1. Jr. Calligraphy Mrs. Hemphill teresahemphill@questforeducationandarts
Jr. Calligraphy Mrs. Hemphill
WEEK 1
GETTING STARTED

2. YELLOW BOX- for assignments
Go to questforeducationandarts.com
Click on Student Zone- you can select WEDNESDAY classes from a
drop down menu

3. YELLOW BOX
Scroll down to find the link for Jr. Calligraphy (below American History and next to Cello 2) 

4. GRADES No tools or no homework= 0 pts for participation
You will be graded each day on:
Attendance: 5 pts
Participation: 5 pts
No tools or no homework= 0 pts for participation
Tools: See supply list for tools to bring
For the first 3 weeks, we will learn basics and Roman script. The notes will be done on Power point so that you can refer back to the slides. This will give everyone time to purchase the required text.

5. HOMEWORK
Homework will consist of a clean copy of either a full alphabet or various projects using an alphabet and the design styles we are currently learning. Sometimes we will copy a manuscript.
Sometimes we will take more than one week to finish a project.
You will be graded on neatness. We will cover how to fix some mistakes, but there will be times when you will need to redo your work instead.
Try not to press hard with your pencil when you draw your composition or your decorations on the paper. This will make it harder to erase and you will be left with marks on your project. If you naturally press hard, buy a pencil with a harder lead (F,H, 2H, 4H, or 6H

6. ENGRADE PRO To find your grades for homework, go to engradepro.com
Login with your username and password (handed out at orientation).
Please note that any missed assignments due to absences are due no later than 2 weeks after the student’s return. Otherwise, the grade for that assignment is 0 points.
Your participation grade for an absence will be a zero. You must do extra credit to make up for that grade. This keeps things fair to those who were in class that day doing the work. And again, practice makes perfect!

7. EXTRA CREDIT
If you are absent or don’t manage to turn in an assignment, you can make up the points with extra credit.
Entering the Science Fair or joining NHS are both great ways to use what you’ve learned and earn points.
Other opportunities will include worksheets, reading assignments and mini projects.

8. What is Calligraphy?
Calligraphy comes from Greek words for “groove” and “engrave”.
It means decorative handwritten letters, or beautiful writing.
Some other names for a calligraphy alphabet:
Hand
Style
Typeface
Script (from words for scrape” and “scratch”)
Font
Character Set
Text

9. What is Calligraphy? Calligraphy has existed since ancient times.
Egyptians wrote hieroglyphs, as did the Maya and Aztecs.
The Chinese made characters, or pictures that stood for sounds.
Others developed over time, like our Roman alphabet which came from the Greek alphabet which came from the Phoenicians.
For nearly 1,500 years, everything that could be read was done completely by hand.
Even in the 1800s and early 1900s, people wrote mostly by hand, using a feather quill and ink or a pen.

10. Some Words to Know
Pen angle: This is how to hold the pen so that it makes proper thick and thin lines. Most alphabets have a pen angle of 45 degrees.
Pen width: How wide (fat or thick) your letters are. A pencil makes letters with a very narrow (skinny) pen width.
Nib: The tip of your marker. On a dip pen, you can have interchangeable nibs.
Nib width: Also called Pen Scale, this refers to how tall to make the letters. Hold the pen at 90 degrees and make marks next to each other. Most alphabets are 3-5 nib widths.
Stroke: Any mark or line made with your pen.
Join: Where two strokes meet to form parts of a letter. They can touch, meet, overlap, or cross.

11. Some Words to Know
Ascender: the top line of Calligraphy. This is where capitals and tall letters like l, k and h start at.
Descender: The bottom line BELOW where most of the letters end. This line tells letters like g, p, and y where to stop.
Mid line: Halfway between the ascender and the descender. This is where most letters, like a, e, s, etc. begin and end.
Space: This comes after the descender of one line of letters and BEFORE the ascender line of the next set of letters.
Miniscule: lowercase letters.
Majuscule: Uppercase or capital letters.

