Learn Calligraphic Basics and More with Creative Lettering and Beyond: Timeless Calligraphy

In any art form, understanding its essential elements can free you to explore your own creativity, and the art of calligraphy is no exception. To that end, a new book is here to help you learn those important fundamentals in a fun and interactive way, Creative Lettering and Beyond: Timeless Calligraphy, A Collection of Traditional Calligraphic Hands from History and How to Write Them, by Laura Lavender (Walter Foster Publishing, April 2019).

* Complimentary book received for review. This post may contain affiliate links.

This is more than just an instruction book, though. It’s also a history book, telling the story of the development of many standard calligraphic hands and styles. Full alphabets are included for each, as well as helpful exercises detailing the necessary strokes, examples and explanations of pertinent letter groups, and other highlights specific to that style. Practice pages and templates convert Timeless Calligraphy into your own workbook. Just as the book’s title promises, you’ll start with the basics of creative lettering then go beyond that to your own artwork.

The beginning of the book will indeed take you through the basics, starting with discussions and illustrations of components such as lines and slopes then progressing through a primer on the tools and materials you’ll need, as well as how to use them for achieving different results. Fast-forward to the end of the book and you’ll find a very helpful glossary and a list of resources so you can continue your calligraphic adventure.

Fun calligraphy-related projects will have you making your own ink from oak galls and crafting a feather quill. But if that seems a little beyond your reach, you’ll enjoy the step-by-step projects for creating monograms, Victorian-inspired watercolor letters, embellished Art Nouveau letters, and more.

This book is in follow-up to a 2014 Walter Foster book, Creative Lettering and Beyond: Inspiring Tips, Techniques, and Ideas for Hand Lettering Your Way to Beautiful Works of Art. In fact, Laura Lavender co-authored that book before authoring Timeless Calligraphy. Both books are part of a larger series, Creative…and Beyond, with fun topics like Origami, Doodling, Folk Art, and Painting filling in the blank.

Walter Foster Publishing (an imprint of the Quarto Group, specializes in books on art instruction, so if you enjoy honing your artistic talents, you’re sure to find something to spark your creativity in their catalog of books about drawing, sketching, painting, lettering, illustration, and so on. Visit Quarto on Facebook for up-to-date information on book releases, authors, and more.

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Giveaway: One lucky winner is going to win their very own copy of Creative Lettering and Beyond: Timeless Calligraphy!

Giveaway Details: This giveaway is open to residents of the US ONLY age 18 and over. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering. This giveaway will close on May 27th, 2019 at 11:59 pm EST time. No purchase necessary to enter or win.

Disclaimer: A. Bailey received a complimentary product for review purposes & feature on The Classy Chics blog. No monetary compensation was received. A. Bailey’s thoughts, opinions and words are 100% her own. Your thoughts may differ. Please read the blog’s terms of service policy before entering any giveaways. The Classy Chics are NOT responsible for prize fulfillment or shipping of any items won from this blog. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, we may or may not make a small commission which helps to support this website. Thank you!!!