New Hobby: Lettering and Calligraphy

If you happen to read my list of 25 things I plan to do in 2015, you know that 3rd on the list is to learn lettering and calligraphy. I had to start somewhere. I have a calligraphy pen staring at me, waiting for me to do something creative. I started practicing but I was an impatient creature. So I googled and googled on different styles which led me to Abbey Sy, a letterer extraordinaire.  I figured that I would just practice freestyle lettering since I still do not own the type of calligraphy tool that can give the kind of beautiful calligraphy I wanted. (Yes, excuses, excuses.)

I found an opportunity to experiment with my greetings for my cousin, Ghia.  By the way, Ghia is an excellent instagrammer that the Columbus Museum of Art included one of her photos in an exhibit there.

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I found another opportunity to explore the art of lettering when Fozzy Dayrit, my calligraphy idol, started #10daysofcrushing.  You need to post on instagram lines for songs  or quotes that you would dedicate to a crush. It is easier to practice with the lines from the songs since you do not have to think of cool words to practice on.  I started with this one.

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On the second day, I want to use a different style to the lines. I came up with this one.

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I got a lot of ribbing from my friends for the “in love”  quotes.  Yes, I am in love…. with lettering!

I thought of using watercolor so this happened.

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And to avoid the teasing and still enjoy lettering, I made one with one of my favorite bible verses.

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You can see that I am really enjoying this. These are more of the #10daysofcrushing I did.

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I did a lot of practice and planning to come up with the ‘designs’.

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There is so much to learn. I am just trying to wing this one. I get ideas from Google, Instagram and Pinterest.  My friend also recommended a classic calligraphy book and I still need to look for a copy.  Calligraphy is a little technical.  There are measurements  and consistency of  strokes to look out for. Lettering is a bit more  flexible but I noticed that the output is cleaner and impressive when one incorporates the techniques of calligraphy into lettering.

I am off to do more!  The #10daysofcrushing is not yet done. For more lettering, follow me on Instagram.

42 Responses

  1. Marichu

    your penmanship is beautiful! I also follow some of my wawie friends’ instagram who also happened to be calligraphy-addict! how i wish i could learn something new this year just like you.

  2. Claudine

    This looks hard!!! I want to learn calligraphy too (and painting) but I simply don’t have the patience to sit down and watch my progress hahaha. Gusto ko perfect agad on my first try! But I’d add this to my bucket list na rin.

  3. Suzanne Rudge

    I recall wanting to learn calligraphy many years ago, but for some reason I never did. It should be offered in schools for the next generation to learn because with the use of computers and smart phones their penmanship will be lacking as it is.

  6. Pingerrain * Priscilla

    I’m into calligraphy too!!
    However, I was so obsessed with the lettering that I think I lost my way to enjoying the kind of typography art you had done here!!!!

    I guess I should return back to my own drawing board and start all over again.

  10. Mayen

    Oh my I’m impressed. Some of my friends are really into calligraphy and I am always in the background admiring because i think this isn’t for me.

    Just want to say that you are good. I’m sure in months to come you’ll improve considerably and I want to see that. 🙂

  11. R U S S

    I’ve heard of Abbey Sy and I’ve seen some of her work. I’m excited to see all the beautiful work that you will do because I know calligraphy is something that isn’t for me – my handwriting is too small & I’m OC so I might not get anything done, lol. It’s almost impossible for me to write / come up with something nice if I need to make my handwriting big.

    Lemme know if you’ll turn this into a business. I would love to buy stuff from you 🙂

  12. May De Jesus-Palacpac

    Oh wow, those are pretty good. I’m not sure I’m into calligraphy, but I like Scribed, the shop that sells calligraphy stuff in SM Aura. 🙂 Hey there’s a calligraphy workshop coming up with Manila workshop. You might be interested to check that out and bump heads with fellow calligraphers. 🙂

  13. Raymond

    Wow! You’ve got a great hand! You know, I’ve always been told by many that I’ve got a great penmanship, some of em even said, if they hadn’t seen me write the words, they’d have thought it’s a woman/girl who did it. Those comments of course made me think I was great at lettering, but this right here, made me think twice! Awesome work you have here! 🙂

  22. eliz frank

    You’re a talented calligrapher and artist. Your designs are beautiful and perfect for Valentine’s Day. Beautiful!

  25. Fred

    I used to have this book by Staedler about different letter ring styles I’d use for school projects. I’d like to find that book again now that I’ve read this.

  26. Michi

    Calligraphy is one of our elective subject in high school but that was the last time I tried lettering. I don’t know kung marunong pa ko. lol. This is already a trend now and there’s even workshop to learn this.

  36. Marie

    Wow! I’ve always wanted to try calligraphy and every time I try it, it’s always a failure. I guess it’s really not my cup of tea. I like collecting them though. I recently purchased a mug with a calligraphy design and I’m so happy! 🙂

    I follow Paula Peralejo on IG. She make great calligraphy too!

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