Everyone knows that calligraphy is beautiful. But where’s the line between normal handwriting and this centuries-old artform?
After teaching 65,000+ students calligraphy, we’ve answered the question “what is calligraphy?” many times. In this post, we’ll offer you the definition of calligraphy and show you examples so you can se the difference between writing and lettering art.
Calligraphy is the art of writing beautifully. The word calligraphy comes from the ancient Greek words for the act of beautiful writing, kalos (καλος) and graphia (γραφια).
Calligraphy is commonly mistaken for cursive writing because both use flowing letterforms, but the two styles have different tools, technique and goals.
Cursive writing connects letters in one continuous motion with the goal of writing quickly. Calligraphy requires the pen to be lifted many times while writing a single word while building letters from individual strokes called the basic calligraphy strokes.
Cursive letters are written with consistent stroke width using a monoline utensil like a ballpoint pen. Calligraphy achieves its characteristic elegance through contrast between thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes, created by applying pressure to a pointed pen or brush pen (free worksheets here).
Learn more here in our full cursive vs calligraphy breakdown.
Handwritten calligraphy is a form of visual art. Rather than focusing on speed and efficiency, calligraphers focus on beauty, harmony and style mastery. Artists use letter shapes as well as other compositional tools such as balance and spacing to create elaborate compositions.
The art of beautiful writing can be traced back to the beginning of the written word. Calligraphy has existed since the earliest known writing systems, with examples of decorative lettering found in ancient Egyptian inscriptions and traditional Chinese scripts.
While many people think of calligraphy as just artistic writing, contemporary calligraphy is more than just decorative handwriting. It’s an entire artform that’s gaining in popularity thanks to social media.
Learn more about the history of calligraphy here.
Calligraphy is a vibrant artform that’s done on many surfaces. Some calligraphy techniques that go beyond paper include:
Try calligraphy for yourself with our free alphabet worksheet.
Just as calligraphy goes far beyond the page, it also transcends any single culture or alphabet.
When you think of calligraphy, what comes to mind? Is it historical handwriting such as the elegant letters from Victorian times, a beautiful illuminated manuscript, or maybe modern examples such as the Coca-Cola logo?
At Loveleigh Loops, we practice, study and teach western calligraphy which is based on the Latin alphabet. However, the art of writing isn’t limited to Latin calligraphy.
What about Tibetan calligraphy, Indian calligraphy or even the elaborate signs found on ancient temples in Mexico? Here is a birds-eye view of different calligraphy styles around the globe.
Learn more about the different types of calligraphy (with examples) in this guide.
Any calligraphy style that uses the Latin script as its base is a part of western calligraphy. This style of calligraphic writing goes back to Roman times and has its roots in the different alphabets used by scribes throughout the ages.
After the invention of the printing press, handwritten lettering transitioned from a practical necessity to a luxury art form. With the rise of mass printed texts, people started to appreciate and practice handwritten calligraphy. This is where we see the origin of modern western calligraphy, with styles include Copperplate, Spencerian, Blackletter and italic.
The 19th century saw the major modern revival of calligraphy as the hobby we know and love today. These days, you’ll find enthusiasts that embrace historical handwriting while others break away from tradition to find their own style. At Loveleigh Loops, we love and teach both.
We’ve spent countless hours poring through archives of historical calligraphy samples. Scroll through the images below for a glimpse at how western calligraphy has be taught over the centuries.
Many Eastern cultures view calligraphy as a high art form where rhythm, flow and harmony matter just as much as precision.
Fun fact: It’s said that Chinese calligraphy is as much about the actual words as the artist’s interpretation of the characters, and the calligrapher’s personality shines through in every work of art. The Mandarin expression 字如其人 (“calligraphy reflects the person”) dates back to the Han dynasty.
“Eastern calligraphy” is a large umbrella term, encompassing billions of people and countless traditions. You can learn more from the Association for Asian Studies.
Arabic calligraphy, or more broadly known as Islamic calligraphy, is a centuries-old tradition originating in the Middle East that is closely tied to religious and spiritual meaning. This style uses the Arabic language to write passages of religious texts such as the Qu’ran. Since Islam prohibits depicting people in religious spaces, mosques often feature stunning decorative elements of geometric patterns and calligraphy.
