Resource List for Learning Calligraphy and Hand Lettering
After a 2-month hiatus I’m finally practicing my calligraphy and hand lettering again. I have been feeling uninspired for a while and just put off practicing totally and it was, of course, a terrible mistake. I was reminded of my tagline for the year which is Pursue Passion, Not Perfection and decided to start practicing again and sharing some of my works even when they are far from perfect.
I’ve also been thinking about sharing a resource list for learning calligraphy and hand lettering in Singapore because I have been receiving a number of queries on this topic. I remember when I was first picking up calligraphy and hand lettering, I was totally clueless what supplies I should start with and where to get them. Hence, I’ve decided to spend some time drafting this post to share with anyone who is thinking of learning calligraphy and hand lettering. I also thought it will be easier for me to drop this link when someone asks me about learning calligraphy and hand lettering rather than typing out all my recommendations haphazardly!
I will be sharing the resource list in 2 parts, modern (or pointed pen) calligraphy and brush lettering (or brush calligraphy), because they require rather different supplies. I picked up pointed pen calligraphy first and moved on to brush calligraphy, which I thought was more intimidating. After trying brush calligraphy, I really grew to love it because it is more forgiving and I love the organic look that water color gives. More about that later. For now, let’s dive write in!
Modern/ Pointed Pen Calligraphy
For pointed pen calligraphy, your writing instrument will be a pen holder, a nib and a pot of ink. You will also need suitable paper to write on. Here’s my recommended list:
| Items | Recommended for Beginners | Remarks |
| Pen Holder | Speedball Pen Holder | I’m a right-hander and I use the oblique holder which I find more comfortable since we write in a slant.
I must say being a plastic pen holder, this isn’t the most comfortable pen holder to use for long hours of practicing. It is good to have in a starter kit because it is less pricey. I now prefer using the wooden oblique pen holders which I received last Christmas. |
| Nibs | Nikko G Nibs | Nikko G nibs are widely recommended as the best nibs for beginners as they have medium flexibility and are easier to control for beginners experimenting with the amount of pressure to apply. |
| Ink | Sumi Ink/ Higgins Eternal | Both are great to use, but I find Sumi ink leaving a shinier sheen when it dries compared to Higgins. |
| Paper | Layout Bond Paper/ HP Premium Choice Laser 32lb | To practice pointed pen calligraphy you will want to make sure that you are doing it on smooth paper that doesn’t catch your nibs and doesn’t bleed with the ink you use. I like using layout bond paper for practicing as they are semi-transparent which works great if you are starting out because you can place a template beneath the sheet and concentrate on practicing your strokes.
Another highly recommended paper choice is the HP Premium Choice Laser 32lb – super smooth and really value for money! You can easily print guides and templates on it for practicing too. |
My small collection of pen holders
My little box of nibs
NIKKO G Nib
Higgins Eternal
Papers that I use to practise pointed pen calligraphy
Layering the practice guide below the semi-transparent layout bond paper
All these items can be easily found at Strait Arts Co. (my favourite place to shop for calligraphy needs) and Amazon. The last time I visited Artfriend some months ago, I noticed they also carry some calligraphy nibs but you have to ask the cashier/ counter staff about it before they bring out the box.
Brush Calligraphy/ Lettering
My current obsession is with brush calligraphy/ lettering and have been practicing this a lot more often than my pointed pen calligraphy. For brush calligraphy/ lettering, I’ll further separate it into 2 types – Brush Marker and Watercolour.
Brush Marker Calligraphy
| Items | Recommended for Beginners | Remarks |
| Brush Marker | Zig Brushables (Popular – Marine Parade, Tokyu Hands)
Tombow Dual Brush Pens (Times Bookstore – Punggol Waterway Point; Takashimaya S.C. – B1 stationary section) |
I have mostly been using my Zig Brushables sets for my brush lettering because I love how each sets comes in a gradient of colours which makes blending easy. It was also more easily available when I was first trying out brush lettering.
