For beginning calligraphers, this book presents a new lettering challenge for each day of the year, 365 in all (plus a bonus for Leap Day). In addition to daily practice, a practical lettering project is provided for each week--52 in all, ranging from wholly creative projects such as designing an award to money-makers like wedding invitations and greeting cards.

In an age of myriad computer fonts and instant communication, your handwriting style is increasingly a very personal creation. In this book, Margaret Shepherd, America''s premier calligrapher, shows you that calligraphy is not simply a craft you can learn, but an elegant art form that you can make your own.

Calligraphy remains perennially popular, often adorning wedding invitations, diplomas, and commercial signs. Whether it is Roman, Gothic, Celtic, Bookhand, or Italic style, calligraphy conveys class and elegance. Margaret Shepherd makes this ancient art form accessible in a completely hand-lettered technical guide that will:

* Provide context for calligraphy as an art, exploring the rich tradition of hand-lettering and mapping the evolution of the most popular styles.

* Give detailed technical advice on choosing pens, paper, and inks, setting up your workspace, mastering various pen angles, along with step-by-step illustrations to guide you as you practice.

* Explain which alphabets are appropriate for different forms of writing. For example, the Roman alphabet works well for short, unpunctuated passages, while the Italic alphabet is more suited to informal everyday communication.

* Encourage you to personalize your lettering by using variant strokes and interpreting how you would like the words to look on the page.

* Inspire you with carefully chosen illustrations and examples, which bring letters to life.

In Margaret Shepherd''s own words, "Calligraphy trains not only your eye and hand, but your mind as well." Learn Calligraphy is the authoritative primer for this age-old craft, and will help develop a new appreciation for lettering as you discover your creative personality.

Introduces several lettering styles and secret message writing systems, and provides instructions for making decorative stationery and other paper crafts.

The marvels of Celtic design depend not only on understanding how to create ornament and pattern but also on how to create a composition -- a dazzling design that is even more striking than its individual ornaments.

In this new book, Jack Mackinder provides the key to understanding these designs. He explains how the pages of the Book of Kells, the Book of Durrow, and the other great Gospel manuscripts of the seventh to ninth centuries were set out by the ancient scribes, re-creating the precise geometric methods used, and explaining how they can be applied to contemporary work. Next, he shows how to draw step patterns, key patterns, interlace, and spirals to fit into the shapes created in the manuscripts.

Step-by-step demonstrations will enable contemporary calligraphers to create their own designs. With clear diagrams, many in two colors, and a detailed explanatory text, this book will inspire craftspeople and designers everywhere.

Brightly-illustrated and pocket-sized, this valuable resource is packed with advice from choosing pens and inks to mastering special techniques.

A beginner's guide to the art of calligraphy offers step-by-step instructions for mastering the essential techniques of calligraphy, as well as fifty beautiful alphabets.

Discover the creative delights and personal satisfaction of beautiful writing -- the art of calligraphy. Here is a practical course for any beginner, including materials and step-by-step instructions for simple projects.

Cette initiation progressive à la calligraphie permettra aux débutants d'aborder cinq écritures : la caroline, la gothique textura, la fraktur, l'onciale, la chancellerie, présentées en huit planches (cinq minuscules et trois majuscules). L'ordre adopté est fonction du degré croissant de difficulté. De nombreuses photos techniques illustrent les explications qui guideront de façon sûre la main de l'apprenti calligraphe. Grâce aux commentaires de l'auteur, le lecteur trouvera son propre souffle. Des applications pratiques sont également proposées pour aborder la mise en page de textes ou de poèmes et embellir le quotidien par l'écriture.

-- Gives helpful suggestions for materials to use, as well as simple step-by-step examples and techniques

A complete practical course for beginners -- a step-by-step guide to the fine art of lettering. Throughout the book, structured exercises and practical step-by-step demonstrations help you put your new skills into action. 8 projects.

Explores the art of calligraphy and the place of calligraphers from ancient times to the present among the Arabs, the Chinese, and the Europeans. Discusses the tools for writing and the development of calligraphy in relation to printing and typography, and examines current trends, including graffiti, and the work of contemporary calligraphers. The study is richly illustrated with color and b&w prints. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.