Create Beautiful Copperplate Calligraphy With A Brush Pen
Creating copperplate style calligraphy with a brush pen is totally possible and can be gorgeous.
So far we have had a major look at how the strokes differ from copperplate to modern day calligraphy, as well as what copperplate even means and how to make it. So if you haven’t checked out that post make sure you do here because it’s pretty important to have a read of that before moving on here.
Today we are going to have a first look at some of the lowercase letters: o, e, c, s, a and d.
The Lowercase O
If you have created the oval stroke then the letter o should be the simplest stroke to get the hang of.
Step One: What you want to do is create an entry stroke using a thin upstroke from the baseline to where the left side of the oval will be.
Step Two: Next create your oval stroke so that the left of the oval is touching the entry stroke.
Step Three: Next create a mini version of an underturn stroke from the top of the oval’s right side, reaching out so that we can connect it to the next letter.
Then you’re done!
The Lowercase E
There’s two options creating the e, and knowing the oval stroke comes in handy with both options.
Option One – Traditional Dip Pen & Ink Method
Even though this is the dip pen method, there’s nothing stopping you from creating the lowercase e this way with your brush pen to get the same effect.
Step One: Both options start with an entry stroke created with a thin upstroke from the baseline.
Step Two: The first option is often created with the dip pen and ink, rather than with a brush pen. This is where we start at the top, curve around to the right, and finish the stroke halfway up the x height.
Step Three: Start back at the top again and create a smaller loop down to the right to create the oval in the e. This gives that side a little thickness and dimension.
Option Two – Brush Pen Method
Step One: Both options start with an entry stroke created with a thin upstroke from the baseline.
Step Two: Next we create the e as we would normally when writing. In one stroke, start from the middle of the x height, curve up to the top and around, becoming a thick stroke as you reach down to the baseline, and then transition to a thin stroke again up and around. Finish the stroke halfway up the x height.
Step Three: Next we want to go back up to the top of the e, and add a little bit of thickness to the small loop by going back over it with a little bit of pressure.
The Lowercase C
This is another letter that should be relatively simple once you’ve practiced the oval stroke.
Step One: Start once again with an entry stroke created with a thin upstroke from the baseline.
Step Two: The trickiest part of this letter is the small dot where the body of the c starts. Create the dot by outlining it with your brush pen first (using next to no pressure) and then fill it in. This dot shouldn’t be too big or else it will distract from the beauty of the overall letter.
Step Three: Next starting at the top right part of the dot, we create the body of the letter c. It’s created basically the same as cursive handwriting, but since we are using a brush pen the left side should be a little thicker. Finish the letter half way up the x height.
Don’t forget to follow the slant lines for these letters.
The Lowercase S
In modern calligraphy the letter s is taught with a variety of shapes and details which makes each letter s quite different.
Step One: You guessed it: an entry stroke! Once again lead in with a light thin stroke but make sure it goes all the way up to the top of the x height.
Step Two: Next create a curvy stroke down and around, as a mini version of the uppercase stroke (find out more about that stroke here). With this step it’s totally ok to start slightly above the top of the x height, and we want to finish by curving upwards to nearly touch the entry stroke.
Step Three: Lastly we want to add a small dot on the edge, by outlining it first and then filling it in. This dot needs to be quite small to not distract from the overall letter.
These two letters are really similar to each other so I’m just going to group them together.
Step One: Start with an entry stroke for both letters starting from the baseline, as per usual.
Step Two: Next we create an oval stroke on the right of the entry stroke.
Step Three: This is the only part where the letters a and d differ, but only slightly. Create an underturn stroke for both letters, but the only difference is where the underturn stroke begins. For the letter a the stroke is normal, spanning the full length of the x height.
The underturn stroke in the letter d actually begins at the top of the first ascender space, and heads all the way down to the x height and touches the beaseline before curving around and up, finishing half way up the x height.
Because we are using an underturn stroke don’t forget to square off the edges to match the lines.
When you sign up you also get access to the resource library which has plenty of free worksheets for you to practice your brush calligraphy on. Another option is to grab the practice pages booklet which includes all the strokes, uppercase and lowercase alphabet before I even finish the articles about it. The worksheets are available here for $10AUD.
Until next time, keep creating!
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