Best Calligraphy Nib Beginners Guide [+ FREE PRACTICE SHEET] #calligraphyforbeginners #calligraphy

When you're trying to choose the best calligraphy  nib for any given project there are a lot of   factors to consider. In this calligraphy nib  guide for beginners we're going to go over all   the important factors for choosing the right nib  to do the job at hand as well as our favorites   and personal recommendation. So there's no right  answer for which nib is the best or which is best   for beginners this really depends on a lot  of things. First of all it depends on your   personal preference of how you want your script  to look. Here you can see different examples of   different levels of contrast. You can see this  one has bold contrast this one is a little bit   more dainty and thin. And then it also depends  on how heavy you write so having a heavy versus   a light touch influences which nibs feel easier  to write with or more difficult to write with   and there are lots of factors like I said and the  most important to start with are flexibility and   sharpness so flexibility and sharpness both  influence how the script looks as well as   how it feels when you're writing it so in these  examples here the top row the two words on the   top were both written with this nib which is  called a Nikko G Nib and the second row both   of these words were written with the Hunt 101  Nib and then in the first column I used light   pressure so I wasn't pressing extremely hard when  I was writing this and that's my natural tendency   I'm very light-handed and then for these two I  was pressing really hard so if you know that you   are naturally heavy-handed or you naturally have a  light touch that's one thing that you can look at   so if you have a really heavy hand you're going  to be writing more with more bold contrast your   thick strokes are going to be a lot thicker than  if you use less pressure you won't have as much   thickness in your downstrokes now the the factor  that affects the thin strokes in your writing is   the sharpness of the nib the Hunt 101 is very very  sharp at the top so you're able to get very thin   lines and then it's also a lot more flexible so  you'll notice overall that the words written with   the Hunt 101 are thicker than written with the  Nikko G Nib because this nib is more flexible   the more sharp and the more flexible a nib is  the harder it is to control so that's why the   Nikko G is usually recommended for beginners  is because it's slightly easier to control   if you have downloaded our free Copperplate  practice sheet which you can find in the   description this practice sheet if you're  wondering like how thick or how thin your   thin lines and thick lines should be this is  actually based on the Nikko G Nib so you can   see it's pretty similar um to the top row which  again was written with the Nikko G as far as the   thickness of the down strokes as well as the thin  strokes now let's take a look at these two nibs   in action so that you can see what it looks like  when we write with them so here is the Nikko G nib   and I'm going to make the same  series of strokes with these two nibs   thin strokes like the entrance stroke this  is the underturn from the fundamental strokes   compound curve so as I'm writing  with the Nikko G nib it's it glides   across the paper pretty smoothly  because like I said before it's not   super sharp but in order to get these thick  lines you do have to press down pretty hard   and if I want to get super thick lines you  have to press down super hard so this nib can   actually become this thick but I wouldn't really  recommend writing like that because your hand is   just going to get tired from pressing  down so hard to get a super thick line   now if you run out of ink like this  that's when you know it's time to re-dip   I always recommend finishing off your  shape and then going back and filling   it in rather than stopping right in the  middle okay now let's look at the Hunt 101   and this feels a lot different when you  write with it you might hear a little   bit of scratching noise as I'm making up  strokes and then as I'm making down strokes   it just takes a lot less pressure to get  the downstroke so I'm not really pressing   that hard right here and I'm getting a stroke  that is just as thick as when I was pressing   down super hard over here so if you like the  thick contrast like this and you want that   to be part of your style then I would actually  recommend starting with the Hunt 101 Nib so that   you can get used to controlling it even though  it's not usually recommended for beginners if   that's the style that you want and you like  the bold contrast then why not get started   using the Hunt 101 so you can start getting used  to the flexibility I remember the very first time   I tried using a Hunt 101 I just thought it was  so hard to control because I had been practicing   with an Nikko G and it just felt like I could  get a thick stroke without with barely pressing   down and the thin strokes if you're using paper  that's not really smooth then sometimes it's kind   of scratchy because it is so much sharper some of  the other differences between these two nibs the   Nikko G is a little bit longer than the Hunt 101  which doesn't really matter but you will notice   