Tombow Dual Brush Pens are featured on many of the brush lettering tutorials I watch on IG and Youtube. I’ve been wanting to try them but they were not readily available in the past. I’ve recently spotted them being sold at Takashimaya so I finally bought a set!I now prefer the Tombow brushes because its easier to create distinct thin and thick strokes compared to the Zig Brushables. UPDATE: TIMES Bookstore at Waterway Point now sells Tombow Bush Pens as well! They are sold in sets and also individually. |
| Paper | Muji Note Pads | Actually, any paper will do. But I love how smooth Muji notepads are and I just love using them to practice my brush lettering. I sometimes use my bond paper as well which is especially useful when I’m trying to finalize my layout. I’ll place a sheet over my current layout and trace/ go over it while making the necessary adjustments. |
Zig Brushables
Zig Brushables
Tombow Dual Brush in Muted Palette
Tombow Dual Brush
Zig Brushables vs Tomboy Dual Brush
Different papers for practising brush marker lettering
Watercolour Brush Calligraphy
| Items | Recommended for Beginners | Remarks |
| Watercolour | Children’s Watercolour Set (those that you can easily get at Popular)/ Prang Watercolour Set (which I received when I went for a brush lettering class. If any of you know where it’s sold in Sg, let me know!) | There are MANY different types and grades of watercolour and they come with different price tags. As a beginner, I started off with a watercolour set bought from Popular (because I had ZERO knowledge about watercolour). I’m glad because it’s really cheap and I didn’t feel like I’m “wasting” precious resources when I first started practicing.
I received a Prang watercolour palette when I attended a workshop and love its creamy texture and intense colours. I’ve recently just bought a Winsor&Newton Cotman Watercolors set and love the richness of the colours and the variety of colours that you can get by blending. It is more pricey so I typically use it for my custom orders or when I want to achieve specific colours. |
| Brush | Round brushes in Size 00 or 000/ Water Brush Pen (e.g. Pental Aquash) | Personally, I use the water brush pens a lot more often than I use the watercolour brushes. I find the water brush pens to be easier to control with the firmer nylon brush tips. |
| Paper | 140lb Watercolour Paper | You basically need a paper that is heavy enough to absorb the water that you will be applying on it so that it will not crumple and warp.
For practice and layout, I use drawing paper (in A5 size) which I bought from Popular because it doesn’t crumple too badly and is cheaper than watercolour paper. If you are using a watercolour paper, make sure its at least 140lb. You can choose between hot-press or cold press paper depending on the feel you prefer. Hot press are better for scanning since it is smooth while cold press, with its textures, is lovely as final artworks (gives a more organic feel IMO). |
Written with children’s water-colour set
Written with Prang Watercolour Palette
Written with Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolours – just look at how rich the colours are!
Watercolour Paper and Sketch Pad
Difference in using watercolour on watercolour paper vs sketch pad
Difference in using watercolour on watercolour paper vs sketch pad
Woohoo! It feels great looking at this post because I’ve been wanting to put all this information down proper for a long time!
There really isn’t any hard and fast rule on what you should use or start off with so it’s really about trial and error to see what you are most comfortable with. These resources are what I personally use and what I understand to be useful for beginners who are trying to have a go at learning calligraphy and hand lettering in Singapore. If you have more resources to share with us or some of your favorite supplies that you would like to recommend, I would love to hear about it in the comment below because I am still exploring and trying out new mediums and ways to improve!
I hope that this post is useful for any of you who are trying to pick up calligraphy or hand lettering. If there are any more information you would like to know or even to share with all of us, drop me a comment too! I am thinking of doing a Part 2 to this post focusing on blogs, Instagram profiles, e-courses and physical workshops you can check out to learn and improve on calligraphy and hand lettering. So keep a look out for that too!
Free Printable for Download
I created this artwork last weekend as I was preparing for Laurent’s Teacher’s Day presents. I really liked how it turn out and thought it will be a nice little gift for my lovely readers who appreciate my creations and have been giving me such wonderful words of encouragement whenever I post my hand lettering works. To download a copy of this artwork, simple head over to this link and sign up for my newsletter, so that I can continue to reach out to you at a more personal level and have an even to send you nice little freebies whenever I can. This print will only be available for free download for a short period of time so do sign up soon!
UPDATE:
The above printable is no longer available for download. I offer a new free printable every month so click on this link to sign up for my newsletter to get them monthly!
Susan
August 31, 2016 at 9:33 amThis is a great resource list for beginners! Thanks and I’ll be so keen to learn from you too 🙂
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:45 pmThank you for appreciating this, Susan!! I would love to hold a workshop/ sharing session. Let me work out the details and get back to you!
