Are you looking to begin calligraphy and hand-lettering as a new hobby? Are you curious about how to improve your skills as a beginner calligrapher? Maybe you dream of turning your calligraphy hobby into a business and want to hone your skills. No matter your skill or experience level, when beginning a new hobby or activity, it can seem like you might never get better. Many new hobbies and skills can have a steep learning curve and if you are just starting out, you might not be sure of how you can improve and get better.  

While success and perfecting your calligraphy skills will not happen overnight, there are two tips I recommend to beginner calligraphers who want to learn more and improve their skills. When you are starting your pointed-pen calligraphy journey, there are two key steps towards setting yourself up for success: using the right combination of tools and dedicating time to drill practice. After years of teaching thousands of students in calligraphy workshops and online and running my custom calligraphy business, I always return to these two key principles. 

The Right Tools

The first step in improving your calligraphy skills is to set yourself up for success. Even if you are just starting out, you want to focus on finding quality tools that work well together. You don’t need to invest in a wide variety of tools and supplies, but you will want to purchase quality materials. As a beginner, it might not make sense to invest in a lot of materials and tools, but starting with quality supplies will save you a lot of time, money, frustration, and energy in the long run.

The right combination of quality inks, paper, and nib does make a significant difference in your experience with the art and it’s helpful as a beginner to have the right combination from the start. While your strokes might not be perfect in the very beginning, if you start with the right tools and supplies, you will improve at a quicker rate. Don’t waste your time or effort with paper that bleeds or nibs that break easily, which will only lead to discouragement. 

Save yourself the trial and error and shop our online selection of high quality calligraphy supplies and tools. We’ve done the hard work of finding and testing calligraphy tools that work well together so you can just jump right into your practice. 

 

Drill Practice

Now that you have the right tools and supplies to begin learning calligraphy, dedicated practice is step two in improving your skills. They say it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill and dedicated practice is required to get better at calligraphy. Sure, some natural artistic talent may be helpful in mastering a new artform like calligraphy. But to really become skilled in calligraphy and hand-lettering, you are going to have to practice, practice, practice. 

While you are doing your drill practice, be patient with yourself. You are not likely to master calligraphy overnight or even in a week or a month. It takes time to learn the correct strokes to create letters and turn them into words and phrases. You have to learn how to correctly hold your pen, how to properly move your hand and how much pressure to apply when doing your strokes.

Regular and consistent practice is truly the best way to learn and improve your calligraphy skills. 

 

The Starter Kit

If you are ready to begin learning calligraphy, our calligraphy starter kit is a great option. This kit includes all the high quality tools you need, curated to work well together for beginners, to give you the very best chance at success with the art of pointed pen calligraphy. In addition to the starter kit essentials, you get an instruction booklet and online training course. The 2.5 hour video tutorial will walk you through your kit so you can learn all of your tools, how to practice strokes, and how to care for your supplies. You will learn a full alphabet with our detailed and down to earth instruction, based on over 20 years of experience. 

Whether you want to study modern or traditional script styles, your first step is getting the correct tools & learning how to get them to work for YOU. 

Shop our calligraphy starter kit

Calligraphy Practice Plan

If you have worked through the starter kit and are ready to move beyond beginner, I can tell you from both my own personal experience, as well as the experience of our students over the years, that dedicated practice of drills and exercises is the very best way to fast track your calligraphy skills to the next level.

This is why we created the Calligraphy Practice Plan {1.0 & 2.0}, a streamlined online program designed for you to elevate your pointed-pen skills and technique. We’ve created over 90 specific drills targeted to help you improve in overall pen control as well as letter and spacing consistency. The drills included in this program directly correlate with improvement in your letters. Plus we’ve put it all together in an easy-to-follow curriculum, making this stage of learning a more simple process with a direct shot to better pointed-pen skills. This course is 100% online, no shipping required, making it perfect for any calligrapher anywhere in the world.

Shop our calligraphy practice plans

Anyone is capable of improving their calligraphy skills if they set themselves up for success with the right tools and supplies and are ready for dedicated skills practice.

For more insider calligraphy tips, read what I wish I knew before starting calligraphy and the secrets of a great calligrapher.

Be sure to check out more of my calligraphy tips and advice to learn more, as well as our shop for the best calligraphy supplies, tools and courses to support you in your calligraphy journey. Our FREE beginner calligraphy guide has everything you need to get a jump start on your calligraphy practice.