12. Some Words to Know
Stroke: One shape made by one movement of the pen. This could be a line, a curve, a serif, a minim
Serif: The fancy points on the ends of letters. This script has no serif, but the title on this page has serifs.
Minim: Decorative endings at the bottoms of vertical strokes, like m, in some alphabets.
Guard Sheet: An extra piece of blank paper used to protect the paper you’re writing on. Your hand rests on the guide sheet while you write.

13. What to Use There are three basic options for doing calligraphy:
Calligraphy markers
These are best for beginners
The tips wear out after a lot of use, but they bleed much less and don’t drip
Dip pens (these can be wood, metal, etc.) with ink
Dip pens come in different sizes and shapes of nibs for different types of alphabets
Calligraphy ink, India ink, Chinese ink, acrylic ink, gouache, and watercolors can all be used with dip pens.
Dip pens are harder to control and to get the write amount of ink on the nib.
Fountain Pens
Usually feature a metal nib and they have a pre-filled reservoir so that you don’t have to keep dipping into ink.

14. What to Use
You will always need a pencil and eraser (preferably a white artists’ or a grey kneaded) for projects, and to make lines on unlined paper.
A ruler and protractor will help you measure pen angels, rule lines, and measure spaces.
We will learn how to use gouache ink to decorate our projects. This is fluid like watercolor paint but opaque (not see through).
If you are using guidelines underneath or want to copy something, paperclips or clear tape are helpful.

15. Setting Up Your Surface
Ideally, you should have a slightly inclined surface to write upon, like a slightly tilted easel. In class though, we will work on a flat surface.
Your paper should tilt up if you are right-handed or down if you are left-handed.
Place at least two extra sheets of paper behind the paper you are going to write on. The padding helps your pen write smoother. You can also place a guide sheet behind your paper if it’s unlined.
Place your guard sheet over your paper. Use paper clips or tape if you’d like. You can move it down as you use up the paper.

16. Practice Paper
You may use whatever paper is easiest for you to use, but college or wide-ruled notebook paper works easiest because the lines are already there.
You may also use graph paper.
If you are left-handed, it may be easier for you to write smoothly on computer paper with lines you have marked on it yourself.
When we begin practicing the italic alphabet, appropriate italic practice paper will be provided for in-class work.

17. How to Hold the Pen
The shaft (long part) of the pen should rest against your index finger, just in front of your large knuckle. If you have small hands, you may need to put the shaft just behind the large knuckle.
Grip the shaft as close to the nib as you can. The tips of your thumb and index (first) finger should NOT be touching.
The middle finger (second) goes under the shaft for support only. The thumb and forefinger are what direct the movements of the pen.
You can use more of your arm (big movements) to make bigger letters, but you move it less when you write smaller.

18. Beginning Strokes- Pen Position is key!
Make sure your pen is held at a 45 degree angle.
Horizontal line (this should be very skinny)
Vertical line (see worksheets)
Dots (worksheets)
Zigzag: Upstrokes and Down strokes
Curves

19. Some Common Problems
If your pen isn’t level with the paper, you may wind up with some funny-looking lines.
If you aren’t at the right pen angle, your strokes won’t be the proper thickness.

20. Practice Exercises Verticals: Full and half height
Horizontals: short, medium, long
O curves: two strokes starting at the top
Small o curves: same as O’s but half the height.
Diagonals: left and right
Hybrid strokes: Combine lines and curves
S curves: combines 2 curves with a diagonal.

21. Straight Strokes- Full and Half Height
Roman letters are mostly composed of lines in full and half height sizes.

22. Horizontal Strokes
These are different lengths depending on their placement in a letter- middle, top or bottom.

23. O Shapes
This is easiest if you think about a clock. Your stroke starts at 11 and goes down to 5.
Start back up at 11 and go down to 5 on the other side.

24. Diagonal Strokes
These can be at different angles and slopes depending on the letter.

25. Hybrid Strokes These combine lines and curves.
They are a type of diagonal that has one narrow end with a slight bend to it – like the tails on Q and R.

26. S Curves
A hybrid stroke that combines a sharp diagonal with 2 curved strokes.
The angle goes from 20° to 45° to 20°

27. FOR YOUR HOMEWORK
Finish filling out all the worksheets if you didn’t finish them in class.
Do exercises 1-9 on a separate sheet of paper.
Bring these to class: DUE SEPT. 19