that if you put this nib in that it might look  like it's coming out the end more than this one   also I've noticed that the Hunt 101 tends to look  like it's starting to get rusty sooner than the   Nikko G does and just because it looks rusty  doesn't necessarily mean that it is it could   just be that the coating is coming off for both  nibs I do recommend cleaning the ink off with a   paper towel periodically as you're practicing and  definitely at the end of your practice session   the price of the two nibs are very similar to each  other most nibs are around $1.50 to two dollars in   US dollars so the price of choosing a nib isn't  really that big of a factor because they're   um they're all kind of around the same price and  they're not super expensive they will last you   depending on how often you practice several weeks  maybe even several months if you're not using it   every day I do recommend getting at least if you  choose one of these or if you want to try both of   them getting at least two or three so that you  have a backup when you need to replace your nib   something else you'll notice as you're writing  another difference is that with the Nikko G Nib   you have to dip your pen less frequently into the  ink because you're not putting as much ink on the   page for each letter with the Hunt 101 since it's  more flexible you are leaving more ink on the page   so you do have to dip it more frequently I think  I wrote almost this entire word without dipping it   but for this one I think I dipped it almost every  letter mistake to avoid is getting a nib that is   either not flexible like this one so this one does  not is not a pointed pen nib so this doesn't write   the same way that this one does you might also  see broad edge nibs you want to make sure if   you're doing pointy calligraphy to get something  flexible you also don't want to get a fountain   pen nib because that's not the same thing you  also want to make sure that your nib will fit in   your holder so there are some smaller ones like  this that are kind of like a circle on the end   and that won't fit in this type of holder because  if you look at it from this angle it's like a a   curve and it's not a full circle so you just want  to make sure that the nib that you're choosing if   it's not one of these that I'm recommending to  you that you get one that is flexible and that   fits in your holder I do want to show you two  more popular nib options this is the Gillott 303   and this is sometimes called the blue pumpkin nib  and there's actually two different kinds of the   blue pumpkin that's just its nickname because the  nib itself has kind of a bluish color when you buy   it and that's just the nickname because it also  kind of looks like a pumpkin shape the actual name   is called the Brause Steno and then there's also  a version that's a little bit cheaper than the   Brause Steno called the Hiro 40 or the Leonardt  40 and that's what this one is so the Gillott   303 again the nib itself is really small so it  might not even come out the back of your flange   I noticed that writing with a smaller nib just  feels different too than writing with a bigger nib   now this one is kind of in between the two that  we've already talked about it does have a much   sharper point than the Nikko G so it does feel  more scratchy when you're writing on the paper   it's also a little bit more flexible I  would say it's noticeably more flexible   than the Nikko G I don't feel like I have  to press quite as hard to get a thicker line   but it's definitely not as flexible as the Hunt  101 so this is kind of an in-between but I would   say that the frustrating part like you might  have just noticed my nib got caught on the   paper right there when I was trying to make an  upstroke so you do have to have a light hand on   the upstrokes because if you're pressing too hard  then you're gonna get skips in your lines but this   is another good one to try if you're looking for  something kind of in between as far as flexibility   so the blue pumpkin otherwise known as the  Brause Steno or the Hiro 40 or the Leonardt 40   is much less sharp the tip is much  more dull and to me it feels very   weird to write with because I don't use it  very often but you can see okay I think I   might have had a little bit too much ink on  my nib right there but you can see that the   these thin strokes especially are super  thick when you compare them to the width   of these thin strokes it's like  almost double the amount of thickness   and it's also not super flexible it's similar  flexibility to maybe the Gillott 303 definitely   not as flexible as the Hunt 101 I'm struggling  to use this because I don't use it very often and   different nibs act different ways with different  inks so the ink I'm using right now is sumi ink   which is pretty thick so I'm wondering if I if  I maybe add a little bit of water to the ink   or just experiment with a different consistency  then it might flow a little bit better so if you   notice that your ink is flowing just fine on  one nib and not very well on another nib then   you could just try different combinations there  are so many factors in pointed pen calligraphy   but once you find a nib that you like the  appearance of and you like how it feels when you   write then you can