Fine Writing Tools
- Fine writing is a unique skill.fountain pen #3 image by Adam Borkowski from Fotolia.com
Fine writing, also called calligraphy, is the production of beautiful fonts and scripts--the transformation of letters themselves into a visual art. With foundations in religious texts and educated literature throughout history, calligraphy today is practiced in such varied fields as advertising and logo design for businesses, wedding invitations, personal signatures, and artistic self-expression. It's not taught in schools, it's not a well known discipline, but it's a rich tradition perfect for those seeking something unique. - Of course the implement around which all fine writing is based is the pen. Calligraphy pens are a specialized and refined subset and are not normal pens. Look for kits that will supply you with several pen bodies as well as their screw-on "nibs," the writing tip itself. Look for nib grades of "fine," "medium," and "broad," to give yourself maximum flexibility. The goal is to create clean lines. The Sheaffer brand offers traditional calligraphy pen examples including fountain pens and rollerball pens of high quality, whereas Faber-Castell offers pens in different styles, such as felt-tip, to go along with more exotic color choices.
- Coming in cartridges that you place inside your calligraphy pen or in dip wells for your pen nibs, calligraphy inks come in many colors and textures. There is water-based liquid ink for the most standard applications, and oil- and gel-based, as well as India ink, for more unusual effects. Whether you're designing new ways to write the alphabet in your very own fonts, or stylized logos with the intent to sell your creations, or learning to write beautifully as an art in and of itself, experiment with the effects different colors and textures of ink can posses. Use gel-based ink for a glossy effect, for instance, or India for a shadowy one. Use certain colors to give tints along the backs of letters, or to draw contrast between different areas of text.
- Calligraphy isn't just writing. As Annie Cicale observes in "The Art & Craft of Hand Lettering: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration," calligraphy, especially nowadays, as more and more arts move online and the physical aspect is lost, is a means of personalization and representation. Even letters themselves can be made eye-catching and unique, in a world that often tries to gloss over these things and see the next page turned. Take pride in calligraphy as an art, express yourself in it, and sell something to businesses or font producers or graphic design studios, too. Practice at your art with calligraphy markers, which are built specifically for this purpose, being less precise than calligraphy pens. Use calligraphy markers to quickly jot down your bursts of creativity and random calligraphic thoughts, trying original designs and new script shapes on the fly.
