What is calligraphy? Discover different types of writings here!

What is calligraphy?

Calligraphy demonstrates integrity, rhythm, ancestry, harmony, and creative energy.” It is a unique writing, unintended for everyday communication. The art involves creating beautiful characters by hand and rearranging them. It produces words with integrity, harmony, a sense of genealogy, and rhythm. 

A little more about this beautiful style of writing!

According to this concept, beautiful letters, symbols, and designs in calligraphy artwork represent integrity. The preservation of calligraphers’ historical letterforms, supplies, and methods is genealogy. The connection between each letter’s words, characters, and components represents harmony. At the same time, rhythm is an intentional repeat in cursive script writing that gives the viewer’s sense of pattern and emphasis. 

Any of these elements alone is insufficient to constitute a legitimate calligraphic discipline; when combined, the process begins to resemble calligraphy. It conveys one’s creative inventiveness, which is more important than readability or even communication in this art. 

Diving into the world of calligraphers…

Many calligraphers concur that creativity is an additional component necessary for flawless calligraphy. It characterizes each work of art as hazy, with a bit of mysterious vitality and personality. The distinctive mark of the calligrapher’s individuality on the work is what qualifies calligraphy as a legitimate member of the arts. 

The writing process that you need to understand

A thorough examination of the history of calligraphy and its varieties is a near-impossible task requiring tens of millions of pages. Since the birth of civilization, every society has developed its calligraphy style, which was born out of both practical needs and artistic aspirations. They all employed different techniques and tools.

Calligraphers are incredibly conscious of such genealogy, influenced by a rich history of innovation. In reality, emulating classical calligraphy is a popular and encouraged calligraphic technique. 

Writing in historical idioms may be a great way to develop both the hand and the eye. Merely duplicating old texts doesn’t represent calligraphy’s creative intent. However, it offers an excellent place to start for those who are just starting out and a fascinating exercise for those with more expertise.

Different types of calligraphy as unique lettering

Numerous experts concur that calligraphy has four major categories: Eastern Asian, Southern Asian, Islamic, and Western. Let’s learn more about them, shall we?

Western style

The development of Western calligraphy began in the tenth century and is still going strong now. One of the most well-known examples of calligraphic art, this popular style is distinguished by its rigid rules and geometric patterns. The Latin alphabet is where Western writing is most easily recognized. One of the critical elements of this design was the humanist minuscule of the Renaissance. 

Different styles require various instruments. A flat-balled or round-nipped pen, a brush, water-based ink, premium paper or parchment, a knife for erasing work, and templates are the typical instruments used in Western calligraphy. In addition, the Batarde of the 17th century and the English script from a century earlier are also a part of it. 

Eastern Asian style

This specific type of calligraphy includes Korean, Chinese, and Japanese calligraphy. The style is simple to identify since it is easy to distinguish Eastern symbols from those used to represent whole words. Every kingdom that controlled these areas had unique handwriting styles and images. Their writings should be considerably shorter than those discovered in the Western areas.

The nations of Eastern Asia consider calligraphy a priceless cultural legacy, and they all make great efforts to ensure that the regional calligraphic styles are carefully preserved. Technically speaking, in addition to standard writing instruments, Eastern calligraphers also employ desk pads and paperweights.

Southern Asian style

The practices originating in the nations of India, Nepal, and Tibet comprise this group of calligraphy styles. From prayer wheels to the Dalai Lama’s writings, these manuscripts were widely utilized for Buddhist and secular reasons. As a matter of fact, they are seen in many different contexts.

Pieces of Southern Asian calligraphy can be regarded as some of the oldest lettering techniques ever unearthed, with some instances dating back to inscriptions on stone. The most famous of the three, Indian calligraphy employed various unusual techniques throughout its history, including copper, birch bark, burnt clay, and smoke-treated palm leaves.

Islamic style

Many people believe Islamic calligraphy to be the most beautiful form of lettering, developed with Islam and the Arabic language. This aesthetic is a fundamental component of Islamic art. The greatest examples of Islamic calligraphy designs may be found on the walls of mosques.

Muslims believe calligraphy to be the best form of creative expression because they believe it to be the most effective way to communicate with the spiritual realm. The Ottoman era is regarded as the apex of Islamic calligraphy growth since few parts of letters have altered since then, particularly in more traditional social groups. Modern ages, however, saw several changes made to conventional letters, leading to a distinctive modern Arabic calligraphy.

The modern era of writing

The creation of illuminated manuscripts started to diminish once printing became widely used throughout the 15th century. But despite the development of printing, calligraphy continued to be practiced by a lot of people over the ages. The Arts and Crafts movement, sparked by William Morris’ aesthetics and philosophy, was the catalyst for the contemporary resurgence. It started towards the end of the 19th century.

A few insights on Edward Johnston

Edward Johnston was the central character in this revival of calligraphy. He examined a variety of manuscripts housed at the British Museum, allowing him to conduct classes and share his passion with everyone interested. Johnston also created fonts in his spare time, several of which are still in use. 

Edward was solely responsible for bringing back creative lettering and handwriting. His work greatly impacted the works of Graily Hewitt, Stanley Morison, Eric Gill, and Anna Simons, as well as subsequent generations of calligraphers and typographers.

Naturally, street art and calligraphy discovered a fascinating common ground since graffiti is a great way to learn artistic letters. The graffiti calligraphers Niels Shoe Meulman, El Seed, Retna, and Rostarr, are among the best.

Key takeaways

• Calligraphy contains the whole history of written language. 
• Simply said, our inner creativity finds expression via the art of beautiful handwriting.
• The popularity of technology may have caused handwriting to lose some of its lusters. 
• Calligraphy has, nevertheless, managed to stave off the assault of technology. 
• It has done so by carving out extremely specialized niches in the arts and design fields.

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FAQs

Question 1: What are the calligraphy rules? 

Answer:

• Determine the ratio of lowercase to uppercase heights. You should have a consistent size for all your letters.
• Analyze the available space.
• Draw Evenly Spaced Guidelines Using a Ruler.
• Writing and erasing.

Question 2: How many different styles of calligraphy exist?

Answer: Western, Eastern, and Arabic calligraphy are the three primary subtypes. Each kind depicts the language and writing of a distinct geographical area. Eastern calligraphy includes the majority of Asian alphabets, in contrast to the western style, which displays English handwriting.

Question 3: Who invented calligraphy first?

Answer: Romans are said to have been the first to popularise calligraphy fully; take a look at the stunningly beautiful letters that they meticulously carved into many of the sculptures in Italy or Roman ruins in the UK.