Kelsey
August 31, 2016 at 7:57 pmI’d love to take a workshop to learn calligraphy and hand writing! This post is a great start for me, but I hope to join future workshops with you.
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:44 pmThank you so much for the kind words Kelsey! I hope I work out the details to holding a workshop/ sharing session soon! Just leave me a comment if you have any questions for now 😉
Katie McC
September 1, 2016 at 9:45 pmLove this post! Going to send it to my sister who is super interested in learning calligraphy!
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:43 pmAwesome! Thanks Katie, hope she’ll find this useful!!
Hollyjean
September 9, 2016 at 9:53 amSo beautiful! Wish I did this with my wedding invites! I used a pen to write the names of guests on my beautiful invites and it turned out looking shitty
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:43 pmLOL! I wish I did this for MY wedding tooo hahaha I wrote those names like they were for my primary school compo book… sigh…
Jacqualine
September 9, 2016 at 10:00 amThe Brushable markers look really great!! I meant to give calligraphy a go, but I can never seem to find the time to attend classes and such. I think I will go check out Popular to get a set of Brushables to play with!! Thanks for sharing, this is so fun!!!
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:41 pmHi Jac!! I love the colours that Brushables come in! Go get them, watch some videos on Youtube/ Instagram and get started 😉 I’m always here to help if you need to check anything!
Mummy C
September 9, 2016 at 10:07 amLovely! Think the last time I did this was in sec sch..tqvm for sharing such detailed information!!
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:38 pmYou are most welcome! I really wish I was exposed to this in school like many of you!
Pooja Kawatra
September 9, 2016 at 11:51 amAre you going to give any classes to us? This looks superb and surely not so easy but it will make a beautiful handmade cards and notes to loved one.
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:38 pmYes, I love giving hand-lettered pieces away as gifts now because they make really personal and meaningful presents! I would love to hold a sharing session of sorts and I’m working out some details! Would you be keen to join? 🙂
Ai Sakura
September 9, 2016 at 12:22 pmYou’ve such a gift!! I wanted to pick up calligraphy too a while back but didn’t know where to start. Thank you for this post 🙂
Ai @ Sakura Haruka
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:36 pmThank you for your kind words, Ai! Hope you find this post useful and I can’t wait to see your creations too!
Shub
September 9, 2016 at 3:13 pmHow beautiful!!! I used to do a bit of calligraphy in school days…Must pick up the threads again..
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:35 pmThank you Shub!! So nice that you get to learn it in school! Wish I was exposed to it during my school days 🙂
Ling Ling
September 12, 2016 at 11:50 amThanks for the lovely post, have the feel to rekindle my passion for calligraphy! Will pop by a bookshop to buy the pens.
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:34 pmYou’re welcome, Ling Ling! I look forward to seeing your creations!
Jenn-mylilbookworm
September 13, 2016 at 8:19 amLovely, Dawn! Always love seeing those pixs you posted on IG. It is indeed very therapeutic to practise calligraphy.
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:33 pmAww thank you Jenn! Yes I really enjoy working on them 🙂 Glad you enjoy looking at them too 😀
Katherine
September 13, 2016 at 11:14 amI love the calligraphy you did! They are so beautiful!
daprayerfp@gmail.com
September 20, 2016 at 3:32 pmThank you so much for the compliments!
Ali
January 22, 2017 at 6:26 pmHello! May I know where I can find the HP Premium Choice 32lb paper in Singapore? 🙂
daprayerfp@gmail.com
March 30, 2017 at 2:03 pmHi Ali, HP actually listed it on their SG website but they just confirmed with their warehouse that they are no longer carrying it 🙁
A Review of 2016 and the Lessons from It - Daprayer
February 14, 2017 at 11:54 am[…] spent a long time preparing a blog post on calligraphy & hand lettering tools and was greeted with such appreciative comments about the post. That was when I actually felt […]
Joelle
March 11, 2017 at 4:16 pmHello, may I know where you get the hp paper from? I tried a few shops none of them carries it…
daprayerfp@gmail.com
March 30, 2017 at 2:02 pmHi Joelle, HP actually listed it on their SG website but they just confirmed with their warehouse that they are no longer carrying it 🙁