How Do I Start Writing Calligraphy?

If you’re thinking about trying calligraphy, but you’re not not sure where to start, you’re in the right place. Calligraphy is a beautiful and useful skill to learn.

You may be drawn to elegant lettering, want to add a creative skill to do some freelance work, or just like the idea of slowing down and writing with purpose. This guide will answer a lot of your questions and walk through everything you need to know to start your journey.

Calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing. It’s not just about neat handwriting, it’s more like drawing each letter with intention and style. You’re not writing like you would in a notebook; you’re building letters stroke by stroke, often with a special pen or brush.

That brings us to a common question…

Not quite. While both connect letters and have a flow, calligraphy and cursive are actually very different in how they’re written. In cursive, you write each word in one continuous motion without lifting your pen. It’s all about speed and connection.

In calligraphy, though, the strokes are drawn separately and slowly. You lift your pen after nearly every stroke. It’s much more deliberate, like crafting each part of a letter instead of rushing to the next one.

These are the cursive and calligraphy fonts we have in Writey. You can compare them side by side:

Cursive

The truth is calligraphy is not the same as good handwriting. You can have beautiful calligraphy and still have pretty average everyday handwriting, and vice versa. Calligraphy is an art form, not a reflection of your natural penmanship. It’s something you learn, not something you’re born doing well.

Calligraphy can become your default handwriting though.

No problem at all. Honestly, this is one of the biggest myths about calligraphy, that you need to have nice handwriting to start. You don’t!

In fact, many calligraphy beginners start because they’re frustrated with their regular writing. Calligraphy is all about learning form, rhythm, and technique. So if your handwriting isn’t great, don’t let that hold you back. It might actually help you slow down and pay more attention.

Like any new skill, it can feel overwhelming at first, but that’s normal. You might not know which tools to buy, where to start, or what style to learn first. But once you get the basics down, calligraphy becomes something really relaxing and satisfying. It’s creative, mindful, and actually quite fun.

Plus, there’s a practical side too. Many people use calligraphy for things like journaling, invitations, signs, or even to start a small business. So it’s a hobby with potential!

Yes, technically you can teach yourself, but it helps a lot to have guidance. Following a clear structure or learning from an app or course will save you time, frustration, and paper. If you don’t know where to begin, Writey is a great place to start. It’s an app designed specifically for learning calligraphy step-by-step, and it walks you through the strokes, letters, and styles in a really easy-to-follow way.

Absolutely. Calligraphy is one of those skills that translates really well to digital learning. You can watch videos, follow stroke-by-stroke breakdowns, and even trace on a screen using a stylus or finger, but the downside of those online videos are that there are no clear learning structure.

Once the video is over you don’t know what to do next, that’s exactly what makes Writey such a unique, convenient, and helpful app. Writey gives you instant feedback and evaluates your writing by giving you 1,2, or 3 stars depending on how good you write every exercise and lets you practice anywhere, anytime.

Like most skills, consistency matters more than intensity. Practicing about three times a week for 20 minutes is a great starting point. The key is repetition, getting your hands used to the movement and building muscle memory.

Don’t worry if your first pages look wobbly or uneven. That’s part of the process. You’ll improve faster than you think with just a little bit of regular practice.

There’s no exact timeline, but most people start seeing real progress within a few months of regular practice. If you’re aiming for basic modern calligraphy, you’ll likely feel confident in under a year. If you’re diving into more traditional scripts (like Copperplate or Spencerian), expect it to take longer, but also to be incredibly rewarding.

Think of it like learning an instrument. You won’t master it overnight, but you’ll enjoy the journey if you stick with it.

Calligraphy comes in many styles, modern, brush, Copperplate, Spencerian, Gothic, and more. As a beginner, I recommend starting with modern calligraphy or brush calligraphy. These styles are more relaxed and forgiving, and they don’t require mastering perfect slants or complicated strokes right away.

If you’re thinking about trying calligraphy, but you’re not not sure where to start, you’re in the right place. Calligraphy is a beautiful AND useful skill to learn.

You may be drawn to elegant lettering, want to add a creative skill to do some freelance work, or just like the idea of slowing down and writing with purpose. This guide will answer a lot of your questions and walk through everything you need to know.

You don’t need a full art supply store to start.

For modern or brush calligraphy, start with:

• A brush pen (Tombow Fudenosuke is great for beginners)
• Smooth paper (printer paper can be rough on brush pens, go for marker paper or a Rhodia pad)

For dip pen calligraphy (like Copperplate), you’ll need:

• A straight pen holder
• A beginner-friendly nib (Nikko G nib is a classic)
• Bottled ink (black or walnut ink is great to start)
• Smooth, bleed-proof paper

Stick with one set of tools while learning, don’t overwhelm yourself.

Pay attention to how you’re sitting, your posture really makes a difference. Writing isn’t just about moving your hand; a lot of the motion should come from your elbow, and good posture helps with that.

Try to sit up straight with both feet flat on the floor. It’s better for your back, but it also helps your writing arm move more smoothly.

When you sit upright, you can see what you’re doing much more clearly, you get a full view instead of a tilted one. Plus, you’re less likely to lose control of your pen or feel off-balance. And bonus: you won’t get tired as quickly as you would if you were slouched over your paper.

Before you jump into writing full letters, you need to learn the strokes that make up every letter. These are like the building blocks of calligraphy.

Here are the core strokes used in most modern calligraphy styles (especially with brush pens):

• Upstroke: Light pressure, thin line. Go slowly and lift your pen slightly.

