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Calligraphy is an artistic writing style where the pressure is varied to create thick and thin lines, all in a single stroke. It usually involves a nibbed pen ️ or brush 🖌️. The writing is readable, but is usually extravagant and embellished with flourishes.
- Handwritten Calligraphy
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- Cursive Calligraphy
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- Traditional Calligraphy Fonts
Traditional Calligraphy includes styles such as Copperplate...
- Handwritten Calligraphy
Calligraphy is an ancient writing technique using flat edged pens to create artistic lettering using thick and thin lines depending on the direction of the stroke.
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Archive of freely downloadable fonts. Browse by alphabetical listing, by style, by author or by popularity.
- Copperplate Calligraphy
- Blackletter Calligraphy
- Italic Calligraphy
- Uncial Calligraphy
- Roman Capitals
- Foundational Hand
- Spencerian Calligraphy
- Gothicized Italic
- Neuland Calligraphy
- Modern Calligraphy
Origins of the script
The Copperplate script can be traced back to the late 17th century. Back then, known under a different name – the English Round Hand. Without going too deep into the whole history of the Copperplate script, the name was adopted later on as calligraphers tried to copy the beautiful letters engraved on copper plates created by the penmanship masters of that time. I talk more about this in my article about the history of calligraphy. However, for a more in-depth explanation of the origins of the...
Script characteristics
The Copperplate script is undoubtedly one of the most popular calligraphy styles worldwide. Highly slanted, elegant, flowy, delicate, and precise strokes are just some elements that make Copperplate such an attractive style. The Copperplate script is mainly created with a pointed nib and ink. However, you can also practice it using a brush, pen, or pencil. As mentioned, it is a highly slanted style angled at 55 degrees. The x-height of letters isn’t fixed, meaning you can determine how big yo...
Exemplar
Note – In calligraphy, exemplars are fully written alphabets that include the ductus. The ductus is the direction that indicates the order of each stroke needed to form the letter.
Origins of the script
Think of Blackletter (gothic) calligraphy as a family of different scripts. There are so many different blackletter calligraphy styles that you can practice. They all have their own names, history, and little nuances. It would be quite impractical to try and cover all of them in a single article, so I decided to go over the most popular ones – 1. Textura Quadrata 2. Fraktur 3. Rotunda 4. Batarde Each of these styles emerged in different time periods and locations across Europe. However, to ge...
Script characteristics
Thick, black, dense, vertical strokes with sharp edges characterize black letter calligraphy. Blackletter calligraphy is a very expressive calligraphy style (regardless of the specific script), and today, there are so many variations out there that you can practice. Blackletter calligraphy is practiced using a broad-edged nib, marker, or fountain pen. The minuscules are usually sized at 5 nib widths, while the ascenders, descenders, and capitals are at 7 nib widths. However, some blackletter...
Exemplars
Unfortunately, I still need tutorials for the Rotunda and Batarde calligraphy scripts, and I couldn’t find any good resources online. However, I did find these two exemplars on Pinterest that you can see below.
Origins of the script
Also known as the Cancelleresca script, Italic calligraphy is a beautiful script that evolved from the Humanist minuscule and originated in Italy during the Renaissance. If you’re interested in historical examples of this beautiful script in action, I highly recommend checking out La Operina by Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi. Note – It is incorrect to call calligraphy styles or scripts – calligraphy fonts. Fonts are what computers and other devices use to display text. Calligraphy styles ar...
Script characteristics
Best recognized for its smooth and elegant strokes with a slight forward slant. It’s a very rhythmic and dynamic calligraphy style that retains a high level of readability. The Italic script is practiced with a broad-edged tool. That can be a broad-edged marker, nib + ink, or a fountain pen (Pilot Parallel Pen). Written at a slant between 5 and 10 degrees, the letters are usually taller than wide. Minuscules are usually sized at 5 nib widths while ascending and descending letters are extended...
Resources
I wrote abeginner’s guide on how to get started with Italic calligraphy. As a beginner’s resource, this YouTube video by Joanne Fink is also very useful – I also highly recommend the book –Foundations of Calligraphy by Sheila Waters.
Origins of the script
Uncial calligraphy evolved from the Roman capitals around the third century, with even some earlier historical records. As Christianity was gaining popularity, the Uncial letters served as the official script for their manuscript, which quickly found its way across Europe. Here is an absolutely gorgeous historical sample of the Half-Uncial script from the Book Of Kells (9th century) –
Script characteristics
As with other traditional scripts, the Uncial comes in many variations. The three most notable variations of Uncial calligraphy are – 1. Uncial 2. Half-Uncial 3. Artificial Uncial Another distinct feature of the Uncial script was that although it was a pure capital letter script (majuscules), it was the script that first introduced some of the lowercase letters we know and use today. The Half-Uncial lowercase letters were even more prominent than the Uncial script. It also differed from its p...
Exemplar
As for the Artificial Uncial, here you can see a demonstration video by@andrea_ho_calli–
Origins of the script
Roman Capitals date all the way back to the first century. They originated in Rome hence the name, and it is with this script that the journey of the Latin alphabet began. I find it absolutely fascinating the fact that these letterforms were developed by people nearly 2000 years ago and that they remained virtually unchanged until today. That such beauty, precision, and attention to detail existed back then.
