Astenorello
If you like calligraphy and you dream about learning it, you have two valid options: academies, books, courses and webinars or studying for free as a self-taught. This is the article for you, if you choose the second one. I know you are here because you asked yourself at least once “How can I learn calligraphy by myself?”, so now I’m going to tell you all the essential information you need to begin.
I’m going to be honest, learning calligraphy by yourself is not easy and sometimes can be tough at first. Anyway it’s a journey where you have to stuck with it and not to discourage yourself. So go on and at the end you’ll see results.
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Basic Strokes
If you want to learn calligraphy then you have to start from the basic strokes. It will help you to master all the forms you’ll find in the ductus you’ll study. You can find videos on Youtube and blogs that show you how to take a pen in the correct way and the marks you need to know. After you get the info, you have to draw the guidelines; they are really important, even if it’s a boring step. You should practice the strokes for at least a couple of weeks until you feel comfortable. When those gestures finally become natural, it’s time for the next challenge: learning the alphabet.
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Alphabets and ductus
On the internet there are a lot of alphabets and ductus that often are not fully correct, so here my advice is to do some research. Don’t stop to the first thing you find! Read articles written by professionals, watch videos by calligraphers and, above all, search historical writings in online libraries. If the information differs about the same ductus, then compare them and try to find the similarities to have the most accurate alphabet. You need to practice every day writing letters from a to z. Then write some words, for example the famous “minimum”; this will help you to manage space within letters.
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Practice
Practice is the most important part of the whole process, because without practice there’s no calligraphy, learning or improvement. I mean you cannot expect to learn calligraphy in just 5 minutes. What you have to do is practicing one hour per day; don’t write all day every day or you’ll go crazy. I swear you’ll see results, but you have to be constant and patient.
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Well, if “practice makes perfect”, go to write. See you next time!