Month: March 2018

This post is going to go in a slightly different direction than other posts. Here, I will discuss how to find inspiration for calligraphy in more detail.

The first thing I want to say: inspiration can come from anywhere or from anything. Although I take much of my inspiration from music, there are many other places inspiration can stem from. I am not big on reading, but book quotes can serve well for calligraphy. If you are religious, quotes from religious texts may also inspire calligraphy art. The main part of finding text to make calligraphy out of is being open to sources of inspiration. Also, I tend to not go looking for words to make calligraphy out of. Most of the time, rather than searching for quotes, when I happen to come across a inspiring quote, I keep it in my mind for when I decide to make more calligraphy. As cliche as it might sound: inspiration cannot be forced, it must be felt.

The next part of inspiring calligraphy is allowing the words to inspire the artistic choices made in the piece. There are a few questions you must ask yourself about the words you plan to make art out of.

1. How do the words make you feel?
2. What images do you associate with the words?
3. How detailed do you want your art to be?
4. Are you looking to make a full piece of art or do you want to make something quick to release stress?
5. How proficient are you in your calligraphy abilities?

With these questions in mind, you can decide what you want to do with your art. Deciding how the words make you feel is the most important part in my opinion. Emotions decides many of the aspect of the calligraphy. It dictates the font of the text, the color of the text and the background, and what words you want to emphasize. Emotion often mentors a successful piece of calligraphy, so I would suggest that if the quote does not draw out any emotion in you, you should consider I different quote, but this is just a suggestion. Images that you associate with the word will allow you to think of backgrounds and pictures to add to the art. Deciding how much detail you want to add can help you determine your game plan for you art. For example, it will help you decide if you want to emboss or simply do calligraphy with pencil.  Your proficiency can also help decide what you want to add to you calligraphy (embossing, images, etc.).

An important part of finding inspiration is pushing your calligraphy abilities. Even if you aren’t very good with using a felt tip pen, for example, make some calligraphy using a felt tip pen! Calligraphy takes a while to master, so don’t get discouraged. Just keep practicing! I still have my first piece of calligraphy and even though it’s not the best piece I’ve done, I still like to look at it as a reminder of how far I’ve come.

My first calligraphy

As a part two to my previous post on enhancements to calligraphy, in this post, I will be talking about another way to enhance your art through backgrounds. I personally feel that backgrounds are an extremely important part of calligraphy. Even though calligraphy doesn’t require a background, adding one can help make your art more appealing to the eye and add an extra creative element. In my opinion, adding a background makes calligraphy more pleasing to look at because it breaks the sharp contrast between the lettering and the plain background.

When looking for inspiration for a background, I often try to come up with something simple so that it will not distract from the main focus, the lettering. My default background is a tie-dye style that I make using markers (I will describe the process for making these types of background later in this post). However, backgrounds can be as complex as an actual painting or as simple as just a different colored paper. I try to think of the mood of the words of the calligraphy and match the colors accordingly. For example, for lines with sadder meanings, I tend to use blues, purples, and blacks while for happier words, I use brighter colors. I also try to use colors that are similar or that blend well so there are not sharp contrast between colors, which would otherwise be detracting. In order to keep the words visible, I usually make the background on a different piece of paper, cut out the calligraphy, and glue it onto the background. However, if you would like your calligraphy to fades more into the background, the words can be written right on top of the background.

Example of tie-dye background

As I have been teasing for a few posts, I will now explain how to do tie-dye backgrounds simply using Crayola markers. This technique is fairly simple and definitely helps elevate your artwork. I learned this technique from an Instagram video and have used it with other material to make unique backgrounds. In order to make tie-dye backgrounds you will need cello gift wrap (that clear wrap that goes over gift baskets), markers (not permanent markers, they will not work!), water, paper, and a paintbrush or stray bottle.

The first step is to get a piece of cello wrap the size of the paper or bigger. Next, using the markers, color the cello wrap in the design you want. The design can be straight line or random blotches of color. Next, spray the design with water (or dab water onto the design with a paint brush). Make sure that there is enough water to soak up the markers. If there is still marker ink that has not been soaked up by water, it will not have the tie-dye effect. Note that it takes practice to know how much water to add for the correct saturation of color! Press the paper onto the cello wrap and using the palm of your hand, gently rub the paper to spread the color. This allows the color to blend on the paper, making the continuous tie-dye pattern. Lastly, carefully lift the paper and lay it out to dry! It may take a while for the paper to dry because it is soaked in water.

    

Disclaimer: This is certainly not the best background I have 
achieved using this technique, but it is a good example of
 how the general process is done! 
Plus, often the words cover any imperfections!

The same technique can be done with paint for another interesting background! More liquid paints work better when using this technique.

Background using same technique, but with paint

Much like adding drawings to calligraphy, finding the right background takes creativity. It is important not to think too hard about what background you want to use and just allow the words to inspire you!

Although this post may appear to be similar to a previous post, it will be slightly different. In this post, I will describe the process of implementing embossing and drawings into a work of calligraphy.

Let’s start with embossing because it is one of my favorite aspects of calligraphy. Even though embossing is not required for calligraphy, it definitely adds an element of texture and shine to the words. In a previous post, I already described what embossing is and the tools needed to do it, so here I will describe how to emboss and give tips which are most relevant to those just starting off.

The first step in embossing is, of course, deciding what you want to emboss. Although embossing is usually used on words, it can also be used on drawings and patterns. The next step is the write/draw the image to be embossed. I would recommend that beginners first write in pencil, so they are able to erase any mistakes. Once one becomes more familiar with calligraphy, it is unnecessary to write in pencil. The next step is the trace or write the letters in embossing pen. This pen allows the embossing powder to stick to the paper so it will not scatter when being heated. I would recommend that beginners use a black embossing pen rather than a clear one. This is because the black ink is easier to see, so the writer has more control and is less likely to make a mistake, especially when tracing.

Sketching words in pencil then tracing with embossing pen

Once the letters are prepared, the next step is to apply the embossing powder. The embossing powder does not need to be applied precisely to each letter. In fact, I usually dump the whole jar out over the letters! This is to ensure full coverage. The excess powder should then be dumped onto a blank piece of paper and funneled back into the jar so that the powder is not wasted. Any excess powder can be dusted away with a paint brush. The next step is to place the calligraphy on a flat surface and heat it with a heat gun. Applying heat will reveal the beautiful embossing! Note that heat guns should be held at a 45 degree angle, should only be used in short intervals (maximum of 10 minutes at a time), and should be allowed to cool before storage to ensure safety.

Adding embossing powder, applying heat, and the final product!

Another way to enhance calligraphy is with drawings. This aspect is much more open to the imagination. Adding draws can emphasize words or add a focal point to the work. As a mentioned before, it is important to let the words speak to you when deciding what drawings to add. I tend to take inspiration from the words themselves or from the source where I got the words. For example, in one of my piece that was of song lyrics, the music video included a Ferris wheel. I used this image as the focal point of the piece and put the words around it. Another example is when writing a name, the picture could be of the person’s favor animal or object.

Ferris Wheel focal point

Implementing calligraphy enhancement may be hard at first, but when you let the creativity flow, the possibilities of what you can add are endless!