Learning calligraphy is a bit like learning to play an instrument. You will only achieve results through practice. What is the best way to practice? Well, everybody has their preferred method. It’s a bit like revising for an exam.
Set aside time for practising your calligraphy – Firstly, do not sit down and practice for hours at a time. Frequent sessions are better than the odd long practice.
Before you start your practice think about what you want to achieve. It is far more productive to have an objective for each practice session, otherwise you can easily end up writing loads but not really improving.
Objectives for a practice could be:
Maintain a consistent pen angle
Work on a group of letters
Produce consistent straight vertical and horizontal pen strokes
Produce consistent letters ‘O’ or ‘G’ etc.
If you are new to calligraphy, start practising with basic vertical and horizontal pen strokes and getting a consistent pen angle. Once you have a good control of the pen you can then start practising the letters.
With many styles of writing, letters can be grouped according to their characteristics. It is best to practice a group of letters in one session and a different group another time rather than writing out each letter of the alphabet. If in one session you can see an improvement in one are you will be more satisfied with your progress. If you feel you are making progress you we will become more motivated and will want to practise more.
Progress => motivation => progress