7 Beginner’s Mistakes To Avoid When You’re Learning Calligraphy

Dear Fellow Calligrapher,

Have you been practicing calligraphy for a while and aren't seeing results? Does it constantly feel like you're not making any progress?

I get you, my friend.

Calligraphy is a beautiful art form but without the knowledge of basics and some essential technicalities, you may find the learning process very frustrating.

This is exactly why I'd like to share with you the most common mistakes I've seen beginners make and how you can avoid them.

1. Not Investing in good quality tools and supplies - Here’s the first and foremost mistake I see most beginners making, not investing in good quality tools and supplies, which in turn makes the learning experience frustrating. Use tools that work for YOU instead of AGAINST you.

And always remember...

“You should be in control of your instrument and not the other way around”

To master an art form we should first be able to understand our tool and what it can do for us in order to help us create what we want to. However, using the wrong as well as bad quality tools can hinder that process.

2. The Power of guidelines - Guidelines are a group of lines that assist in writing with rhythm and consistency by helping determine the size and proportion of letterforms.

It’s crucial that we use guidelines not just while starting out but even after years of practicing calligraphy. They help us build the muscle memory it requires to create strokes and letters and keep our script in check.

3. Posture - I’ve firsthand experienced the downside of not practicing good posture. You may start experiencing pain in your back, shoulders as well as your writing hand if proper care isn’t taken, especially if you choose to do this professionally (you’ll be doing calligraphy for hours together :P)

Click here to check out this detailed video by Paul Antonio to learn more about posture.

4. Skipping the basics - Basic Strokes are the building blocks for letterforms, they set the much-required foundation it takes to progress in your journey.

DON’T SKIT THEM, spend a lot of time perfecting them and see how you’ll be acing your letters.

5. Learning the letterforms in alphabetic order -

It's most recommended to learn the letters in groups than in alphabetical order

Letters can be grouped based on size, proportion, strokes which makes it easier to grasp the skeleton shapes and get a hang of them in an easier manner.

6. Not referencing an exemplar - Always keep an exemplar with you while practicing so you use that as a reference for the letters you’re making and see where you’re going wrong. This helps you practice mindfully and not just fill endless pages with the wrong letterforms.

7. The flip side of Instagram - As amazing as it is to learn and interact with artists on Instagram, it does make us compare our work with others.

It’s important to remember that we’re all on our journey of learning and growing, if we compare ourselves to others it would in turn be detrimental to our growth as an artist.

Hope you've found this helpful!

Also, do me a favor, will ya?

I'd love to know more about your journey while learning calligraphy so be sure to share something that you have struggled with in the comments of the blog, a lot of others in our community would benefit from that too ❤️