Supplies & Set-Up

BUILD A BASIC CALLIGRAPHY SUPPLY TOOL KIT, FIND NIBS THAT ARE RIGHT FOR YOU, AND GET ACQUAINTED WITH THE WORLD OF PAPER

The Essential Tool Kit

Using quality calligraphy supplies from the start will make your practice more gratifying and your work progress more quickly. You would never learn to play an instrument on one that was out of tune, right? Well, the same goes for calligraphy. Without quality supplies, you may quickly find yourself frustrated as you practice and mistake your struggles for problems with your technique, when in fact they are problems inherent in your supplies. This section will teach you the essentials for building a great supply starter kit, from pens to ink to paper.

POINTED NIBS

Above all else, the number-one question I am asked by beginner calligraphers is how to choose — and where to find — the best nibs for a given project. Choosing nibs may feel overwhelming, because the sea of sizes and brands of nibs can seem endless. Without guidance, trial and error often seems like the best way to proceed. But do not despair. No nib is perfect for all purposes, so don't look for the "perfect" nib — expect to find a number of them that work for you. Presented here are tips for building your own collection.

POINTED DIP NIBS VS. FOUNTAIN PENS VS. BROAD TIP NIBS

All the techniques and projects in this book require flexible metal dip pen nibs with pointed tips. Do not be confused — these are not the same as pointed fountain pen nibs. As the name suggests, dip nibs are filled with ink by dipping them in an inkwell. Fountain pens are not dip pens — they have an ink reservoir inside the body of the pen that supplies ink to the nib. Also, when shopping for dip nibs, you will see lots of nibs with flat, slanted tips. These are broad tip nibs and are not intended for script calligraphy. For what you'll be learning in this book, you'll need to stick with pointed dip nibs only.

PURCHASING NIBS

If you live near an art store that stocks an extensive selection of calligraphy supplies, lucky you! But if not, no worries: the best nibs are easily acquired by mail order online (see the Resources Guide for a listing of my preferred vendors). As a beginner, indulge! Buy a variety of nibs that you can test out and experiment with to find the ones you like the best. Fortunately, pointed nibs typically don't cost more than a couple of dollars each, so testing a number of them won't break the bank. Many calligraphy suppliers even sell sample packs with an array of different pointed nibs to try. The choice between two good-quality nibs often comes down to personal preference, writing style, and the size of the letters you're writing.

HOW THEY WORK

Pointed nibs vary considerably. Some are made of very flexible metal, while others are stiff. Some are long and hold a lot of ink, while others are small and need to be dipped in ink more often. The size of the tips also varies, affecting how fine is the thinnest line a pen can draw. Despite these differences, all pointed dip pens share the same basic anatomy and work the same way.

All pointed pens come to a fine, sharp point formed by the meeting of two delicate, tapered pieces of metal (usually steel) called "tines." When at rest, the tines are perfectly aligned with each other and touching, so that only close inspection will reveal the slit between the two. When pressed to paper, the tines separate and ink flows through them. The amount of pressure exerted controls how much the tines separate and, in turn, how wide the resulting stroke is. Strokes that transition from thin to thick — the hallmark of calligraphic lettering — are made by varying the amount of pressure exerted on the nib, as opposed to varying the angle of the nib against the paper, as is the case in broad tip calligraphy. Due to the construction of the pointed nib and its angle in relation to the paper, the thinnest lines occur on upstrokes (when we are not naturally inclined to exert pressure) and thicker lines occur on downstrokes (when more pressure is used). The amount of contrast between thin and thick strokes plays a large role in defining the character of an alphabet. Being able to control the pressure you exert in order to create the precise stroke thickness you want takes practice, but we'll get to that soon.

The more flexible a pointed nib's tines, the more easily they will separate, which translates to making thicker strokes with less pressure. Ultimately you should find a nib that has the right amount of flexibility for your personal writing style. Some of us are naturally inclined to exert very little pressure with our pen when writing, while others exert a lot of pressure. My own style is the latter — no matter how hard I try, I can't get in the habit of pressing lightly. This means that I generally prefer harder nibs because I feel more in control and am able to create thick strokes from a nib that "light touch" people cannot. In similar fashion, those with a light touch generally prefer very flexible nibs that make it easier to achieve thick strokes without having to exert much pressure.

For projects requiring very small lettering or elegant flourishes that don't call for thick strokes, a hard nib is usually the best choice. For making large lettering (and by large I mean letters an inch and a half high or larger), a...