Learn Calligraphy Online for Free

Hey everyone! This is the page I will be posting all my free calligraphy tutorial videos for beginners. I hope this will be the place that people can learn calligraphy free for people who have never touched a calligraphy pen. However, I have created a step-by-step written tutorial for beginners here showing what kinds of calligraphy are available to learn and can point you in the direction of what tools you will need to accomplish them. Otherwise you can begin learning calligraphy with things you already have. If you fancy yourself as a crafty person you can even make a calligraphy pen.

if you would like to see a road map of all the different calligraphy styles, check out this post here: Learn Calligraphy Roadmap

My educational videos are sorted into the following categories:

Pencil & Pen Calligraphy Videos

Part 1: Intro to Gothic Calligraphy – How to Learn Blackletter Calligraphy with Pencils

This video is a great start to learning blackletter calligraphy free (more videos on that below). This is for beginners that don’t have the calligraphy tools yet but are eager to learn. It will teach you how to make blackletter strokes and that you don’t necessarily need special tools to get started with calligraphy.
Difficulty:★★☆☆☆

Part 2: Full Gothic Alphabet – How to Learn Blackletter Calligraphy with Pencils

Part 2 of the pencil calligraphy series. This time the video includes a full Gothic alphabet to follow along with. If you want more of a written instruction check out my getting started with blackletter calligraphy page. If you want pictures of the letters I have included them below for your reference. 🙂

Difficulty:★★☆☆☆

Part 3: Uncial Blackletter Script – How to Learn Blackletter Calligraphy with Pencils

Part 3 of the pencil calligraphy series. This time with a full Uncial alphabet to follow along with. This is also known as the “Lord of the Rings” script which is a great alphabet to add to your repertoire.

Difficulty:★★☆☆☆

How to Learn Brush Calligraphy with Pencils: Faux Calligraphy

So if you are new to calligraphy and don’t have the tools, this is the video for you. It allows you to simulate brush calligraphy by using a style of bubble letters called “Faux Calligraphy.” You are basically drawing the outlines of brush calligraphy and then colouring it in. Learning Monoline calligraphy (aka cursive) first would help you build out your “skeleton” of your letters. Once you get the hang of the alphabet you can maybe move into getting a brush pen that will be more consistent.
Difficulty:★☆☆☆☆

How to Learn Copperplate Calligraphy with a Pencil

Difficulty:★★★★☆

Copperplate calligraphy is a trickier script than you think. There is a lot of consistency and rules that need to be adhered to. However, this video is a great way to get started on learning basic strokes and letter structure to maybe one day learn the pointed pen version.

How to Learn Monoline Calligraphy with a Fountain Pen

Difficulty:★☆☆☆☆

Did you know Monoline calligraphy is a synonym for cursive writing?! In this video you can use a ballpoint pen or fountain pen. Some Fountain pens do not flex and have a small tip, allowing for smooth writing but unable to do dynamic strokes like the pointed pen.

Blackletter Calligraphy Videos

How to Learn Calligraphy Online for Free: Simple Gothic Lowercase

Difficulty:★★☆☆☆

This was the first calligraphy tutorial video I recorded and it covers a little Gothic alphabet I created. It is called “Simple Gothic” and covers all the basics of blackletter calligraphy, but removes all complicated strokes that can be learned later. This video is for learning what makes up a letter and the proper names of letter structure. After a couple very quick tips on holding the pen and basic strokes I jump right into the Gothic minuscules alphabet (which means lowercase). The tutorial is not in alphabetical order but rather have been grouped into 5 categories and then ordered from simplest to more complicated

1. “Plain” Beginner Letters (2 strokes or less) – i, r, c, e
2. “Plain” Letters Multi Stroke (More than 2 strokes) – o, a, u, n, m, v, w
3. Descenders (Letters that descend or go below the bottom line) – j, y, g, p, q
4. Ascenders (Letters that ascend or rise above the top line) – l, t, f, g, b, d
5. Intermediate letters (Generally do not follow normal rules of alphabets) – x, z, s, k

I offer a FREE practice sheet (PDF) in the description that you can print off on good paper to follow along with me. In the video, each letter is written twice, once with a trace and the other free hand within the guidelines of the sheet. For each of the letter groups in this video, there is some commentary on the letters that take a little extra care. This is a good beginner calligraphy video as it teaches all the basics that any new blackletter writer will need to know.

How to Learn Calligraphy Online for Free: Gothic Capitals

Difficulty:★★★★☆

This is the second beginner calligraphy video I released and it is the most requested but the least used in the world of calligraphy. It covers the Gothic Majuscules (capital letters) that are a lot more involved then the minuscules (lowercase letters). There are a lot of large curves, thin hairlines and long straight lines that the first video had that may frustrate new calligraphers.

Hairlines are very easy and they are iconic in the blackletter world for the lovely consistent contrast they add. To do them you change the angle of your pen or nib from 45 degrees to 90 degrees, to where it is thinnest. Then slide with the thinnest edge to create lovely hairlines. It is better to go faster than slower as it is harder to keep a straight line going slowly. This video is much longer than the first as the letters are much more complicated. This video also comes with a FREE practice sheet (PDF) that you can download to your computer and print out on your good paper.

How to Learn Calligraphy Online Free -Foundational Calligraphy with a Highlighter

Here is the best blackletter beginner script to learn in my opinion. If you have a basic highlighter kicking around (and you know you do), you can follow along with this video, or use the exemplars below.

Difficulty:★★☆☆☆

Still images to copy.

Pointed Pen Calligraphy Videos

How to Learn Calligraphy Online for Free: Modern Calligraphy

Difficulty:★★★☆☆

Finally, the long requested modern calligraphy video, with free practice sheets. If you have the tools ready you can definitely get your practice on with this video. This video covers the full Lowercase alphabet of the modern calligraphy alphabet. If the uppercase alphabet can be found below in the second video.

How to Learn Modern Calligraphy Capitals (3 Styles!)

Difficulty:★★★★☆

This is the second modern calligraphy video in the series, this time focusing on the uppercase letters. The video will use the Uppercase Modern Calligraphy Practice Sheets, which will show three styles of each letter. I make sure this time to cover some ink and nib basics that will help you get started. You can follow along and mimic the strokes or purchase the sheets, print, and practice as much as you want!

Brush Calligraphy Videos

How to Learn Modern Brush Calligraphy (With a Crayola Marker)

Difficulty:★★☆☆☆

Crayola markers are a great tool for brush calligraphy and you may have them already sitting around the house. This tutorial teaches how to do a basic “modern” calligraphy brush alphabet. Along with practice sheets over on my full brush calligraphy post here.

How to Learn “Casual” Alphabet Brush Calligraphy

Difficulty:★★★☆☆

The “Casual” alphabet is typically done by signpainters with paintbrushes but brush pens simulate paintbrushes. Follow along with or without the practice sheets and learn a new calligraphy script.
Get the Casual Practice Sheets here

Master Modern Brush Calligraphy with these Practice Sheets

Difficulty:★☆☆☆☆

This is the easiest way for you to learn modern brush calligraphy. The Master Class Practice Workbook walks you through everything you need to master this skill:

• Basic strokes
• Uppercase, Lowercase & Numbers
• Connections
• Words
• The 5 guidelines of flourishing
• Compositions

Get the Master Class Modern Brush Practice Sheets (ON SALE NOW)

Lettering Videos

How to Learn Serif Script with a Sharpie

Difficulty:★★☆☆☆

Lettering is different than calligraphy, but it’s easy to begin learning by imitating strokes and shapes. Here I draw serif letters that you can easily do with any marker.