Calligraphy Alphabet

Calligraphy alphabets can be seen on wedding invitations, logo designs, religious art, graphic designs, on inscriptions, for the credits and cast list that comes after a movie finishes, etc. If you are thinking of taking up calligraphy as a hobby, then you can follow the steps mentioned below on writing calligraphy. However, if you are pursuing calligraphy as serious hobby, that could develop into a career, then consider enrolling for a calligraphy class. In a class, you will be trained from the basics, and also get advice from an experienced artist. Before, we start on the steps of writing calligraphy, here is an overview on the evolution of calligraphy.

History of Calligraphy
The word calligraphy is coined from two Greek words 'killi' and 'graphos', which mean 'beautiful' and 'writing' . The origin of this art can be traced back to cave paintings in early days, when the written word was a pictorial representation. As humans developed, so developed the art of drawing these pictorial words. Around 3500 BC, the Egyptians developed highly stylized hieroglyphics. After some thousands of years, the Phoenicians developed the first alphabets which were used for writing. The Phoenicians influenced the Greeks, who developed their own form of writing, which was later on adapted by the Romans, and adapted to suit Latin language. During the middle ages, paper was expensive and so scribing monks developed a writing style, which is known as the Gothic script. Then the art of calligraphy flourished in Europe.

How to Write the Calligraphy Alphabets?
Initially, start with a simple font of calligraphy and follow these steps. With practice and skill, you can learn more complicated calligraphy letter writings.

• You can use different writing materials like a felt tip pen, a fountain pen, pencil, steel point pen, or a quill. As a beginner, it is advisable to start with a felt tip pen or a pencil. Felt tip pens come in different point sizes, and one doesn't need to refill them very often, only once in a while the cartridge has to be refilled. Fountain pens are also very often used, but need to be refilled often. Quills are better left to skilled hands, as they need to be dipped often in ink.
• Decide on the calligraphy script you want to write on. Download a simple, and easy to learn calligraphy letter. Some examples of calligraphy are the Japanese calligraphy, Chinese calligraphy, Celtic calligraphy, Gothic calligraphy, Greek calligraphy, Hebrew calligraphy, Roman calligraphy, and Arabic calligraphy.
• Print the alphabets from A to Z. Make photocopies of this paper, and use your pen and move the tip of the pen over the alphabets to get a feel of the curves and the bends in the respective letters.
• After you get a feel of all the different alphabets, start practicing on new paper sheets.
• But before you do this, draw around 4-5 faint horizontal lines that will serve as guidelines, so that you can align your alphabets properly and also understand how much length and breadth of the individual character is.
• This way practice with different words till you get the hang of this particular calligraphy font.
• Show your work to skilled artists in calligraphy to get advice and suggestions on improving your work.
• If you don't know any calligraphy artists, then just upload your work on art sites. This way you can get feedback on your work online from other users.
• After you get confident on one style of calligraphy font, try learning more complex and fancy alphabets.

This was a brief history of calligraphy, and the steps to write calligraphy. So, follow the above steps to learn calligraphy, and who knows, after enough practice, you can even come up with your own set of calligraphy alphabets!