Calligraphy Alphabet

The number of calligraphy alphabets is astounding. There are many different styles of calligraphy that you could learn and the difficulty varies. Some alphabets are fairly simple and are recommended for beginners, but there are some that are recommended only for experienced calligraphers.

One of the alphabets most often recommended for beginners is the Uncial alphabet. This style has many variations and is a fun alphabet to learn. Many calligraphers start with the Uncial alphabet because of its flexibility. Uncial letters can either be broad, single stroke letters or multi-stroke letters with flourishes. Try this Online Calligraphy Lesson for simple instructions on Uncial calligraphy.

Uncial is also similar to the Roundhead alphabet. Another common beginning calligraphy alphabet is the Italic alphabet or some version of Italic. Here is a site that offers clear instructions on learning Chancery Cursive, a simple variation of Italic. This site also offers beginning and intermediate lessons on the more complicated Gothic style.

The Gothic alphabet is much more angular and has many more flourishes than the basic Uncial and Italic styles. Gothic is usually very difficult to read so it is usually only used for decoration. This style is difficult to master, but can be very beautiful.

Some other intermediate calligraphy styles are Half-Uncial, a Celtic style used in the famous Book of Kells. Also Foundational, which was developed in the 20^th century.
A more advanced style of the calligraphy alphabet is Copperplate style. This is difficult for most calligraphers because of the thin lines and many flourishes required. To make any style of calligraphy more difficult simply add many flourishes. Although it can be difficult, adding flourishes makes your work stand out.

Originally, alphabets were only written in majuscules, or uppercase, letters. Later on minuscules, or lowercase, letters were developed. Some calligraphy alphabets are primarily taught in majuscules either because minuscules versions have not been made or are not readily available.

An advanced calligraphy alphabet style is "shadowing." This technique is used to focus on the negative space created by only drawing the outlines of the letters. Often used with the Gothic style because of its complexity, shadowing can be used with any calligraphy alphabet.

There is a lot of information available about calligraphy alphabets. Check out your local library for more information about calligraphy and calligraphy alphabets. Your local bookstore may also have information available. There are also many websites that give information as well as lessons on calligraphy.