Calligraphy for Dummies

This book is well laid out & is easy to follow. It is very well explained which enhances the joy of learning Calligraphy. The information about the basic pens & equipment that you may need is very good & all at a reasonable price. I am impressed with this product & although my journey has just started I feel confident that if you are considering taking Calligraphy up as a pastime / hobby or indeed an art form you will not be disappointed with this product. If you suffer from writers cramp ( like I do ). Through this Book I now understand how to practice Technics that reduce and control writers cramp, If you reads my review I hope this helps you to make an informed choice.

This (like all the '... for dummies' series) is a great source of information and instruction. Definitely the best place to start with calligraphy. My only complaint is that not all of the websites identified in the book are still accessible. A website identified within the book as providing downloads of practice sheets is no longer available - and practice sheets are really needed for calligraphy. Trying to photocopy from the book itself is not ideal. Otherwise, brilliant book and the author really knows his stuff. I would definitely recommend

Having just commenced working with calligraphy as a hobby (and mindful practice), I started watching several helpful videos online. But I was looking for something more comprehensive, and this book came up as a recommendation. Overall, everything is well explained, including using the right materials, selecting the appropriate pens, setting up your drawing board, and thinking about your posture and position to get the best out of Calligraphy. Several scripts are covered, and the exercise lessons plus the practice pages make this a useful resource for the beginner. Part IV of the book introduces projects to which this visual art of writing can be applied. I still have much to learn, but "Calligraphy for Dummies" has provided me with a helpful start.

What an excellent book ! I have hunted for months for a good calligraphy book and most reviews weren’t clear on contents. I took a chance on this book and I am not disappointed. It is full of good and useful information for newbies and some “funky” alphabets for us intermediary peeps. You might not want to write in the book therefore you can always trace or photocopy the pages as most printers today have a photocopy option ! A really good price and very well written and explained book.

I have read quite a few Dummies books and have always got what I needed from the text. This book is no exception as it has already assisted me with my calligraphy. That said, you always have to work hard at the exercises in the text of any dummies book to make progress as there are no real short cuts to mastering the topics. The information you need is presented in a clear manner and the exercises will get you up and running - oh sorry I mean writing - fairly quickly. I also bought my dip pens and ink from Amazon so you can get it all from one place!

This is a very good value book, it has a host of information, very in-depth and will possibly take you a month to get through it.

Brilliant! I have horrible handwriting. I have always had horrible handwriting. And in spite of somehow winning both spelling and writing competitions at school about a hundred years ago, I have always despised my handwriting. Others have related there is nothing wrong with my handwriting over the years, but as I am neither stupid or blind, I have inevitably discounted such comments and plaudits with disdain. What made matters considerably worse during my schooldays and forever thereafter was the fact my English master had the most beautiful handwriting I have still ever seen! He wrote in a classic calligraphy style, but at a speed I could barely even comprehend! Thus, I blame this poor man for my ingrained psychological problem entirely! Then I espied this book on the site, and hope rose in my heart. And although only having received the tome fairly recently, my handwriting has already become more pleasing to the eye. I know this is not supposed to be a handwriting book, but I care not a jot. It has helped me, and my calligraphy is coming on in leaps and bounds. Concise, Well written and very supportive in most regards, I cannot believe anyone wishing to practice calligraphy could do much better to begin with. Highly recommended.

Easy to follow

Buen libro es plica perfecto

Ho preso questo libro per cimentarmi nell'arte calligrafica sperando di migliorare anche la mia scrittura. L'approccio utilizzato nel libro è molto pratico. Nel libro sono proposti molti esercizi ed è consigliato fotocopiare le pagine di esempio ed utilizzarle per esercitarsi. Libro consigliato.

Wow!!!! I am a complete beginner. This book has been incredibly helpful and thorough! Well worth the money! This book taught me that: one can use Italic style in everyday handwriting, it is the most useful style one can learn, it's easy and first you should practice it with a regular pen or marker making it easy for most people to become really proficient in doing calligraphy. The author even devoted an entire section of the book to the italic style. This was incredibly helpful and important!!! However, the author teaches many styles, giving tips and tricks along the way. Another very important part of the book that was incredibly helpful was teaching and giving practice points for basic strokes and how one can use those by putting them together to form all the alphabet lettering. This book also dives into fancy lettering as well. I can not praise this book enough!!! It is easy to follow, use and apply and practice.

Just got my hand on it and contains everything I’ve been searching for. It’s a good start for all beginners.

Very solid calligraphy reference. Contains good tips & easy to read. Mainly uses a cheap Manuscript calligraphy pen for examples, but also includes instructions for dip pens , including oblique dip pens. Mentions brush pens. Has a lot of practice pages in back. I own about 30 calligraphy books and wish this had been my first. It isn't pretty, but it is stuffed with good information & I instructions.