Learn Calligraphy : The Complete Book of Lettering and Design

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.
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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.

Margaret Shepherd is a noted calligrapher and author, with an impressive roster of high-profile clients. She has published thirteen instruction books for calligraphers of all levels. All her books, including the bestselling Learning Calligraphy, are done in hand-lettered text. She has researched, taught, written, and freelanced extensively, and has exhibited her work in many museum and gallery exhibitions. She lives in Boston.
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