Easy Gothic & Blackletter Calligraphy Tutorial

In this video tutorial I walk through a super easy system for writing an entire lowercase Blackletter (a.k.a. Gothic, Old English) calligraphy alphabet (all using just four simple lines).

Supplies

Keep in mind that, ultimately, all the supplies you need to learn and make beautiful calligraphy boil down to just three things: pen, ink, and paper.

There are so many incredible and fun tools out that these days that it can be super easy to overcomplicate this, but, at the end of the day, those three things are all you need (it’s also helpful to have a pencil, ruler, and eraser or the ultimate blackletter guidesheets (but we’ll get to those in minute))

These are the specific supplies we’ll use to follow along with the tutorial (with a few additional notes after the list):

• Pen: Pilot Parallel Pen. These now come in six different sizes, but if you’re just starting I’d recommend the 2.4mm (the orange one) or the 3.0mm (the pink one) sizes. In the video, I use the 3.8mm pen (the green one).
  • 2.4mm
  • 3.0mm
  • 3.8mm
• Ink: Black Pilot Parallel ink cartridge (note, you get one of these cartridges when you buy the pen)
• Paper: Strathmore Calligraphy Paper
• Ultimate Blackletter Guidesheets: You can get the guidsesheets I use in the video (and a bunch of other resources) for FREE by joining my newsletter community at the bottom of this page (or you can check out everything that’s included right here)

A few additional notes:

• Paper: since making this video I’ve found a new favorite paper that I like using and would recommend over the Strathmore pad – Canson Marker Paper.
• Ink: The ink cartridges that come with the pen can run out fairly quickly, so I recommend getting some replacement cartridges:
  • Pilot Parallel Ink cartridges (multicolor pack)
  • Individual colors
• Ink Bonus Tip: when you run out of ink, save the cartridges. You can clean them out and reuse them with other compatible inks like fountain pen inks and Ecoline Watercolor inks (a couple of my favorites)

Process

Check out the video for the full walkthrough of each of the letters, but here’s a quick recap of the four basic lines that we’ll use:

• Straight vertical line
• Thick diagonal line
• Thin diagonal line
• Horizontal line

With one tiny exception for a single letter (that makes it easier to write that letter) that’s everything you’ll need.

Have fun learning this fantastically fun and flexible style of calligraphy!

Note: This post and the photos within it may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a commission at no extra charge to you.

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