Pointed Pen Calligraphy for Beginners

This two-day workshop will introduce students to the basics of pointed-pen calligraphy. The goal of this workshop is not to make you a master calligrapher, but to teach basic principles of letterform construction, rhythm, and spacing.

We will start with the basic Roman lowercase, and (time permitting) will evolve through the uppercase to Italics. The pointed nib produces highly contrasted letters, found in so-called “Modern” typefaces like Didot and Bodoni.

Required Materials
• pointed nib, such as Speedball C6
• nib holder
• semi-transparent, smooth paper, such as Canson Marker, 70g
• black gouache (can be shared among students)
• pointed brush to fill the nib
• simple containers or small dishes for water, mixing gouache, etc.

A workshop offered by Type@Cooper West, a collaboration between Letterform Archive and The Cooper Union Continuing Education Department, and held in the Monotype Classroom at Letterform Archive.