Calligraphy Alphabets

Practicing Calligraphy Alphabets - the first Step to Success!

Calligraphy alphabets, in practice since ancient times, invariably have given birth to the different styles of writing calligraphy. It goes without saying that mastering the art of writing calligraphy alphabets comprises the maximum part of learning the art of calligraphy. Today, invitations, photo albums, greeting cards and many decorative items are adorned with various styles of calligraphy alphabets.

The different styles of calligraphy have different calligraphy alphabets. Western calligraphy incorporated the set of alphabets mainly from the Roman script. On the other hand, Chinese and Japanese calligraphy mainly emphasizes the use of scripts used in their daily lives. Islamic calligraphy uses a set of alphabets based on Arabic, Persian and Turkish scripts.

To begin with Western calligraphy, the style of writing is primarily cursive. The lowercase alphabets consist of three parts - the main portion being the x-height, the upper part being the ascender and the lower part is the descender. Italic, Gothic, Uncial and Roman are the prominent styles of writing Western calligraphy. In Italic style, all the calligraphy alphabets are made with a single stroke by holding the pen at an angle of 45 degrees. This style of writing calligraphy alphabets is very simple to read and is mostly taught in schools today. In Gothic style, spacing between each calligraphy alphabets is less. The strokes are usually bold and the decorative strokes at the top or near the upper case alphabets are called beaks and claws. To create the Gothic style, the pen is held at 45 degrees along the paper. In Uncial style of calligraphy, you need to hold your pen at an angle of 30 degrees. The alphabets in this style are all in lower case. Roman style of writing, mostly used in newspapers and books, is easy to learn and read. You need to flatten your pen on the paper to write in Roman style.

Chinese and Japanese calligraphy have a mono-spaced style. Here, each of the calligraphy alphabets occupies the same amount of space. The alphabets of Xingshu style of writing Chinese calligraphy are semi- cursive, while in Caosho style, the alphabets are cursive. The strokes in these styles vary greatly due to the free movement of brush. In Japanese calligraphy, the three popular styles of writing are Kaisho, Sousho and Gyousho. The alphabets of Kaisho are formed by fewer brush movements, whereas the strokes of the alphabets of Sousho are swift and graceful. In Gyousho style, the alphabets are rounded by continuous strokes.

Islamic calligraphy, on the other hand, consists of a set of calligraphy alphabets comprising 17 consonants and strokes, along the consonants, representing vowels. The alphabets vary due to the strokes created for geometric and cursive scripts. The cursive script, which is more prevalent today comprises of the Naskh style in which the alphabets are slender and the strokes are less complex. The alphabets of Thuluth style have elongated verticals, while alphabets of the Muhaqqaq style involve curves underlying the letters.

To begin practicing calligraphy alphabets, you will need a pen or pencil, paper and ink. A pencil and lined paper is ideal for beginners, as it will teach you about maintaining consistency in the size of the alphabets. You can search for online look at, Rare Diecast tutorials, where each calligraphy alphabet is taught with pictorial demonstrations. There are various free calligraphy alphabets which you can download as well. You can even use your creativity and mix two or more styles of writing to create new sets of calligraphy alphabets.