Calligraphy with water colors
A couple years ago I took a really fun modern calligraphy class online. I have always enjoyed typography and fonts and especially the modern take on calligraphy – using a pointed pen and make all of those beautiful swirls you see on Pinterest all the time. But, guess what? It is a lot harder than it looks! The pens leak, the inks spill, and splatter the paper and well, I think it might take a little more patience than I actually have.
Recently I saw a blogger who used watercolors to do calligraphy and described it as simply using the power of your own handwriting. So, I decided to give it a try! I actually like gouache better than watercolors. (Gouache is also water-based, but more opaque and a bit more vibrant than watercolor paints). But, use whatever you have, it is still fun either way!
What you need:
- Watercolors (or gouache) – the better your paints, the better your results, but there isn’t any reason you can’t try out your kid’s Crayola paints.
- Brushes – round brushes (rather than flat), work best. I have found the smaller brushes work best for lettering.
- Paper – watercolor paper is best
- Pencil – I like to pencil in what I’m going to paint
Using your own handwriting, sketch out whatever saying you want to write – this can be for a gift, a greeting card, a gift card, wrapping paper, etc. Then, go over the pencil with your paints – work sort of quickly so that it looks natural, giving the lines flow and a calligraphy feel. If you want to mix colors, go back into your stroke with a second color.
Voila! You’ve got a calligraphy piece without a pen and ink!