I’ll be honest with you I’ve never gotten this question, but I often receive a comment like “You have beautiful handwriting!” or “Nice handwriting!” when I’m working a live event with in-person calligraphy. I like to educate people on what it is they’re seeing and I thought you might like to know as well! So what is the difference between nice handwriting and calligraphy?
Calligraphy roughly means “the art of beautiful writing” and is generally made with a dip pen and ink. (There are exceptions to this, such as brush lettering.) You dip the nib of the pen in the ink and then draw the letters onto the paper one stroke at a time.
There are two main kinds of dip pen nibs for calligraphy, broad and pointed. The pointed nib creates thin and thick strokes depending on the pressure placed on the nib. The pointed pen style gained popularity in the 1800s in Europe and was popularized further in the United States in the early 20th century. These became more popular with the advent of steel nib production during the industrial revolution which replaced feather quills and reeds. You can see a sample of my pointed pen calligraphy below. Notice the thick and thin strokes.
The broad pen nib creates flat, broad strokes that vary in thickness based on the tilt and slant of the pen. These were more common in medieval manuscripts in Europe as it could be created with reed pens shaped to a flat, broad nib. Below is one of my samples of broad pen calligraphy. The strokes tend to be uniform in width with a little variation.
So what is the difference between calligraphy and handwriting?
Handwriting is often made quickly. Especially with cursive handwriting, the purpose is to write faster and remove the pen from the paper as little as possible to save time. Regular ballpoint pens are also generally unable to make the varieties of line that you might see in calligraphy. There is some exception to this with fountain pens, but generally, handwriting is created with the intention of writing with speed.
Calligraphy, on the other hand, is a slow process. To create the beautiful swells and flourishes it is important to focus and take your time with each stroke and letter. Yes, it is possible to learn to write faster in calligraphy, but the speed will not rival a ballpoint pen. This is simply because it takes time to dip the pen in ink every few letters or words!
What is faux-calligraphy?
You can see from the envelope above that the script is similar to the dip pen scripts used above. It is created in a similar style using strokes, but with a gel pen in a monoline (single thickness). Some people have coined the term faux-calligraphy to describe this style of writing. Some even go so far as to mimic the thick and thin strokes in pointed pen calligraphy. It is generally created with gel pens, but can also be created with ballpoint pens and markers. This style is also less expensive because it does not require dipping the pen.
While calligraphy has many nuances and different styles, the main point is to enjoy the beauty and delightful nature of this handwritten art form. Whether it is on envelopes or place cards or a special quote, calligraphy can bring life to your written projects.
Let me know below what is your favorite style of calligraphy!
