Simply Calligraphy: A Beginner's Guide to Elegant Lettering

by Judy Detrick

Overview

Learning the simple and beautiful art of hand-lettered calligraphy is as easy as picking up pen and paper!

Italic is the calligraphy’s most popular alphabet, and this delightful manual introduces basic capital and small letters and numbers, plus all the creative flourishes you need to customize your unique script for every project and occasion.

With quick and easy instruction from calligraphy teacher and designer Judy Detrick, Simply Calligraphy will have you whipping up elegant invitations, pleasing place cards, and personalized thank-you notes in no time.

Includes practice exercises, advice on tools and materials, and project ideas for place cards, invitations, and more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607748564
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	04/19/2016
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	1,121,898
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

JUDY DETRICK is a calligrapher and designer living on the Mendocino coast of Northern California. She taught calligraphy and graphic design at College of the Redwoods on the Mendocino coast for more than twenty-five years and developed the Graphic Arts Certificate Program there. Her work can be found in several anthologies of calligraphy and graphic design, and she is represented in the Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy and Lettering at the San Francisco Public Library. She served as editor of Alphabet, the Journal of the Friends of Calligraphy from 2007 to 2010. A parallel interest of hers is letterpress printing, and under the imprint of the Attic Press she has produced several limited edition books and a wide collection of ephemera. She teaches regularly at the San Francisco Center for the Book, for the Friends of Calligraphy, and at other venues throughout California.

Read an Excerpt

CONTENTS
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Excerpted from "Simply Calligraphy"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Judy Detrick.
Excerpted by permission of Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Tools and Materials 3

2 Getting Started 7

3 Small Letters 13

4 Capitals 37

5 Numerals 49

6 Flourishes 57

7 Project Ideas 67

8 Additional Alphabets 77

Further Studies and Resources 82

About the Author 84

Acknowledgments 85

Index 86

Editorial Reviews

"Long an admirer of her beautiful work, I'm delighted to see Judy Detrick draw upon her knowledge and masteryof calligraphy, as well as her extensive teaching experience, to write a book for beginners. Judy's clear and practical instruction coupled with gentle encouragement every step of the way makes this a good choice for anyone to begin the journey into the fascinating world of calligraphy."
— Susie Taylor, curator of the Harrison Collection of Calligraphy

“This lovely manual introduces you to basic capital and lower-case letters, as well as pretty flourishes to customise your writing for any project or occasion”
 —Creativity, Book of the Month Review

From the Publisher

04/01/2016
Veteran calligrapher Detrick provides a basic introduction to italic lettering in this attractive beginners' guide to calligraphy. Starting with basic skills, including proper ways to hold and position a broad-edge fountain pen, basic strokes, and proportions, the author moves through the lowercase alphabet, grouping letters with like forms. Each of the letter groupings includes a two-page spread with written instruction and a description of the letter formation on the left-hand page, and large, clearly rendered italic letters with guidelines for the order of pen strokes on the right-hand page. The capital italic alphabet is presented in the same manner, followed by coordinating numerals and a brief overview of flourishes. A few small projects for novice calligraphers to practice their skills include a notecard, a wedding invitation, and a menu and place cards for a formal dinner. Two additional alphabets, Uncial and Fraktur, are shown, but there are no guidelines on how to create the letterforms. VERDICT Detrick's knowledge is extensive, but this guide barely scratches the surface of the topic. Some may find the focus on basic italic lettering refreshing; others may prefer a more comprehensive volume, such as Gaye Godfrey-Nicholls's Mastering Calligraphy.

Library Journal