How To Write May In Calligraphy (8 Styles + Tutorials)
Time to turn a new page on the calendar, which means it's time to prep our planners for the month of May!
May is the shortest month of the year (in terms of the number of letters) but there's still tons of room to add style and fanfare when writing it.
We've written 8 May calligraphy exemplars that will give you ideas for how to write May in calligraphy.
Plus, follow along with our video tutorial where we teach you letter-by-letter how to write each style for yourself!
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Table of Contents
What Supplies Do I Need?
If you follow along with our video tutorial, you'll see that we've written May using a variety of special calligraphy tools, but you can also write calligraphy with normal household writing utensils.
New calligraphers who don't have specific lettering supplies can use the following household items:
Pen or pencil: Any pen/pencil will do!
Paper: For a normal pen or pencil, you can use any paper you have. If you’re using calligraphy pens, always make sure to get the right paper for your chosen supplies.
Guide sheet: Using a guide sheet isn't just for beginners! Grab some free practice sheets here.
Now that you've got all your supplies ready, let's do some lettering!
8 May Calligraphy Exemplars
Use these month exemplars to help you get ideas and inspiration, or grab a pen and follow along with us in our video tutorial:
We'd love to hear which May style is your favorite! If you have a minute, leave us a YouTube comment on the video.
Faux Calligraphy
May written in faux calligraphy
A popular choice for beginners, faux calligraphy lets you create calligraphy-style letters without first having to learn technique or pressure control.
With faux calligraphy, you do calligraphy in two steps. First, you write your base word in cursive. Aim for consistency and make sure to leave enough space between each letter.
Then, add parallel lines. Draw a line parallel to every downstroke (every time you move the pen towards you).
Learn faux calligraphy with our free course:
Modern Calligraphy
May written in modern calligraphy
This May calligraphy exemplar was written with a brush pen in a modern style.
While calligraphy has a rich history, it's also evolved with new technology and stylistic trends. Notice the elegant transitions between thick and thin parts of the word? That's a quintessential characteristic that's found in all types of calligraphy, old and new.
Modern calligraphy is an umbrella term that encompasses all modern styles, including faux calligraphy (above) and our next style.
Learn more with our beginner's guide to brush pen calligraphy:
Bounce lettering
May written in bounce lettering
Often written with a brush pen, bounce lettering is an organic, flowly modern calligraphy style where parts of the letters reach above and dip below their normal points. Make these bouncy edits to the basic style:
Start the letter "M" with a curved stem
Extend the first overturn of the "M" higher
Dip the second overturn
Dip the exit stroke of the "a"
With the "y," add a small wavy flourish to the loop
Look critically at typography and you'll notice this style on greeting cards, pillows and graphic illustrations on Pinterest and Instagram.
Learn the secrets to bouncing in our blog post:
Copperplate Flourishes
May written with Copperplate flourishes
Calligraphy flourishes are decorative twirls, turns and loops that make words look more elegant. This specific example is the Copperplate script written with flourishes.
Here's a breakdown of the flourishing decisions that were made when flourishing May:
The first stem of the "M" has large spirals
Extend the upstroke of the “M” to wrap around the top half of the letter
Finish the “M” with a flourish down below the word
The descending stem loop of the "y" overlaps with the other loops, and finishes with a flourish at the end of the word
Easy tip: Use a pencil to plan your flourishes out before writing in ink.
Learn more about Copperplate flourishing in our guide:
Basic Copperplate
May written in Copperplate
Now that we've seen Copperplate with flourishes, let's step back and look at the base letterforms.
Copperplate is typically written with a pointed pen, which is characterized by the nib at the end of the holder. When you apply pressure to the nib, its tine open and release more ink.
Writing Copperplate comes with a learning curve, but it's still extremely popular today and we've taught thousands of students this script.
Learn more in our Copperplate beginner's guide:
Spencerian
May written in Spencerian
The Spencerian script looks similar to Copperplate given that it's written with a pointed pen, but it has a steeper angle, different strokes, and less shading.
It's actually the precursor to cursive writing, which is why it may look familiar to you. It's a delicate script that's often written at a smaller scale.
You can learn more with our Spencerian beginner's guide:
Spencerian Flourishes
May written with Spencerian flourishes
Let's get digital! We're going to write our Spencerian flourishes on the iPad using the Procreate App.
Just like a traditional writing utensil, you can apply pressure to the Apple Pencil to create contrast as you write.
Spencerian isn't an overly-shaded script, so we've designed this Procreate Spencerian brush to capture its delicate essence. This flourished Spencerian style is sometimes referred to as "ornamental penmanship."
Try this fun with our free Procreate traceable Spencerian quote:
iPad Calligraphy
May written with the Loveleigh Brush in Procreate
Within Procreate, you can select any number of special brushes which makes it a great tool for experimentation. For example, you can see the difference between the Spencerian month and this example which was written with a color-changing brush.
This was done with our free Procreate brush, the Loveleigh Brush. It changes color as you apply pressure, which creates a gorgeous effect when writing calligraphy.
Dive into iPad calligraphy with our free course:
These are just a few style options, there are endless calligraphy styles that you can choose from. Get inspired with the 60 style exemplars in our calligraphy alphabet round-up.
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May Project Ideas
You don't need to make practicing calligraphy "productive." Writing just for fun or to improve your lettering is already purposeful enough!
But for anyone looking to apply their calligraphy practice to daily life, there are endless ways to do this. Here are a few easy ideas to try this month:
Event invitations. Fun fact, the month of May kicks off wedding season! While you can print and send beautiful invites, handwriting any event invite adds a special touch.
Seasonal crafts. Making seasonal crafts is a great way to celebrate the season at hand and take stock of the change around you.
Classroom/home decor. You'll start to notice "Hello, May!" wall decor on the shelves at Target, so why not make one yourself?
Want more calligraphy practice ideas? Get a DAILY prompt in our May lettering challenge!
Final Thoughts
Are you ready to try your hand at writing May in one of these styles?
This is just one tutorial of a series, so we hope that you'll come back each month to continue getting ideas and inspiration!
If you enjoyed this, why not share with a friend who also loves to letter (or has always wanted to try)? Learning to write each month is an easy introduction to this beautiful hobby.
Up next month:
More calligraphy tutorials:
