Part 1: Meet the lefties | Part 2: Best grips for lefties | Part 3: Best tools for lefties | Part 4: 7 tips for left-handed calligraphers
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Hello, my left-handed calligraphers!
Your voices have been heard.
I have tapped into the creative brains of five fellow left-handed calligraphers to bring you their best tips, advice, and recommendations for creating beautiful calligraphy as a lefty.
There is too much to cover in one post! Stay tuned for this series of posts devoted to tips for left-handed calligraphers. We will review the types of lefty-calligraphers (overwriters vs. underwriters), best tools, tips for improvement and practice, and resources.
Meet the lefty calligraphers
To start off this lefty series, let me introduce the stars of the show…
The following ladies are the amazing and extremely helpful lefty calligraphers who provided all of the information you are about to read (and watch!). Take a moment to “meet” each lefty calligrapher and check out her work!
Jessie of @inkerellacards has a gorgeous, whimsical style that is perfect for all thelovely greeting cards and wedding work she produces! Read more about her process and watch her new videos on her blog at Inkerella.
Joann of @theinkcodr creates beautiful and captivating calligraphy, with such creative styles! In addition to Instagram, you can visit her Facebook page to The Inkcodr.
Kathleen of @kathleenprumo has such an elegant script that she pairs with stylish photography. Check out her fabulous, newly-launched site at Sincerely Designed.
Lauren of @renmadecalligraphy has such a fun writing style, and her positive attitudes really shines through her work. You can view her helpful tips on Instagram, as well as her awesome videos at #renmadeleftyvideos.
Younghae of @logos_calligraphy creates absolutely breathtaking work that adds so much love into any home. See more of her incredible work on Instagram at #logosPRINTS.
Lefty Tips for Beginners
Tips for left-handed calligraphers can be a challenge to find. We live in a right-handed world, so naturally most of the resources and books do not give lefties much of the attention they deserve. Here are tips from my lefty-superstars that they wish they knew in the beginning:
- “I think the biggest obstacle was getting the writing angle down. I read many books and articles about calligraphy writing and there is always this small paragraph for lefties. I just didn’t think it was enough information on how to actually hold the nib and what angle to hold it at. Perhaps if I took a calligraphy workshop and had an instructor tell me what was right/wrong, the learning curve may have been very different. This just took a lot of practice at the beginning to figure out which angles worked and which didn’t.” -Jessie
- “It took me a while to change how I position my hand to write with pointed pens… I wish a fellow lefty told me to never be afraid of changing the way I write. It could have saved me from many frustrating nights when I was learning pointed pen and brush calligraphy… If it’s hard to change how your positioning you hand, try changing the position of the paper.” – Joann
- “It was really difficult at first; I’m not joking when I say, ‘I couldn’t even draw a straight line!’ It was confounding to me because I have always been quit strong when it comes to hand/eye drawing coordination… however, this drawing strength did not help my calligraphy at all. Drawing involves gestural, sweeping arm movement. Calligraphy requires super fine, exacting muscle control – a skill that can only be learned with endless hours of practice.” -Kathleen
- “My biggest obstacle was the expectation of perfection. I have always loved handwriting and found it fun and easy, but was super discouraged the first time I picked up a pointed pen and brush pen! I wanted so badly to be able to figure it out… it seemed impossible, because there were very few lefty resources to turn to, but I overcame this by realizing that I didn’t have to be perfect, I just had to practice and let my style emerge.” – Lauren
- “Lefties represent 10% of the population, so it was a bit discouraging at first because everything about trying to write and learn calligraphy felt so ‘unnatural.’ Someone gave me a book titled “Left-Handed Calligraphy” by Vance Studley and it helped to understand the differences between right and left handed writers. Knowing the challenges beforehand helped me to focus on making adjustments to overcome them.” -Younghae
Video: Watch a lefty Calligrapher in action
Watch this clip of Jessie doing calligraphy without the mess!
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It’s your turn!
Are you left-handed? What are some of the biggest challenges you face?
Do you have lefty tips to share? Tell me below! I would love to add your comment to this series.
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