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Fun Faux Calligraphy for Everyone…

faux-calligraphy-tutorial

Love at First Sight…

I can hardly believe I took my first calligraphy class 40 years ago… and it was love at first sight! It was traditional calligraphy in those days… starting with classic italic and working slowly into uncials and blackletter. And I loved every bit of it.  What I loved most of all… was that I had just become a Christian and I was so in love with the Lord and His Word… that to discover this amazing art form in which to write out the scriptures that were so transforming my life every single day was truly a gift from God and helped me to write His Word on my heart as well as on paper.

Traditional to Trendy…

The traditional calligraphy that I studied so long ago laid a foundation for the modern calligraphy that is so trendy today and modern calligraphy has opened the door to faux or “fake” calligraphy for those who don’t want to spend hours and hours practicing and yet want the “look” of calligraphy but in their own style.
I personally love using faux calligraphy for it’s freedom and ease to fit in any size space in a fun and playful way and I hope this little tutorial encourages you to discover your own personal expression of beautiful hand-lettered words to use in your own art and to share with others.

JOY JOY JOY…

One of my favorite words is joy… for the joy of the Lord is our strength… so let’s use it for our example.

The first thing you want to do is to write joy… or the word of your choice… in your own handwriting.

joy-01 

Next… you want to add thickness to your letters and mimic the lines made with a traditional calligraphy nib. So on those lines you created with a downward stroke of your pen you want to add a double line as shown below.

joy-02

And now just fill in that double line and you have a fun faux calligraphy letter style that is uniquely yours because it’s written with your own personal handwriting.

joy-03

Of course, the more you take your time and practice the better you’ll get at this and the more fun you’ll have with it. And even with practice… none of us are perfect… so remember that one really nice thing about faux calligraphy is that you can use the thickening of your letters in this style to straighten out and smooth edges you don’t like and it will clean them up a bit. And now you’re ready to add your own beautiful faux calligraphy hand-lettering to your Bible art journaling, crafting and everywhere else you want to add an encouraging word!

Free Alphabet Practice Sheet

I created a free lower case alphabet for you to print and use to practice this hand-lettering technique. You can get yours here in the Hidden Treasures Printable Library.  I prefer using Micron pens… this one is an 05 and I use the smaller size micron pens for my line work… but a fine tip Sharpie will work just fine.

faux-calligraphy-practice-sheet

Mix It Up

Just in case you hadn’t noticed… I love combining letter styles in my art! Mixing it up with faux calligraphy,  printing, and block letters adds interest and layers of fun. Here’s just one example:

enjoy-the-journey-example

Hope my little tutorial has been helpful. For more inspiration on hand-lettering and faux calligraphy visit my Pinterest boards on Bible Journaling here and on Lettering here.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. = You & Your Artwork & Encouragment = have been SUCH a “steady” for me… For the past 15 years, I’ve been a stay at home mom with 3 children (all less than 2yrs apart, g r i n! ) as my husband travelled a bunch.

    You were/are a BEACON OF warmth to me!!!

    • Lettering is a challenge for me so these tips will help! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us!

    • This is EXACTLY what I needed to discover my own style! What a blessing, and joy to have my own script. God has blessed you with the gift of encouragement – truly! Oh, and by the way, I thoroughly enjoy seeing you at Silver Dollar City. Cathy T

  3. Happy Birthday! I also took a calligraphy class about 35 years ago. I have always enjoyed words. Thank you for sharing your gifts and insights!

  4. WOW! Karla, thank you for sharing your God-gifts of artistry! Some of us may be ‘challenged’ in this area, yet are blessed because we can giving others the gifts of your talent (books, cards, etc.) Thank you, Precious One, for being obedient to God’s call upon your life.:)

  5. Thank you so much for the Faux Calligraphy practice page. It has been my plan for sometime to learn calligraphy–this will give me the push I need.

  6. Happy Birthday, Karla! May God richly bless you all throughout this coming year! I love your new website! So helpful to have these step by step instructions from colors to calligraphy to journaling. Thank you for this gift of sharing!

  7. Thanks for the instructions! Our girls are always making cards for family and friends and I know they will love to try this! They have one of your prints in their bedroom that we purchased from you at Silver Dollar City last year. It is so pretty!

  8. Your drawings are beautiful and your lettering is second to none. When I was finishing college in 1999, I worked in a huge Christian bookstore in South Alabama. When someone would ask for a gift, I would always direct them to anything and everything by Karla Dornacher. You are such a blessing and I love the emails. Keep doing what you’re doing!

  9. I love the simplicity of the faux calligraphy by just embellishing my own handwriting style.

  10. Very helpful tutorial! I immediately tried it out and am excited by the results. I started calligraphy about 30 years ago, but switched to digital design, largely for speed. Thanks so much for all your kindness and beauty that you add to the world! Love your new website look so clean and welcoming!

  11. Oh my gosh! This is so helpful for me (besides being beautiful lettering)! Since my brain surgeries, handwriting is difficult for me. If I want to write a letter or in a card, I’ve discovered that using a practice sheet first helps temporarily train my hand to write better for that project. I will be making many copies of the chart. Thank you!

  13. Caligraphy was one of my first loves in high school. Your new website is beyond wonderful. You and the Lord make an amazing team. I have loved your art for years and every time I open a “note” from you I am inspired and encouraged all over again. Happy belated birthday, Karla. Many blessings to you as you have blessed so many of us.

  14. I learned calligraphy in one of my classes in high school but of course I can’t remember a thing. Glad I can try faux calligraphy.

  21. I’ve always loved your calligraphy and so appreciate your tricks and tips. Can’t wait to spend some time practicing!! Thanks, Karla!

  22. Karla,
    Thank you for the tutorial. I hope I can learn and improve as time goes by, to do this type of lettering.

  24. Thank you for this! Have always loved lettering, this makes me want to get back at it! Thank you for sharing your gift with us!

  31. You make it look so easy and wonderfully beautiful.I have tried different techniques but none come out as beautiful as yours. You truly have a god given talent.

  33. Karla, I too, love calligraphy! Thanks so much for the instruction and all of the hints. As a Christian, your work is so special to me and plan on using it often in my Sunday school class, bible studies and women’s ministry Thank you!!!!!!!!

  35. Hello Sister in Christ,
    I actually think this Faux lettering will be doable. Thank you for the tutorial.

  36. This article immediately made me think of my sister. She and I love your work and we were just talking about writing in different styles the other day. I will be sure to pass this on! Happy Birthday Month Karla!

  42. Love, love, love!!! I have no artistic talent and yearn for it!! Thank you for tips, tricks and making me feel like maybe I can unearth a smidgeon of ability!!!

  43. I love this faux calligraphy. It looked ok so easy but I know I will need your practice sheets. Thank your for showing us how to do it and use out own handwriting. I’m so excited about my next project.

    Marilyn

  46. I can hardly believe all the things you have posted, Karla! It’s all so timely and I’m SO excited! I too, took my first calligraphy class about 50 years ago. But it was a really fancy Old English style. I’ve so wanted to learn the more modern calligraphy and I took a local class several months ago, only to be very, very disappointed in the way it was taught & the content of the class. Now here I find you teaching it the right way! I look forward to trying it out.
    Thanks so very much!

  47. Thank you so much for this tutorial! Prettier handwriting is a goal for me and I appreciate your willingness to share your talent!

  48. I can’t seem to find the sheet with the lower case letters to practice. I went to the link and couldn’t find it. Thank you!

    • Hi Leslie… thank you for letting me know! Not sure what happened but it’s back in the Hidden Treasures Printable Library now!! Have fun lettering!

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