My Favorite Calligraphy Learning Tools
It’s the last weekend of the month, which means it’s time for my June Favorites. In my May newsletter, I shared a grab bag of my favorite tools, from gold ink to custom tissue paper. This month, I’m sticking to a specific category: learning tools. Below is a compilation of my favorites for calligraphy learners at different levels, labeled with the level I recommend.
If you missed my May Favorites, you can read it here. Most of my newsletter content is exclusive to my subscribers, but I do post my Monthly Favorites series here.
Design KOUS
Beginner level
Every single product produced by Design KOUS is impeccable, but I have to say that as basic beginner kits go, this has to be my favorite. (And that muslin bag is worth the price in itself, am I right?!)
Rodolfo & Aspacia Kusulas are the brother-sister duo behind Design KOUS. Aspacia is a modern calligraphy teacher who is offers classes in English and Spanish.
Free. All levels.
For bite-sized lessons and inspiration, the Calligraphy Masters YouTube channel is the place to go. If you want to chill out and just watch renowned artists draw beautiful letters, this is the perfect outlet for that. But you’ll also find tutorials, interviews, and product reviews that make this a fantastic (and free) resource.
Modern Calligraphy Practice Pads / Written Word Calligraphy
Beginner to Advanced
Karla Lim of Written Word Calligraphy has some of the best ink-on-paper modern calligraphy sheets around. These spiral-bound pads not only have individual letter exemplars, but practice exercises for words and connector strokes as well. They’re printed on reliable calligraphy practice paper, and feature blank vellum sheets between the printed pages for additional practice.
Free • All levels
The International Association of Master Penmen, Engravers, and Teachers of Handwriting (better known as IAMPETH) is a fantastic resource for learning traditional calligraphy styles. Their website has an extensive archive of free lessons and tools.
Left-handed calligraphers might want to bookmark this page because the collection of lessons for lefties is second-to-none.
Copperplate Practice Pads / Logos Calligraphy
Beginner to Advanced
Younghae Chung, the calligrapher behind Logos Calligraphy, is known for making Copperplate look effortless. Spots in her classes are always in high demand, so it was wonderful to see her come out with this Copperplate Practice Pad Duo, so we can all learn her fresh, flourished style from home.
Calligraphic Drawing / Schine Loong
Early Intermediate to Advanced
Schin Loong is the calligrapher behind Open Ink Stand. Her ornate, flourished designs are jaw-dropping. If you don’t follow her work already, stop everything and do it now: @openinkstand.
I was so excited when Schin released her book, Calligraphic Drawing. It’s worth getting purely as eye candy, but for those wanting to learn, Schin breaks the process down, making it a great book for anyone who already has even a little familiarity with pointed dip pens.
Full disclosure: this post contains some affiliate links. Proceeds from these help me to continue producing free content and maintaining Calligrafile. My dedication to providing you with my top-recommended resources is not affected by these affiliate associations.
