

This is the largest calligraphy pen category. That’s simply not the case, and you don’t need to spend a lot of money on tools to get started. Important note: I made a mistake when I started thinking that more expensive tools would help me write better. Let’s begin with our first calligraphy pen category.
#MANUSCRIPT PENS HOW TO#
This book features 100 different calligraphy scripts (styles) and a brief sum-up on how to do them. However, you can also check out these other calligraphy books. If you want a more in-depth look at the different calligraphy scripts (styles), I recommend checking out my other article on the calligraphy alphabets and their historical overview.Īlternatively, I recommend getting the Calligrapher’s Bible book by David Harris. Obviously, there are many more calligraphy tools available out there, here im merely making a recommendation for beginners. In this section, I’ll briefly go over these pen categories, and I’ll give you my best recommendation for beginners, along with a few alternatives. Let’s have a closer look at each of these categories. In fact, there are three main calligraphy pen categories to consider (unless you’re trying to learn some weird unknown style that requires some weird and unknown tool) – It is precisely the reason that my recommendation is to reverse the process.įirst, you determine what sort of calligraphy script (style) you are interested in learning, and then based on your choice, you choose your calligraphy pen.Įven though there are hundreds of different calligraphy scripts that you could learn, most of them can be created using the same tools. Well, what if the pen you picked isn’t suitable for the style you want to learn and practice?

The most common way beginners do this is to first pick up a cool/fancy-looking pen, then figure out what they want to learn. Think of calligraphy as an umbrella term with a whole bunch of different scripts (styles) sitting underneath it. That is precisely why “it depends” is the only answer I can give when someone asks me what is the best pen for calligraphy beginners. You would probably wonder, well, what type of music are we talking about exactly? Imagine someone asks you – What is the best instrument for music? Thanks to Manuscript for letting me abuse your products.Understanding why the best calligraphy pen may vary (calligraphy pen categories)

Whether you’re just starting out or just fancy having a go at I what I got up to, this inexpensive set is ideal – just remember to wash the nibs thoroughly after every use and they should last a good while. I know you shouldn’t use fountain pens in this way but at £2.50 a nib! Come on!īut more seriously, calligraphy, handwriting and lettering is all about expression and having fun! Pens are just tools to help us achieve this. The feeds easily draw the fluids and the flow appears to be well controlled.

If you have lots of inks you won’t need to insert the cartridges just use these as dip pens as they work with all fountain pen ink types – standard, shimmer and sheen AND, it would seem, with bleach. So what’s the verdict? Well, you wouldn’t get 2 pints of beer or 2 meal deals for that price. I don’t know why, they just glide more easily. Top tip here, these types of calligraphy pen nibs seem to work better on top of an ink background. I finished off the tests using the 0.85 nib just for everyday scribbling in bleach. Then using the 1.6mm again, I thought it would be fun to try out some abstract calligraphy using bleach and then a heavy sheen/shimmer ink. Theodoric the Ostrogoth was written in Blackletter with the 1.6mm and the extract from Born to Run was written in Uncials with the the 1.1mm in bleach on blended ink backgrounds. Bearing in mind that these are only cheap and cheerful and very small width nibs I was actually quite surprised with the results. I didn’t even bother to insert a cartridge, I just reached straight for the Domestos and let the abuse begin. Now, many pen companies produce their own versions of this BUT at three, four, five times the price or more! So, at £7.49 there was no need to be precious. Unbelievably cheap at £7.49, this nasty looking set comprises: 3 nib units (0.85mm, 1.1mm and 1.6mm), a plastic barrel, lid, and two cartridges. As a member of the United Inkdom I have just had the absolute pleasure of using and abusing the Manuscript 3 Nib Calligraphy Set!
