Sunday, 31 December 2006
Introduction to Calligraphy
Hi again!
This article by Paul Hood will introduce you to the art of calligraphy:
The ancient art of Calligraphy originated from the Chinese culture which is
regarded as the most sublime form of art. It is not only a practical technique for writing Chinese characters, but also a unique Oriental art of expression and a
branch of learning or discipline as well. As a branch of learning it is rich in
content, including the evolution of writing styles, development and rules of
technique, history of calligraphy, calligraphers and their inheritance in art, and
evaluation of calligraphy as a work of art. This branch of learning is wide ranging and deep, forming an important part of Chinese culture.
Much like chopsticks, calligraphy used to be wholly Chinese. As Chinese culture
spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore, calligraphy became a unique
feature of Oriental art.
Calligraphy demands careful planning and execution as its strokes are permanent very much different from other visual art techniques. A high level of discipline is required to make the experience satisfying. It is a mental exercise that coordinates the mind and the body in choosing the best style in the expression of the content of the passage.
A quote from Jan Stuart,
“Written Chinese, which is not an alphabetic script, developed more than three
thousand years ago. The first written characters were pictographs, but the vast
majority of characters are abstract graphs that consist of lines, hooks, and dots in set, reproducible patterns. By the fourth century A.D., eight different script types existed (see Pl. I). Each type of script has its own compositional principles and distinctive strokes: rounded strokes for script used on bronze and seals; flared diagonals for clerical script; and thickening and thinning strokes for standard, running, and cursive scripts. Running and cursive scripts are the most fluent, abbreviated forms of Chinese script. Cursive script is the extreme example, with the characters often being written with a single continuous movement of the calligrapher's brush.
The finest Chinese calligraphy requires that the assemblage of columns of
characters (traditionally read vertically from right to left) possesses an inner
dynamism that invites the reader to re-create the process of writing. Calligraphy is judged as much in terms of rhythmic cadence and artistic expression as it is for legibility. Good calligraphy is said to resemble ascending dragons and soaring phoenixes.”
With a history of four to five thousand years, the art of calligraphy is rich and
profound in content and has attracted the attention of artists the world over.
For more information about calligraphy,Click Here!
About The Author... This article was created for the sole purpose of propagating information that may
be related to brochures printing and other industries to which it may be of
interest.
For comments and questions about the article you may contact the Author at their
website www.brochuresprintingonline.com/
This article by Paul Hood will introduce you to the art of calligraphy:
The ancient art of Calligraphy originated from the Chinese culture which is
regarded as the most sublime form of art. It is not only a practical technique for writing Chinese characters, but also a unique Oriental art of expression and a
branch of learning or discipline as well. As a branch of learning it is rich in
content, including the evolution of writing styles, development and rules of
technique, history of calligraphy, calligraphers and their inheritance in art, and
evaluation of calligraphy as a work of art. This branch of learning is wide ranging and deep, forming an important part of Chinese culture.
Much like chopsticks, calligraphy used to be wholly Chinese. As Chinese culture
spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore, calligraphy became a unique
feature of Oriental art.
Calligraphy demands careful planning and execution as its strokes are permanent very much different from other visual art techniques. A high level of discipline is required to make the experience satisfying. It is a mental exercise that coordinates the mind and the body in choosing the best style in the expression of the content of the passage.
A quote from Jan Stuart,
“Written Chinese, which is not an alphabetic script, developed more than three
thousand years ago. The first written characters were pictographs, but the vast
majority of characters are abstract graphs that consist of lines, hooks, and dots in set, reproducible patterns. By the fourth century A.D., eight different script types existed (see Pl. I). Each type of script has its own compositional principles and distinctive strokes: rounded strokes for script used on bronze and seals; flared diagonals for clerical script; and thickening and thinning strokes for standard, running, and cursive scripts. Running and cursive scripts are the most fluent, abbreviated forms of Chinese script. Cursive script is the extreme example, with the characters often being written with a single continuous movement of the calligrapher's brush.
The finest Chinese calligraphy requires that the assemblage of columns of
characters (traditionally read vertically from right to left) possesses an inner
dynamism that invites the reader to re-create the process of writing. Calligraphy is judged as much in terms of rhythmic cadence and artistic expression as it is for legibility. Good calligraphy is said to resemble ascending dragons and soaring phoenixes.”
With a history of four to five thousand years, the art of calligraphy is rich and
profound in content and has attracted the attention of artists the world over.
For more information about calligraphy,Click Here!
About The Author... This article was created for the sole purpose of propagating information that may
be related to brochures printing and other industries to which it may be of
interest.
For comments and questions about the article you may contact the Author at their
website www.brochuresprintingonline.com/
Wednesday, 27 December 2006
Cheating at Calligraphy
Hello again!
