these fantastics posts about calligraphy!! totally in love!
    xoxo
    Marta

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    1. Hi Marta,
      Yay! I'm so glad that you're finding it helpful:) Happy Letrering!
      xo
      Bailey

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  7. Hey thanks for the great post! Im just getting started with exploring calligraphy and I have no idea what nibs to start with! Ive played around with the 102 and 512 pen nibs, and I just purchased a Speedball No5 Artist kit (https://www.currys.com/catalogpc.htm?CATEGORY=SPEEDBALL_NUMBER5_ARTIST_PEN_SET) to get a range but Im not sure what's best for beginners. Is there a set or a some nib types you can recommend? Thanks!

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    1. Vanessa,
      Glad you liked the post!! I'd recommend Nikko G or Zebra G nibs to start off with. They're my two go-to nibs!
      xo
      Bailey

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  8. I am wanting to start learning calligraphy and just came across your site on Pinterest. I am sad to see your Starter Set is out of stock. Do you know when you will be offering these again or do you have another suggestion for a starter kit? I have purchased nothing yet. Thanks!

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  9. Hey. I understand that you don´t sell the kit anymore. Do you still have/sell the practice sheets?

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