52 Weeks of Art: Week 13

Week 13: Calligraphy

Welcome to week 13 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

Calligraphy: the art of producing decorative handwriting or lettering with a pen or brush. 

     Here's another medium I wasn't sure about. So, off to the internet again! I'm sure that, by now, everyone has seen all sorts of cute hand lettering things - they are ALL OVER Instagram. I did some research about calligraphy vs. hand lettering. I just assumed they were the same thing. Well, turns out that they are not the same thing. So, what's the difference? Well, that's where I got a little confused.

     I read several articles about the differences between the two, and the only thing I could find that really differentiates the two is WRITING vs. ILLUSTRATING. Calligraphy, I think, is just the WRITING. Hand lettering, I think, is ILLUSTRATING. So, if you are going to write some words and JUST the words, that is calligraphy. If you are writing the words and adding some fancy other doodads and whatnots to it, that's hand lettering. I think. I don't really know. 

     I apologize to every calligraphy and hand lettering artist out there if I just messed that all up! 

     Some more differences between the two are the tools you use. Calligraphy uses special pen nibs dipped into ink. Hand lettering uses anything from brush pens to paint brushes. Again, I'm not really sure I'm getting this 100% accurate. So, let's just look at some examples of each!

Calligraphy. Found it here. You can also sign up for a Calligraphy class!

Hand lettering. Found this here, where you can learn how to hand letter.

     So yeah, I still don't really see much of a difference. I don't know. All I know is that they both have words and letter. 

     Here's another medium that I forgot to take pictures of the whole process. Sorry. I am really bad at this whole "blogging the experience" thing. 

     I used a pen nib that I had and some sumi ink. And ta-da! The finished product!

Is it calligraphy or hand lettering? I don't know.

     I'm not sure if this falls under calligraphy or hand lettering, but I do know it has words and letters in it and that's good enough for me. I think that if you decide to try calligraphy/hand lettering, the most important thing to remember is that you create something you are happy with. 

          

On to rating calligraphy...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for calligraphy, my rating is: 17

Ease of use: 4

    Using a pen nib and ink was really not that easy. Maybe I was doing it wrong? That's very possible. I didn't really know what I was doing.

Affordability: 4

     Nibs and ink are actually pretty affordable. You're looking at like $20 for nibs and ink. And the ink will last you a long time. A little bit goes a long way. Or you could use brush pens, paint brushes, sharpies, etc.

Accessibility: 5

     Nibs and ink are easy to come by. And again, if you go with brush pens or paint brushes, you can find those pretty much anywhere.

Fun to Use: 4

     This was a little frustrating for me. I don't think that I like using pen nibs. I much prefer to use anything else. But again, I was probably just using it wrong. Will I be doing some calligraphy in the future? Probably, but not with pen nibs.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!