The following article will assist any newcomers to the art of calligraphy.After using this methodology to produce a fair standard of lettering, the novice
calligrapher will be encouraged to progress into the advanced skills:
I have been telling people for years that the way to cheat at calligraphy is with a
light box and the ability to trace. But obviously, it can be a wee more detailed
than this tossed over the shoulder comment. Good calligraphy can easily be a lot
more involved than just that, and these tools can use more technical skills to
become even more authentic, as well as be an excellent way to assist in the
mastering of calligraphy.
One of the hardest parts is finding appropriate fonts that look right. I do
recommend looking at examples of period hands before trying to pick a font on
your computer.
Then you need to look at the piece you want to calligraph- how much space do
you have? I do get out a ruler and measure it. I set up the word processing
program’s borders to fit in that space, and try to pick a font and font size that will
fill that space appropriately. Another thing to consider is that modern word
processors and aesthetics are not the same as period hands. Look carefully at the
spacing of your period exemplar and how close the lines and letters and words
are. If you understand the formatting of your word processor, you should adjust
the spacing appropriately to better approximate the look of period writing.
When you have the right size nib for the job, it's easy just to write over what you
see with the light box, and try to match what is there. I have found it is good to
have a second copy of the printout to look at for clarity, as well as a period
*good* example of what the font is supposed to look like. When you don't have
the proper size of pen, or for the big letters, it's easiest to trace the large letters
and then fill in. Also, you can use a drawing pen for when you want to do the
decorative connectors between letters that the computer fonts simply cannot do.
I have also sometimes done a tracing of the writing on a spare sheet of paper just
to get into the flow of the writing before actually working on a scroll. This helps
warm up my hand and build my muscle memory so that I can do the hand better.
To learn a hand for the first time, this is often a good idea.
The nice things about using the light box to trace the calligraphy is that it can
lower your chances for misspellings and forgetting words. You can use as
authentic of materials as you wish, and no one will ever suspect you of tracing
unless you tell them. Very few will approach you and ask if that's Lucinda or
Diploma, or [other font name here], mainly because your copy will not be as
precise as the printout, and it will look like you spent more time on it than you
did.
Click Here!for a cool site with a calligraphy ebook!
The following article will assist any newcomers to the art of calligraphy.After using this methodology to produce a fair standard of lettering, the novice
calligrapher will be encouraged to progress into the advanced skills:
I have been telling people for years that the way to cheat at calligraphy is with a
light box and the ability to trace. But obviously, it can be a wee more detailed
than this tossed over the shoulder comment. Good calligraphy can easily be a lot
more involved than just that, and these tools can use more technical skills to
become even more authentic, as well as be an excellent way to assist in the
mastering of calligraphy.
One of the hardest parts is finding appropriate fonts that look right. I do
recommend looking at examples of period hands before trying to pick a font on
your computer.
Then you need to look at the piece you want to calligraph- how much space do
you have? I do get out a ruler and measure it. I set up the word processing
program’s borders to fit in that space, and try to pick a font and font size that will
fill that space appropriately. Another thing to consider is that modern word
processors and aesthetics are not the same as period hands. Look carefully at the
spacing of your period exemplar and how close the lines and letters and words
are. If you understand the formatting of your word processor, you should adjust
the spacing appropriately to better approximate the look of period writing.
When you have the right size nib for the job, it's easy just to write over what you
see with the light box, and try to match what is there. I have found it is good to
have a second copy of the printout to look at for clarity, as well as a period
*good* example of what the font is supposed to look like. When you don't have
the proper size of pen, or for the big letters, it's easiest to trace the large letters
and then fill in. Also, you can use a drawing pen for when you want to do the
decorative connectors between letters that the computer fonts simply cannot do.
I have also sometimes done a tracing of the writing on a spare sheet of paper just
to get into the flow of the writing before actually working on a scroll. This helps
warm up my hand and build my muscle memory so that I can do the hand better.
To learn a hand for the first time, this is often a good idea.
The nice things about using the light box to trace the calligraphy is that it can
lower your chances for misspellings and forgetting words. You can use as
authentic of materials as you wish, and no one will ever suspect you of tracing
unless you tell them. Very few will approach you and ask if that's Lucinda or
Diploma, or [other font name here], mainly because your copy will not be as
precise as the printout, and it will look like you spent more time on it than you
did.
Click Here!for a cool site with a calligraphy ebook!
Thursday, 21 December 2006
Welcome to Calligraphy
Welcome to the discussion, tuition and resources associated with the Art of Calligraphy. Chinese calligraphy, Japanese calligraphy,and all of the other varied forms of calligraphy will be viewed on this site.
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