How I Create Your Text and Photos

You can see from the above photo that I use special tools, such as pens, paint and a magnifier (my eyes need the assist) to create your text into perfect calligraphy. But this is just the first step. 

I combine the ancient art of handwritten calligraphy with the technology of the present. This is totally different from what Etsy is selling as Photo Handwriting. These "calligraphy writers" are taking a photograph of a short quote and putting the writing in a frame.

The process I follow is also different from other calligraphers who hand decorate borders with their own paintings. I'm actually surprised that I seem to be the only person on the internet to figure out how to do this- or maybe people don't want to spend the time to learn the technology to combine YOUR photos and background with calligraphy?

PLEASE if you can find someone else who does this type of work let me know! You sure won't find real handwritten calligraphy with your own photos on Etsy!

Handwritten original calligraphy on parchment paper

Yes, I have done that have in the past. But, it's really expensive because it's so time consuming. If I make a mistake the entire project has to be trashed! I'm so glad I learned how to combine my handwritten calligraphy with Photoshop!

Perfect Handwritten Calligraphy

Now I write your original custom calligraphy order by hand (like what you see above). But the longer the text, the more costly it becomes. So you have a very long text or poem and want to combine handwritten calligraphy with a computer font to save the expense. Even then, I do personalization and leading letters in calligraphy to give your piece that "custom" look. 

Why is Calligraphy so Expensive?

It's actually a long process to make your piece perfect. It takes time! I write calligraphy on white paper as you see in the example above. That's what the first step looks like. As you can see, it's far from perfect at this point. Lots of mistakes and ink splatter make this unusable the way it is. If I had to write it all out in one sitting it would be extremely time consuming and stressful! Thank goodness for Photoshop to let me correct my mistakes without having to trash all my work and start all over! 

Your Photo and My Calligraphy Together

Many printers still don't understand this! And I thought that maybe you may be wondering how I'm able to create your custom calligraphy poem and artwork with your photos in the same piece?!.  First I write your original custom calligraphy order by hand. I don't use a computer font called "calligraphy" (like I've seen others do- Etsy "calligraphers" do this all the time). My work is handwritten calligraphy. Custom calligraphy written by hand has an elegant look. Even tiny imperfections actually make it more beautiful and not "stiff" like a computer font. This handwriting cannot be replicated by a computer font. But by adding titles and names in flourished calligraphy you get more "bang for the buck."

What Do I Do If I Make a Mistake in Spelling?

If I'm working on an original art piece, and even though I've been a calligrapher for a long time, I still have ink splatters, less than perfect letters that I don’t like, and flourishes that bump into other lines. But thankfully, I also have learned to use Photoshop! This enables me to create a perfect piece of calligraphy art for you. 

Making Your Calligraphy Perfect

I have a Wacom Pen Tablet that helps me to get in close and precise when I'm editing the text. Using Photoshop with my handwritten calligraphy allows me to remove and replace letters that I don’t like, fix mistakes, center perfectly, match any colors you want, and perfect the calligraphy.

Very often I have to use Photoshop to blur areas on a photograph where the background maes it hard to read the custom calligraphy text. And I can resize it by the tiniest amount to make it fit any photograph or size that you need. This is impossible to do with standard size calligraphy pen nibs. Then once you and I are satisfied, and you have checked any spelling errors I've made and corrected, the custom calligraphy lettering is superimposed on a background or surface of your choice. At that point, you've seen the final piece to make sure it is perfect- exactly what you want. Then it goes to printing. - But ONLY with your approval!

Fixing Your Photographs

When you look at your own photographs you probably don't notice when it's out of focus, when the colors are off, of there are garbage cans to the side of you. (I'm serious, someone sent me a picture like that for a memorial I was writing in calligraphy!)

But I DO see it and luckily I can fix a lot of that with Photoshop and other software that I've purchased that allows me to sharpen the focus on some pictures. They look SO much better after I finish with them! 

Remove Photo Bombs

Sometimes your personal photographs include "photo bombs" that you don’t want included in your calligraphy piece. That’s when Photoshop Magic comes into play. I’ve removed overflowing garbage cans next to grandma and other busy backgrounds like wires in a sunset or extra people who were in the background to make your photo really nice. I can lighten or darken the background, remove blemishes on people’s faces and get rid of red eyes.

Here are some tips for how to take excellent photographs that won't need retouching with Photoshop (which adds expense to your job). 

How I Create Your Custom Calligraphy Artwork

Writing custom calligraphy can be very stressful. Addressing envelopes is no big deal. If I make a mistake I can toss out the envelope and rewrite it. But writing a calligraphy art piece is MUCH more involved and stressful. NO mistakes are acceptable, and I can't toss out a piece I've been working on for hours because of a spelling error.

Calligraphy on Parchment Paper

When you thought of having calligraphy written many people used to think of black writing on parchment paper. But most people don't realize that parchment paper is not parchment! It's a vegan slippery paper that doesn't really look like real parchment. And there are so many better options now!

Original Artwork is Much More expensive than a Print

How many original art pieces do you have on your walls? Probably not too many because original artwork is very expensive. It's beyond the budget of most people to own original watercolors, acrylics or oil paintings. That's why it's so wonderful that there are great quality giclee prints available. I can offer you handwritten calligraphy prints at a much lower cost. And it looks virtually the same!

