I wish I found this earlier! Such a nice camera angle, I can see every detail and the explanation is also exceptional clear, after viewing from nearly a hundred of these learning videos, I think yours is definitely one of the best! Awesome 👏 work!
Thank you so much, Emily! Funny, I thought 'Wow, this is so (too?) close I can see the paper fibers!', which of course our pen nibs sometimes pick up. In the 16+ yrs of teaching I tell my students, for questionable strokes, look first at your tools and paper. I appreciate you commenting on this. Best wishes on your flourishing calligraphy work.
I love your calligraphy classes. Iam very aspire to become a calligraphy expert anf as am a beginner i need your help yo buy a calligraphy pen.. Which kind of pen should i buy?
This is fantastic! -and for some reason it is also spellbinding. Maybe it’s the tone of your voice, or just your quiet and very competent teaching method, whatever it is, it embodies the meditative part of calligraphy that drew me to the art to begin with. Thank you for these lessons!
Can you imagine that we learned and it was mandatory calligraphy in grade 3 way back in the 70's when schooling actually meant something? Yah, now we have movies and pajama day on Friday's. No wonder the western society is in a bad shape. ...sorry I had to edit it. Now kids are playing the challenge if they can wright they're name without lifting up the pen off the paper. 😅😂🤣
Thanks for your question. Speedball oblique pen holder is a good one for beginners: amzn.to/3LxevaE There are also more supply recommendations/links in the description area below the video (click more to view). Happy Lettering!
Wow, your teaching style is hands-down the best I have come across while trying to learn copperplate calligraphy (and that includes the online course I paid several hundred UK£ for!) As other posters have mentioned, the camera angles are superb and you explain every detail calmly and methodically and listening to you is soooo relaxing! Thank you so much, I'm off to order the book you recommended now too.
Thank you so much - I appreciate your very easy to follow no stress style, and it allows me to just slowly copy and refine my efforts. Its also very helpful watching you patiently "just doing your thing". It keeps me focussed because you make it all so achievable.
Great explanation on Copperplate drills... Could you please mention what would be the ratio of Ascender height, waistline and baseline, if we are not working on calligraphy sheets...
Another excellent video of yours! Thanks for sharing, I hope you'll continue to create contents like this. Your voice itself is entertaining, love it! Looking forward for more.
Вы замечательная художница! Я два дня, как смотрю Ваши видео и вижу плавное движение Ваших рук. Это танец! И хотя я ни слова не понимаю, но движение говорит само за себя. Спасибо!
I absolutely loved this video, thank you. Mesmerising and spellbinding, you seemed to make the words you were saying follow the strokes you were writing. Following you letter by letter has given me confidence to see what I couldn't see before. Great filming by the way. Every stroke accessible. Well done.
What an awesome video, and wish I found you sooner! Love the closeup, and all the explanation you do with each letter. Thank you heaps for this, I feel that I can tackle calligraphy now. Lol. Xx
Love this video of you working, Laura. And so appreciate that view is closeup showing what you’re doing…holding the pen, etc. I’ll watch this again and again! Thanks!
We learned to write with straight pens in grade 3 and we were taught to put a new one in our mouths for a bit to remove the wax coating from the manufacturer.
Awesome! I can't wait till I get my materials! Your voice is very clear and soothing. And the position of the paper is perfect. Such a useful tutorial for beginners.
Many thanks for your kind words! Recommend materials are helpful and while waiting you can start with a pencil (HB is fine but you'll see more thick/thin contrast with a softer pencil like 2B).
I love that you actually use calligraphy practice paper! I have watched other calligraphy videos and it is hard for me without the lines for reference.
Oh this is an amazing calligraphy tutorial..I just started copperplate, and learned a lot form this.. Thankyou so much for sharing 😍 Also I wanna ask- when I don't use my nib for 2-3 days, why it start getting rust and doesn't work properly..I also did that fire thing twices🥺
Thank you so much for your positive feedback, Kiran! I recommend only tempering your nib with fire once when it's brand new and only for a couple of seconds, then dip into water and wipe clean. After you're done lettering clean your nib with water (some people use soap and water) and dry it complete with a cloth or paper towel. Which nib are you using?
The wooden penholder is custom made by Master Penman Michael Sull, spencerian.com. Link is in the description. I also listed a link to a student grade Speedball penholder. Happy Lettering!
I have so enjoyed your Copperplate Calligraphy Made Easy videos( especially enjoy your optional versions) .. ! I wish you would make video's, one each with miniscule and majuscules alphabets alphabetically.Thanks.
I wanted to thank you for recommending the Nikko G nib. I purchased them, and it has made the biggest difference! Now, if only I could find a local printer that knows anything about paper! If you have a website where I could find more information, I would appreciate it.
Such an interesting tutorial!! You are giving so many tips as you write, which answers the questions for newbies like me. Calligraphy is a new hobby I have picked up to keep myself occupied when d world around me is so crazy lol.. I’ve subscribed to your channel and I look forward to practice and learn from your videos. I struggle a lot with flourishing. Would be great if you can make a separate video on it whenever you find time :) Thanks a lot once again for these tutorials!
