I can’t read this! Can you?
Modern Calligraphy ~
“Modern calligraphy” is all the rage now. Well, I guess you can call some of it calligraphy, because the definition of calligraphy is “beautiful handwriting”. But this just looks like a mess to me. And it’s hard to read. (and she didn’t even have fresh nail polish!- LOL)
The best modern calligraphy I’ve seen follows rules- just like historical hands.
It’s done with a pointed pen that’s used for copperplate calligraphy. A pointed pen creates thick parts of the letters from pressure when you are pulling them pen downwards. The thin parts of letters come from pushing away and are called “hairlines” because they are supposed to be very thin. The pen that you’re seeing is actually made for a right handed person. It’s easier for a “lefty” to write copperplate and they don’t need a special pen.
Poor Examples of Modern Calligraphy
Modern calligraphy should have thick and thin parts of the letters, just like copperplate. Otherwise why would a person doing this style use this type of pointed pen? And btw, using this point is VERY difficult and takes years of practice to use well. It is so easy to catch a fiber of the paper and make a big splatter when pushing upwards on the copperplate pen!
Poorly Done Modern Calligraphy Examples
In all calligraphy including historical hands, the flow of the letters should be “organic” connections. I learned from some of the most well-known and talented, skilled calligraphers. They made it a point to teach this matter. It’s important for letters to flow into one another. You should not have any lines that stick into another part of the letter. Let me show you examples so you’ll know how to tell if the calligraphy is well done.
Don’t Waste Your Money
A new customer just told me a story that made me really made. He paid a so called professional calligrapher for a poem he had written. He was unhappy with it, so I asked him to show me a copy of it so I wouldn’t make the same mistakes.
It was NOT CALLIGRAPHY! He had paid for a calligrapher, but she delivered a computer font that she called calligraphy! I was so angry that I told him that he should get his money back!
Don’t get fooled. Read this post so that you will know what to look for and not get fooled !