Using Your Photo and Calligraphy Together

Many printers still don't understand this! And I thought that maybe you may be wondering how I'm able to create your custom calligraphy poem and artwork with your photos.  First I write your original custom calligraphy order by hand. I don't use a computer font called "calligraphy" (like I've seen others do). It is handwritten calligraphy. Custom calligraphy written by hand has an elegant look. Even tiny imperfections actually make it more beautiful and not "stiff" like a computer font. This handwriting cannot be replicated by a computer font. 

Thank Goodness- An Easy To Fix Mistakes!

Printing Your Calligraphy Poem

After your calligraphy text is written and incorporated with the photo you’ve chosen I’ll send it off to you for the first look. Most often my customers are thrilled at this point (see the Rave Reviews), however, sometimes small changes have to be made. Moving the title, changing the size of the text, adjusting the color, or oops! fixing an error in spelling I’ve made, adding a word or leaving one out – now is the time when I correct any errors until you are completed satisfied and the calligraphy is ready to print.

But please remember- I remind you to carefully look over your text. In fact, it's good to have another person check it as well. Proofreading is very hard!  Make sure you consider the personalization before I start writing.  That's why I ask you a number of times about any "personalization." Any additions in text after I’ve started writing the calligraphy will result in an extra fee. It takes me a lot of time to add additional text because it has to all be resized. (and btw, caligraphy has 2 "L's")

Calligraphy Becomes Artwork When Combined with a Background Image

When people think of having their poem written many people limit their choices and just want black writing on "parchment" or cream color paper. But I'm really encouraging you to expand and consider other possibilities. You have a world of gorgeous backgrounds and images available to you that can enhance your calligraphy and make it doubly beautiful and enjoyable. And there are many styles of calligraphy lettering. 

Even IF you decide you want to stick to a parchment background, this will still be a print on your choice of a particular parchment. There are so many choices! 

Writing Calligraphy on Heavy Weight Paper - NOT A PRINT

Many people ask for original handwritten custom calligraphy to frame and put on their walls. But consider how many pieces of original artwork you actually own that are not prints! Original hand created art is EXPENSIVE! And calligraphy takes more steps than many other types of art.

Creating an Original Calligraphy Art Piece

These are some of the steps I have to do to write out one original custom calligraphy art piece:

• find and purchase heavy-weight archival paper that you prefer
• draw lines on the first copy of paper for the rough lettering
• determine the spacing so it fits in the size requested- including the longest line, and the shortest
• write out the text and proof to make sure it's 100% correct
• let it dry 100%
• put it on a light-box the proper size for the text.
• tape the good paper on top
• put on gloves to prevent oil from my hands disturbing the paper
• carefully and very lightly draw lines
• carefully place paper over all but the one line where I'll be doing the lettering
• start doing the new hand lettering
• PRAY that my pen doesn't catch any fiber on the good paper and spit ink!
• allow it to dry for a day
• carefully erase all lines and hope there's no smearing of ink/paint
• trim the paper very carefully
• buy heavyweight cardboard and shrink wrap to assure the piece won't get damaged
• AND- if you want a border, I have to then pencil draw it and paint! 
• PRAY I don't make any mistakes!!

So now you may understand why doing one piece is more costly than using my process. And I can add your photos, drawings, background, logos and other artwork to your actual printed calligraphy at such an affordable price. Yes, it is handwritten calligraphy! 

Framed Photos within Mat Board

You can get an idea what I had to do in the past before photoshop and technology advanced. These two gift items had a personal photograph or a piece of artwork. There was no way to combine the calligraphy with the original photo except for cutting a space in the mat board and putting a tiny frame around the images! Then I had to write calligraphy and do the painting and artwork directly on the mat! You can't image how careful I had to be to make sure there were o mistakes or dripping paint! Talk about stress! AND it took so much longer to do it that way.

Your photograph and the calligraphy would have to be framed separately, or cut into a mat alongside the calligraphy text. This is an old school approach. As you can see above and below. 

Saving Money With Prints

Business Logos Combined with Hand Calligraphy

Now that calligraphy can be scanned and printed in a “short run” it is possible to incorporate your company logo include in business certificates. You can choose from a universe of amazing stock photographs to visually elevate the calligraphy art. In the "olden days" it was cost prohibitive to print one or a a few of the same prints.

Choice of Printing Surfaces

If you want traditional framing with glass over the paper, your custom calligraphy is then printed on heavy weight archival paper, with your choice of textured surface. (once the original is done, printing additional copies in paper is also a low cost option).

Now it's possible to choose from many surfaces to print your calligraphy and they don't even need additional framing or even glass protection! You may prefer a smooth surface or a paper with heavy texture. However, all paper prints are made with a high resolution giclee printer.

By writing custom calligraphy in this manner, each print will last longer than an original, and it looks virtually the same as an original, except it is perfect. It can also keep the cost down, because writing an original will cost about 150% more than using this process.

I Promise You Will Love Your Calligraphy

If you read my “rave reviews” you’ll see that people are completed satisfied with the quality of the print –  I also have a bunch of 5 star reviews on Google!

Thanks for coming by- and I look forward to creating a great gift item for you!

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