Nobody believe this is a hand lettered one as it appears a printed absolutely, I can say. Its really mind blogging. By the way my doubt is whether a beginner should start calligraphy with a normal pencil or straight away can use a calligraphy pen ?
Great question. Practicing with a soft pencil is a helpful exercise; you'll see contrast with lighter upstrokes and fuller/bolder downstrokes. I letter often in pencil on scrap paper, when I need to measure my lettering to later center it (with ink) on my master copy. Good luck!
A great informative video. A quick question. How much above the x height and below the base line are the ascender and descender in relation to the x height. ?
Great question, John. The typical ratio is 3:2:3. In this video my guidelines measured 1/4" for the X-height and 3/8" for both the ascender height and descender depth.
Hmm? I'm not sure. I wonder if they may too harsh and reduce the life of the nib. Options that I know of (fire, saliva & potatoes) to remove the nib film are not always practical. Please share what your results are if you do try them. Happy lettering!
Sounds like too much ink is coming out too quickly. Perhaps the Nikko G nib is too flexible for you. Each calligrapher has a different amount of (default) pressure that they apply. I recommend checking out johnnealbooks.com and/or paperinarts.com and reading each nib description. If too much ink is flowing out then maybe you need a stiffer nib and/or a nib with a larger reservoir to hold more ink.
@@TheSmoochy2 Apologies, I see now that it's not called description on this platform. Up above the comments section and below my name you'll see text that starts with 'Please subscribe,..." 3 lines below that click on 'show more' and the materials I've used are listed there. Thanks!
Copperplate is very strict to the way it is written so i don't think that f would be used in traditional copperplate you would get away with it in modern calligraphy because the rules of the letting is more forgiving and flexible that's the way i understood of the two differences.
Excellent point. Copperplate calligraphy is quite formal. We can observe variations among master calligraphers such as Zaner, Bickman and Waters. Best wishes on your calligraphy practice.
Love your teaching you are the Best****. You have a remarkable way of explaining as you go that goes perfect with your teaching style. I love how sometimes you will do the letter several times, and sometimes add a lettter to it. Do you have any courses you teach. You could really have a nice School going because you love your art, your skill and have a perfect hand. I think it would be a real hard job teaching this lettering. The folks that are really good love this art form. Their are few great Pennman giving courses, and usually they are all booked up. Curious which ink you are using It flows beautifully and I LOVE THE DARK BLACKNESS and the shine it leaves. I notice your strokes are nice and wide which is nice as well. Bo
Thank you! I’ve been blessed with great teachers. Nope, currently not teaching any courses. You mentioned Penman so I’m guessing you’re already likely an IAMPETH member. I also recommend Society of Scribes in NYC. Do you know Dr. Joe Vitolo (for virtual materials) and Loredona Zega (online courses)? Ink used is Yasutomo sumi ink ✍
Very easy to understand but hard to write the same...🙏🏿. Would you please provide the PDF page if that page on which you are writing... Please think on it I will pay for that if u dont mind it🙏🏿
Aligning the nib tip to the barrel's axis doesn't always apply. For instance my favorite penholder, skillfully made by a Master Penman, was designed for vintage Esterbrook nibs and other smaller sized nibs, however I often use a much larger nib with this penholder and if I were to align the tip with the axis of the barrel it would be way too far into the flange and not as flexible as I need it to be. Also the Speedball student penholder is around $2 each; making it accessible to many. I only recommend nibs that I know fit it in my classes.
Laura Di Piazza I understand what Asaph73 is saying. I started with the oblique Speedball with Nikko G nibs, and finally learned where nibs should align. After getting a new pen holder, it was SIGNIFICANTLY easier for me to attain the right flex and feel to write beautiful calligraphy. I really think Speedball should redesign their oblique holders, because so many beginners buy their oblique pens first. I wouldn’t be surprised if many quit out of frustration, when they would’ve continued if they had a different pen.
For the same reason she didn't talk about what camera gives the best results for these videos. Ppl Can't include EVERYTHING in one video. Give her a break there's a ton of info already ...😐
Using the correct ink is essential, this should be the first discussion before any writing, particularly for the beginner. How you video the programme is down to you and of very minor interest to someone who wants to learn calligraphy unless reproduction is so poor that the lettering is illegible. Good reproduction is taken for granted.
@rob-in-the-marsh5311 I get your point but everything being covered in 1 video is the golden egg laying goose that we're all lookin for. But while you're here... would u mind elaborating? I'm having a problem where my fine lines are almost as thick as the the rest. Once u mentioned calligraphy vs fountain pen ink, it made sense bc I think I have reg dip pen ink. What calligraphy ink do you suggest?
@@J_The_Detailer Thank you for your reply. I first tried thickening my fountain pen ink with liquid Gum Arabic (Winsor and Newton) as this has been recommended for this purpose. It is expensive in liquid form so I bought some Gum Arabic powder on eBay which is much cheaper. This worked once I found the right consistency through trial and error. However this is fiddly. I have finally settled on Sumi Calligraphy ink which I found on Amazon. The consistency is always the same though it can be slightly thickened with the Gum Arabic powder or thinned with water, depending on the requirement of the calligrapher. Fountain pen ink on its own is a non-starter, and for a beginner, very discouraging.