• Downstroke: Heavy pressure, thick line. This happens when your pen moves downward.

• Overturn: A curve that starts thin and ends thick (think lowercase “n”).

• Underturn: Starts thick and ends thin (like a “u” shape).

• Compound curve: A mix of overturn + underturn (used in “m” or “h”).

• Oval: An angled loop shape used in letters like “o” or “a”.

• Ascending loop: A loop that goes upward, like in “l” or “h”.

• Descending loop: A downward loop, like in “g” or “y”.

• Entrance/Exit strokes: These are the little curved strokes that start or finish letters.

This is the foundation of calligraphy. All the letters you’ll write are made up of a few basic strokes,like upstrokes, downstrokes, ovals, and curves. Spend some time just practicing those shapes.

Tip: Downstrokes should be thick, and upstrokes should be thin. Practice controlling your pressure.

Use the Right Pressure at the Right Time

This is the trick that makes calligraphy look so beautiful.

• Light pressure on the way up
• Heavy pressure on the way down

If you’re using a brush pen, this pressure contrast creates those nice thick-and-thin strokes. If you’re using an app like Writey, use your stylus or finger to control the stroke weight the same way—light pressure up, firm pressure down.

From here, you have two options, either continue learning calligraphy with the tools you have at hand, OR just try Writey and see how smooth everything will be. 

If you’re here, you probably love calligraphy as much we do, so congrats! You’ve found the best app for learning and writing calligraphy.

We know learning calligraphy is hard. It’s hard to find clear instructions and step by step guides. You want to know where and how to start and spending hours on youtube might help, but I’m sure it’s not what you’re looking for.

At Writey, we absoloutely LOVE calligraphy so we deciced to make Writey the best calligraphy teacher you can ever have!

You might be thinking what even is Writey and why do you say it’s the best calligraphy app? Alright I’ll give you a lot of reasons and if these don’t convince you I don’t know what will:

Writey has calligraphy in English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German (Deutsch), French, and Portuguese, so you can practice this beautiful handwriting in your favorite language!

Writey has Dark Mode, Left Handed Feature for all the lefties out there and it’s completely ad-free. (Because no one wants to be interrupted by a random shampoo ad in the middle of their cursive practice).

Oh, and you can zoom in and out to write at whatever size feels best for you. It sounds simple, but when you’re trying to get those perfect loops or tight curves, it makes a big difference.

Start your 3-day free trial and give it a shot. You might be surprised how quickly your writing starts to change. In a good way.

You don’t have to figure out what to do next! Writey’s each section AND  Smart Worksheets guide you through everything in the right order. So even if you’re totally new to cursive, you’ll always know where to start and what comes next.

Next up is the Letters section. This is where you learn the full alphabet, one letter at a time. And the best part is that every single letter comes with a tracing animation that loops over and over until you’re ready to try it yourself. There’s no pressure to get it right on the first try. Just take your time and repeat as much as you need.

Each lesson comes with three stars at the top, starting off empty. As you work through your writing exercises, Writey tracks how precise and accurate your work is. Did you really nail that elegant curve or perfect those connecting lines? If yes, a star gets filled in. Earn 1, 2, or all 3 stars depending on how well you’ve done.

This is the foundation of your calligraphy learning. All the letters you’ll write are made up of a few basic strokes, like upstrokes, downstrokes, ovals, and curves. Spend some time just practicing those shapes.

Start with Lowercase Letters

Once your strokes look steady, you’re ready to start writing actual letters. Lowercase letters are easier and more consistent, so start there.

Group letters by stroke type to make learning smoother:

• Straight & simple: i, t, l
• Overturn shapes: n, m, h
• Underturn shapes: u, y, j
• Ovals: o, a, d, g
• Loops: b, f, k, e

Tip: Write each letter slowly and carefully. Focus more on control and shape than speed.

Spacing matters a lot in calligraphy. Uneven spacing can make your writing look messy, even if your strokes are pretty.

Now it’s time to link your letters. This can feel tricky at first, but it gets easier with repetition. Start with simple words, your name, “hello,” or days of the week.

Connect Letters Thoughtfully

Calligraphy isn’t cursive, you don’t need to keep the pen on the paper the whole time. In fact, lift your pen after most strokes. That’s totally normal in calligraphy.

Tip: Think of writing words as combining shapes, not writing all in one motion. That’ll help you slow down and form each letter more clearly.

Starting calligraphy doesn’t mean you need perfect handwriting, fancy tools, or hours of free time every day. You just need a little patience, a good place to learn, and a willingness to start slow and steady. Once you get going, you’ll probably find yourself hooked.

So grab a pen (or download Writey) and give it a try, you might be surprised by what your hand can create when you give it the space to slow down.

Writey has a different categories of words ready for you to practice.

Cursive isn’t just for writing letters, you use numbers all the time too, so Writey has a Numbers section to help you keep your handwriting consistent across everything.

This is hands down one of the best features: My Texts. You can type in anything; A quote you love, a birthday message, something from your journal, and practice writing it in cursive with different pens. Not to brag, but it honestly can’t get better than this.

So if you’ve been thinking about learning calligraphy, I hope you’ve got the answer to your questions and know what to do (which is downloaing Writey by the way!)

Like come one guys! I listed EIGHT reasons why Writey is the best! I’m sure one of them makes you try it for FREE for THREE WHOLE DAYS, right?

Great fonts like Calligraphy, Foundational Hand, Spencerian, Copperplate, smart lessons, and a whole app that’s designed to actually help you get better.

Give it a try. You’ll be surprised how good your cursive handwriting can look.