Script characteristics
With Roman Capitals, we can make two clear distinctions – 1. Roman Square Capitals 2. Rustic Capitals The Roman Square Capitals is a geometrically based script where the widest letters (such as the O) fit in a perfect square, which gives it its distinctive name. However, not all letters share the same proportions. Some of them fit in only half of the square shape, and the proportions of each letter are exactly predetermined. These letterforms are strong, wide, and precise, and I think they pe...
Resources
I highly recommend checking out these books as they have great resources for the Roman Square Capitals – 1. Edward Catich – The Origin of the Serif: Brush Writing and Roman Letters 2. Sheila Water – Foundations Of Calligraphy 3. David Harris – The Art Of Calligraphy Demonstration video by Sunny Law– Demonstrations video for Rustic capitals – Unfortunately, the video shows only a couple of the letters.
Origins of the script
The Foundational Hand was created in the 20th century by the famous calligrapher Edward Johnston. The Foundational Hand is a script based on the historical Carolingian minuscule from the 10th century. According to Johnston, the Foundational Hand is the best script for beginners to start practicing calligraphy.
Script characteristics
The Foundational Hand is a clean upright calligraphy script written with a broad-edge pen. A key focus letter of this style is the letter o since nearly all letters fit into that rounded shape. Like the Roman Square Capitals, the letter o of the Foundational Hand also fits proportionally into a square. The pen angle is mainly kept at 30 degrees, except for diagonal letters, where it’s turned to 45 degrees to balance the weight of the stroke. Such a pen angle gives us a very well-balanced look...
Resources
On the Lettering Daily website, you will find abeginner’s guide on the Foundational Hand, which also includes FREE printable worksheets. Additionally, I HIGHLY recommend getting this book – Sheila Waters – The Foundations Of Calligraphy It contains the best breakdown of the Foundational hand I’ve seen from any book. Demonstration video by Seonmi Baek–
Origins of the script
The Spencerian script is a calligraphy style dating from the 19th century in the United States. Developed by Platt Rogers Spencer, hence the name, Spencerian was so popular and widespread across the country that it became the official writing style in both personal correspondence as well as at a government level.
Script characteristics
Unlike Copperplate, Spencerian is written at a slightly softer angle. Instead of a 55-degree, it’s a 52-degree slant. It’s also less shaded than Copperplate, giving it a more delicate look. The shade means the thicker downstroke. Another notable difference between the two scripts is that Copperplate is more oval-based, whereas Spencerian has a bit more of an angular look between the downstrokes and upstrokes. It also requires fewer pen lifts than Copperplate, which allows it to be more free-f...
Resources
IAMPETH Website Video demonstration by Dao Huy Hoang –
Origins of the script
This is probably one of my favorites from this list. It combines two of my very dear calligraphy styles – blackletter (gothic) and italic. Gothicized Italic as a script was developed by famous calligrapher Edward Johnston. Yup, the same guy I mentioned earlier regarding the Foundational Hand.
Script characteristics
This style is so particular because it retains the strength and rigidity of blackletter calligraphy. Still, simultaneously, the curves taken from the italic script add more rhythm, which also improves the legibility. It’s like mixing PB & J. It’s a fantastic combination that everyone loves! Gothicized Italic is created with a broad-edged pen. Again, that could be a nib, marker, or the popular Parallel pen. The proportions of Gothicized Italic are the same as for blackletter calligraphy. An up...
Resources
This is a fantastic one-hour lecture on Gothicized Italic calligraphy by Eleanor Winters – This is a great starting point to understand the basics of the script. Additionally, I also recommend this book – Foundations Of Calligraphyby Sheila Waters.
Origins of the script
The Neuland script was created in the 20th century by German type designer and calligraphy Rudolf Koch. Neuland was initially created as a typeface and, in later years, adopted by calligraphers as a writing alphabet. Along with Edward Johnston, Rudolf Koch was also considered to be at the forefront of the revival of calligraphy as an art form during the 20th century.
Script characteristics
What makes this calligraphy style so unique is its simplicity and boldness. In other words, it’s funky and chunky. It’s a complete majuscule script (only capitals), and it has a distinctive playfulness. You will also notice that there is a lack of contrast between the thick and thin parts, as you can see with other broad-edged scripts. The Neuland script is more uniform in that regard. Neuland calligraphy is created with a broad-edged tool. It could be a marker, broad-edged nib, dip pen, Para...
Resources
A good starting point is this YouTube video by Maria Montes – She covers the very basics of the Neuland script, such as sizing, proportions, basic strokes, etc. Additionally, I recommend the following books – Calligraphy Bible by David Harris Speedball Textbook 25th Edition
I left modern calligraphy as the last item on this list since it’s something that stands out from this list. Modern calligraphy is more of a concept than a particular script. Thus, including the script’s origins, characteristics, etc., doesn’t really apply here. Today the word modern calligraphy triggers a specific image to calligraphers. Bouncy an...
We are reviewing some of the best calligraphy fonts available on the market. Both free calligraphy fonts and premium ones as well as a helpful FAQ section.
Looking for Fancy Calligraphy fonts? Click to find the best 669 free fonts in the Fancy Calligraphy style. Every font is free to download!