Like some of the historical scripts in Western calligraphy, Arabic calligraphy uses broad edge pens. Traditionally, a calligrapher uses a carved reed pen instead of a metal nib for greater flexibility in their strokes.
Arabic calligraphy has a deep history and that transcends geographical borders and unites people from many different cultures. You can learn more from the University of Arabic Calligraphy.
Since we write using the Latin alphabet, western calligraphy is our area of expertise. Although western calligraphy has many variations, it’s generally broken up into two styles: modern calligraphy and traditional calligraphy.
Traditional calligraphy is focuses on replicating historical styles. Practitioners of this style follow the strict rules found in traditional calligrapher’s handbooks such as The Universal Penman. To replicate these styles, they use traditional tools to write their calligraphy such as pointed pens (AKA a dip pen).
Common traditional scripts include Copperplate and Spencerian.
Modern calligraphy aims to break away from tradition and allows a calligrapher to develop their own personal style. Instead of sticking to the strict rules for traditional calligraphy, each calligrapher decides for themselves which rules to keep and which to break.
While modern calligraphy is firmly rooted in the traditional styles, a modern calligrapher has complete creative freedom when designing letters. Want to create letters that float? Are 3D? Sparkle or glow in the dark? You can!
Popular modern scripts include brush lettering and bounce lettering.
With all these different styles and calligraphy traditions, it’s not surprising that there are a lot of different calligraphy tools out there. Let’s go over some of the popular choices for western calligraphy.
A broad edge pen uses a flat nib instead of a pointed one, creating thick downstrokes through pen direction rather than pressure control. Inspired by the historical scripts found in 10th century medieval manuscripts, letters in Blackletter style have a distinct lack of curves and requires its own specialized dip pen.
Instead of relying on pressure control, a calligrapher changes the direction of the pen in a skillful manner to create thick downstrokes.
While the traditional dip pens are still widely used, many people choose the ease of a modern equivalent, such as the Pilot Parallel pens. These come with an internal ink cartridge which makes writing a lot easier.
Learn more here in our Blackletter guide.
A pointed pen is a calligraphy tool consisting of a flexible metal nib mounted in a pen holder, designed to create thick and thin strokes through changes in pressure. At first a pointed pen looks like a fountain pen, but the tines on the nib are in fact different. Where the nib on a fountain pen is rigid, a calligraphy nib is flexible and the tines open when you apply pressure.
Since traditional calligraphy is written at a 55-degree angle, most calligraphers use an oblique pen holder. This makes it easier to keep the nib at the right angle. For beginners, we recommend the Moblique 2-in-1 penholder, Nikko G nib and Sumi ink.
Choosing the right nib is a matter of personal preference but you’ll find that some nibs are more beginner-friendly than others. We take a deeper dive here in our beginner nibs guide.
These pens come with a normal pen casing but have a flexible tip. Applying pressure to the brush tip widens the stroke, while releasing pressure creates a thin upstroke. Like any marker, brush pens come in many different colors and even in different sizes.
Brush pens come with a bit of a learning curve. For beginners, we recommend starting with a large firm brush pen like a Tombow Dual Brush Pen.
Learn more here in our brush pens guide for beginners.
Answers to the most-asked questions about calligraphy.
Calligraphy is the art of writing beautifully. Unlike other penmanship styles, the goal is beautiful letters and not speed. Calligraphy writing is a diverse artform celebrated around the world.
No, calligraphy and cursive are not the same. While cursive is written in one fluid motion, a calligrapher lifts their pen many times as they write, even while writing a single letter. The goal of cursive is speed, while the goal of calligraphy is beauty.
The purpose of calligraphy is to write beautifully, whether it be as a relaxing hobby, a professional skill, or a respected art form.
The steps to learning calligraphy are easy to understand, but take time, discipline and guidance to follow. Beginners need to learn the basic calligraphy strokes before writing letters. Developing the muscle memory for consistent letters takes weeks or months. Experienced calligraphers need instruction through courses or books to develop their composition and flourishing skills, which makes calligraphy look for advanced.
You can start learning calligraphy together by downloading our free alphabet worksheet and following along with our beginner tutorial below. We’ve published thousands of worksheets, video tutorials and blog posts to help you get started learning calligraphy.
Every month, we practice live with hundreds of community members inside our Calligraphy Together membership. We would love to welcome you into the vibrant world of calligraphy and the Loveleigh Loops community.
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