really start practicing with  it and get used to all of those different things   so like I said before your personal preference of  style of how you want your nib to look thinness   and the thickness is up to you I've noticed that  modern calligraphy that uses a pointed pen I'm   writing the word modern here usually tends  to use something a little bit less flexible   with thicker lines this nib because it's not  very sharp is also a lot easier to write with   without snagging on the page so something like  modern calligraphy usually you'll see has thicker   up strokes in your letters and not quite as much  contrast and then super traditional calligraphy   or certain styles of traditional calligraphy  like um the Spencerian style has very thin   upstrokes and lots of contrast   also a style like Spencerian does not have a thick  stroke on every single letter so you can see there   are some spots foreign pressure in some spots  where I didn't but this is always done with a very   thin a very sharp nib that has the ability to make  thin lines this Hunt 101 that I'm using right now   I've been using to practice with for several  weeks so it has gotten a little bit more dull   if you get out a brand new Hunt 101 the thin  lines are going to show up even thinner than this   if you're enjoying this video learning  about different types of nibs and seeing   them compared with each other why don't you give  this video a like we would so appreciate that   you can also make sure to check the description  of this video so that you can download our free   Copperplate practice worksheet which also includes  guidelines and traceable fundamental strokes   as you're practicing I do recommend keeping  a paper towel on hand I like to also keep a   spray bottle and what I usually do is I spray  the paper towel with some water and then gently   wipe off the nib both sides until you  can get as much ink off as possible   and as far as storage I usually just store my nib  in the holder you can take it out of the holder I   happen to have several holders which is why I have  all these different nibs and different holders   just a word of caution make sure that you don't  have ink that is going all the way up to the   point where your nib goes into the flange right  here you can see I have some gold ink I must have   dipped this in too far into my ink and it first  of all stain to the nid because I didn't clean it   fast enough and now my nib is really hard to get  out it's kind of stuck because the ink has dried   inside the flange so you don't want to let any ink  dry inside the flange if it helps you can actually   remove your nib clean it completely and then put  it back in for new nibs I usually just keep them   in the box that they came in buying a box of 10  nibs usually gives you a little bit of a discount   per nib so I like to keep this is the Hunt 101 and  this is the Nikko G these are the two nibs that I   usually have on hand and I just like to keep them  in the package so that they stay in one place also   for some nibs it is kind of hard to tell what nib  it is I got a sampler pack you can tell what each   individual nib is by looking at the body of it  usually it's printed here engraved and this one is   a Hunt and then the number I can see right here is  56 this is 156 and these are all different in here   so when you're practicing Copperplate or  Spencerian or modern calligraphy using a pointed   pen know that there is a huge variety of nibs out  there there's way more than what I just showed   you here in fact the sample pack I think came in  with 25 different nibs and it doesn't end there   so there's lots to choose from I hope that this  video was helpful to get you started if you're   still stuck and you have no idea which one to  use just start with the Nikko G because that is   most common for beginners but know that if you are  someone who is light-handed like I am I struggled   with the Nikko G at first because I felt like I  just had to press so hard so you might want to   try something a little bit more flexible it does  take time to get used to so don't give up right   away just keep at it keep experimenting keep  practicing and you can watch some of our other   videos for more tips so tell us in the comments  below if you're a seasoned calligrapher what   is your favorite nib and beginners what are you  practicing with today or which one are you going   to get after watching this video we're happy that  you decided to come learn calligraphy with us here   today and beyond YouTube we also teach online  courses that we will link in the description   below along with our Copperplate practice sheet  freebie we would love to have you as a student

Channel: Loveleigh Loops

Views: 5,040

Keywords: calligraphy tutorial, calligraphy for beginners, lettering for beginners, copperplate, copperplate calligraphy, copperplate calligraphy for beginners, easy calligraphy, copperplate tutorial, copperplate handwriting, copperplate script, how to do copperplate, how to do copperplate calligraphy, pointed pen calligraphy, calligraphy practice, calligraphy practice sheets, calligraphy guide sheets, calligraphy practice worksheet, calligraphy nibs, best calligraphy nibs

Id: rBAIL-KJz9U

Length: 17min 38sec (1058 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 09 2022